One Of My VERY Favorite Characters: Charles (Trip) Tucker III...

Born in 2121, Charles Tucker III grew up in Panama City, Florida. (ENT: "Strange New World", "Fusion") He was born with a birthmark on the right side of his body. (ENT: "Similitude") Tucker acquired the nickname "Trip" due to the fact that he was the third (the "triple") Tucker to be named "Charles", after his father and grandfather. (ENT: "First Flight") In the final draft script of "Similitude", Tucker's birthmark was said to be "over his left shoulder blade," rather than "on his right side." 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. (ENT: "Similitude") In the final draft script of "Similitude", Tucker was established as having fixed his father's ocean skimmer, pointing out to his father that an out-of-phase suspensor coil had been the reason why the craft hadn't been working properly. 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. (ENT: "Daedalus") As Tucker later recalled, he was extremely skilled at taking things apart, but not so good at putting them back together. (ENT: "Observer Effect") 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. (ENT: "The Expanse") Tucker once put a garden snake in his sister's doll house, and his family once had a large dog named Bedford. (ENT: "Similitude") 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. (ENT: "Strange New World") 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. (ENT: "Fusion") 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. (ENT: "Strange New World") 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. (ENT: "Precious Cargo") According to Tucker, his grandmother taught him to never judge a species by their eating habits. (ENT: "Broken Bow") His personal favorite food was pan-fried catfish with hushpuppies. (ENT: "Unexpected", "Dead Stop", "These Are the Voyages...") Tucker had no allergies that he knew of. (ENT: "Unexpected") 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. (ENT: "These Are the Voyages...", "Broken Bow", "Unexpected", "Observer Effect") 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. (ENT: "First Flight") Shortly thereafter, Tucker taught Archer how to scuba dive off the coast of Florida. (ENT: "These Are the Voyages...") Tucker did his survival training during two weeks in the Australian Outback in a group that included Archer. (ENT: "Desert Crossing") Additional Starfleet training simulations familiarized Tucker with mind-altering agents. (ENT: "Strange New World") 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. (ENT: "Strange New World", "Unexpected") Brannon Braga once commented about Trip's pre-Enterprise career, "Trip's never been to an alien world. Trip's never been to an alien civilization." (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 7, p. 20) ~ From "Memory Alpha Fandom". EXCUSE ME!!!... He has the CUTEST nose!!! And, I could listen to him talk ALL DAY, ~ love his accent. But, it sounds more like Oklahoma to me than Florida... :) >>>