I have been reading the Internet, as you do, and I see a lot of my fellow nerds are as excited to see the TNG cast back together as I am.
I’ve also seen a LOT of people — like, way more than I ever would have imagined –expressing dismay that Wesley isn’t part of it.
I share some of your sadness, for my own reasons, but I choose to focus instead on how special it’s going to be to see my family back together again, and how wonderful it’s going to be to talk with them about it in the Ready Room.
Still, I’ve been thinking all day … what would happen if Wesley DID show up? Why would Traveler Wesley be there? And my imagination did its thing.
So I sketched this out in my head, and … well, it felt like something that was worth sharing.
INT. CHATEAU PICARD – NIGHT.
Jean-Luc sits in a comfortable chair. He’s spent a lot of time here, lost in precisely this kind of thought. He’s sipping a glass of wine. Number One is asleep at his feet. The room shimmers in the golden light — but not the warmth — of a blazing fire. Deep shadows fill the corners, reflecting in their way the shadow on Picard’s face.
He looks up. Did he just sense movement in the shadows? He looks back to Number One, who is snoring on the floor, kicking his legs. Picard slowly stands up.
CUT TO WIDE. There it is. A figure in the darkness.
PICARD
(more curious than alarmed)
Hello? Who’s there?
A beat. We hold our breath. Is it Q?
The figure emerges from the shadows, instantly familiar to some of us. It’s Wesley Crusher. Older. Wiser. Maybe a little haunted? A Traveler who has seen some shit. He smiles warmly.
BACK TO PICARD
PICARD
…Wesley?
TRAVELER
It’s good to see you, Captain.
The fire crackles. Picard regards him for a long moment. It’s been 20 years. It’s a lot to take in.
PICARD
(feeling it)
Wesley, I haven’t been your Captain for a very long time.
Now it’s Wesley’s turn to regard him.
TRAVELER
You will always be my Captain.
Picard’s smile almost reaches his eyes. This is more than a simple reunion, and he knows it.
PICARD
Why are you here? In this place? At this time?
The Traveler takes a deep, deliberate breath. Before he speaks, Number One growls, then barks. Through the windows, it’s getting brighter. Is the sun rising? No, it’s too fast, too bright, to be the sun. This is more like a spotlight being shined directly into the room. Picard shields his eyes from the increasingly blinding light. The Traveler is unaffected.
TRAVELER
(as the light begins to swallow them)
… because this is where I am needed.
The white light fills the screen.
Black letters fade in: TO BE CONTINUED.
Writing fan fiction is never not fun, y’all.
Ahh – The Traveler…
Always a good time as long as we learn the lesson.
Okay, now you’ve got my interest piqued, Wil. To be honest, ever since the resurgence of serialized Trek with Discovery, I have harbored this little niggling thought about what a series would be like about Wesley after becoming a Traveler. Star Trek: Infinity.
I’m one of the legions who’d like to see whatever happened to young Crusher…
Wait…what happens?!? You can’t do that!!!!
If Season 3 really is the end of Picard’s story, perhaps he will be voyaging to the undiscovered country at its end.
And who better to lead the way, to be his psychopomp, than a certain Traveler?
I’m still holding out hope that the Picard producers might be holding Wesley’s appearance back as a special surprise for the audience, but if they’re not, I think they should just film this scene as an extra.
😊 but why did you turn off your like button?
Please continue with this when you are inspired Wil, I am looking forward to seeing where it goes!
I read this with tears in my eyes…I miss this family…
I really like this. ❤
I’ve wondered endlessly if the team would bring back Wes as the Traveler. I would pay good money for that.
Oh, I definitely want to read the rest of this one, Wil.
Please don’t stop now–keep going!
What happened next?
Captain, I’ve opened my mind to space, time, and the intricate threads that bind them.
Yes!! Definitely keep going!
Simon and Schuster already beat you to it, Wil. The 3 book series that ends the Star Trek “novel universe” was published last year.
