Tom Paris

Lieutenant Commander Tom Paris was the latest in a long line of Paris' to serve Starfleet, from his Great-grandfather Admiral Daniel Paris, his Grandfather, "Iron Mike" Paris who was recorded lost during the Tomed Incident, and Great-aunt Admiral Patricia Paris, his uncle Cole Paris who served with Jean-Luc Picard on the Stargazer, to his father Admiral Owen Paris. Despite being the blacksheep of the Paris family, Tom Paris nevertheless still managed to carve out his own piece of the family Starfleet legend. (Stargazer series; TLE novel Serpents Among the Ruins)

Early Years
Tom was born in Portola Valley, California on Earth in 2346 (VOY novels Pathways and Mosaic) to Owen Paris (VOY episode "Caretaker") and Lucinda Paris (SNW anthology story Uninvited Admirals).

Starfleet
Tom showed great aptitude for piloting and looked to have a promising career in Starfleet. Then, during a training excerise in the Vega system near Caldek Prime, Tom was responsible for a navigational accident that cost the lives of three of his friends. Tom covered up his responsibility for the accident, and blamed it on one of the deceased, Bruno Katajavori.

Soon after, Tom was assigned to the USS Exeter and in time was promoted to lieutenant, junior grade. However, after a romantic (and partially telepathic) liason with a Betazoid woman, he could no longer supress his remorse over his coverup. Tom began seeing his friends in his dreams, and his guilt got the better of him. He confessed his responsibility and was cashiered out of Starfleet.
 * The novel Pathways listed his ship as the Oberth class USS Copernicus, but canon later established Tom's service on the Exeter, and his early career wasn't long enough to have served on two ships, so the Exeter is used here.

The Maquis
Tom wandered about Earth for nearly a year with any real purpose or direction. While in the city of Paris, Tom was approached by a man named Chakotay, who needed Tom's services as a pilot for the group of renegade freedom fighters known as the Maquis. Given the opportunity to fly again, even for a technically illegal organization such as the Maquis, Tom accepted Chakotay's offer.

On Tom's first mission with the Maquis, the vessel he was piloting took heavy damage in battle with a Cardassian ship. Tom took a shuttle and attempted to contact a sympathetic colony on Selka for assistance for his crew, but he was intercepted by the USS Bradbury, apprehended, and was returned to Earth to stand trial. (VOY novel Pathways)

The Delta Quadrant
Tom was serving his sentence at the New Zealand Penal Settlement in 2371 when he was approached by his father's protege', Captain Kathryn Janeway. Janeway wanted Tom's assistance in locating Chakotay and his former Maquis allies who had gone missing in the Badlands. In exchange, Tom was to be released from confinement and set loose. Tom agreed.

Voyager found Chakotay and his ship, but only after being flung 70,000 light years from the Federation and into the heart of the Delta Quadrant by the Nacene known as the Caretaker.

After the Caretakers death, Janeway was forced to destroy the Caretakers technology in order to protect the Ocampan race from the opportunistic Kazon Ogla. This act stranded Tom, Voyager, and both the Starfleet and Maquis crews in the Delta Quadrant. Janeway decided to combine the two crews into a single Starfleet crew for the voyage home with Chakotay as her first officer.

Janeway gave Paris a field commission to the rank of Lieutenant and the position of Conn officer on Voyager during that vessels historic seven-year trek home through the Delta Quadrant.

During this time, he was wed to shipmate B'Elanna Torres, who gave birth to the couples daughter, Miral Paris, just as Voyager returned home in late 2377. (VOY novelizations Caretaker; Endgame)

Home
Upon Voyagers return to the Alpha Quadrant, Tom, like the rest of his Voyager shipmates, was promoted two steps in rank to Lieutenant Commander.

Tom journeyed with B'Elanna to the Klingon sanctuary of Boreth in order to help B'Elanna with a quest to find her mother, who had been lost in the wilds of Boreth's jungles. (VOY novels Homecoming; The Farther Shore)

Soon after, he rejoined the crew of Voyager, which was now under the command of Captain Chakotay. Tom was Chakotay's first choice for Voyagers First officer, but Starfleet over-ruled him, assigning Commander Andrew Ellis to the post instead. When Ellis was revealed to actually be a renegade Changeling, Tom moved up into the First officer position. (VOY novels Old Wounds; Enemy of My Enemy)