Travis Mayweather
Travis Mayweather was a Human Starfleet officer who served as the primary watch helmsman during the historic voyage of , holding the rank of ensign.

Early life
Mayweather was born in 2126, aboard the cargo ship , halfway through a cargo run from Draylax to the Vega colony. Having been raised on a cargo freighter, Mayweather was commonly known by those who had not spent their lives in space as a "space boomer." ()

Having grown up on starships, Mayweather could fly nearly any make or model. During his childhood, he visited several planets and moons, including Trillius Prime, Draylax, and both Teneebian moons. One of his favorite places to relax was what he called a ship's "sweet spot." ()

As a child, Mayweather took great interest in the mystery surrounding the Terra Nova colony and he promised his father to see this place someday. ()

During his youth aboard the Horizon, Mayweather locked himself in a cargo container, an embarrassing incident that he did not live down for many years. ()

On another occasion, he and Nora deactivated the grav-plating aboard the Horizon and jumped on the bed, which lead to them being grounded. ()

In 2141, the Horizon encountered a group of Deltans. Mayweather, who was fifteen at the time, described them as "very attractive" and "very open." His father had Mayweather join him in hard workouts to keep his mind and body occupied. ()

During flight studies, Mayweather memorized a statement Chuck Yeager had said, which inspired Mayweather to overcome fear of tense piloting situations; he never allowed himself to become afraid in such scenarios, but instead concentrated on the flying. () With Mayweather having grown up on cargo ships, though, Malcolm Reed once suspected that he "must've felt like having lead in [his] boots" when he arrived on Earth, due to the comparatively heavier gravity on the planet, especially as Mayweather's father had liked to keep the artificial gravity low. ()

Prior to his assignment to Enterprise, Mayweather had seen snow only twice in his entire life. ()

Mayweather entered Starfleet as a recruit around 2149. During his training, he was inspired by the pictures of various Starfleet captains at the entrance to Starfleet Command. ()

Aboard Enterprise
Mayweather joined the crew of Enterprise as helmsman in April of 2151 and he befriended Malcolm Reed. Later, he was part of a landing party looking for Klaang. Reed and Mayweather were persuaded, by a man who claimed that he had seen Klaang, to watch a pair of alien females performing with butterflies. The pair of officers doubted the man's honesty and soon left. () Mayweather's quarters were located on C Deck. ()

During one of Starfleet's first explorations of a new world later known as Archer IV, Mayweather was a member of an Enterprise away team that stayed overnight on the surface of the planet. He was accompanied by Sub-Commander T'Pol, Commander Charles Tucker III, Crewman (First Class) Cutler and crewman Ethan Novakovich. Mayweather was along more for the adventure than the research, as was Tucker. Over a campfire, Mayweather attempted to frighten his colleagues by narrating a "ghost story" concerning George Webb, a character who supposedly was a friend of Travis' uncle. Because of a sudden storm, the party retreated inside a cave for protection. Later, the team was infected by the pollen of some plant life on the planet. This caused extreme paranoid and delusional behavior, to the point where Mayweather believed the other members of the away team were trying to kill him. ()

Mayweather also was part of a landing party on Terra Nova, a lost Earth colony which had had no contact with Earth for many years. The landing party was greeted with hostility by the Novans. Mayweather analyzed a communications tower which contained a message indicating that the colonists blamed Earth for an attack that had poisoned their atmosphere. The crew was able to convince them otherwise, and relocated them due to the fact that their underground water supply was also contaminated. ()

Together with Malcolm Reed, Mayweather became one of the first two Humans to walk on a comet. He and Reed became stranded, and were saved by the Vulcans, who had tractor beam technology. ()

Enterprise intervened when a freighter manned by Humans sought revenge against Nausicaan pirates. The ship was extremely similar to the one Mayweather had grown up on. He gave a tour of Enterprise to one of the crew, Matthew Ryan, in order to show how far he had come. Instead, Ryan chastised Mayweather for leaving his family ship in order to seek glory. Despite this, Mayweather was later able to convince Ryan to halt his attempted attack on a Nausicaan ship by pointing out that his actions would actually endanger other freighter crews by encouraging the Nausicaans to seek vengeance for Ryan's attack. ()

Mayweather was also arrested and jailed with Archer in a Tandaran prison camp for the Suliban. They were accused of collaborating with the Suliban against the Tandarans, who were at war with the Suliban. The Suliban who were being held were detainees, and innocent of any crimes or acts of war. Mayweather's preconceptions of the Suliban were changed because of the time he spent with them in the camp. He was beaten up by the Tandaran guards but he and Archer then helped the heretofore imprisoned Suliban escape. ()