I would watch the bejeezus out of this!
Perhaps Wesley is no longer traveling. It’s been over twenty years. Maybe he has a family now.
It would be wonderful if you at least have a cameo.
This is awesome. Heee!
I love this.
Yes! I am gully invested in this story. What happens next?!
Love you, Wil…. keep being awesome.
Wesley wraps protective arms around his beloved Captain as the solar fragment engulfs the planet…
I hope the powers that be see this and actually decide it’s a GREAT idea and run with it! this would be LEGENDARY!
applause
Well done, sir, well done indeed.
As a retired Army dude, with (much younger) people I previously commanded who still chat, and talk with, and listen to, “You will always be my Captain.” hit me in all the feels.
so much scifi geek action today…and no one knows the context of this reunion… a lot of assuming. will be interesting for sure… and always fun to see you on (in?) the ready room
Has anyone considered the fact that Wesley grew up in a particularly dysfunctional environment?
His father died at an early age.
His mother, and closest caregiver, was responsible for the medical practice of over 1,000 people as they flew from one uncertain and even dangerous situation to another. How much time could she devote to her son?
The real threat of sudden, violent death was close by on more than one occasion.
For one whole year Wesley’s mother abandoned him. This HAD to HURT for a 15 year old. No one waiting for him at home at the end of the day. No one there, physically or emotionally, for the holidays. Or to make dinner. Or offer a shoulder to cry on. No one to celebrate personal accomplishments with. Serious developmental cracks here. Can you imagine this poor kid sitting alone in his quarters, day after day, with no one to connect with?
His closest companions were, really, his mother’s co-workers.
He seemed the most relaxed and natural when around his peers (e.g., “The Game”). I would argue that in “The First Duty,” the whole reason he felt compelled to join his cadets in concealing that fatal flight at the academy was because for the FIRST TIME he felt like he truly belonged somewhere. He was loyal to them. That, really, the “first duty” had nothing to do with his pledge to Starfleet. Picard so missed this important value when dressing Wesley down at the climax of the episode.
The Traveller gave him more than a trans-cosmological career choice. He gave him all of that which the adults couldn’t or didn’t.
I would argue that indirectly Picard created Wesley, and not completely in a good way.
I would like to see a wisened fifty-year-old Wes have that conversation with Picard (and maybe his mother, too).
Picard: “I did what I thought was right.”
Wesley: “What was right? I tried so hard to live up to your expectations. To make you proud of me. It was only years later that I realized how angry I was at you.”
Picard: “I admit I was never much of a father. Or even a father-figure. To you or to anyone else. I’m not a man without regrets, Wes.”
Wesley: “I don’t think I can ever see you as the legendary ‘Captain of the Enterprise-D.’”
Picard: “I don’t think I could ask you to. Wesley, as I’ve gotten older—and, much older—I’ve come to appreciate my own limits and flaws. If old age teaches you anything, it’s certainly this. There have been times when my own choices have undoubtedly brought harm to others. Unintentionally, but nevertheless. It’s something I deliberate about quite regularly these days.”
Wesley: “Is that I’m not sure that I’m ready to accept that.”
Picard: “And so noted, Mr. Crusher. I can only hope that when you yourself get older you can appreciate the gift that perspective can bring, and a graciousness that comes from leniency and forgiveness.”
So that was a lot. Anyone agree or disagree?
I hope inspiration strikes at some point and it actually is continued. 😉
More, please!
This is so interesting. Thank you for the new thought train.
Let me also add the episodes of The Ready Room after each S3 Picard episode should be must-watch TV. While you may be semi-retired from on-camera work, I know you have deep ties to your Star Trek ‘family’. Seeing them together again should bring back both good and bad memories (mostly good), especially from Patrick, LeVar, Brent and Gates (with a healthy dose of Frakes mixed in…) Safe travels, my friend and fellow geek.
bravo!
Wouldn’t an appearance to/for Wesley’s mother be more apt?
