Open Writing

After taking their leave of Peach Grove, Mississippi, Picard and Beverly traveled by sub-orbital shuttle to Paris, France. From there, they took an aircar to Picard’s family estate outside the picturesque village of Saint-Phillipe, near the city of Bordeaux. All thoughts of New York and French restaurants were forgotten; Picard had invited Beverly to be his guest at his home and she had readily accepted, for two reasons. Firstly, she was curious as to the contents of McCoy’s journal; second, having made contact again with her former captain and friend, she did not want them to drift apart as they had before. Beverly had once harbored strong feelings for Picard, and she was a little surprised, and not at all displeased, to find them returning now that she was in his company again.

Once she was settled in the main guestroom of the replicated eighteenth-century house, Beverly rejoined Picard in his study. Taking the offered easy chair opposite the desk, behind which Picard sat, surrounded by books and paintings, she accepted a steaming mug of freshly brewed coffee and looked at him expectantly.

“Well, Jean-Luc, let’s see it.”

Picard hesitated. “Beverly, we really ought to contact Rigel 4, you know. Deanna…”

Beverly interrupted determinedly. “Oh, come on now, Jean-Luc. You know as well as I do that Tyman’s disease is very slow-acting and gradual. If you think you’re going to somehow wait until I’m not here before you examine that disc, you’d better think again. Besides,” she said, giving him a pointed look, “I am a member of the Federation Council, you know. As a government official, I could order you, a Star Fleet Reserve officer, to simply hand it over.” She smiled to soften her words. “Of course, I have no intention of doing that, Jean-Luc. But I will know what is on it. Old friends or not,” she added.

Picard watched her for a moment longer, then sighed resignedly. “Very well, Beverly.” Then he smiled ruefully. “So be it. It seems nothing changes, you know. On board the Enterprise, although I was Captain, you had the power to overrule me on medical matters. Now, even in my retirement, you still outrank me.”

Beverly smiled, and said nothing, but looked pointedly at the disc, which Picard held in his hand. Picard sighed, and placed it in the player.

*

What follows is a copy of the final draft of an unpublished manuscript written by my father, the popular novelist G.J.La Forge. His friend and colleague Data, human being and citizen of the Federation, recovered it from his personal effects and delivered it into my hands in accordance with the terms of the will. I spoke with my father shortly before he died, and he insisted that the manuscript was based on true events, as described to him by his friend and mentor, the late Captain Jean-Luc Picard, for whom I was named. Although no evidence has ever been found to support this claim, Professor Emeritus Data of New Cambridge University in the English Republic was, at the time of his unexplained disappearance, conducting a personal campaign to re-open the original inquiry. The reader is of course free to form their own opinion as to the manuscript’s validity, but the point may well be moot, as all of the participants are now either deceased or, as in the case of Professor Data, missing, and only they knew the truth. However, the nervousness with which rumor of the manuscript’s imminent publication, albeit as a novel, is being greeted in certain quarters, may be construed by some to be proof of its veracity. As always, only time will tell.
Jean-Luc La Forge
June, 2462

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