Charles Tucker III

Commander Charles Tucker III, known affectionately as "Trip" Tucker, was a 22nd century Human male Starfleet officer. He served for ten years as the chief engineer and Second officer of Earth's first warp 5-capable starship, , under the command of his best friend, Captain Jonathan Archer. ()
== Childhood ==
Born in 2121, Charles Tucker III grew up in Panama City, Florida. () He was born with a birthmark on the right side of his body. () Tucker acquired the nickname "Trip" because he was the third (the "triple") Tucker to be named "Charles", after his father and grandfather. ()
As a child, Tucker read The War of the Worlds with his mother. Growing up, he always wanted to be a starship captain, but his father thought he should be an engineer while his mother thought he should be an architect. ()
At the age of seven, Tucker's mother bought him a copy of Emory Erickson: Father of the Transporter, and he made her read it to him every night for a month. It was his childhood admiration for Emory Erickson that made him finally decide that he wanted to be an engineer. () As Tucker later recalled, he was extremely skilled at taking things apart, but not so good at putting them back together. ()
Tucker used to take his younger sister, Elizabeth, to a movie theater near their house. He later remembered that she would "scream like a banshee" if he didn't take her. () Tucker once put a garden snake in his sister's doll house, and his family once had a large dog named Bedford. ()
On several occasions, Tucker went on camping trips with his friends. They would spend half the night looking up at the stars and wondering what Earth's sun would look like from a distant planet. ()
During his early childhood, Tucker attended Bayshore Elementary, where he attended his first dance. He knew before the event that Melissa Lyles, a girl who he had a crush on, would be there, and spent weeks practicing dance steps with his brother in preparation for the event. On the night of the dance, Melissa wore a red dress, and Tucker believed she was the prettiest girl there. He desperately wanted to ask her to dance with him, but he was not courageous enough to approach her. Tucker caught the girl looking at him a few times, but he eventually ended up standing in a corner with his friends. Twenty years later, he still regretted not asking the girl to dance. ()
In Tucker's tenth grade biology class, a Vulcan scientist who the children referred to as "Mr. Velik" came to teach the class about life on other worlds. Tucker, who had never seen a Vulcan up close before, was terrified of the teacher. Velik often reminded his students, "Challenge your preconceptions or they'll challenge you." Tucker went on to associate this advice with his memory of Velik. ()
During the late 2130s, Tucker used to drive his car out to Chatkin Point, park along the shoreline, and stare at the moon with his girlfriend. He later compared the size of his first car to that of a Retellian escape pod. ()
According to Tucker, his grandmother taught him to never judge a species by their eating habits. () His personal favorite food was pan-fried catfish with hushpuppies. () Tucker had no allergies that he knew of. ()
== Starfleet Career ==
=== Early career ===
Trip was self-taught, having learned engineering from working on boat engines. Tucker first joined Starfleet in 2139, at which time he lived in Sausalito, a few blocks from the Vulcan Compound. He subsequently recalled that he "got into a lot of trouble" at Starfleet Training Command. ()
By 2143, Tucker was a member of Captain Jefferies' engineering team, with the rank of lieutenant. After the destruction of warp-2 prototype vessel NX-Alpha in that year, Tucker met Commander Jonathan Archer. He later assisted Archer and A.G. Robinson in stealing a backup warp-2 prototype vessel, the NX-Beta, in an attempt to prove to Starfleet Command that the engine design was sound. () Shortly thereafter, Tucker taught Archer how to scuba dive off the coast of Florida. ()
Tucker did his survival training during two weeks in the Australian Outback in a group that included Archer. () Additional Starfleet training simulations familiarized Tucker with mind-altering agents. ()
In 2147, Tucker was on Titan as part of the Omega training mission, together with Archer. A malfunction with Tucker's environmental suit occurred on Titan's surface, so Tucker desperately tried to take off his helmet, but Archer saved his life by preventing him from doing so. ()
=== Chief engineer of the Enterprise NX-01 ===
By 2151, Tucker held the rank of commander. Renowned as a gifted orbital engineer, he first served aboard the starship as chief engineer. His quarters were on B Deck, in one of the starboard sections. ()
He experienced existence in a weightless environment when Ensign Travis Mayweather showed him the "sweet spot" on Enterprise. Aboard the starship, one of Tucker's self-appointed responsibilities was overseeing movie night. Tucker took part in the efforts to return the Klingon Klaang to his homeworld with information that could avert a civil war, and he and the rest of the crew came into conflict with the , who were attempting to ignite a war on orders from a strange humanoid from the future. The mission was successful. ()
Tucker was part of the away team that became infected by the pollen of the plant life on a deserted planet Enterprise was exploring. The pollen caused paranoid and delusional behavior in the away team; Tucker thought that each member was trying to kill him. ()
