Taylor Travis

Taylor Travis
Biographical Information
Name	Taylor Travis
Nickname	"Cadet" (by Mei)
Family	Ford Travis (father), Click for full list Brina Travis (mother), Hayley Travis (younger sister), W. Miller (grandfather)
Physical Appearance
Hair	Auburn
Eyes	Blue
Career Information
Occupation	Jaeger Pilot
Rank	Cadet
Jaegers Piloted	Atlas Destroyer
Partners	Hayley Travis, Mei
Series Information
Appeared In (canon)	Pacific Rim: The Black
Voice (ENG)	Calum Worthy Cole Keriazakos (young)
Voice (JPN)	Yūsuke Kobayashi

"Sydney has been this place of peace, of safety. A goal that's been out of reach for so long that it's kind of a myth. I just can't see myself actually, finally, getting there."

—Taylor, on nearing Sydney

Taylor Travis is the older brother of Hayley Travis and the pilot of Atlas Destroyer. Stranded following Operation Blackout, Taylor and his sister piloted their way out of the continent of Australia.

Biography

Early Life

Taylor was born to the Jaeger pilots Ford and Brina Travis, and was exposed to the Pan Pacific Defense Corps at a young age. Eventually, he became an official Jaeger cadet, completing his pilot certification. As a cadet, he trained under the A.I. Loa, and gained knowledge of Atlas Destroyer.

Pacific Rim: The Black, S1

Operation Blackout

During the evacuation of Australia, Taylor and his sister Hayley are evacuated from Meridian City, and are cornered by a Kaiju. They are saved by their parents piloting the Jaeger Hunter Vertigo, who take them to live in the abandoned PPDC base Shadow Basin. Despite his objection to their departure, Brina tasks him with holding on to her dog tags until they reunite. Accepting their departure, Taylor promises to look after his sister, believing their parents will eventually come back.

Life in Shadow Basin

In the five years following Operation Blackout, Taylor becomes used to life in Shadow Basin, and is content, believing the outside world to be too dangerous. He also holds onto the belief that his parents will come back. This puts him at odds with Hayley, who wishes to leave Shadow Basin and believes their parents will not return.

Upon discovering Hayley had foregone her chores to give a leaving settler supplies, as well as discovering she had explored outside the Black, Taylor chastises her, resulting in an argument between the two, causing Hayley to leave. Sometime after, a guilt-ridden Taylor sets off to find her, instead discovering she has rediscovered Atlas Destroyer and Loa. After being incidentally paired as pilots, Loa activates a practice session, causing Shadow Basin's alarms to sound.

This has the unfortunate effect of attracting the nearby Kaiju Copperhead. Upon being warned of Copperhead's presence, Taylor and Hayley return to the village, to their horror finding Copperhead destroying Shadow Basin. Upon being pursued by Copperhead, the two siblings return to Atlas, drifting just as Copperhead breaches the base and threw the Jaeger outside. Since Atlas was a training Jaeger, the inexperienced pilot begs Loa for help, who assists them in temporarily subduing the Kaiju. The two return to Shadow Basin, discovering that the entire population has been killed. With nowhere else left to go, Taylor resolves to find their parents.

Return to Meridian City

Making its way to Sydney, Atlas nearly runs out of power, collapsing at the edge of Meridian City. At Loa's suggestion, Taylor decides to search for power cells in the PPDC Recruitment Center, convincing a guilt-ridden Hayley to come with him. Refusing Loa's directions, he instead relies on his own memory of the city, resulting in them getting lost. Further exploration results in an encounter with Rippers, forcing them to traverse a nearly-destroyed bridge. Just as they are caught by the Rippers, a large Jaeger-like Kaiju arrives, killing the Rippers and forcing the two to jump into the river.

