Ensign Thorne was a Starfleet officer and member of the engineering staff aboard the USS Enterprise-D in 2367.

While the ship was exploring the Mar Oscura Nebula, Thorne was seriously injured when a cryogenic control conduit in main engineering exploded due to dark matter within the nebula. To check the systems he accompanied Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge and Lieutenant j.g. Van Mayter later and witnessed the death of Van Mayter who stuck in the floor. (TNG: "In Theory")