In the course of first contact with the Xyrillians, Tucker boarded their ship to fix their engines. The physical environment was considerably different from his usual and Tucker found acclimatisation difficult. During his stay on their ship, he developed a relationship with Ah'len, an engineer. After the ship left, Tucker discovered he was pregnant. Although he had not knowingly had a sexual encounter, a game he and Ah'len played that enabled them to read each other's minds may have served as a medium to transfer genetic material. While Tucker was the first Human male to become pregnant, as well as the first known Human participant in interspecies reproduction, Doctor Phlox said the embryo was not technically Tucker's child, but that he was simply serving as a host. When the ship was tracked down, the embryo was successfully transferred to another host. ()
While visiting a Vulcan monastery at P'Jem, Tucker, along with Captain Archer and Sub-Commander T'Pol, became involved in a dispute between the Andorians and Vulcans. He was held hostage along with the others until they were rescued by Lieutenant Malcolm Reed. It was that the monastery was a front for a listening post operated by the Vulcans. ()
Tucker gave a tour of Enterprise to a group of Borothan pilgrims that included Silik, who was in disguise and tried to sabotage the ship. ()
On a mission to Coridan, Tucker and Reed attempted to rescue Archer and T'Pol from rebel forces but were captured themselves. They were freed by the Andorian Shran and his men, who helped Tucker and Reed rescue T'Pol and Archer. ()
Tucker and Reed became stranded in a after they mistakenly believed Enterprise was destroyed when they found debris at the coordinates where they were supposed to meet the ship. In reality, the debris was from another ship, the crew of which Enterprise had rescued and was transporting back to their planet. With their air running out, Tucker jettisoned the impulse engines as a flare, which Enterprise saw and thus was able to come to their rescue. ()
The Ferengi hijacked Enterprise after rendering the crew unconscious. Tucker, who was in a sealed compartment, was not affected. He woke T'Pol, and both worked to play the Ferengi against each other, trapping them and regaining control of the ship. ()
Tucker was captured by a symbiotic creature that had stowed away on Enterprise. The creature integrated Tucker's nervous system along with other crewmembers it captured into its system, but after the crew learned that the creature wished to return home to reunite with its main host, it released Tucker and the others. ()
Tucker, as part of an away team to salvage an abandoned ship on a planet, found that there was a settlement there. They were called the Kantare; after their ship crashed, they were stranded on the planet. Tucker became romantically involved with Liana, but it was discovered that the settlement was a hologram created by Liana's father, Ezral, to keep his daughter company. ()
Tucker and Archer, after helping to repair Zobral's ship, were invited to visit his village. Zobral was a rebel fighting against an oppressive government, and when the village was attacked, Tucker and Archer became stranded in a vast desert until they were rescued with help from Zobral. ()
While on shore leave on Risa, Tucker and Reed were robbed by two beautiful aliens who turned out to be morphs using their disguises to lure their victims. ()
When Enterprise was captured by Silik and the Suliban, and Archer was transported to the future by , Tucker helped retake engineering, restore the timeline, and return Archer to his own time. Required to build quantum beacons, Tucker was forced to learn quantum engineering at a level beyond his training. ()
While attempting to discover the powers of an automated repair station Enterprise had entered, Tucker was transported off the station back to Enterprise to stop the investigation. He later discovered that the station was using humanoid lifeforms to power its computer. ()
Tucker was affected by a black hole's radiation, and became obsessed with fixing Archer's captain's chair. ()
Tucker trained miners in self-defense on a planet the Klingons were pillaging. He befriended a young child on the planet, and gave him a tour of Enterprise. ()
Tucker rescued Archer and Reed from a planet that had given them a death sentence and modified a with a cloaking device to save them. While doing so, however, he accidentally "cloaked" his right forearm. ()
Tucker saved an alien princess, Kaitaama, from kidnappers, and had a brief romantic relationship with her during the rescue. ()
Tucker became stranded on a barren moon with an Arkonian who had tried to shoot his shuttle down. At first, they tried to kill each other but realized that the only way they could survive was to cooperate. Zho'Kaan's dehydration was causing cellular breakdown, which made using the transporter not an option. Tucker refused to leave him and cared for him until a modified Arkonian shuttle rescued them. ()
When three aliens who boarded Enterprise warned that a deadly neutronic wavefront was quickly approaching and the crew needed to take shelter to be protected from the storm's deadly radiation, Tucker suggested that the one heavily shielded place on board that might suffice for the eight-day ordeal was the cramped quarters of the catwalk, the maintenance shaft that ran the length of each nacelle. While they were in the catwalk, alien intruders attempted to steal Enterprise, and Tucker helped drive them off. ()
During a stop at a medical conference, Tucker met Feezal, Phlox's wife. Feezal became attracted to him and tried to seduce him, and when Tucker told Phlox about this, he was told by Phlox that he should have taken advantage of Feezal's offer. While assembling a neutron microscope Feezal delivered, Tucker bragged he could put back together just about any equipment he had ever met. () Later, Tucker and Reed discovered that a derelict ship Enterprise salvaged was from the future. Even the few papers he read on spatial geometry could not explain the ship's dimensions. ()
