Tom Backus

Tom Backus was a co-chief engineer aboard the USS Defiant of the Engine Room Division, a duty he shared with Ry Emeras. He has little patience with technical or personal problems. (Star Trek: Defiant)

Background

In an "unusual arrangement" Starfleet-wise, Tom Backus shared Chief engineer duties onboard Defiant with Lieutenant Commander Ry Emeras. During alerts or other critical situations, Commander Ry would run the Engineering station on the bridge, while Backus would remain in the engine room. Despite the nature of the setup, the two meshed quite well.

Relationships

With His Superiors

Commander Adam Lebin

After Captain Bridges' arrest on false charges of murder, Tom was the first to turn on Defiant's First Officer. He considered him a traitor for giving in to the moment, thinking him a opportunistic backstabber. Later on, when the truth started to come out, Tom was the one to bring him back into the fold. "What is the matter with you?" "Do you think that Jeffrey sits in his office all day, isolated from the crew?" "No matter how it happened, you are now the Captain of the Defiant, deserving of our obedience and respect." Following their talk, Lebin joined the rest of the senior staff in exposing the real murderer, Admiral T'Lar.

Gul Arren Otek

When the Cardassian spy Gul Otek abandoned Ry Emeras during the rescue mission for Ry's brother and Otek's children, Tom found out not only that Otek had incapacitated Ry in a facility set to explode, but abandoned her in order to make a successful escape. Ironically, when Otek needed to enlist the crew of Defiant to mount a rescue of Emeras from the clutches of the Romulan Commander Minnet, it was Tom he contacted first to solict their help.

With His Peers

Lieutenant Commander Kit Barton

Kit Barton was assigned to Defiant at the behest of Starfleet Admiral Anuka Bavrotti, and over the objections of Captain Bridges. A joined male Trill, he was injured in one of Defiant's many clashes with the Romulans. In order to save his life, CMO CDR Laine Rael needed a volunteer to carry the symbiote while she operated to repair the damage. Tom volunteered, and as a result, discovered and felt all of Kit's thoughts and feelings. Following that, Tom professed his love, and the two began a relationship.

Lieutenant Commander Ry Emeras

Tom developed a strong brother/sister-like bond with his Co-Chief engineer. It was so strong that when A Romulan Commander named Minnet kidnapped Ry and covered up the deed by faking her death, Tom's voice the loudest, and at the beginning, the only voice saying she was still alive.

Lieutenant Commander Judah Friese

One of the first projects Defiant's Science Officer and Chief Engineer collaborated on in the series was a virus that had all but incapacitated the ship. Using a rare compound found only on Bajor, they created a serum and 'inoculated the ship itself'.

Ry Arlnan

A Bajoran male and older brother to Chief Engineer Ry Emeras. Following his rescue from a Cardassian research facility, Arlnan got to know Tom through his close bond with his sister. Hitting it off immediately, Arlnan was grateful. After Tom passed out after getting drunk, Arlnan assured him; "Sleep well, Tom. If there is anything you're too good at, it's being a brother. Thanks for taking care of my sister when I couldn't."

With His Subordinates

Lieutenant Magus Brel

Despite her being relatively new to the ship, the young Bajoran was welcomed back with open arms by Tom. Like Ry Emeras, Magus Brel was caught up in Commander Minnet's scheme to kidnap the Bajoran engineer. Unlike Emeras, she suffered second and third degree burns over most her body. Despite this, she managed to remain hidden from her captors. When she finally escaped and made it back to Defiant, Tom caught her up in a giant bearhug, proclaiming loudly; "Magus! You're alive! We thought you were blown up! Wait! You are all blown up!"

Star Trek: The Section 31 Files

In an altered timeline, Tom joined section 31 with several other members of the Defiant crew and served as the chief engineer aboard the USS Nosferatu (Star Trek: The Section 31 Files).

External link

• Star Trek Database - Audio Fics