Commander William T. Riker

Executive officer of the Starship Enterprise-D under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Riker was born in Valdez, Alaska, on Earth in 2335. Riker's mother died when he was only 2 years old, and he was raised by his father, Kyle Riker. The elder Riker abandoned his son at age 15, an act that William held against his father until 2365 when, at age 30, father and son were reunited aboard the Enterprise-D.

Riker grauduated from Starfleet Academy in 2357, and was ranked eigth in his class at graduation. As of 2369, he has been decorated five times. Riker's first assignment after graduating from the academy was aboard the U.S.S. Pegasus, a ship that disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Early in his Starfleet career, Riker was stationed at the planet Betazed where he became romantically involved with psychology student Deanna Troi. Riker, then a Lieutenant, chose to make his Starfleet career his priority over his relationshop with Deanna, and 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 valor" 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. William Riker was later promoted to executive officer aboard the U.S.S. Hood, where he served under the command of Captain Robert DeSoto.