While investigating an alien ship, Tucker's body was invaded by an alien wisp that began to control his actions. They planned to take over the bodies of the crew and steal Enterprise. ()
The Vulcans and Andorians were again involved in a dispute over a planet, Weytahn. While Archer tried to mediate the dispute, Tucker, commanding Enterprise, stopped the ships of both sides from engaging in battle when he steered Enterprise between the two fleets, giving Archer time to settle the dispute. ()
Tucker and Archer were unjustly sentenced to the penal colony of Canamar. A prisoner, Kuroda, took over the ship and enlisted Tucker and Archer's help in escaping. His plan was to transport off the ship to another he was meeting, and crash the ship along with the other prisoners and guards. Tucker and Archer foiled his plan, and were rescued by Enterprise. ()
Tucker led an away team to rescue three Denobulan geologists from the planet . The government had ordered all aliens to leave their world immediately, and Tucker had to persuade the geologists to leave. ()
Tucker's encounter with the Vissians proved costly. The Vissians used a cogenitor, a third gender, to reproduce; these cogenitors were treated as an inferior class with no rights. After meeting with a cogenitor, Tucker found that it had the same mental capabilities as the other Vissians, and took it upon himself to convince the cogenitor he met to fight for her rights. He also secretly taught the cogenitor how to read, play go, and educated it about its rights as an individual. The cogenitor chose the name "Charles" for itself, in honor of Tucker. Later, it asked for asylum on Enterprise, which, after several meetings, was denied. Archer finally decided that granting asylum would ruin any chance of Starfleet making successful trade with the Vissians. Several days later, Tucker was informed that the cogenitor had killed itself and blamed himself for the suicide. ()
Tucker was devastated to learn that his sister, Elizabeth, was killed in the Xindi attack on Earth. ()
=== The Xindi mission ===
Tucker became bitter after his sister's death and was full of hatred and revenge. His mental state led to many sleepless nights. Phlox tricked Tucker into taking Vulcan neuro-pressure from T'Pol; this helped him sleep properly, and moved his relationship with T'Pol to another level. Tucker's first contact with the Xindi occurred at a mining camp where a Xindi, Kessick, was rescued. Kessick was killed in the escape but gave the coordinates of the Xindi homeworld before he died. ()
An away team consisting of Captain Archer, T'Pol, Lieutenant Reed, and Ensign Hoshi Sato was endangered on the homeworld of the extinct Loque'eque race when a virus left on the planet mutated Archer, Reed and Sato into the lost species. When another alien race landed on the planet, determined to exterminate any of these species, Tucker led a MACO team to stop the alien exterminators and rescue the away team. ()
Tucker and T'Pol tried to replicate trellium-D, a substance that would protect Enterprise from the Delphic Expanse's deadly anomalies. The attempt ended in an explosion. ()
Tucker attempted to "rewrite the book on warp theory" once he realized the Cochrane equation wasn't constant in the Expanse, with spatial gradients destabilizing the warp field. Eventually, he succeeded, as he rerouted the system taps, compressing the antimatter stream before it entered the injectors, thus stabilizing the warp field. ()
Tucker was badly injured, ending up in a coma, due to a primary injector flare during an encounter with a polaric field. He was cloned using a mimetic simbiot in an attempt to harvest brain tissue from the clone to save his life. The clone, Sim, attempted to escape Enterprise to save his own life but decided against it at the last minute and allowed Phlox to transplant the tissue even though it meant his death. ()
After recovering a small craft in the Expanse with an unknown alien in it, Tucker determined that the alien was a test subject to see what effects the atmosphere would have on it. This was the first indication that an alien force was behind the Xindi and their attack on Earth. ()
After coming in contact with a Xindi-Insectoid ship, Tucker questioned Archer's ability to captain Enterprise after Archer had been infected with a toxin that made him believe he was the caretaker to the eggs of the Xindi-Insectoids and was endangering the mission. Tucker led the crew in a mutiny to retake the ship from Archer before he could be cured. ()
Tucker piloted a captured Xindi-Insectoid shuttle and discovered the location of the Xindi weapon. In the battle of Azati Prime, Enterprise took heavy damage and lost eighteen crewmen. Tucker was terribly affected, and it did not help when he had to compose letters to the families of the slain crewmembers, a task that reminded him of his sister's death. To make matters even worse for Tucker, he found it extremely difficult to forgive Degra, one of the Council members of the Xindi who had designed the Xindi weapon, and had a couple of tension-filled encounters with him, as Archer was trying to gain Degra's trust. Eventually, however, the experience of consoling others helped Tucker finally deal with Elizabeth's death. ()
Tucker helped steal the primary warp coil of an Illyrian ship to replace Enterprises after it was damaged in the Battle of Azati Prime. ()
After an accident using Xindi subspace corridors, Enterprise met its future counterpart. Enterprises counterpart was captained by Lorian, the son of Tucker and T'Pol. The crew of the future Enterprise helped Enterprise keep an appointment with Degra, so peace could be discussed. ()
