Mayweather, Travis

STARFLEET PERSONNEL FILE: Mayweather, Travis

Rank: Ensign
Assignment: Helmsman, Enterprise NX-01
Full Name: Travis Mayweather
Year of birth: 2126
Birthplace: Aboard E.C.S. Horizon, between Draylax and Vega Colony
Parents: Father died in 2153; Mother is Rianna Mayweather
Siblings: Brother, Paul Mayweather
Weight: 72 kg
Marital status: Single

Psychological Profile: Report of Starfleet Medical/Counselor's Office

Born and raised on a long-range transport vessel, Mayweather is one of the "space boomers." His upbringing makes him a talented pilot with an unparalleled instinct for space travel. He also seems to know how to find the interesting sites to see and locate a good time in the middle of nowhere.

Mr. Mayweather still carries with him some guilt over leaving his home ship, the Horizon, to join Starfleet. His father had expected him to one day take over the Draylax-Vega cargo run, but Travis' destiny led him in a different direction.

Biographical Overview

Ensign Travis Mayweather is the NX-01's resident "space boomer" — one of a generation of children born and raised on interstellar cargo freighters, which gives him natural instincts for space travel that surpass those of his crewmates. He is also one of the most skilled pilots of his time, making him uniquely qualified to sit at the helm of Starfleet's first deep-space exploration vessel.

Boundlessly enthusiastic, Travis is still bright-eyed about being in space despite having grown up there. In fact, he can't call a place home unless it comes with a pair of warp nacelles. One of his favorite places on a space vessel is the "Sweet Spot" — a location usually halfway between the grav-generator and the bow plate, where the gravity is null and one can float freely. While growing up he liked to sleep in zero-G, which he describes as "just like being back in the womb." His father kept the artificial gravity on his cargo ship at 0.8 G, because he thought it put a little spring in his step. This, of course, means that normal Earth gravity like that on most starships feels a bit heavy to Travis, but that never slows him down.

His family hauls dilithium ore between Draylax and Vega Colony on the Earth Cargo Ship Horizon, a J-class freighter which runs no faster than Warp 1.8. At that speed, a crew's got a lot of time on their hands between ports, and that's how the Mayweathers ended up with Travis. He is proud of his heritage as a "boomer" and relishes the unique experiences of his upbringing — the "Siren Calls" of gas giants which sometimes gave him nightmares; the "mystery meals" made out of nutri-paks when real food started running low; and the independent spirit of the cargo crews, who were determined to handle any situation that arose without help from any outsider. In fact, the crewmembers often hold down several jobs at a time — Travis' mother is the ship's medic and chief engineer, while his grandfather held the record of five jobs at one time, two of them on the Bridge. Travis has also had the opportunity to visit many worlds — Trillius Prime, the Teneebian Moons, Draylax with its uniquely endowed women — even though it took years to get to each place.

As a youngster, Travis stayed up for a month mapping every system he planned to visit when he grew up. He also enjoyed turning off the grav-plating to jump on the bed with his best friend, Nora. Naturally, the duo was grounded for their mischief. Once he grew up, Travis had to figure out where he wanted to spend the rest of his life, and he was pretty sure it wasn't on the Draylax-Vega run. That's when he decided to leave the E.C.S. Horizon and join Starfleet. It was a move that created tension among his family, because his father was expecting him to someday take over the cargo ship, although ultimately he respected the decision. In fact, when Captain Archer was looking at candidates for helm officer, Travis' father sent the captain a one-sentence recommendation, saying that he'd never seen a more natural "stick and rudder" man in his life. Travis is fully aware that his choice to leave home makes him unpopular among his fellow boomers, who are worried that more young people will follow in his footsteps and leave the freighter business shorthanded.

Travis was devastated when word arrived that his father had passed away in 2153. A visit to the Horizon shortly thereafter made for more tension between Travis and his family — though his mother, Rianna, welcomed him with open arms, his brother, Paul, was somewhat hostile. As the newly-promoted captain of the Horizon, Paul felt slighted when Travis attempted to make upgrades to the ship's systems. Luckily, a dangerous encounter with some marauding aliens forced the brothers to work together and brought them closer.

Travis has never regretted his decision to join Starfleet, considering it to be the best thing that ever happened to him. It gives him the opportunity to see more places and experience more things; the technology is more advanced, such as the newly perfected transporter (which he has yet to experience, but he's curious to try it out); and besides, the food's better! Also, he has the potential to someday become captain of his own starship, and see his portrait get hung on the walls of Starfleet Command to inspire future cadets.

As a Starfleet Ensign, Travis Mayweather was one of the first humans to walk on a comet. He got to visit Terra Nova, the lost human colony he grew up reading about, and become part of its history. He was the first human to pilot a starship to Warp 5. He's even got a new audience for his famous space-based "ghost stories." But he's had his share of misadventures. While on vacation to the pleasure planet Risa, he was injured while taking on a reckless challenge — rock-climbing at Galartha where the cliff face changes pitch while you climb it — and in a local hospital was administered with an alien medication that nearly killed him. Travis had yet another rock-climbing accident when assisting Commander Tucker and Lieutenant Reed in rescuing a group of Denobulan scientists from some underground caverns.

Like the rest of the crew, Ensign Mayweather is constantly faced with new situations and dangers as Enterprise journeys deeper into the galaxy — and the current mission into the Delphic Expanse is no exception. But with his "boomer" background, superior piloting skills, and affable nature, Mayweather proves to be an invaluable crew member who faces every situation with a smile and a sense of wonder. His presence on the Bridge affords Captain Archer the luxury of knowing his ship is in the best possible hands.