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Captain Picard sat in his ready room looking out of the window at the black galaxy passing by. The stars gleamed bright though they seemed so far away, and an occasional moon or planet of the Sephorta Lax system appeared. The quiet hum of the galaxy-class starship – his beloved Enterprise – relaxed him like a warm blanket and a cup of his favorite tea. He allowed a small smile to flit across his lips before he stood up and paced over to the replicator.
“Earl Grey. Hot,” he commanded in a monotonous voice. A tea cup atop a saucer instantly appeared in the replicator compartment with hot steam floating up from the amber-colored liquid inside. He carefully took the cup and saucer and took his place back in his desk chair, taking small sips of the tea so as not to burn his tongue.
Suddenly a howling laugh made its way through the door leading to the Bridge, causing the Captain to jump with surprise.
“Night crew must be joking around again,” he said aloud to himself. He wondered what they were going on about but thought better than to go and find out. People seemed to change in his presence.
They stopped laughing when he came around.
Even Commander Riker, a man who trusted Picard with his life and wasn't afraid to have a good time, toned his personality down when Picard was present.
At first Jean-Luc didn't notice – everyone had a job to do on the ship and mucking about was not part of those orders – but eventually he became curious about it. As the ship's crew came closer together – like a family unit – sometimes he felt left out of the fold, try as they might have to convince him in small ways that he wasn't.
Jean-Luc knew he wasn't the most personable creature on the ship or very easy to get along with initially (all the ensigns and new recruits, save Wesley Crusher, were afraid of him), but he had no clue how to change that – how to let his team know he liked and cared about them all! The only one aboard the Enterprise who knew these feelings and hopes was Counselor Deanna Troi, who was an empath.
Of course she knows, he thought to himself before taking the last sip of his tea. He set the small tea cup and its saucer on top of his desk and rested his head against the chair as he stared at the ceiling. Sometimes it felt like Beverly understood him...but other times it felt like they were miles away – just colleagues working and living together to complete whatever tasks were at hand.
The Captain sighed and closed his eyes. He wanted badly to improve his relationship with his crew – no – his friends, but he knew it would be a difficult road.
Before he dozed off, he smiled as he recalled something Guinan had said about speaking things into existence. They were chatting together in Ten Forward over coffee, with Picard confiding in her about a difficult task Starfleet had assigned to the Enterprise.
“Captain Picard, just think of how you want this mission to go and say whatever the desired result is aloud. It'll work, I'm telling you!” she'd implored with much enthusiasm.
Jean-Luc thought of all his friends on-board the ship – how he wanted to open up to them and have them feel more comfortable around him. Then he thought of how he wanted to change within and took a moment to meditate on it.
“Make it so,” he whispered as he drifted off to sleep.