William T. Riker

Captain William T. Riker of the Starship Titan.

William Thomas Riker was a Human male who served as a Starfleet Captain, in command of the USS Titan in the years 2379 and 2380. Riker served as First Officer aboard the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) and the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) between the years 2364 and 2379.

Early life

Riker was born on April 15, 2335 in Valdez, Alaska on planet Earth. Will's mother, Elizabeth Laura 'Betty' Riker, died when he was only two years old. His father, Kyle Riker, was a civilian strategist for Starfleet whose duties kept him away from Earth for extended periods, and thus was an absentee father. Riker was forced by circumstance to raise himself. Kyle eventually abandoned his son altogether when Will was only fifteen years old. (TNG novel: Deny Thy Father)

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)

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. (TNG 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. (TNG novel: Deny Thy Father)

Early Career

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. (TNG 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.

Imzadi.

On Will's first day on Betazed, he was asked to be the Federations presense 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 Potempkin, but was unable to make the date. Riker chose to make his career a priority and did not see Deanna again until they were both posted to the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) in 2364. (TNG novel: Imzadi II)

Riker served on the Hood under Captain Robert DeSoto until receiving the promotion to First Officer of the Federation's flagship, the Enterprise.

First Officer of the Enterprise

Counselor Deanna Troi of the USS Enterprise, circa 2368.

NCC-1701-D

In 2364, Riker transfered to the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) as First Officer, under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. He was soon reunited with Deanna Troi who was assigned to the Enterprise ship's Counselor. The two chose not to renew their romantic relationship at this time for professional reasons.

In 2368, Riker recieved a strange visitor in the form of himself, Admiral William T. Riker from the year 2408. The elder Riker had traveled back in time by way of the Guardian of Forever in order to prevent the murder of Deanna Troi by a time-travelling Sindareen, who blamed Deanna for his race's troubles in this era.

When the timeline had been restored, Admiral Riker was restored to his proper time. The younger Riker and Troi again chose not to renew their romantic relationship, but Riker long remained haunted by the vision of the bitter and joyless Riker from the future, who had lived his life without his Imzadi. (TNG novel: Imzadi)

Admiral William T. Riker circa 2408

In late 2369, Troi began a romantic relationship with her Enterprise shipmate, Lieutenant Commander Worf. Riker was outwardly happy for his friends, but secretly harbored resentment towards Worf.

After the destuction of the Enterprise-D in 2371, Riker finally realized the depths of his feelings of Deanna. He had no wish to hurt his friend Worf, but he resolved to tell Deanna how he felt.

Riker's timing was unfortunate, as before Riker could talk to Deanna, Worf proposed marriage to her, and she accepted.

At first, Riker willingly stepped aside, but soon realized that he had no wish to turn into that bitter old man from the future, and went after Deanna, Worf be damned.

At this time, Deanna and Worf's son, Alexander Rozhenko, had been captured by Riker's transporter duplicate Thomas Riker (who had recently escaped from the Cardassian Forced Labor Camp on Lazon II) and was being coerced by the Romulan Sela, who believed him to be Will. Will Riker was, in turn, then captured by Cardassians, who believed him to be the escaped Tom.

Will was rescued from the Cardassians by Worf, and the two put aside their differences in order to rescue Deanna and Alexander.

It was after this encounter that Worf and Deanna realized that they were too different for their relationship to work, and they parted amicably. Will and Deanna again chose not to renew their romantic relationship at that time, but both saw it as an inevitability that they both looked forward to. (TNG novel: Imzadi II)

NCC-1701-E

In 2372, Riker and most of the rest of the Enterprise-D command staff, including Deanna, requested assignment to the newly constructed USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) under the assumption that Captain Picard would be given command. Starfleet Command had other ideas.

Riker strenuously objected when Starfleet gave command of the Enterprise-E to Captain Morgan Bateson, but did his duty as assigned.

Bateson stepped aside for Picard after losing command of the ship to a group of Klingons, led by his old nemesis Kozara, and Picard re-took the ship from them. (TNG novel: Ship of the Line)

In late 2375, Riker was given temporary command of the USS Excalibur (which he had commanded briefly during the Klingon civil war of 2366-2367) when that ship's captain, Mackenzie Calhoun was on a temporary assignment for Starfleet Intelligence. Riker commanded the Excalibur and her unorthodox crew through an encounter with Sela and the Romulans. (NF novel: Double or Nothing)

Will and Deanna finally resumed their romantic relationship in 2375 after feeling the rejuvinating effects of the Metaphasic Radiation inherent to the adopted homeworld of the Ba'ku. (movie Star Trek: Insurrection)

In late 2378, Riker was forced to take command of the Enterprise after Picard's competence was called into question after an incident at the Rashanar Battle Site that resulted in the destruction of the USS Juno with all hands, and the seeming destruction of an Ontailian vessel. Picard was soon cleared of all charges, and re-assumed command. (TNG ATT novels: A Time to Be Born, A Time to Die)

A Time to Love

After the death of Riker's father Kyle on the planet Delta Sigma IV with so much between them still unresolved, he decided that his relationship with Deanna was not something that he wanted to go unresolved any longer. Will proposed marriage to Deanna, and Deanna accepted.

