Thom Bryant was a male officer serving in Starfleet in the 24th century.
Bryant graduated from Starfleet Academy in 2326 and entered into an exemplary career in engineering.
By 2382, Bryant held the rank of Captain and was the commanding officer of the USS Newton, a Nebula-class science vessel that had both Starfleet and civilian scientists. The Newton was assigned as part of Project Nexus to observe and study the Nexus. Bryant's background as an engineer led him to suspect the energy ribbon was not a naturally occurring phenomenon, but instead a manufactured device.
By 2384, it was clear that the path of the Nexus was not following the cyclic path that had previously been predicted, and instead would soon cross into space claimed by the Holy Order of the Kinshaya. Bryant and his crew proposed a plan to Starfleet Command to collapse the Nexus using a modulated subspace pulse from multiple starship deflector dishes. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the USS EnterpriseE were dispatched to assist, with Starfleet believing Picard would provide invaluable insight, although Bryant suspected his previous experience with the Nexus would cloud his judgement. Once arriving and being briefed on the plan, Picard objected to destroying such a unique stellar object, but as Bryant held operational authority, his only recourse was to file an official protest. Bryant's bias was further confirmed to Picard when the later ran into an old acquaintance on the Newton, the scientist Kolb, who remarked that the civilian scientists found Bryant to be very engineering in his mindset, taking a black and white mechanical view of everything.
Kolb objected to such an extreme degree that he ended up sabotaging the attempt to disrupt the Nexus, and in the ensuing disruption, the Nexus damaged the Newton. A stanchion fell and pinned Bryant to the deck, and a hull breach in his compartment suffocated the Captain, one of eight dead.
Kolb desperately desired to enter the Nexus, and Picard was forced to follow to try to reason with him. Kolb ended up exiting the Nexus and dying on Deneva, altering history such that he was not present on the Newton and therefore was not responsible for the sabotage. Due to this change, Bryant did not die in the altered timeline. Picard exited the Nexus, and with his advanced knowledge warned Bryant and the Newton of a spy aboard; Bryant was initially suspicious, but the Betazoid first officer Rhonu detected that Captain Picard had been through the temporal anomaly a second time, although unwillingly. Using knowledge Picard and Kolb had gained inside the Nexus, the Enterprise was able to erect a verteron membrane to prevent any access to the energy ribbon. Bryant was cross with Picard for going against orders, but was grateful that he did not perish, understanding what the other captain did even if he didn't like it. (TNG eBook: The Stuff of Dreams)