Commander William Riker

Commander William Riker is the Executive Officer of the Starship Enterprise-D, under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. William Thomas Riker was born in Valdez, Alaska, on Earth in 2335. His mother died when he was only two years old, and his father, Kyle Riker, raised him. Kyle abandoned his son at age 15, an act that William held against his father until 2365 when, father and son were reunited aboard the Enterprise-D ("The Icarus Factor").

Riker graduated from Starfleet Academy in 2357, and was ranked eighth in his class at graduation. As of 2369, he had been decorated five times ("Chain of Command, Part I"). Riker’s first assignment after graduating from the academy was aboard the U.S.S. Pegasus, a ship that disappeared under mysterious circumstances ("The Pegasus"). It was later uncovered that the ship had been experimenting with an illegal interphasing cloaking device.

Early in his Starfleet career, Riker was stationed on planet Betazed, ("Ménage à Troi"), where he became romantically involved with psychology student Deanna Troi. Riker, then a lieutenant, chose to make his Starfleet career his priority over his relationship with Deanna, and he accepted a posting to the U.S.S. Potemkin.

While aboard the Potemkin, Riker led a rescue mission to planet Nervala IV and was subsequently promoted to lieutenant commander and commended for exceptional valour during the rescue. It was not realized until years later that a transporter malfunction during the final beam-out caused an identical copy of Riker to be created on the planet’s surface ("Second Chances"). The double, Thomas Riker (as he became later known), later became a member of the Marquis and hi-jacked the Defiant in order to attack Cardasian space stations.

William Riker was later promoted to Executive Officer aboard the U.S.S. Hood, where he served under the command of Captain Robert DeSoto. Riker joined the Enterprise-D at planet Deneb IV, having transferred from the Hood ("Encounter at Farpoint, Parts I and II"). Riker accepted the Enterprise-D posting, despite the fact that he’d been offered command of the U.S.S. Drake ("The Arsenal of Freedom"). Riker turns down several more offers for command, a total of 3, the U.S.S Drake, the U.S.S. Aries in 2365 ("The Icarus Factor") and in late 2366, the U.S.S. Melbourne ("The Best of Both Worlds, Part I"). One of Riker’s greatest personal tests came in 2364 when the entity Q offered him a gift of supernatural powers, an offer that Riker was able to refuse ("Hide and Q"), with the help of his friends aboard the Enterprise. Riker became the first Federation Starfleet officer to serve aboard a Klingon vessel when he participated in an Officer Exchange Program in 2365, serving as first officer aboard the Klingon ship Pagh ("A Matter of Honour"). Riker suffered a near brush with death while on a survey mission to planet Surata IV, where contact with an indigenous plant form caused him to lose consciousness for several hours ("Shades of Grey").

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