Taylor nearly drowns as he is saved by Hayley, who conveniently pulls him out by the Recruitment Center. Not knowing where the power cells are located, the two split up. Taylor meets up with Hayley in a lab, surprised to see a small boy located within. He wishes to only take the power cell, but is convinced by Hayley to save the boy. Their futile attempts to free the boy attract the attention of Rippers to their location, resulting in Taylor blocking the entrance while the boy mysteriously frees himself. Taylor agrees to carry the boy out of the Recruitment center, with Hayley and the Rippers close behind. They are nearly pounced upon by the small Kaiju, until the mysterious Kaiju hybrid arrives again to kill the rippers. The three return to Atlas, but are disappointed to see that their power cell has been damaged. Undeterred, Taylor reconciles with his sister while promising to keep going.

Bogan

Sometime after, Taylor notices vehicles outside of Meridian. Elated, he follows them, convincing Hayley (supervising "Boy") to accompany him. They sneak up on the vehicles (scavenging Kaiju eggs), but Taylor is forced to catch Boy as he runs towards the Kaiju, attracting the attention of both the riders and the Kaiju. The siblings and Boy are forced to hide while the riders kill the kaiju, resulting in the deaths of two of them. When confronted, the siblings explain their situation, leaving out any mentions of Atlas. One scavenger, Mei, offers them a ride to their settlement, Bogan.

Upon arriving, they are initially treated with hospitality, receiving food and clothes for Boy. Upon witnessing a trade with a black market dealer go south, the three attempt to escape. Taylor is caught by a rider, who gets knocked out by Hayley, setting off his gun and igniting the feud. In the ensuing firefight, Taylor attempts to start a truck to no avail, until he is caught by Rickter.

Bogan's leader, Shane, interrogates Taylor with the Drift, probing his memory until discovering their possession of Atlas. Satisfied, Shane claims ownership of the jaeger, while Taylor is left in the Drift, incapacitated.

Taylor wakes up traumatized by his interrogation whilst Bogan heads towards Meridian. Upon seeing riders celebrating their acquisition of Atlas, Taylor gives up, before being convinced to resist by Hayley. When multiple failed drift attempts attract the attention of Copperhead, Shane forces Taylor to pilot Atlas with Mei, despite his attempts to pilot with Hayley. As Mei is reluctant to share her memories in the Drift, Taylor successfully convinces her to do so, shocked at her experiences. Upon Drifting, Taylor's shock convinces him to stay and fight Copperhead. While they are initially successful, his lack of training and restraint causes a lack of sync between the pilots, resulting in Copperhead ripping off Atlas' right arm, injuring Taylor's corresponding arm.

Incapacitated, they flee, where Mei is able to successfully lure Copperhead onto a minefield where it is knocked unconscious while Atlas meets up with Bogan. When Shane berates Mei for her actions, Taylor stands up for her, resulting in him being held at gunpoint. Mei, inspired by his actions, convinces Shane to spare and exile the three.

Watching Bogan's jaeger expert Joel fumble with Atlas, Mei convinces them to leave. Following their exile, Hayley chastises Taylor for giving up, before they are caught by Rickter, who intends to kill them. Taylor tackles the rider after he shoots Boy, but is overpowered. Hayley joins the melee, but is also overpowered, and are nearly executed before being saved by an unharmed Boy. Taking Rickter's gun, Taylor nearly shoots him before being stopped by Mei, who executes Rickter.

Offering to help them escape, Mei sneaks Taylor back to Atlas to repair it in lieu of Joel, mentally unfit for the job. Upon learning that Hayley and Boy have been recaptured, Joel suggests that Taylor Ghost Drift in order to enable him to solo pilot Atlas to rescue Hayley. Initially hesitant, Taylor relents, and insists despite Loa's objections. Drifting with last known memory of ranger Herc Hansen, Taylor solo Drifts, causing chaos among the Bogan encampment. He attempts to kill Shane, but is stopped by Mei and rescues Hayley and Boy instead. He also convinces Mei to leave Shane and go with them. Overburdened from solo Drifting, Hayley and Mei pilot Atlas away from Bogan. After stopping, Taylor recuperates from Solo drifting when he witnesses Shane remotely kill Joel.

