The son of a famous Starfleet Admiral, Tom Paris has suffered from being under his fathers shadow all of his life. He has always been afraid that no matter what he does he will come a poor second in his family; as a result he has tended to engage in destructive behaviour, both in his career and personal life, in order to prevent direct comparisons. Paris will almost inevitably act to destroy any part of his life which is succeeding by engaging in reckless and irresponsible acts, a tendency that came to a head during his academy years.1 During a training exercise Paris caused the deaths of several other cadets; initially he lied about this to the inquiry board, but was overcome by guilt and eventually decided to tell the truth. Starfleet expelled him from the academy, causing a rift with his family which has never had the chance to heal.2Paris soon decided to join the Maquis, but he was not well regarded there. He served under Chakotay, who regarded him as an opportunist who would work for "anybody who could pay his bar bills" - an assessment that paris agreed with. On his very first mission for the Maquis Paris was captured and sentenced to serve time in a Starfleet rehabilitation centre.2
Whilst at the centre Paris was approached by Captain Janeway. She asked his help in capturing Chakotay , who had recently gone missing in the Badlands, in return for Starfleets support for an early release. Paris agreed, and was subsequently dragged into the Delta Quadrant with Voyager.2 He has served as Conn officer on the ship ever since.1
His time on Voyager has seen something of a change in Paris; he has matured a good deal, becoming a more stable person. In 2374 he became romantically involved with B'Elanna, and this has provided a further stabilizing influence in his life.3 In 2377 the two were married4, and when she became pregnant shortly afterwards Tom began to become more responsible.5 He was even looking forward to a reconciliation with his father when the ship finally reached home, an event which happened just as his daughter was born.6
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