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 starship s , Mayweather could fly nearly any make or model . During his childhood , he visited several planet s and moon s , 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 . ( ) 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 Deltan s . 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 pilot ing 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 captain s 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 ) Elizabeth 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 found a transmission tower which contained a message indicating that the colonists blamed Earth for an attack that had poison ed 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 Vulcan s , who had tractor beam technology . ( ) " Enterprise " intervened when a freighter manned by Humans sought revenge against Nausicaan pirate s . 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 Cabal . The Suliban who were being held were detainees , and innocent of any crime s 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 ' offence ' 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 doctor s . 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 humanoid s , 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 scientist s from the planet , whose government had ordered all alien s off the planet . ( ) When Takret military personnel boarded " Enterprise " to capture refugee s , 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 transport ing 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 weapon s 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 Klingon Bird - of - Prey . 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 egg s , and endangered the ship . He relieved the senior officers and placed the MACO s in command . Mayweather , along with the other officers , retook the ship , and Archer was treated and cured . ( ) Mayweather piloted a shuttle 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 salvage d 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 - Builder s , 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 Nazi s 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 Brooks , 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 parasite s , 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 geologist s from the cave rns 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 joke s 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 . 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 travelled 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 year s , a voyage that lasted nine month s , 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 " " had more lines of dialog . " " ( " Gender and Sexuality in Star Trek " , p . 123 )