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.
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Wesley was my jam, I wanted to be him, and still do.
I know through reading your stories how difficult that role was for you, but I just want you to know that you were awesome, and so many of us lived TNG through you.
Thank you! You’re f*cking great! <3
Adam
I mean, I know it is the dog’s name, but I couldn’t NOT imagine Frakes curled up on the floor…
Same. Riker definitely snores.
I forgot it was the dog’s name (woefully behind because i refuse to sub to P+) and was hella confused til I remembered.
It didn’t take away from the story as a whole though, so that was good.
Oooh, more!
I confess, when you mention Number 1 asleep at his feet, I picture Riker curled up in front of the fire, his legs randomly kicking.
Nicely done. Gave me chills.
Interesting! But then where is Wesley’s “elderly gentleman friend” from Tau Alpha C? 🙂
Fantastico… lastima depender del traductor….
I have often wondered why they didn’t use this fantastic non-Q opportunity! It’s a storytelling goldmine, right? Of course, the reality of them reaching out to you, someone writing it, and all the technical details… well, they should be surmountable but I guess they’re not ready yet. I hope that day will come, for you as well as for us. It would almost be a new character, given the potential for personal growth.
Very nicely done. Fanfic is as great as the author.
When I saw the preview for season 3 of Picard, I honestly thought everyone got back together in order to go on a mission to SAVE WESLEY!
Without Wesley, it’s not the same…
Would you be traveller Wesley tho? In a deleted scene from Nemesis Picard talks to a Lt Wesley Crusher in a starfleet uniform about serving under Captain Riker on the USS Titan.
Wondering the same thing…. Are there TWO Wesley Crushers?
You can probably bank on this: Given how in a recent Ready Room interview with Frakes wherein he emphatically told Wil to “count on” being directed by him again, we will see a late-season, Frakes-directed episode where Wil appears and does something plot-significant to make the show a lot more heart-tugging than sci-fi usually gets. It won’t be a main, multi-episode-spanning appearance, but it’ll be a significant cameo. I look forward to seeing if I’m right about that one. 🙂
Darn you, Wil Wheaton! It got all dusty in here suddenly when i read, “you will always be my captain”. now i need to go “vacuum”. blows nose
Where is my tissue?
You are kind. For those of us that love the Character of Wesley Crusher this isn’t right. For that TNG was it originally was meant to woo back existing Trek fans. But for us 80s babies that just happened to discover it – Wesley was our window in. A way to see how somebody our age could relate to all the big topics going on each week. I really don’t get all the haters outside of an obvious jealousy. But it’s time to call it what it is and recognize your contributions to GROWING the audience of TNG and Trek overall.
Bring back Wesley!
Damn typos. I was saying.
You are kind. For those of us that love the Character of Wesley Crusher this isn’t right. For what TNG was – it originally was meant to woo back existing Trek fans. But for us 80s babies that just happened to discover it – Wesley was our window in. A way to see how somebody our age could relate to all the big topics going on each week. I really don’t get all the haters outside of an obvious jealousy. But it’s time to call it what it is and recognize your contributions to GROWING the audience of TNG and Trek overall.
Nice and touchy story, i wish you were included. But maybe you are and you just can’t tell us, because they didn’t reveal everything yet, so i still hope, you’ll be there … as well as Lt. Barclay, that would be so nice!
We’re the same age Wil, so i always felt connected with you at the time, understanding many of those problems Wesley had just too well. 😉
One of the reasons you will ALWAYS be part of the TNG crew for me, and without you, it’s not complete! Best wishes from Germany
100% agree. (Except for the Germany part). Best wishes from Northern California:0)
Nice denial there, Wil. We all know there will be a surprise cameo…
Sage advice, as always. It’s beyond amazing that the TNG fam is back together and you (of course) will shine as always in the Ready Room as our nerdy North Star. I’ll be watching with my golden retriever, also named Wesley (80% named for you, 20% bc it’s fun to say “shut UP Wesley!” when he barks at squirrels).
This fan fic is now a part of my head canon. You’re still peak nerd. LLAP
It would be awesme to see Wesley and the person he is now. Definitely feels like the would hold back at least one cameo.
But while we’re on the subject of cameos…Leverage Redemption? Please tell me we’ll see Chaos again!!
(with fondness) NERD.
Oh, Wil. I’m so, SO glad that you’re one of us.
Show the powers-that-be at Paramount+ that if they work in Wesley somehow they’ve signed me up through Picard Season 3 AT LEAST! I love that you are enough “fan” that you share stuff like this with the world.
