Wesley Crusher
Wesley Crusher is a character in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Played by actor Wil Wheaton, the character was a regular for the first four seasons.
Afterwards, the character appeared sporadically.
Overview
The son of Jack Crusher and Dr. Beverly Crusher, Wesley was a gifted boy who served on the Enterprise.
He first arrives on the USS Enterprise-D with his mother, soon after Captain Jean-Luc Picard assumes command. Picard is annoyed by Wesley at first, but he comes to realize that Wesley understands many things beyond his age. Picard soon appoints him as acting ensign.
Wesley eventually takes the entrance exam for Starfleet Academy. When he learns that his test score ranked lower than expected, Wesley decides to stay on the Enterprise-D for a few years, to gain more experience. After a couple of years pass, he retakes the exam, and is accepted into the Academy (in episode "Coming of Age").
But a career in Starfleet is not to be his destiny. While flying as part of the Academy's elite Nova Squadron, Wesley helps them practice a forbidden maneuver known as the "Kolvoord Starburst", in which fellow student Joshua Albert is killed. Because of this accident, and because of an attempted cover-up by Nova Squadron's four surviving members, Starfleet expels senior cadet Nicholas Locarno for masterminding both the stunt and the cover-up of the truth surrounding the cause of the accident. Starfleet then issues a formal reprimand to the other three cadets, one being Wesley: their academic credits for the entire previous year are declared null and void, their flight privileges are revoked, and their service records become permanently tainted (in episode "The First Duty"). Reeling from the tragedy, Wesley becomes increasingly disillusioned, and uninspired by his studies.
Wesley's problems are compounded when he learns that Starfleet has plans to force a colony of Native-Americans from a planet near the Cardassian Union, which decades ago, Starfleet itself had given the Native-Americans as a kind of reservation. Now the Cardassians intended to annex this Native American world. It makes matters worse when he discovers that the Enterprise-D crew had been assigned the task of evacuating the colony.
Finding their plight as somewhat of an inspiration to stand with them in defiance, Wesley seeks solace with the Native Americans and becomes familiar with their culture. He participates in a mystical vision quest, during which he envisions his late father Jack telling him "not to follow the same path" he (Jack) had taken through life. Upon his emergence, Wesley finds the Enterprise-D crew preparing to beam the colonists away from their home. When he warns the colonists of what is about to happen and why, the Native Americans rebel, and the crew is forced to leave. Picard becomes furious with Wesley for intefering, and is even more outraged when Wesley begins applying elements of Picard's own "Truth Before Loyalty" lecture ("The First Duty") against both him and Starfleet. Picard informs Wesley that the lecture does not apply under the present circumstances, upon which Wesley responds by turning in his Starfleet comm-badge as a sign of his resignation.
Having severed all his ties to the United Federation of Planets, Wesley decides to stay with the Native American colonists on their planet. One of the colonists reveals himself to actually be the Traveler, who confirms that Wesley has now transcended the boundaries of space, time, and thought. Wesley eventually leaves with the Traveler, to explore his true potential ("Journey's End").
Trivia
A scene with Wesley was filmed for Star Trek: Nemesis, most of which was cut from the movie (view scene [1]). In the scene, several years after his departure with the Traveler, Wesley attends the wedding of Commander William T. Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi. Sitting at the head table, he is seen wearing a Starfleet dress uniform and rank insignia of a Lieutenant Junior Grade. Wesley states that he is part of the engineering staff of the USS Titan, indicating that he rejoins Starfleet at some point and either completes his time at the Academy or had been granted a field commission.