Soon after, he was offered the command of the USS Titan by Admiral Kathryn Janeway. Janeway reminded Riker that Starfleet had offered him his own command more than once, and warned him that this may be the last time. (TNG ATT novels: A Time to Love, A Time to Hate)

Riker accepted the offer soon after his ordeal at the hands of the madman from Tezwa, Kinchawn a few weeks later. (TNG ATT novels: A Time to Kill, A Time to Heal)

After seeing the Enterprise through a grueling inspection tour, William Riker and Deanna Troi were married in a ceremony in Riker's native Alaska.

The Enterprise was on her way to Betazed for the wedding ceremony being planned by Deanna's mother Lwaxana (who now claimed that she had always adored Will), when the ship had its fateful encounters with the mad Reman Praetor, Shinzon.

Soon after the Betazed ceremony, Will and Deanna transfered to the Titan. (TNG ATT novel: A Time for War, A Time for Peace; movie Star Trek: Nemesis)

Captain Riker

Captain William T. Riker took comand of the USS Titan on Stardate 56941.1, in the closing days of the year 2379. Deanna was assigned as ships Head Counselor and Diplomatic Officer.

Titan's primary mission was to be one of scientific inquery and exploration in the uncharted region known as the Gum Nebula. But, before the ship and crew could begin that mission, Admirals William Ross and Leonard James Akaar ordered a slight detour.

Titan was sent to Romulus as head of a small diplomatic and humanitarian convoy in response to Preator Tal'Aura's request to begin a dialogue between the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire.

Taking Wing

While in Romulan space, Riker and Titan managed to rescue Commander Tuvok, formerly of the Starship Voyager, who had been sent to Romulus to recall the legendary Ambassador Spock back to Federation space. Instead, Tuvok found himself taken captive by a Romulan faction during the chaos following Shinzon's murder of the Romulan Senate.

Riker and Spock managed to negotiate an agreement between the Romulans, the Reman's, and the Klingons that did much to stabilize the region.

Before leaving Romulan space, Riker assisted Romulan Commander Donatra is searching for a missing fleet of Romulan ships that vanished near the anomaly created the destruction of Shinzons Thallaron Weapon, which the Romulans called The Great Bloom. The bloom turned out to be an interspacial portal of some kind that deposited Titan and Donatra's ship, the Valdore into the mini-galaxy known as the Smaller Magellanic Cloud, home the sundered branch of Earth humanity known as the Neyal. (TTN novel: Taking Wing)

While in SMC space, the Titan evacuated as many Neyal and other species as they could from the destruction caused by the growth of a Proto-Universe (which was called the Sleeper by the natives of the SMC, and dubbed the Red King by the crew of the Titan), back to the Milky Way Galaxy. The fate of those left behind in the SMC is uncertain.

After returning from SMC space, Riker chose the Vulcan phrase Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations for the ship's Dedication Plaque, in tribute to Titans crew, which was one of the most species diverse in Starfleet history. (TTN novel: The Red King)

Titan finally began her primary exploritory mission of exploration in the Gum Nebula in late February of 2380, on stardate 57137.8.

In Riker's first mission, he brokered an agreement between a race of galactic hunters called the Pa'haquel (who believed that they were protecting the galactic ecology by hunting down and killing hostile Cosmozoan species), and the intelligent Star-Jellies (who objected to be hunted and their corpses defiled), whom Riker and Troi first encountered at Deneb IV, on their first mission on the Enterprise-D.

The Gum Nebula apparently served as a breeding ground for cosmozoan species such as the Star-Jellies, the Crystaline Entities or Branchers, a living Solar System called the Proplydian, and many others. (TTN novel: Orion's Hounds)

The Titan continued on her mission of exploration in the Gum Nebula.

Series editor Marco Palmieri has confirmed that the Titan series will continue.

The novel Imzadi posited that Riker's middle inital "T" stood for "Thelonius." This was contradicted canonically in the TNG episode "Second Chances," which established his middle name as "Thomas."

Preceded by: Unspecified	Executive Officer, USS Hood Unspecified-2364	Succeeded by: Unspecified
Preceded by: –	Executive Officer, USS Enterprise-D 2364–2371	Succeeded by: –
Preceded by: –	Executive Officer, USS Enterprise-E 2371–2379	Succeeded by: Worf, Son of Mogh
Preceded by: –	Commanding Officer, USS Titan 2379–present	Succeeded by: –

Commanding Officers of the Starships Excalibur
USS Excalibur (NCC-1664):	Harris
USS Excalibur (NCC-2004):
USS Excalibur (NCC-26517):	Shastakovich | Morgen | Korsmo | Calhoun | Riker
USS Excalibur (NCC-26517-A):	Calhoun

External links

• William T. Riker article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.