The Boneyard

After Hayley fails to convince Mei to stay with them, the group witnesses a Breach in the distance. As the two siblings discuss Mei's whereabouts, they lose track of Boy. Their search is interrupted when another Breach opens up beneath Atlas, threatening to swallow it whole. He convinces Hayley to search for Boy with Atlas, and the to jump into the Breach after Atlas, and barely manage to pilot it at the Breach closes.

Continuing their search for Boy, Atlas discovers a boneyard containing the remains of both Kaiju and Jaeger alike. One Jaeger's remains cause Taylor to "relive" memories involving it, before Loa reveals that those are Hansen's memories, merged with Taylor's as a result of ghost Drifting. As another's remains cause Loa to briefly relive a prior event, Boy is detected, dangerously close to another Breach. As the Jaeger heads for him, an Acidquill breaches and overpowers the Jaeger. Before it can destroy the Jaeger, the biomech from Meridian kills the Kaiju, before interacting with Boy. When interupted by Atlas, the biomech proceeds to defeat the Jaeger, and pounces on it, when it is stopped by Boy, demonstrating superhuman strength. The biomech then drifts with Boy and the siblings, revealing its nature as a surviving and evolved Drone Jaeger (now called Apex). After Drifting with Hayley and recognizing the siblings as not threats, Apex gifts Atlas with a Jaeger's right arm to replace it's lost arm. The twins celebrate their new arsenal, pick up Boy and once again proceed toward Sydney.

Clayton City

While practicing with Atlas' new arm, Loa detects a Jaeger's signal originating from Clayton City, where they head off. Immediately upon arrival, they are fired upon by Mei, taking refuge in a café. After explaining their situation, Mei allows the siblings to stay, providing hospitality with hot chocolate and music before forcing them out. Further exploration reveals that the Jaeger is a destroyed Hunter Vertigo. Hayley is reluctant to investigate their parents' whereabouts, but Taylor explores first before she enters. They discover a message from their parents, outlining their escape from Hunter as well as an attempt to retrieve the survivors in Shadow Basin. Their discovery is cut short as Copperhead enters Clayton, attacking Atlas.

Copperhead attacks the siblings on sight, knocking out Hayley. Taylor manages to distract and briefly stun the Kaiju, allowing for him and Mei to pilot Atlas and fight back. Utilizing Atlas' new weapon, Taylor manages to puncture the Kaiju and sever its front left leg, but are met with fierce resistance. Hayley contacts Taylor from Hunter, intending to lure the Kaiju towards Hunter's remaining warhead. Atlas is knocked down in front of Hunter, allowing for Hayley to fire the last nuke, finally killing the Kaiju.

Following the battle, Taylor and Mei learn of Boy's true nature as a Kaiju hybrid, inferring him to be the work of the Precursors. As Hayley tries to calm Boy down, Taylor unsuccessfully warns her to leave him, fully convinced he is hostile as a Kaiju. As Mei believes both of them to be naïve, Taylor admonishes her for giving up on them so easily. He further warns Hayley about Boy, but is surprised to see him recognize Hayley and change back into human form. They continue to argue over his nature, but are cut short upon hearing the sound of Rippers, causing Boy to disappear. Hayley pursues Boy, with Taylor close behind. Reacting to Boy's savage killing of Rippers along the Way, Taylor becomes convinced that Boy was always savage, to no avail with Hayley. They finally come across Boy, unconscious and with a strange creature on his chest. Taylor carries Boy back to Mei, who identifies the creature as a Kaiju Tick and shoots it off of Boy, warning of it's danger. Seeing the two care for Boy, Mei suggests a Kaiju lover from Bogan who might be able to help. Inspired by her assistance, Taylor convinces Mei to join them on their way to safety.