Nice opening scene. Roll credits, commercial break and “Engage!”.
Like several other posters, I also saw Riker napping on the floor in my mind’s eye.
And while Paramount+ is booting and re-booting Trek series, I’m just gonna say I for one would tune in to ST: The Traveler or ST: Crusher.
Or maybe ST:Crushers and get Gates and Wil some space-mom/space-son screen time.
WAIT NO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! Oh I LOVE a good fan fic and a good Wesley The Traveler story and the fact you wrote it is a delightful bonus!
My brain woke me up at 3am, because it had been writing while I slept, and I had to get out of bed to write down the outline for the rest of the story.
I think you’d still be cute as an older clean-shaven Wes but you couldn’t lose your hideaway beard, Wil. 😉
Nice start. I’m also bummed that Wesley isn’t on the list.
Thank you for sharing this, Wil. That was wonderful. Wish we could see it all on screen.
It breaks my heart that they didn’t ask you to be part of it. The TNG cast is your family and you deserve to join them for at least a scene
Nice… There are so many possibilities when the traveler is involved. I am banking on Picard waking up in the captains quarters on the enterprise, realizing that season 1&2 we’re a bad dream and that the entire enterprise crew has actually been lost at space like voyager, and we can just go back to watching TNG Lost in Space edition with an older crew.
You know, even though I was a Wesley fan, for a long time I didn’t see a good way for the character to return because I couldn’t think of a way to do it without undermining the character’s arc. If we take his story at face value, he’s too overpowered to come back and interact with the other characters without solving any plot problems you introduce through advanced Traveller mind action. But on the other hand, if the Traveller was secretly a bad dude with his own agenda for example, and maybe he’s lying and Wesley is actually a normal human he’s recruiting for something, and Wesley returns after becoming disillusioned, I didn’t like this grimdark take because Wesley’s story was so quintessentially hopeful about humanity’s future and our ability to choose our own way and evolve. So it seemed neither was a good route.
But then it occurred to me, what if Q did something to block Wesley’s ability to travel? Sends him back to his own dimension without any traveling ability, to learn some lesson. Maybe that would be…a little less dark? It could be an arc about what we do when we find ourselves in what we perceive as reduced circumstances, or unable to live up to our full potential, etc. When we have lost an ability we used to have and that was important to us and our identity.
I could see something where Wesley appears to Beverley in a dream to warn her about something, and she’s not entirely sure it’s really him. You see her discussing it with someone later. Then we see Wesley, actually off in a far dimension, and encountering Q, who takes him to a place where we see lots of bonsai trees and bonsai gardens. When Wesley wants to know what he’s up to, Q lectures him about the dangers if remaining too attached to humans and humanity, and then we get a creepy talk about how enforced limitations can foster all kinds of creativity….and the result is Wesley is sent back, sort of like a Gandalf situation except with no powers. Just gets dumped out in the wilderness somewhere and has to make his way back to civilization.
Maybe it will never happen but since they’re bringing Q back….just saying!
I would love a Star Trek Novel with traveler Wesley especially when written by Wil Wheaton 🙂
Oh my god! You HAVE to continue writing this script! And then when you´re finished you have to talk to whoever you need to, to have it made as a full cast audio. More storys about Weasley…would be a dream. Back when I was like 14 or 16, I really looked up to him…wanted to be like him.
I know that there’s reasons for not being there, but I feel like there needs to be a more definite conclusion to Wesley’s story arc. The way it ended in Journey’s End just seemed out of place to me.
For what it’s worth, I feel that Ro needed a better ending too, but that’s another conversation.
Sounds like its going to be one of the more serious arcs! A two-parter for sure. I always wanted to see more of what being a traveler was like. I picture it like the Touch series! (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1821681/)
Nice to see actor-made fan fiction! Honestly, your character would be a good fit to Lower Decks than anything else! Looking forward to at least hearing a name check when Beverly and Picard meet up.
Well, that was a delight to read. I could hear both you and Patrick Stewart saying the lines, inflection and all. That’s rare for me. I’ll admit however, that my first thought was, “That would be an insane episode of Ready Room.”
That would make a good post end credits short.
IT’S THE FIFTH LIGHT
Oh, it’s wil with only a single L? Damn I never knew that; like I don’t like Picard but, since it exists, it feels very weird you not being on it. I want you on it, is that mean?
I just listened to your book, you are very good at reading books in general but you kinda subverted the medium a bit, it was cool.