When some of the crew were captured by a mysterious entity that had slipped on board from a Kreetassan ship that had recently docked with Enterprise, Mayweather was the only senior staff member available to apologise to the Kreetassans for the crew's "offense" of eating in public in the mess hall, assuring the Kreetassan captain that the Humans had no idea that such an action would be offensive to their visitors. The Kreetassan captain accepted his apology, and provided Enterprise with coordinates for the entity's homeworld. ()

During a rest stop on Risa, Mayweather was injured in a rock climbing accident at Galartha where the cliff face changes pitch while you climb. He almost died when given medication by the planet's doctors. After being shuttled back to Enterprise, Dr. Phlox cured him. ()

He and Archer aided T'Pol in the capture of a Vulcan rogue agent named Menos who had become an arms dealer. When Menos proclaimed that he was innocent, Mayweather discovered Menos was hauling large containers of bio-toxins hidden by a force field. () 

In 2152, Mayweather's skills as a pilot came in handy when he had to traverse a deadly Romulan minefield in space. A mine had attached itself to the hull, and when Malcolm Reed tried to disarm it, a spike punched out of the mine and through Reed's leg, pinning him to the ship's hull. Mayweather had to pilot the ship through the minefield, but as gently as possible, while Archer attempted to free Reed. He also had to avoid a Romulan ship that was attacking Enterprise. ()

After the Starfleet vessel was damaged by the minefield, its crew took Enterprise to an automated repair station. Mayweather was found dead, during the course of repairs. While conducting an autopsy on the corpse, Phlox discovered that the body was not actually Mayweather, but a duplicate. Searching the station, the crew found Mayweather suspended from harnesses with electrodes in his brain. The station was using his synaptic pathways, along with those of other humanoids, as part of its program. The crew was able to free him and escape the station. ()

Later in the year, Mayweather helped in bringing a 's cloaking device on-line, so it could be used to rescue Archer and Reed, who were sentenced to death on a planet they had visited. A pass near a black hole affected the crew members due to heavy radiation, causing obsessive behavior. Mayweather went to Phlox because of a headache, and Phlox wanted to do brain surgery. He knocked Mayweather out, and would have operated if T'Pol had not intervened. Mayweather also helped rescue a group of Denobulan scientists from the planet , whose government had ordered all aliens off the planet. ()

When Takret military personnel boarded Enterprise to capture refugees, Archer ordered Mayweather to steer the ship into a destructive eddy, in order to force the Takret from the ship. After they left, it was Mayweather's superior piloting that saved the ship from the eddy. ()

He and Reed lead a rescue party to save Archer and Tucker from a penal colony ship transporting the latter officers to Canamar. During an attempted takeover of not only Enterprise but also of the crew member's bodies by alien entities, it was Mayweather who discovered a method of protecting the crew. As he was chased by an alien wisp, the alien did not enter the catwalk, because there was a component that repelled it. Hearing this, Archer ordered all unaffected crew members to the catwalk. ()

Near the end of the year, Mayweather paid a return visit to the Horizon, the ship he had been born and raised on. There, he came into conflict with his brother, Paul. Their father had just died and Travis' brother, Paul, had taken over as captain. The ship was being attacked by pirates who had attached a homing device to it. Paul intended to dump some of the cargo and try to make it to their next stop. Without Paul's knowledge, Travis made upgrades to the ship, including to its weapons system. When the alien ship arrived, it not only wanted the cargo but the ship, also. With the new upgrades, the Horizon was able to defeat the pirates and protect itself. The two brothers then reconciled their differences. ()

Immediately before entering the Delphic Expanse, Enterprise was pursued by a . Mayweather used a fearless maneuver to position Enterprise behind the Klingon ship, which Enterprise destroyed, before continuing on its mission. ()

The Xindi mission
Mayweather's skills as a pilot were invaluable during the mission. He was able to steer the ship through the Delphic Expanse into Xindi territory.