Never Never Valley

On approach to Never Never Valley, he and Mei argue over Hayley and Boy in the Drift, where Taylor gets Mei to admit she wants to help the group, rejecting Loa's input. The Jaeger reaches the edge of the Valley, where the crew are shocked to see it full of Kaiju. Hayley insists on entering, much to Taylor and May's chagrin. Their argument is cut short as an Acidquill knocks them into the Valley. Despite their surprise attack, Atlas is able to kill the Kaiju, only to see the Valley's horde of Kaiju approaching. Suddenly, the Kaiju proceed to move towards and consume a pack of Rippers, allowing Atlas to move towards a man waving a torch across the Valley. Their astonishment at the man (identifying himself as Bunyip-man) increases as he shoos away a Kaiju he raised and named. Bunyip Man infers the Kaiju Tick to be the work of the Sisters of the Kaiju, maniacal and homicidal Kaiju-worshippers. As Bunyip Man searches for Kaiju Tick antivenom, Taylor ponders Bunyip Man's insanity and relationship with the Kaiju. They head outside with Bunyip Man, who returns panicked after finding his stock of Rippers slaughtered, and can only watch as his Trespasser consumes him.

Taylor grabs Boy and runs to Atlas as Hayley saves Mei. They begin to flee the Kaiju, but stop when Hayley becomes worried about Boy, and is replaced with Mei. Loa guides them towards the Divide, utilizing their Saber Chain to maneuver past the Kaiju and into the Divide, where the Kaiju won't pursue. To their horror, they discover Jaeger remains, realizing that they have entered the Sisters' territory.

The Divide

As they begin to cross, Atlas briefly sets off the Jaegers' functioning motion sensors, causing the Sisters to respond with an effigy demanding Boy. Realizing that the Sisters poisoned Boy so Atlas would bring him to them, Mei and Taylor consider trading Boy for their freedom, which Hayley vehemently rejects. They are again interrupted, this time by an unidentified breed of Kaiju, which passes them by, not without dropping off a Sister on Atlas' head. Even though Mei drives the Sister off, a bomb left by the Sister cripples Atlas' arms, leaving them trapped. When Hayley nearly attacks Mei, Taylor is able to calm the two. While the two sleep, Taylor repairs Atlas' systems, where he encounters the Sisters. Realizing their need to move on, Taylor regrettably trades Boy, bargaining for passage.

Hayley and Mei wake up, appalled when they realize Taylor has traded Boy. Taylor is able to convince a sobbing Hayley of the merits of his deal, before two Hybrid Kaiju bear down on Atlas. Taylor and Mei pilot Atlas, which manages to kill both Kaiju with difficulty. Three more Hybrids bear down on them, before stopping suddenly. As they proceed, Taylor is condemned for his deal when they detect Shane following them. As Mei accosts Shane for following them, he responds with a Sister as hostage; removing her hood reveals their siblings' mother, Brina. Shocked, Taylor tries to make Brina remember who he is, to little avail. Despite Shane's dismissal, the siblings insist her true self is still present. Shane attempts to bargain the Jaeger in exchange for saving Brina, but Mei convinces him to Drift for nothing in exchange.

Taylor and Hayley place a thrashing Brina inside Atlas, where Shane drifts and restores Brina's personality, at the cost of his own life. Upon exiting the Drift, Brina finally reunites with her children, where they learn of Shane's sacrifice. As Mei mourns Shane, Taylor asks Brina where their father, Ford is. To her dismay, she cannot remember, as a result of the Sisters' corruption.

Later, Taylor continues to ask Brina of Ford's status, still to no avail. Expressing doubts about his father's survival, Hayley again accosts him for trading Boy, with him justifying his decision as beneficial for them all. When Shane's assistant leaves the group, Mei decides to stay, to Taylor's surprise. When Hayley confronts Brina for leaving them, they reconcile and agree to save Boy.