Fanfiction is fun to read too – thank you for sharing this. 🙂
Yes! All these years have gone by and it’s obviously that The Traveler and/or The Traveler: Wesley (The Weseler?) is simply a non-asshole Q. We need this at least once. Also, I’m equally impressed and bummed that you didn’t take this opportunity to put in a “Shut up, Wesley” joke.
..and that’s how I envisioned the finale of Season 2, leading into Season 3 where the band gets back together to find out what Wesley, The Traveler, has to do with Q. I love it, Mr. Wheaton! Make it so!
Thankyou Wil – as always you ground the responses 😉 and yet I hope for at least a cameo 😉
Love it! I want more!
Yesssss. More! Giving Wes a cameo on ST:Picard would make me subscribe, no lie.
If they Asked would you go back to the Wesley character on a season by season run, or even For a few Episodes. As I know you have a lot going on ,
I hate to admit this, but when I first read this and read the words “Number One is asleep at his feet” – I pictured Riker asleep at his feet and that image had me giggling the rest of the day. Thank you for the unintentional giggle. I did love the story and wish for more.
Was sad to see your name not on the cast list, especially b/c it is always nice to see you with Space Mom. This reaction is lovely. Looking forward to the Ready Room episodes.
Make it so.
But… There are FOUR lights.
Sorry, couldn’t help it. I love what you wrote here!
Delightful!
Every time Number One was mentioned, I seriously pictured Riker, not the dog. 🙂
No. You are NOT the #SiskOdo. Wesley was at Riker and Troi’s wedding in one of the movies’ deleted scenes wearing a Starfleet Universe. The Traveler stuff has clearly been redacted!
The Borg (from 20 years into the future in the Delta Quadrant) using Harry Kim’s #SpaceNipple wormhole to seek out Picard’s help to join the Federation erased all the things you are referencing in your fan fiction. This is probably why you weren’t cast in season three.
How about; Wesley is on board The USS Dauntless as an observer tracking Tin Man, so that’s why Chakotay and all the other C-list characters (like Ezri Dax and Ensign Ro) are just not going to EVER show up? #TeamWesley
They teed up an entire Traveler Wesley series and then completely ignored it:
—-
Bonus rant — here’s where I thought the followup to TNG was going to go, which they teased at the end. Warp drive, as it turns out, isn’t a clean propulsion source, and it’s been slowly tearing the fabric of the universe apart. So the Federation has to ban its use, or at least limit it to emergencies. Only Wesley Crusher can harness the power of FTL with what he learned from The Traveler, and he puts together a small task force capable of roaming the galaxy to a) police rogue warp drive usage and prevent spacetime calamity and b) research and develop alternate FTL tech to reinflate the interplanetary economy before it completely collapses. Fun times.
https://fields.medium.com/where-i-wanted-the-star-trek-reboot-to-go-d2276680cd2f
It would be cool if the last Q appearance ended with him changing into his true form, Wesley, and all along, it was Wesley testing and pushing Picard, his captain. Sure, there’s the issue with the Borg and losing his powers and all, unless Wesley had to make all that appear to happen for Picard’s growth. It could work. Just a thought.
Update soon, please! 😉
And you’re right. Writing fan fiction is never not fun. I just finished a series of Discovery fics that I did weekly for a year. A whole year. Never managed that before. Pretty happy with myself. They’re silly drabbles and the like for the most part, but still. One a week for a year. I’ll take it.
Anyway, I was mostly being a silly fan fiction writer with my comment above, but also not really. This is great, and I’d read this story for sure. So, yeah: update soon, please! 🙂
“You’ll always be my captain” got me right in the feels. The Traveler story doesn’t seem to fit what Picard is about, but 100% would kill it on Lower Decks.
You know, if William F. Shatner can do an out of cannon series of novels resurrecting Kirk, I don’t see why we can’t have a run of “Traveler Wesley saves the galaxy” by Wil Wheaton… should inspiration strike. The “Wheatonverse”, just think of it. 🙂