While mining for trellium-D, a substance that could protect Enterprise from the Expanse's anomalies, they were nearly destroyed by a massive asteroid and had to return to the ship. ()

During an encounter with a Xindi-Insectoid hatchery, Archer was infected with a neurotoxin that rendered him delusional. He believed he was the caretaker of the Insectoid eggs, and endangered the ship. He relieved the senior officers and placed the MACOs in command. Mayweather, along with the other officers, retook the ship, and Archer was treated and cured. ()

Mayweather piloted a  and helped tow Enterprise out of a polaric field where it had become stuck. ()

Mayweather and Charles Tucker III tried to scan the Xindi weapon from a salvaged Xindi shuttle. Mayweather discovered the location of the weapon, which was underwater. He was able to collect information, but as they returned, Enterprise was attacked by the Xindi and Archer was captured. After the attack, Mayweather discovered a message from Degra aboard an escape pod that Archer used to escape the Xindi. Degra wished to meet with Archer. ()

During Archer's meeting with the Xindi Council, Mayweather accompanied Sub-Commander T'Pol, Lieutenant Malcolm Reed and MACO Corporal F. Hawkins to a sphere to try and gather information about the Sphere-Builders, aliens behind the Xindi plan to attack Earth. During the inspection, the sphere's defenses came on-line and Hawkins was killed, but Mayweather, T'Pol and Reed escaped. Mayweather piloted Enterprise to Sphere 41 on a mission to eliminate the Sphere-Builders. ()

The return
When Archer was captured by aliens who were trying to change the timeline by helping the Nazis conquer America in 1944, Mayweather was sent on a rescue mission. He and Tucker were captured and used as hostages in order to get to Archer, who had escaped. They were able to foil the aliens' plan and the timeline was restored. Following the restoration of the timeline, Enterprise returned to Earth, to a hero's welcome. However, while the starship remained at the planet, Mayweather defended Phlox against a xenophobic man who attacked Phlox in a bar. ()

During the Vulcan Awakening, Mayweather was sent to rescue Archer and T'Pol from The Forge on . He was unsuccessful, as he had to turn back, due to Vulcan attacks. His body was taken over by aliens, who wished to observe and experience Human ways. ()

Mayweather met with an old romantic friend, Gannet, during the first conference to set up a coalition of planets. She was exposed as a spy for Terra Prime, an organization dedicated to removing all aliens from the planet. It was later revealed that she was a double agent working for Starfleet Command. Mayweather helped foil the Terra Prime plot to sabotage the conference, at one point managing a difficult shuttlepod flight from space to the surface of Mars. ()

Travis continued to serve aboard Enterprise until 2161, when the ship was decommissioned shortly before the signing of the Federation Charter. During this time, he was seen to still be wearing the rank insignia of an ensign. While en route to Earth, Enterprise took a brief detour to Rigel X to rescue Talla, the daughter of Shran, an Andorian and former member of the Imperial Guard who the Enterprise crew had crossed paths with, many times before. Mayweather was among the participants in the rescue efforts, which were a success. However, soon after he and his shipmates returned to Enterprise, Commander Tucker was forced to sacrifice himself to save Captain Archer when Talla's kidnappers boarded the ship.

A few days later, Mayweather was in attendance at the historic founding ceremony of what would become the United Federation of Planets. He had been offered an assignment by Captain Stillwell but had postponed accepting the offer, pending Captain Archer's next assignment. ()

2161

Mayweather's template was used as part of an historical holodeck program depicting the final voyage of Enterprise NX-01 and her crew, a program that was available for use aboard Federation starships in the 24th century. Commander William T. Riker accessed this program aboard the  in 2370, in hopes that it would help him through a moral dilemma. In the program, Riker assumed the role of a MACO and joined Mayweather and the other crew members on the mission to rescue Shran's daughter. Riker also assumed the identity of the Enterprise chef and interacted with the holographic Mayweather, in order to learn more about Commander Tucker, whose sacrifice helped Riker realize the choice he had to make with his own dilemma. ()

Alternate realities and timelines

In the alternate timeline where Captain Jonathan Archer was infected by interspatial parasites, Mayweather was killed in a Xindi attack on Enterprise in 2154. ()

In a different timeline – in which Enterprise traveled to 2037 – Mayweather eventually married MACO Corporal J. McKenzie. This version of Mayweather had died by 2154. ()

Relationships

Family
Travis Mayweather's grandfather held the record of most number of simultaneous jobs aboard the Horizon: five, including two bridge positions.

Travis' mother, Rianna, was the medic and chief engineer aboard the Horizon. She often acted as "referee" between Travis and his brother, Paul, when the two got into arguments.