Tucker played a large role in the final battle with the Xindi. He destroyed one of the spheres that disrupted the energy field that the Sphere-Builders, who were behind the Xindi attack, were using to help the Xindi; this gave time for Archer and the MACOs to board the weapon, destroy it and save Earth. ()
=== The return home ===
After traveling back in time to 1944, Tucker was assaulted by Silik, who stole a shuttle. The time shift was part of the Temporal Cold War. Tucker and Reed returned to Earth to try and rescue Archer but were captured by Nazis and their alien allies, the Na'kuhl. The Na'kuhl were trying to change history by helping the Nazis win World War II. Fortunately, the plot was foiled, and the timeline was restored. ()
On returning home to a hero's welcome, Tucker faced heartbreak when he traveled to and witnessed T'Pol's marriage to Koss. ()
He also gave an interview where he stated he couldn't see himself serving on any other starship other than the Enterprise. ()
In May 2154, the Augment crisis began. Dr. Arik Soong had genetically-engineered Human embryos; reaching adulthood, these Augments attacked a Klingon ship and killed the crew. When the Klingons demanded justice, was dispatched to capture the Augments, with Soong on board to help them. After T'Pol was captured by the Orions and sent to a slave market, Tucker was able to decode a neural restraint and free her. He discovered that the Augments had captured Cold Station 12, where other Augment embryos were stored, and took part in the operation to retake the Augments' ship and stop the threat. ()
Following the destruction of Earth's embassy on Vulcan, Archer and T'Pol searched for the Syrrannites, who were believed to be the perpetrators, on Vulcan's surface, leaving Tucker temporarily in command of Enterprise. With help from Ambassador Soval, Tucker uncovered a conspiracy in which the Vulcan High Command attempted to cover up the bombing as well as launching a preemptive strike against the Andorians, who they believed had constructed a devastating weapon based on Xindi technology. Tucker warned Shran, and participated in the engagement between the Vulcan and Andorian fleets. ()
Tucker was infected with a silicon-based virus while part of a landing party on a planet's surface, looking for salvage amongst Klingon waste. Although Tucker initially died due to the virus, he was resurrected by two Organian observers, who were watching the crew's reaction to the virus. ()
On November 12, 2154, Enterprise was escorting a group of Tellarites to a conference with the Andorians to settle long-standing disputes. However, the Andorian ship was destroyed by what appeared to be a Tellarite ship. Among the survivors was Shran. The Tellarites denied any involvement, and then Enterprise was attacked by an Andorian ship. In reality, the ship was a Romulan drone ship piloted by a neural interface. This was an attempt by the Romulans to start a war among potential allies. Tucker and Reed transported over to the ship and discovered that it was unmanned. They attempted to sabotage the ship and after doing so, ejected out into space where they could be transported back aboard Enterprise. Tucker built a telepresence unit for Enterprise to prepare it for battle against the Romulan drone ships. The Romulans' plot was foiled with the cooperation of Humans, Tellarites, and Andorians; this would be the foundation for a federation of planets. ()
=== Chief engineer of the Columbia NX-02 ===
Tucker transferred from Enterprise to due to his feelings for T'Pol. He later returned to Enterprise to help them deal with the Klingons, who faced extinction due to a genetic virus caused by their experiments with Augment DNA. () Tucker transferred back to Enterprise permanently shortly after an encounter with Orion females who attempted to take over the ship by influencing the minds of the male crew; he proved to be immune due to his new-found psychic bond with T'Pol. ()
=== Return to Enterprise ===
Terra Prime, a xenophobic terrorist faction led by John Frederick Paxton, threatened to disrupt a conference to form a coalition of planets and had created a clone using the DNA of Tucker and T'Pol, with the plan of using the child to stir anti-alien feelings. When Tucker and T'Pol tried to infiltrate Terra Prime, they were captured and taken to a secret base on Mars. From there, Paxton threatened to attack Starfleet Headquarters with a laser cannon unless all aliens left the Sol system. Tucker tried to sabotage the weapons system but was discovered and thrown into a cell. He escaped and was able to meet with a team from Enterprise who had come to rescue him and T'Pol. Tucker led them to Paxton's complex where they were able to deactivate his weapon and end his threat. Sadly, the child, whom T'Pol named "Elizabeth" after Tucker's deceased sister, died due to a flaw in the procedure used in her creation. It was initially believed that the causa mortis was an incompatibility between the Vulcan and Human DNA, a hypothesis Doctor Phlox shortly afterward determined to be wrong. ()
=== Later career and 'death' ===
Tucker continued serving as chief engineer aboard Enterprise until 2161, when the ship was scheduled to be decommissioned before the signing of the Federation Charter. En route to Earth to attend the founding ceremony of the alliance that would give birth to the United Federation of Planets, Enterprise made a detour to Rigel X to rescue Shran's daughter, Talla. Tucker participated in the rescue operation. Knowing Archer's importance to the upcoming ceremony, he attempted to persuade Archer to remain aboard Enterprise, as it was safer, but Archer insisted on joining the mission. Ironically, it was Tucker himself who was nearly killed on the mission when the catwalk he was on was shot out from under him. Fortunately, Archer was there to save him, and the mission was successful.
