Thomas Riker

Thomas Riker was an exact duplicate of William T. Riker, who was created following a transporter accident in 2361. As time progressed from the point of the accident, the two Rikers developed different personalities based on their differing life experiences.

Early life
Riker was born on April 15, 2335 in Valdez, Alaska on planet Earth, the son of Kyle and Elizabeth Riker. (TNG episode: Conundrum). Riker's family had lived in the United States since at least the mid 19th century, when a solider named Thaddius Riker fought for the Union in the United States Civil War.


 * In the novel Deny Thy Father, Riker's mother is given the name Annie.

Riker's mother died when he was two years old. His father, a civilian strategist for Starfleet, was kept away from Earth by his duties for extended periods, forcing Riker to largely raise himself. Kyle eventually abandoned his son altogether when Will was only fifteen years old. (TLE novel: Deny Thy Father).

Will's grandfather - Betty's father - was a trombone player in New Orleans. In 2342, Will fractured his collarbone after falling off Execution Rock (TNG novel: Fortune's Light).

Will's best friend growing up was named Jackson Carter, whom Will nicknamed "Squibby". Carter retaliated by giving Will the nickname "Thunderball". When Will left for Starfleet Academy in 2353, he and Carter swore that they would keep in touch, but they didn't see each other again until the year 2366 on the planet Paradise. (TNG novel: A Rock and a Hard Place).

Another person Will called his "best friend" was Teller Conlon - who later joined Will at Starfleet Academy, onboard the USS Potemkin and the USS Yorktown. In 2361, both were detached from Starfleet duty so they could serve on the team that forged the Imperiman Trade Agreement (TNG novel: Fortune's Light).

Yet another very close friend during Will's childhood was Lyrinda Halk, who was also born in Valdez (TNG comic: "Thin Ice").

Riker grew up - at least partially - in Fairbanks, Alaska (TNG novel: Grounded).

Ancestry
Doctor Astrid Kemal believed that one of Riker's ancestors was the spouse of one of Khan Noonien Singh's Augments due to certain behaviour characteristics he demonstrated as well as his excellent physical as well as mental condition. Despite this though, Riker himself had doubts about the validity of this suspicion and nothing was confirmed. (TNG novel: Infiltrator)

Starfleet Academy
Will entered Starfleet Academy in the year 2353, and was a member of Zeta Squadron. One of Zeta Squadrons assignments was a "scavenger hunt" style survival test on the streets of San Francisco. (TLE novel: Deny Thy Father'')

While at the Academy, Will once re-programmed a Transporter so that a particularly despised instructor would arrive at a ceremony in his honor sans clothing. (TNG novel: Strike Zone)

Riker graduated eighth in his class in 2357. One of the speakers at his graduation ceremony was Admiral Leonard McCoy. (TLE novel: Deny Thy Father)

The Pegasus
Will's first assignment as a Starfleet officer was a posting as an Ensign aboard the USS Pegasus under the command of Captain Eric Pressman in late 2357. His youthful appearance soon earned him the nickname "Ensign Babyface" from ships Tactical Officer Mark Boylan.

Among the Pegasus' assignments before the ship was lost include the extradition of war criminal Endyk Plure from the Candelar system, and a harrowing encounter in space disputed by the worlds of Omistol and Ven. (TLE novel: Deny Thy Father)

Deanna Troi
By 2359, Will was serving as Lieutenant and Second officer on the USS Fortuna when word of his promotion to First Officer of the USS Hood came through. Will was on the command fast track, and many even believed that he would achieve a command of his own even more quickly than the legenday James T. Kirk, who became captain at the age of 29.

But before he could report to the Hood, which was in Drydock under going repairs from an attack by Sindareen Raiders, Riker was temporarily assigned as Starfleet Liason to the Federation Embassy on Betazed.

On Will's first day on Betazed, he was asked to be the Federations presence at the wedding of the Daughter of the Third House of Betazed, Chandra Xerx. Will was utterly oblivious to the fact that in Betazoid weddings, all members of the wedding party and all of the guests are expected to be nude. It was at this wedding where Will first caught sight of Deanna Troi (much to her amusement), who was one of the bridesmaids.

Over the weeks that followed, Will pursued Deanna with only limited success. It was not until Will's rescue of Deanna from Sindareen Raiders that had taken her captive that they each gave into their mutual passion under a waterfall in Betazed's isolated Jalara Jungle. Riker could feel Deanna in his mind, and he heard a word in her voice- Imzadi.

Deanna's mother Lwaxana was less than pleased with this development, and forbid the relationship to continue. At first, Deanna complied with her mother's wishes, and told Will so. She later defied her mother's wishes and left to be with her Imzadi.

Unfortunately, the rejected Riker had drowned out his sorrows with a bottle of Scotch when he recieved a visitor in the form of Wendy Roper, the daughter of the head of the Federation Embassy, who had come to "console" him.

Deanna found the two of them in bed together, and realized that Riker was not ready for the kind of relationship that she needed from him. They parted amicably a few days later at a Betazed museum as the Hood arrived to collect Riker. Neither said "goodbye" to the other. (TNG novel: Imzadi)

Riker attempted a reconcilliation by arranging a date with Deanna a few years later on Risa while on temporary assignment to the USS Potemkin, but was unable to make the date. (TNG novel: Triangle: Imzadi II).

Nervala IV
In 2361, the USS Potemkin was ordered to evacuate a Federation research base located on Nervala IV. The planet was notorious for its atmospheric distortion field which prevented the use of transporters or shuttlecraft, except for brief periods every eight years. On arrival in orbit, Lieutenant Riker was ordered to lead the evacuation teams down to the surface and ensure that all personnel was evacuated.