Travis' father became captain of the Horizon when he was a year younger than Paul was in 2153. Travis was expected to carry on as the freighter's captain and his father was not happy with his son's decision to join Starfleet. The two ended up parting on bad terms. That, however, did not prevent the father from whole-heartedly recommending Mayweather for the helm position on Enterprise. Nonetheless, the two barely spoke with each other, since Travis left in 2149.

Another family member Travis alienated by joining Starfleet was his brother, Paul. He believed Travis had abandoned his family to serve with Starfleet, leaving despite the fact that their father was ill.

Travis' father passed away in late 2152, about six weeks before Travis visited his family's ship while on leave from his tour of duty on Enterprise, in January of 2153. That visit was the first time he had seen his family in four years. During the visit, Travis came into conflict with his brother, now captain, as the ship was attacked by pirates. Paul felt slighted when Travis attempted to make upgrades to the ship's systems without his permission. Travis felt that Paul was not ready to be captain. The dangerous encounter with the marauding aliens forced the brothers to work together and brought them closer. ()

Friends

Nora
One of Mayweather's childhood friends, while growing up on the Horizon, was Nora. In their youth, the two of them got into trouble, on at least one occasion, for turning off the ship's gravity plating and jumping on their beds in their quarters. ()

Juan
Another friend aboard the Horizon was Juan. Even into adulthood, Juan refused to let Travis forget the incident in which the latter had been trapped inside a cargo container. ()

Romance
Mayweather was romantically involved with reporter Gannet Brooks at some point before his assignment to Enterprise. Brooks tried to keep Mayweather from accepting a position aboard the ship. Eventually, she and Mayweather made a mutual decision to end their relationship.

Brooks was present at the talks for the formation of the Coalition of Planets when she met Mayweather at the ceremony. The two become romantically involved again. Brooks stated that she wanted her relationship with Mayweather to continue. She told him she was now a reporter and wanted to visit Enterprise. During a tour of the ship, Travis and Brooks slipped into a shuttlepod, where they could be alone. Brooks told Mayweather that she was still attracted to him and began kissing him.

After the couple spent some time in the shuttlepod, they returned to Mayweather's quarters, but Gannet was arrested as a spy for Terra Prime and was consequently thrown in the vessel's brig. Later, it was revealed that she was working undercover for Starfleet Intelligence.

After this incident, Brooks stated that she could not give up her job, and since Travis was not willing to leave Enterprise, they parted yet again. ()

Hobbies and interests 
Besides piloting, Travis also had an interest in rock climbing and spelunking. His experience with these activities allowed him to be chosen by Captain Archer to assist Tucker and Reed in rescuing Denobulan geologists from the caverns beneath . His assistance not only allowed the other two officers to rescue the Denobulans, but his quick thinking also saved their lives, albeit at the cost of a broken leg. ()

Mayweather was also known to play practical jokes from time to time. He once tricked Hoshi into attempting to communicate with strawberry gelatin by telling her it was a gelatinous lifeform. ()

In contrast to some of the crew, Mayweather expressed curiosity about the possibility of going through a transporter for the first time, speculating about the reported feeling of being in two places at once when the subject was mid-transport. ()

Appendices

Appearances

Background information 
Travis Mayweather was played by actor Anthony Montgomery.

The character of Mayweather was invented by  creators and Executive Producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. The concept of the character stemmed from them deciding that, in an era when there were many Earth spaceships which were traveling extremely slowly, the first people born in space were probably in their twenties by the time the series began, in 2151. Braga later said, "The idea of a space boomer came eventually [...] and so we decided to have someone on the ship, Travis Mayweather, who knows space travel better than anybody [...] although Mayweather is very young and a wide-eyed enthusiast." ()

Originally, Mayweather was intended to have the first name "Joe" and the rank of lieutenant. At that stage of development, a character description of him was written in the ENT series bible. There, he was described as "African-American. Helmsman. Mid-twenties. A unique product of 22nd century life, Mayweather was raised on a long range transport vessel. 'I was born and conceived during a two year run somewhere between Alpha Centauri and Artcuris Prime.' As a result, Joe is more 'interstellar' than even the Captain. He's travelled to dozens of planets and met many different alien species [....] Mayweather knows the best place on a ship to watch the stars rush by, or feel the vibrations from a passing pulsar. He prefers to sleep in a 'zero-g' environment. Every night before he goes to bed, he deactivates the gravity plating in his quarters, and his cocoon-like hammock floats up on its tether. Mayweather will prove to be a valued member of the crew, a talented pilot with an 'instinct' for space-travel that few humans possess. This will help Captain Archer through situations where intellect and protocol alone won't suffice."

