- This page details Wesley Crusher in the primary universe; for the Wesley Crusher in the mirror universe see Wesley Crusher (mirror); for the Wesley Crusher in all other alternate universes see Wesley Crusher (alternates).
- For other uses, see Wesley.
Wesley Robert Crusher (also known as Wesley Eugene Crusher) was a human male in the 24th century. In his youth he excelled thanks to his skill and intellect and had a promising career in Starfleet ahead of him. However, he dropped out of Starfleet Academy to travel with the mysterious being known as The Traveler and experience the universe on a plane beyond that which most humans could ever come close to.
History
Son of Beverly and Jack Crusher, Wesley was born on July 29, 2348. Wesley's father worshiped him, but Jack realized that his Starfleet career could mean that he wouldn't always be around as Wesley grew up; when Wesley was 10 weeks old, Jack began recording messages for his son. (TNG episodes: "Coming of Age", "Family", "Conundrum")
In 2354, Wesley's father was killed following a dreadful accident aboard the USS Stargazer. Although the five-year-old boy did not completely understand what was happening, he remembered that Jack's body was brought home by his command officer and friend, Captain Jean-Luc Picard. (TNG episode: "Encounter at Farpoint"; TNG novel: Reunion)
From an early age, Wesley began to express an aptitude for advanced learning. In 2358, 10-year-old Wesley studied every piece of text written by the escape artist Bophur the Unholdable, after he observed one of his final acts. (TNG novel: Balance of Power)
Aboard the Enterprise-D
In 2364, Wesley boarded the USS Enterprise-D with his mother who was assigned as the ship's chief medical officer. He quickly became friends with several of the Enterprise senior staff, including Commander William T. Riker, Data, and Geordi La Forge. Initially, Wesley's relationship with Captain Picard was very tense and for some weeks Wesley was barred from the bridge. (TNG episode: "Encounter at Farpoint")
A few months into the mission, the Enterprise was visited by an unusual being known as The Traveler, from Tau Alpha C. The Traveler urged Captain Picard to encourage Wesley and make him realize his potential. As a result, Picard promoted Wesley to acting ensign and granted him access to the bridge, as well as posting his application to Starfleet Academy. (TNG episode: "Where No One Has Gone Before")
A few months later, Wesley took his Academy entrance exam on Relva VII, but failed to gain entry. Wes considered dropping the idea, but Picard changed his mind when he told him about his own failure to enter the Academy on his first try. (TNG episode: "Coming of Age")
Early in 2365, Wes's mother left the Enterprise to take up the position of Head of Starfleet Medical. Wes was affected by her absence but soon began to adjust to not having her around. On one of his first missions after his mother's departure, Wes joined an away team to The Armada, where the Enterprise' personnel were investigating crop failures. After getting to know some of the resident youngsters, he correctly deduced they were responsible and, after a short brawl in which he delivered a black-eye to the boy named Cumin, he convinced them to confess to what they had done. (TNG comic: "Space Seeds")
Ensign Wesley Crusher in 2366.
Later that year, Wes took his exam on Starbase 515, passed, and was offered a position at the Academy. His entry had to be moved to early 2367 when he remained aboard the Enterprise to help locate Commander Riker and Deanna Troi after they were captured by the Ferengi. Thanks to his actions, Riker and Troi were rescued, and Picard field-promoted Wesley to ensign. (TNG episodes: "Samaritan Snare", "Ménage à Troi")
Wesley's role of helmsman aboard the Enterprise, despite his civilian status, was disapproved of by some Starfleet officers, including Edward Jellico. In his time aboard the Enterprise, Wesley gained the nickname "Brain Trust", a name he was not particularly fond of. (NF novel: House of Cards; TNG novels: Strike Zone, A Rock and a Hard Place)
Starfleet Academy
Despite entering the Academy a few months late, Wesley managed to catch up with all assignment work and managed to make many friends, including Cadet Joshua Albert. On the advice of Captain Picard, Wesley also sought out the Academy groundskeeper, Boothby, who helped him through his early days at the Academy (TNG episodes: "The Game", "The First Duty")
Wesley's roommate during his time at Academy was Fred Kimbal. (TNG novel: Balance of Power)
At the start of his second year at the Academy, Wesley joined Nova Squadron, an Academy flight squad led by Nicholas Locarno. Wesley also flew alongside with Joshua Albert and Sito Jaxa. In early 2368, the squad attempted to perform a Kolvoord Starburst maneuver near Titan, which resulted in all test ships being destroyed, and the death of Cadet Albert. Wesley originally went along with the others, who attempted to bury the incident, but Captain Picard persuaded him to tell the truth. As a result, Wes was reprimanded but allowed to stay in the Academy. (TNG episode: "The First Duty")
In 2369, Wesley returned to the Enterprise while on vacation from the Academy. While Wesley was aboard, the Enterprise was sent to the planet Megara to investigate Ferengi dealings which had seen them become more advanced, a violation of the Prime Directive. (TNG novel: Debtors' Planet)
