Tom Paris™
Helmsman

Biographical Sketch:

Paris, born into a long line of distinguished Starfleet officers, had a troubled relationship with the high expectations of his father, an admiral, who joined his friends and teachers to praise him as a child but remained tough and remote, telling him for instance that crying was a sign of weakness. He managed to graduate from Starfleet Academy after a stormy four years, almost failing stellar cartography as a freshman; he chose Marseilles, France as the site of his physical training second semester. He did hone his natural aptitude for piloting skills on craft large and small and proved adept at holo-engineering.

Despite his family legacy, Paris buckled under to the self-imposed pressure and tried to cover-up an error that caused the deaths of three officers at Caldrik Prime; it was only his self-confession at the point he would have been exonerated that netted him a discharge rather than harsher punishment. After leaving Starfleet he turned to the Maquis for fulfillment as a fighter pilot, but was captured by Starfleet on his first mission and this time was sentenced to the Federation Penal Settlement near Auckland, New Zealand, wearing an alarm anklet.

Paris was given a reprieve of sorts in early 2371 when he was temporarily released from the rehab colony and given a second chance by Captain Janeway, who needed him to scout her new starship through the Badlands in search of her lost security chief who had been undercover among a Maquis crew Paris had served with, led by former Lt. Cmdr. Chakotay. Had he successfully completed the mission Paris could have applied for permanent parole, but ironically he and the rest of the Voyager crew are missing and presumed lost in the Badlands plasma storms, last contact SD.

In later counseling, Paris revealed an unsatisfying relationship with women that has fostered no long-term associations, including a relationship with Susie Crabtree as an Academy freshman and a French woman, "Ricky," met during his Marseilles semester. He also has an affinity for antique Earth ground vehicles and Terran American history and culture, especially of the 20th century, and has enjoyed sailing in true life and in holo-programs.

File Update: Delta Quadrant Addendum
Report by Capt. Kathryn Janeway, U.S.S. Voyager

After his actions during the ship's odyssey into the Delta Quadrant and the "Caretaker" encounter, I have granted Paris a field promotion to lieutenant. Given a second chance, he has stood tall, not only keeping the ship safe through his piloting skills but counseling Torres through the wrenching division of her soul and saving his onetime Maquis enemy Chakotay, though his stint as an aide to the EMH Doctor was short.

Before our encounter with the '37s he had never landed a starship of this variety before - I am unclear whether he literally included smaller craft as Runabouts - but he landed within the 2 km range I specified.

Special Addendum: Stardate 49372

I am pleased to record for posterity that Lieutenant Tom Paris has to our knowledge become the first person to break Warp 10 barrier. We hope some one, someday, will learn of his achievement back home before it is duplicated.

File Update: Janeway Report

I must again commend Lt. Paris for his actions in carrying out our operation to flush out Seska's informant among our crew, Michael Jonas. I regret not having filled in Chakotay of the plan, but the resulting "drama" played directly into our hands; at least the commander and Lt. Rollins found themselves in a fight with Paris for all the crew to see, although Neelix and his new "broadcast" nearly ruined our secret.

Psych profile: Report of Ship's Doctor, EMH-1

Paris fancies himself a lady's man in the 24th century sense of the word, and though he was framed for murder it almost cost him his and sanity when punished by a Badean court . He may yet lead up-tight Harry into trouble with the Delaney sisters or elsewhere onboard ship, but while the mystery of the "Ricky" of his Holodeck programs remains he's introduced everyone aboard to the relaxation of pool and his Marseilles hangout, Sandrine's Bar; I personally have enjoyed his "'57 Chevy parked on Mars" holo-program, which includes the period tune "I Only Have Eyes For You." Paris was surprised to discover he did have a slight attraction to Kes and fought to suppress it, confirming Neelix's long-running jealousy of he and Kes. Their raucousness was finally settled when the two men were forced to save themselves and nurture an infant alien on its native world.

Paris Medical Update: Supplemental

Collective medical science has triumphed again. I have restored the original DNA genome for the Captain and Lt. Paris after their Warp 10 experience in "Infinite Velocity" and momentary multi-dimensional existence speeded up their human evolution into an retro-amphibian lifeform which we retrieved after they gave birth. The condition with both subjects, I feel, clears it of any link to from the slight enzymatic imbalance in Paris' cerebellum I detected pre-flight, which I predicted could lead to a 2% chance of brain hemorrhage amid subspace stress. In the euphoria of the moment before his first test flight Paris remarked that it was the first time in 10 years (or since 2362) that he felt his self-esteem was capable of taking risks; I am unsure to what life event he is referring.

A personal note: a thanks to the lieutenant for his advice on dating and his '57 Chevy holo-program.

Special Addendum: Stardate 50025

I find myself making more and more of these commendations to take great pride in my gamble/ Thi is to note that Lt. Paris played a major role in recovering our vessel against incredible odds from its Kazon-Nistrim marauders, along with the EMH Doctor and Crewman Suder, who gave his life.

Special Addendum: Stardate 50315:

Had I known that 20th century American pop culture would be such an asset to a Starfleet officer's diplomatic bag of tricks I would have taken and lobbied for the class as curriculum years ago. But once again Lt. Paris has aided this crew immeasurably with his knowledge during our recent incident in AD 1996 Los Angeles.

Notation: Security chief Tuvok, SD 50316.2:

My praise is added to that of Mr. Paris's file. However I must point out that while he is an excellent starship helmsman, as a taxi driver he leaves much to be desired.

Paris Medical Update: Supplemental

Because our special circumstance of isolation requires ongoing monitoring of fraternization, I have observed a shifting of attention in Lt. Paris' affectations, from playing to field -- especially Megan Delaney -- to a flirtatious sparring with none other that Lt. Torres. As I am a doctor and not a voyeur, I maintain this observation simply for historical record on our unique scenario.