Unfortunately, according to Starfleet's official history, the victory ultimately came at the cost of Tucker's life. Shortly after Enterprise left Rigel X, Talla's abductors somehow managed to board the ship. When the alien trespassers threatened Archer, it is believed Tucker quickly thought up a plan to lure the aliens away from Archer. Despite orders from Archer to remain quiet, he insisted and persuaded one of the aliens to render Archer unconscious. With his captain safe and no longer in the way, Tucker lured the aliens away to a nearby plasma junction, which he claimed was a communications system that he would use to contact Shran to bring him to the aliens. With the intruders fooled, Tucker rigged the junction to explode, killing the alien trespassers. It is believed Tucker was also critically injured in the explosion and he ultimately died, having sacrificed himself for his captain. ()
=== Tucker's legacy ===
Following Tucker's sacrifice, Archer ultimately went on to be an instrumental figure in the formation of the United Federation of Planets.
In 2370, Commander William T. Riker of the used historical records of the events surrounding Tucker's death in a holodeck simulation to help sort through a personal moral crisis related to the , a ship he once served on. The historical events used in the program included the mission to Rigel X to save Shran's daughter and Talla's former captors storming Enterprise. After seeing Tucker give his life to save Captain Archer, disobeying Archer's orders in the process, Riker decided he, too, would do the right thing regardless of the cost. ()
Ensign Brad Boimler mentioned Tucker in 2380, comparing him to Lieutenant Jet Manhaver, specifically, that Manhaver was "like a Kirk sundae with Trip Tucker sprinkles." ()
== Personal interests ==
Tucker had many likes and interests, ranging from personal to professional, especially in the engineering field. He often enjoyed studying alien engines, or even certain Human ones. In 2151, Tucker was in awe of the Vulcan ship Ti'Mur and its ringed-engine drive. Unfortunately, Vulcan engine schematics were classified. Later that year, Tucker was interested in visiting the legendary Coridanite Fleet Yards, rumored to build starships capable of warp 7. Other alien species with engines he was particularly amazed by were those of Zobral's species and the Vissians. ()
Tucker was also interested in seeing the 's warp core in hopes that the rumors that Zefram Cochrane had personally signed the inside of the frame were true. ()
Tucker's favorite dessert was pecan pie. After a long day of work, Tucker said it was all worthwhile to come to the mess hall for a slice of it. He even suggested that T'Pol might like it. () On a separate occasion, he noted that his favorite dessert was key lime pie. ()
Tucker's favorite food was pan-fried catfish. His mother made it perfectly and if anyone asked his favorite food, Tucker would say that she would "give you the recipe for pan-fried catfish and not let you leave until you promised to cook it right." ()
Another of Tucker's favorite foods was Georgia peaches. Before leaving for the Delphic Expanse in 2153, he made sure to take a crate of them aboard, and also suggested that T'Pol might enjoy them as well. ()
Tucker occasionally watched water polo with Captain Archer, who seemed to have gotten him hooked on the sport as he didn't like it so much at first. () He enjoyed playing the harmonica in his spare time as well. ()
Another of Tucker's interests was ancient cinema. Upon signing on to Enterprise, he suggested they have a "movie night," which often served to help crew morale. Although, since he chose the movies, some of the crew often complained about his selecting what seemed like the same movie plots over and over, often from the middle of the 20th century. ()
Tucker's favorite film was and its two sequels, Bride of Frankenstein and Son of Frankenstein, which he deemed the "three greatest horror movies ever." He even kept an action figure of Frankenstein's monster in his quarters. ()
Hailing from Florida, Tucker went diving in the ocean before he joined Starfleet. He kept a picture of himself scuba diving in his quarters, as well as an old-style skin-diving suit helmet. ()
Some of the ancient books (on paper) Tucker kept copies of in his quarters included Gulliver's Travels, The Gorilla Hunters, and A Pictorial History of the American Indian. He was an experienced player of an ancient Chinese game called go. ()
== Personal relationships ==
=== Friendships ===
Tucker's initial job as first officer was to be the liaison between the captain and the crew. Even though the position was later given to Sub-Commander T'Pol, Tucker was still well-liked by most of his shipmates.
