The captain is feeling down. Beverly Crusher discovers the reason, and the two friends share a drink, a memory, and "A New Tradition," by Melissa D. Davis.

His ship is gone, his friends are scattered, and he is planetside. With just a fire, a comfortable chair-and Q-for company. The master of mayhem is strangely subdued, though, as he drops in for a "Fireside Chat," by Margaret Basta.

Beverly Crusher is leaving the Enterprise. Odan has gone. and Beverly has been left alone-by Odan and by her friends. Nothing Jean-Luc Picard says can convince her to stay, but when Jean-Luc is injured. They both begin "The Road to Recovery," by Marilee Rafferty.

They say, "Three's a Crowd," and you'll get no argument from Jean-Luc after Beverly introduces him to Rudy. How does a ''living legend" cope with a two-month-old ball of fur who thinks Beverly is his, and not Jean-Luc's? Find out in Lynn Lorton's amusing tale (tail?).

A journey into madness. The Enterprise's chief medical officer is lying in Sickbay, and Jean-Luc Picard is full of questions. How did this happen? Why did it happen? What can he do to help her? His anger and his anguish lead him to embark on a most dangerous mission: into the mind of Beverly Crusher. "Mindscape," by Robin M. Lyster.

The poker game has ended, the universe is safe, and there will be a future after all. But what future? Divorce, illness, and loneliness await him. Or do they? Come with Picard and Guinan to "The End of the Tunnel," by Rosemary Cullen.

Is nothing sacred? Not to Q. Not a starship captain's private journal, nor a starship captain or his CMO. Q takes Picard's journal and uses certain entries as a catalyst for a grand experiment. But can Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher survive their "adventure" on an uninhabited planet, cut off from everyone but each other? "The Stranded Heart," by Joelle Augustine.

Eight-year-old Jean-Luc Picard meets someone who has a profound influence on his future: William T. Riker. "A Light in the Darkness," by JoAnn Lassiter.