Over the next year, Wesley became increasingly disillusioned with the Academy, with his grades slipping and his work decreasing. When Wesley returned to the Enterprise for a vacation in mid-2370 he also seemed distant and uninterested in his mother and friends. Shortly after, Wesley encountered The Traveler on Dorvan V and, after undergoing a spiritual quest, decided to leave Starfleet and conventional space-time to explore with the Traveler. (TNG episode: "Journey's End")
The Journey
Upon leaving Dorvan V, The Traveler became Wesley's mentor, and was tasked in teaching him about life as a Traveler, the power they wield, and the rules they must abide by. While The Traveler kept a tight reign on what Wesley could initially do, in 2373 Wesley altered history by erasing the Maquis, and instead created a short border war between the Federation and the Cardassian Union. The original timeline was reinstated when Agents Dulmer and Gariff Lucsly from the Federation Department of Temporal Investigations encouraged Wesley to do so. (TNG short story: "Gods, Fate, and Fractals")
Around the end of the Dominion War, Wesley encountered J. R. Rasmussen, a time-traveling researcher for 20th century television program, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Wesley proposed a union between them, and was flatly turned down. (TNG short story: "Research")
In 2377, Wesley briefly boarded the USS Enterprise-E under the guise of Evan Jackson. During his stay there, he transported Commander Riker to a jazz club in 1920s Illinois as a thank you for all Riker had done for him. When Riker was returned to the Enterprise, he believed he had been in a holodeck program. (TNG short story: "Adventures in Jazz and Time")
In 2378, Wesley gave advice and assistance to Starfleet Captain Chakotay when Chakotay temporarily possessed the power of the Sky Spirits. (VOY novel: Enemy of My Enemy) Later that year, Wesley had learned a lot from The Traveler and, following an observation of a colony world being evacuated from Starfleet, they returned to Tau Alpha C so that Wesley could be re-born as a Traveler. Before becoming a Traveler, Wesley had to gaze into the Pool of Prophecy to undergo the final test. Inside the Pool, he witnessed the destruction of the Enterprise at the Rashanar Battle Site. Following this, he left Tau Alpha C and went to the Enterprise to successfully prevent their destruction from a shape-shifting vessel from another dimension. (TNG novels: A Time to Be Born, A Time to Die)
In late 2379, Wesley appeared at the wedding of William Riker and Deanna Troi. Assuming it was a traditional Betazoid wedding, he appeared nude. Picard found this unacceptable, and gave him a Starfleet Lieutenant's uniform to wear to the wedding. In 2381, Wesley materialized, this time with clothes, at the wedding of his mother, Beverly Crusher, and Jean Luc Picard. (TNG - A Time to... novel: A Time for War, A Time for Peace; TNG novel: Greater Than the Sum)
Return to Starfleet
Wesley Crusher serving aboard the USS Titan.
Wesley briefly served aboard the USS Titan as assistant chief engineer. On one mission, he helped second officer Tuvok defeat an attacking Klingon starship. (TTN movie: Star Trek: The Tour)
- How and why he returned to Starfleet remains unknown. It is also unknown how long he remained.
Alternate timelines
Captain Wesley Crusher, circa 2395.
In one alternate future, 2408 saw Wesley as captain of the USS Hood. He had been married twice and was the father of three children. When Deanna Troi was killed in 2368 he had been in the middle of his extra year at Starfleet Academy. (TNG novel: Imzadi)
In another alternate timeline, Wesley served as chief engineer of the Enterprise-D following Geordi La Forge being promoted to first officer of the same vessel. In addition to tending to the Enterprise's systems, Wesley was also tasked with tending to the ship's android crewmembers, A. Issac and Dalen Quaice. (TNG - Myriad Universes novel: Brave New World)
Appendices
Connections
| USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) flight control personnel | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Allenby • Anaya • Brooks • Calan • Clancy • W. Crusher • Dern • Farmer • Felton • Foch • Gates • Gawelski • Gibson • Graham • Halloran • Haskell • Jae • Karp • La Forge • Lavelle • Lin • McKnight • Monroe • O'Brien • Reel • Ro • Rager • Solis • Torres • Vasquez • Wallace • Worf • Wright | 
|
| see also: engineering personnel • medical personnel • operations personnel • security & tactical personnel • sciences personnel • senior staff • unnamed | ||
| Nova Squadron personnel | ||
|---|---|---|
|
|
Joshua Albert • Sarita Carson • Wesley Crusher • Jean Hajar • Sito Jaxa • Nicholas Locarno |
|
| USS Titan engineering personnel | ||
|---|---|---|
|
|
Baars • Chwolkk • M. Crandall • Kanenya • N. Ledrah • T. Panyarachun • X. Ra-Haverii • B. Radowski • W. Crusher • K. Rossini • P. Rossini • Torvig B. • Tylith • Urgar • Yakoj • Ythiss | 
|
| see also: medical personnel • pilots & flight control personnel • security & tactical personnel • sciences personnel • senior staff • unnamed | ||
Appearances
Background
| This section is written from the Real World point of view. |
 |
Middle name
The entry for Wesley at StarTrek.com establishes his middle name as "Robert", which matches the barely-legible initial "R" given onscreen in TNG episode: "Conundrum".
Wesley's middle name is given as "Eugene" in the TNG novel: A Time for War, A Time for Peace, as an homage to Gene Roddenberry's full name "Eugene Wesley Roddenberry". No explanation was given why this work ignored the canon initial "R" seen in "Conundrum".
External link
- Wesley Crusher article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Wesley Crusher article at Star Trek Expanded Universe, the fanon Star Trek wiki.