Groaner of the Day

So I started reading a new book, Stone and Anvil by Peter David. (Friggin B&N won’t do a search for his name in quotes.) I like much of PD’s work that I have read; Knight Life, One Knight Only, Q-Squared, and Imzadi. I find them fairly well written for the genre and usually quite entertaining. I also like some of the dry inside jokes he plays with the characters, and that leads me to this short post. I was starting S&A when one such moment presented itself. Captain Jean-Luc Picard, played by Patrick Stewart in ST:TNG, was entertaining a person he thought had potential as a member of Star Fleet. Picard was taking him up in a shuttle to see the ship Stargazer, and they were talking about what it took to become a Captain in Starfleet. Picard said there was much he had to learn, and the potential candidate said:

“Learn how? Where?”

“Well there is an academy. A school, back on the planet where I was born. The best, the brightest, the most gifted young people attend it to learn and grow and, ultimately, see if they have what it takes to be a Starfleet officer.”

“Are you in charge of it?”

“No, no.” Picard smiled. “I couldn’t exactly see myself running a school for gifted youngsters. …”

Buh dum dum. I laughed in spite of myself. It’s nice to see PD putting his X-men experience to good use.