On the first day of Enterprises voyage, some friends in the mess hall invited him to sit with them for dinner, but he reminded them that he had plans: dinner with Captain Archer in the captain's mess. ()
==== Jonathan Archer ====
The two officers met when Jonathan Archer was a commander in the NX Program and Tucker was a lieutenant on Captain Jefferies' engineering team. After the first NX prototype, the NX-Alpha, was destroyed and the project was going to be canceled, Tucker and Archer teamed up with Commander A.G. Robinson to save the program. They launched the NX-Beta, the second NX prototype, without permission, and were ultimately successful. ()
Tucker and Archer began to develop a strong bond of friendship, enduring harsh survival training in the Australian Outback together and saving each other's lives many times. During an Omega training mission on Titan, Tucker's EV pack froze up and he got nitrogen narcosis. He tried to remove his helmet, but Archer ordered him to keep it on. Later, in 2152, Archer saved a delirious Tucker from heatstroke when they were stranded in the Torothan desert. Likewise, Tucker rescued and saved Archer's life quite a few times. He saved him from execution on a pre-warp alien planet after Archer and Lieutenant Malcolm Reed tried to find a communicator left behind. Tucker also rescued Archer from bounty hunters who wished to turn Archer over to the Klingons. ()
Tucker was always there when the captain needed cheering up. When Archer was depressed about Enterprises botched first contact with the Kreetassans, his chief engineer lightened the mood with a data module of the Stanford versus Texas water polo match. They ate their meals together and shared many interests. ()
This did not mean that their relationship was always stress-free. Tucker once interfered with the Vissians' customs; the Vissians used a third gender, called a cogenitor, for reproduction, and Tucker persuaded one such being that it was being treated unfairly. Archer was furious and told Tucker that he was in no position to judge the fairness of the Vissians' culture. When the cogenitor was later denied asylum on Enterprise and committed suicide, Archer told Tucker that he hoped he had learned his lesson about interfering. ()
==== Malcolm Reed ====
Tucker and Lieutenant Malcolm Reed formed an unlikely friendship. They were polar opposites: Reed was stuffy and all work as opposed to Tucker's zest for life. When the duo was stranded in a damaged for several days, they initially clashed but discovered that they had more in common than they thought. At one point, Tucker even tried to sacrifice himself so that Reed would have a better chance of survival. Luckily, they were both rescued by Enterprise. ()
Tucker and Reed shared a unique shore leave on the pleasure planet Risa when the two went in search of fun at a Risian nightclub and picked up two beautiful aliens. The women turned out to be morphs who robbed them, not only taking their money but also their clothes. Tucker and Reed managed to escape but promised not to tell their fellow crewmembers about the incident. ()
==== Hoshi Sato ====
Tucker was always jealous of how Ensign Hoshi Sato was able to hear only a few words of a language and suddenly speak it fluently. He and Sato got to know each other a little better while stuck in the decon chamber for several hours while infected with a silicon-based virus in 2154. ()
Tucker claimed that Sato was his wife when Enterprise was boarded by Ferengi raiders. ()
=== Family ===
Tucker was named after his father, Charles Tucker, Jr., and his grandfather, Charles Tucker, Sr. Both of his parents were alive as of 2161, living in Mississippi. ()
His grandma was known for doling out at least one piece of advice to her grandson during his lifetime, specifically to "never to judge a species by their eating habits." ()
Tucker practiced the two-step with his brother for weeks in preparation for a school dance. ()
Tucker stated in 2151 that his grandfather saw the first transmissions from Terra Nova as a child, sometime around 2078. ()
Also in 2151, Tucker had a nephew in the fourth grade, whose class sent drawings to the Enterprise crew. ()
==== Elizabeth "Lizzie" Tucker ====
Tucker was very close to his younger sister, Elizabeth ("Lizzie"), and was traumatically affected by her death in the Xindi attack in 2153. () He later recalled he had been so profoundly affected by her death that there were times when he just wanted to close up and retreat inside himself. ()
When Crewman Jane Taylor was killed in the Battle of Azati Prime, Tucker found it was his responsibility to write a letter to her family. While writing it, he kept transferring his feelings of loss from Lizzie to Jane, and mentioned how she "died too young." Eventually, Tucker was able to overcome this and finish the letter. ()
==== Elizabeth ====
Upon learning about the existence of his and T'Pol's daughter, Trip was initially surprised, but eventually warmed to the idea, noting that his father had always wanted a granddaughter. He demanded to see her when Paxton informed him the child was safe.
Later, after being informed of little Elizabeth's terminal genetic condition, he approved T'Pol's choice to name the baby Elizabeth after his sister, saying she would have liked that. He stood with T'Pol by Elizabeth's incubator until the child's death, after which he mourned her with tears. ()
==== Lorian ====
=== Romance ===
==== Natalie ====
Before Enterprise was launched, Tucker was dating a woman named Natalie, from Florida. He was unable to say goodbye to her before the ship launched, but wished he would have gotten the chance to, face to face, after receiving a Dear John letter. He said maybe he would get a chance to, when Enterprise headed home after being rendered defenseless by a mysterious alien vessel. ()
==== Ah'len ====
In mid-2151, Tucker had a brief, unintentional sexual encounter with a Xyrillian female named Ah'len, which resulted in Tucker's inadvertent impregnation. Ah'len assumed that Tucker would be physically incompatible with her people. Tucker became the first Human male to become pregnant, as well as the first known Human participant in interspecies reproduction. ()
==== Liana ====
Tucker had a brief encounter with the Kantare female Liana. ()
==== Kaitaama ====
Tucker had a brief encounter with Kaitaama, the newly selected First Monarch of Krios Prime. He rescued her from kidnappers, and during the escape, they became romantically involved. ()
==== Amanda Cole ====
Corporal Amanda Cole became attracted to Tucker, who had given Vulcan neuro-pressure to her because of headaches. Cole attempted to tell T'Pol that she had a great deal in common with Tucker and was very fond of him. ()
==== T'Pol ====