While Mayweather was still planned to have the first name "Joe" and the rank of lieutenant, a character breakdown sheet sent from Paramount to talent agents, upon seeking an actor to play the role, described the character thus; "Helmsman. African American. Mid to late 20s. A unique product of 22nd Century life, Mayweather was raised on cargo ships. As a result Joe is more 'interstellar' than even the Captain. He's traveled to dozens of planets and met many different alien species. Mayweather has an 'instinct' for space-travel that few humans possess." 

In the series bible and the character breakdown, Mayweather was described as having a very close friendship with Tucker, who was originally given the rank of commander and was actually identified as Mayweather's closest friend in the latter document. The series bible commented about the pair, "Similar in age, rank and spirit, these two men will spend their off-duty hours finding new ways to enjoy life in space. Whether they're test-flying a new shuttlecraft, or exploring the possibilities of interspecies 'dating,' they're always looking for the next adventure." The same document also referred to Mayweather having once had a Terrelian girlfriend and Tucker being endlessly fascinated by that. In describing the friendship between the two males, the character breakdown took its cue somewhat from the series bible. However, partly because Tucker's rank had been changed to commander, the description of their bond was slightly different, merely stating, "Similar in age and spirit these two will spend their off-duty hours finding new ways to enjoy life in space."  Shortly following the start of ENT Season 1, Brannon Braga commented about Mayweather, "We're finding that he's kind of a buddy for Trip." Braga also remarked that, due to Mayweather having much more experience of alien cultures, there was "an interesting dynamic" between him and Tucker. ()

Mayweather's first name was eventually switched from "Joe" to "Travis". The change was listed as one of six revisions of character names in a one-page "script note" at the start of the final draft script of ENT pilot episode  (the page was dated ).

By the time the revised final draft script of "Broken Bow" was submitted (on 11 May 2001), even though Mayweather's first name had changed to "Travis", his rank remained that of lieutenant. When he was introduced in the same draft of the teleplay, he was described thus; "Mayweather is an African-American in his 20's."  Subsequent script sources usually used Mayweather's surname to refer to him, even in the script of , the episode which most predominantly features other members of the Mayweather family.

Later, it was decided the character's rank would be reduced to ensign. Montgomery prepared to portray the character by researching previous Star Trek episodes. Upon requesting advice from the production crew about which installments to watch, Montgomery told the members of creative personnel, "I want helmsman episodes because I'm the helmsman!" ()

Early in the series run of Star Trek: Enterprise, Anthony Montgomery felt Mayweather had a similar personality to his own but was unsure how Mayweather should change, apart from continuing to develop. "I haven't thought about what I'd like them to do with him," the actor conceded. "I just want him to keep growing – I never want to come to the set and just go, 'OK, an ion storm up ahead, captain!' As long as I can keep discovering things, I don't really care where the character goes. As long as we fit in this Star Trek universe, I'm fine. Travis is going to have some fun; don't worry about that!" ()

According to a deleted scene from the episode , Travis once traveled from a planet called Livinius to another called Belarn Prime as a child aboard the Horizon. The distance between the planets was two and a half light years, a voyage that lasted nine months, during which time the cargo ship made no contact with anyone else. His mother and the First Officer taught Travis and the other children on board how to play a geography/alphabet game to keep them occupied. This scene can be found on the ENT Season 1 DVD.

In dialogue that was included in the final draft script of  but not in the final version of that episode, Mayweather told a Suliban girl named Narra that he lived on Earth. However, this is not true of his backstory.

In a similarly omitted line of dialogue from the final draft script of , Mayweather used the term "practice makes perfect". If the line had been included in the final version of the episode, Mayweather would have become the only character in the entire Star Trek franchise to use that phrase in canon.

Reception 
One of the criticisms of Enterprise was that characters like Mayweather were not developed as much as other characters on the series. For example, in the reference book Beyond the Final Frontier (p. 380), critics Mark Jones and Lance Parkin remarked that Mayweather had been "practically invisible" during ENT Season 2.

According to author David Greven, "Ensign Travis Mayweather, the helmsman, is African American and a complete blank, rarely given even one non-technobabble line an episode; without the slightest exaggeration, it is entirely accurate to say that Nichelle Nichols's Uhura on Original Trek had more lines of dialog." (Gender and Sexuality in Star Trek, p. 123)

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