The group sneaks to the Sisters' lair, where Brina enters in disguise. The group follows, but Taylor is captured by Brina (now under the control of the Sisters' leader, the High Priestess), and is brought to a pool containing Kaiju Eels, where Hayley stumbled upon. Brina stabs Taylor to convince Hayley to jump, who responds by holding Brina at gunpoint. The siblings' vocalizations manage to free Brina from the Priestess' control, where they follow Mei carrying Boy. Brina convinces them to go as she holds off the Sisters, only to see her limp out wounded after doing so. After being helped back into Atlas, Brina confirms Taylor's fear that the Sisters will send Kaiju, including Boy, after them.

As Brina succumbs to her injuries, Hayley drifts with her, creating a memory where they made it to Sydney Base and reunited with Ford. When Brina passes, Hayley runs outside while Taylor breaks down, blaming himself for their misfortunes. Emphasizing with him, Loa reveals her role in the deaths of her previous pilots, affirming her own guilt. After burying their mother, Atlas sets off, before Boy succumbs to the Sisters' control and transforms into the Kaiju Messiah. Now hostile, the Kaiju attacks Atlas. Taylor and Mei's attempts to fight are hampered by Hayley, which results in them being pinned by the Messiah. As the Hybrid begins to attack, Apex (sensing Boy's distress) arrives, drifting with it to restore its memories. Beckoned by the Sisters' prayers, the Messiah resists and attacks Apex. As Atlas' systems are damaged, it must reboot, where it can only watch as the Messiah pummels the biomech. When Atlas finishes rebooting, they are able to hold the Messiah as a wounded Apex utilizes the last of its strength to finish restoring Boy's memories before collapsing. Realizing what it has done, the Kaiju's memory is restored, mourning Apex. As Atlas convinces the Kaiju to come with them, they notice the Sisters watching from afar, realizing more Kaiju will be sent after them. With Sydney Base less than a day away, Atlas and the former Messiah sprint towards Sydney.

As Atlas' scouting systems are damaged, Mei drives ahead in Shane's scout tank, detecting Kaiju. Hours later, Atlas continues to sprint, pursued by 2 Eels when they disappear. As Hayley communicates with Boy, Taylor is unable to believe that their goal of Sydney is within reach. Loa's affirmation is cut short as the Eels burrow from the ground. Atlas kills one, while Boy kills the other, to Atlas' surprise. With the Sisters pursuing on Ripperback, Atlas continues its sprint towards Sydney base, discussing Boy's regained humanity. With an hour to go until Sydney Base, they are surprised to detect a Category VI Kaiju heading towards them.

Sydney Base

Exiting the Sisters' territory, Hayley contacts Sydney Base, identifying Boy as friendly. They are met with a missile barrage, which knocks out Boy as the Category VI attacks. Taylor confirms their identity with Sydney Base, who stops their artillery. Atlas attempts to fight, but is crippled by the Kaiju. Unable to move, Loa ejects the pilots, bidding them farewell before Atlas Destroyer self-destructs, killing the Kaiju with it. As they mourn Loa over Atlas' remains, Boy and Mei reunite with them as PPDC craft land and take them to Sydney Base. Taylor introduces the group to Marshal Rask, who congratulates them on making it out of the Black. As Hayley inquires where their father is, Ford arrives, finally reuniting with his children.

At Brina's memorial, Taylor returns her dog tags, having fulfilled her wish.

Trivia

• As a result of ghost drifting with the memories of Herc Hansen, some of Herc's memories are imprinted onto Taylor's.
• With him being an official PPDC Cadet and prospective Jaeger pilot, he is a second-generation pilot, as he is the son of two Jaeger pilots. Considering his mother Brina is the daughter of a pilot (and ergo a second-generation pilot), Taylor is a third-generation Jaeger pilot.
• Taylor is close with his mother.

Gallery

An image gallery is available for Taylor Travis