When his sister died in the Xindi attack on Earth in 2153, Tucker experienced difficulty sleeping due to nightmares about the event. He was assisted in recovering from these difficulties by Sub-Commander T'Pol's application of Vulcan neuro-pressure. Throughout their neuro-pressure sessions, Tucker began to develop feelings for T'Pol. They finally admitted it to one another in January 2154, though T'Pol later denied her emotions. ()
After Enterprise was heavily damaged at Azati Prime in February 2154, Tucker threw himself into repairing the ship, going two straight days with no sleep until Doctor Phlox forced him to take a few hours' rest. He was haunted by visions of Crewman Jane Taylor, a member of his engineering team who had died in the battle with the Xindi. Tucker was supposed to be writing a letter of consolation to her parents but was unable to do so, as Jane reminded him so much of his sister. Finally, with T'Pol's help, Tucker was able to work his way through the grief he felt concerning both his sister and Crewman Taylor. ()
When Enterprise returned to Earth, Tucker accompanied T'Pol on a visit to and her mother, T'Les. While on Vulcan, he was forced to put his emotions aside and watch T'Pol marry Koss for political reasons. Even when Koss later divorced T'Pol, Tucker was torn as she showed no interest in rekindling their relationship. ()
In November 2154, Tucker decided that his unrequited feelings for T'Pol were interfering with the performance of his duties. He left Enterprise, accepting a request from Captain Hernandez to join the crew of , which was launching behind schedule due to engine trouble. With his help, the ship was ready to go in a few days. () Shortly after, Tucker transferred back to Enterprise, at the same time as discovering that he and T'Pol shared a psychic bond as a result of their previous mating - which he stated wasn't that big of a deal, although he did insist until she admitted that she wanted him back. ()
In January 2155, Tucker and T'Pol discovered that they had a daughter that was created with their stolen DNA by Terra Prime. () After rescuing her from Terra Prime, they decided to call her "Elizabeth", after Tucker's late sister, but they were heartbroken when it was discovered that there was a flaw in the procedure used in creating Elizabeth, and she died. ()
== Alternate realities and timelines ==
In an alternate timeline where Jonathan Archer was relieved of command in 2153 due to an infection by interspatial parasites, T'Pol became the captain of Enterprise. She turned over command to Tucker in 2156, when the ship reached Ceti Alpha V with the last surviving Humans. He was killed in 2165, when a Xindi assault destroyed Enterprises bridge. ()
In a different alternate timeline where Enterprise was stranded in the year 2037, Tucker married T'Pol in a traditional Vulcan ceremony; it took Tucker weeks to learn how to pronounce the vows. Afterward, they honeymooned in Cargo Bay 3, which had been filled with sand gathered from an asteroid and a palm tree manufactured by Tucker. They had a son named Lorian, but unfortunately, Tucker died when his son was only fourteen years old. ()
In an alternate reality, Trip was married to T'Pol for 63 years, resulting in her becoming an expert in Human emotions. ()
== Memorable quotes ==
"I assume you were watching the attack - calculating the blast yields. Boy, you must have been pretty damned excited. I mean, that beam cut one hell of a swath through Florida. That's the name of one of the places you destroyed, Florida. Did you actually see the cities burning, the houses, the people being vaporized? You know, I had a sister there..."
:- Tucker, to Degra, before he is cut off by Captain Archer entering the room ()
"Every time I start, I hear myself saying what a fine young woman she was - how smart and full of potential. And I realize, I'm not thinking about Taylor at all, I'm thinking about Elizabeth."
:- Tucker, to T'Pol, finally realizing why he is having so much trouble writing a letter to Crewman Taylor's parents ()
"You can all go straight to Hell!"
:- Trip to the alien criminals before he blows them up ()
== Key dates ==
* 2121: Born in Panama City, Florida on Earth to Charles Tucker II and Mrs. Tucker
* 2139: Enlisted in Starfleet
* 2151-2161: Chief engineer of the Enterprise NX-01
* 2154: Temporarily leaves Enterprise to become chief engineer of the 
* 2161: Dies by sacrificing himself to save Jonathan Archer
== Appendices ==
=== Appearances ===
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=== Background information ===
Charles Tucker III was played by Connor Trinneer in all ninety-eight episodes of . Adam Taylor Gordon played eight-year-old Tucker in a scene in (though that boyhood version of the character was scripted to be twelve years old, rather than eight) as well as Young Sim in .
The character of Tucker was invented by Star Trek: Enterprise creators and Executive Producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. Regarding how the character was conceived, Berman noted, "We picked a young country boy." () Braga added, "We knew we wanted a southern guy who is a brilliant engineer but who doesn't have a clue as to how to handle himself with alien races." ()
Tucker's nickname was initially planned to be "Spike". ("Broken Bow" audio commentary, ENT Season 1 DVD) At one early stage, he was also intended to hold the rank of lieutenant. A character description of Tucker was meanwhile written into the series bible for , referring to him as having the nickname "Spike" and the rank of lieutenant. The document elaborated by describing him thus; "Chief Engineer. Early 30s. A Southerner who enjoys using his 'country' persona to disarm people. He has an offbeat, often sarcastic sense of humor. Although Spike is a brilliant engineer and an outstanding officer, he has very little first-hand experience with alien cultures, and he's often a 'fish out of water' when dealing with new civilizations." While Tucker's nickname was still to have been "Spike" though his rank had changed to commander, a character breakdown sheet that Paramount sent to talent agents, upon seeking an actor to assume the role, largely matched this text from the series bible, apart from a couple of formatting tweaks. However, the series bible went further, elaborating, "As a young man, he spent time deep sea diving in the Florida Keys, working on an ocean reclamation project. Bold and fearless, this thrill-seeker didn't stop there. His skills at working in a hostile environment, with no gravity, dependant on artificial life-support, would eventually lead to a career in Orbital Engineering, building starships at Utopia Planetia, where he earned a reputation as a trouble-shooter who would take on challenges that most engineers think impossible [...] Spike is a part of our 'troika' [along with Archer and T'Pol]."
