Away Team

 For a period of time, my wife had a captain of the USS Enterprise guiding her way in her travels across the galaxy. To be more precise, she had THE captain of the USS Enterprise staring back at her from the dashboard, in the form of a two-inch effigy of Jean-Luc Picard. It was early on in our relationship that I uncovered her secret nerd obsession. I was the primary nerd in the coupling, but her connection to Star Trek: The Next Generation, subsequently TNG, was deep and abiding. So much so that she was wont to tell those who would listen that she sometimes wished that Jean-Luc was her father. 

Alas, late last week she lost her father figure. Not the one on the dashboard, but rather the actor who embodied all that thoughtful and precise energy. 

Patrick Stewart followed Walter Koenig, who portrayed Ensign Chekov in the original series, or STTOS, where most people will go eventually. Leaving a void in the chain of command in Starfleet. 

I confess that my relationship with TNG was negligible, but I understood that my wife had seen all the episodes and had taken away meaning that she applied to her everyday life. This was felt most keenly in an installment from season five, Darmok. This one features Captain Picard, stranded on a planet with an alien whose metaphorical language is not compatible with the universal translator. Eventually, the understanding of the phrase, "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra" becomes the key to the pair's eventual escape and a bond that will last at least as long as the series itself. 

Which may sound as if I am denigrating my wife's taste in sci-fi, which could stem from the fact that Patrick Stewart was already a signpost in my fantasy world, having already appeared in both Excalibur and David Lynch's underappreciated Dune.  Eventually, after having moved on from the captain's chair on the Enterprise, he found a seat in Professor X's wheelchair. Any of these credits might have solidified him in the pantheon of nerd fixation, but it was Picard that spoke directly to my wife. 

In a very distinguished, low Shakespearean tone. Which was nice. And he did not to take himself too seriously, as some captains of starships have. 

Patrick Stewart was a staunch defender of LGBTQ+ rights, and considered applying for US citizenship in order to push back on the ugliness of the first Trumpreich. 

He stomped on the boards, and the bridge, and on the Terra. He will be missed. Aloha, Sir Patrick.