Once all of the personnel had been beamed aboard the Potemkin, Riker requested to be transported aboard, however difficulties with the transport led to the operator creating a second annular confinement beam to help with the transport, and with the intention of merging the beams once Riker was safely stored in the pattern buffer. However, due to the unusual atmospheric distortions only one beam reached the Potemkin, and the other rebounded to the planet's surface, and unbekownst to the Potemkin 's crew, created a second Riker.

Riker lived alone on Nervala for eight years, believing that one day he would be rescued, not knowing that another Riker was carrying on his life. However, he was eventually discovered in 2369 when the USS Enterprise-D arrived to check on the research base again. Leading the Enterprise away teams was Will Riker, and despite some problems between the two Rikers' they worked together to ensure that the Enterprise was able to download the base's computer files. (TNG episode: "Second Chances").

Following his rescue from Nervala IV, Riker took the middle name of Thomas and made that his first name. With assistance from Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Tom decided to continue his Starfleet career and was offered a position aboard the USS Gandhi, under the command of Captain Azon Lexen. (TNG episode: "Second Chances", and novel: Double Helix: Quarantine).

The Maquis
As Riker's time aboard the Gandhi progressed he continually butted heads with Commander Emma Crandall and started to show some sympathy towards the Maquis. The increasing sympathy concerned both Captain Lexen and Commander Crandall, and it was decided that Riker would be removed from the command track and made a medical courier.

In 2371, the Gandhi was assigned to patrol the Demilitarized Zone and Lexen ordered that Riker take a shuttlecraft and proceed to Outpost Sierra III so that medical supplies could be brought aboard ship. On the return trip to the Gandhi, Riker is intercepted by the Maquis and taken to Helena, a planet made up of differing cultures, that is experiencing a plague similar to the one that struck Archaria III and Bajor. Torn between his duty to Starfleet and sympathies with the Maquis, he decided to join the Maquis and uses the medical supplies to help treat the citizens of Helena. (TNG novel: Double Helix: Quarantine).

Several months later, Riker travelled to Deep Space 9 and posed as Commander Riker as a ploy to capture the USS Defiant. After managing to get a guided tour of the Defiant by Major Kira Nerys, Riker engineered a build-up to a warp core breach which would allow them to take the Defiant out.

After collecting some Maquis crewmembers, Riker took the Defiant into Cardassian space and headed for the Orias system where he had heard rumors that the Cardassians were massing a large fleet. Despite entering the system, the Defiant was forced to withdraw when faced with a large fleet of Keldon-class warships. Unfortunately, these warships were not under the control of Central Command, but the Obsidian Order.

Thankfully, Commander Benjamin Sisko and Gul Skrain Dukat were able to engineer an agreement that would return the Defiant, Major Kira and the Maquis crewmembers to the Federation, while Riker would remain a prisoner of the Cardassians, with the sensor data from the Orias system being handed over to Dukat. (DS9 episode: "Defiant").

Captivity
After a brief show trial on Cardassia Prime, Riker was able to escape the death penalty but was sentenced to life imprisonment in the labor camp on Lazon II.

Some time later, he was returned to Cardassia Prime, where he underwent numerous tests and experiments designed to uncover the secret of his creation. On stardate 48979.1, Starfleet Command sent Captain Sisko to negotiate for his release, offering Delkar VII in exchange. The Detapa Council refused to release Riker, in the hopes of creating an army of transporter duplicates. However, Dr. Duran Nol, Cardassia's leading geneticist, did not want to see such technology used to make war. She convinced the Council that Riker was not created through transporter duplication, but was rather "pulled in" from a parallel universe. The Council ceased support for the project, and Riker was returned to the labor camps. As a "parting gift," Captain Sisko gave him a non-functional combadge, to remind him of where he came from, and that someday he would return. (DS9 comic: "Sole Asylum")

Life on Lazon II was brutal for all imprisoned there, and the main work was the mining of deutronium ore. However, Riker was able to befriend a Romulan prisoner, by the name of Saket.

A few months later, it was revealed that Saket was a Romulan agent who was working for Commander Sela. Sela was able to use a Peregrine-class fighter to breach the defenses of the labor camp and extracted both Saket and Riker and get them to safety. Believing Tom to be Commander Riker, Sela began to woo Riker and the two eventually became lovers.

With Riker as her lover, she uses him as part of her plot for a massive biological attack on Qo'noS using a bottle of Romulan ale which contained a lethal virus created by the Redeemers. The first part of the plan was to kidnap Deanna Troi and Alexander Rozhenko from Betazed and hold them hostage on Lintar IV. The purpose of the kidnappings were to force Commander Riker to agree to assassinate Chancellor Gowron and release the virus into the atmosphere of Qo'noS.

Fortunately the attack was foiled when Constable Odo, chief of security aboard DS9, took the form of the bottle. The hostages were also rescued from Lintar IV by Commander Elizabeth Shelby and the USS Excalibur. Unfortunately, Riker managed to escape being captured again by Starfleet. (TNG novel: Triangle: Imzadi II).

Alternate Timelines
In the War of the Prophets timeline, Tom Riker remained in the Lazon II camp until 2375, when it was liberated by the Grigari. Instead of going freelance, Riker returns to the Federation, and by 2399 he commanded the USS Opaka.

The Opaka was one of the first vessels to encounter the USS Defiant after they had been transported from 2374. Riker was later killed by Weyoun following an unsuccessful attempt to kill the Vorta. (DS9 novel: Millennium: The War of the Prophets).