Since there was a character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer with the name "Spike", this ENT character's nickname was altered before the series pilot first aired. The change of nickname was just before "the very end" (in Brannon Braga's words) of the development process. ( audio commentary, ENT Season 1 DVD/Blu-ray) The nickname was changed to "Charlie", and the alteration was listed as one of six revisions of character names in a one-page "script note" at the start of the final draft teleplay of "Broken Bow" (the page was dated ).
In the revised final draft script of "Broken Bow" (dated 11 May 2001), the notion of this character's name being the third consecutive iteration of "Charles Tucker" was not yet established (he was still referred to as having the nickname "Charlie"). When introduced in the same teleplay, he was characterized as being in his "early 30s". The script went on to comment, "[He] is a Southerner who enjoys using his offbeat, often sarcastic sense of humor to disarm people [...] He likes to get a rise out of people." Only later was the character given the full name "Charles Tucker III" and the nickname "Trip".
Immediately upon seeing Connor Trinneer audition to play Charles Tucker III, Rick Berman and Brannon Braga were impressed by him and believed he was right for the part. ( audio commentary, ENT Season 1 DVD/Blu-ray)
The role of Tucker ultimately came down to Trinneer and another actor, Eric Close. Close was the studio's preferred choice, due to his work on the short-lived CBS series Now and Again, but Braga preferred Trinneer, who ultimately won the role. (To Boldly Go: Launching Enterprise)
He found that an early challenge of portraying Tucker was dealing with all the technobabble the role required. ()
The way Tucker was depicted was influenced by the casting of Connor Trinneer. Regarding how the actor made an impact on the character, Brannon Braga explained, shortly after ENT Season 1 began, "Connor Trinneer is so [...] much funnier than we thought he would be. And he's funnier not when he's making a wisecrack, but when he's put in uncomfortable situations, which we didn't know until he got the role." ()
Charles Tucker III was an early favorite ENT main character of the writing staff. Shortly following the start of the first season, Brannon Braga commented, "I think now we're finding, at least early on, that Trip is really a character that's popping out and with whom we're really having a lot of fun." (, paperback ed., p. 253)
Brannon Braga continued to approve of how Tucker further developed. Following ENT Season 2, Braga stated, "It's fun to put Trip into awkward situations. You can't go wrong with him because Connor Trinneer's such a talented actor." () Concerning how the character is portrayed in ENT Season 3, Braga pointed out, "Trip embodies the idea of people who lost people back on Earth; he's a microcosm of that." ()
Ultimately, Rick Berman was extremely pleased with Connor Trinneer's portrayal of Tucker. "As the years went by, he just got better and better," Berman enthused. ( audio commentary, ENT Season 1 DVD/Blu-ray)
=== Apocrypha ===
Despite the events depicted in "These Are The Voyages...", Charles Tucker III continues - alive and well - in the Pocket Books "relaunch" of .
As teased in Andy Mangels' and Michael A. Martin's Last Full Measure, the Enterprise novel The Good That Men Do (also by Mangels and Martin) reveals Tucker's "real" fate. In the novel, an imminent threat forces Tucker to ally himself with Section 31 to prevent a Romulan attack on the soon-to-be-formed Coalition of Planets. With the help of Archer, Malcolm Reed, and Doctor Phlox, Tucker fakes his death like what is shown in the Enterprise finale, only six years earlier. With his life on Enterprise behind him, Tucker infiltrates Romulan space to prevent interstellar war. This storyline continues in Mangels and Martin's .
In addition to upgrading Tucker's status from dead to alive, the novels also expand upon the engineer's background. In The Good That Men Do, Tucker's family life is revealed, with scenes involving his parents Charles "Charlie" and Elaine "Gracie" Tucker. The book also mentions Tucker's brother Albert and Albert's husband, as well as provides him with a middle name: Anthony. The novel Last Full Measure depicts an aged Tucker, mentoring a young Larry Marvick, designer of the , and, in the final chapter, making his first visit to the Starfleet War Memorial at the same time as 9-year-old Sam and 5-year-old Jimmy Kirk.
=== External links ===
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bg:Чарлс Тъкър III
ca:Charles Tucker III
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de:Charles Tucker III
es:Trip Tucker
fr:Charles Tucker III
it:Charles Tucker III
ja:チャールズ・タッカー三世
nl:Charles Tucker III
ro:Charles „Trip” Tucker al III-lea
pl:Charles Tucker III
ru:Чарльз Такер III
sr:Чарлс Такер III
zh:查尔斯·塔克三世
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