WILLIAM THOMAS RIKER: EARLY LIFE

William Thomas Riker born on August 2335, in Valdez. Alaska. Earth. His father is Kyle Riker and his mother was named Betty. He is a descendant of a long line of career men from way back to the American Civil War. His father is a civilian adviser to Starfleet and the United Planets. The father son relationship is very strained. Sadly his mother died when Will was two years old, his father many years later argued that Will knew nothing of his mother. He was always angry with his father as a result of his mother dying. And wished his father had died not his mother.

Kyle Riker left with a two year old baby did what he could to raise young Will, but his competitive approach started to build walls between the two of them, however will Riker did enjoy the outdoor life and the challenges Alaska offered. In his youth his father taught him the game Anbo-jytsu however he was unaware that his father used illegal moves in order to beat his him, Kyle did this he argued, to keep him "Challenged" Will Riker is considered one of Starfleet's finest.

Kyle left Will when he was only 15 years old, he was to hurt to explain how much he still loved his wife, and how much closer he would have preferred to be to his son. There is little doubt that his father’s strict disciplined life for him, had a lot to do with Will’s strength of character. This would be needed to become the fine officer he is today.

William Riker continued his studies and won admission to Starfleet Academy when he was 18 years old, he finished eighth in his graduation class. When he was 21 years old Ensign Riker‘s first assignment was USS Pegasus NCC-53847. This was a secret mission and Will was the Helmsman, Captain Pressman in command. Will was very impressed by his captain, but later on in his career he revaluated that standing by one’s commanding officer is not always the best or the right thing to do. It took three years for Will to be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant .

The next assignment was with a detachment on the planet Betazed in 2361, while here Will continued his duties, it was at this time that he met Deanna Troi she became one of the most significant people in his life. However his devotion to duty would come before the love he had for Deanna, he promised to reunite in six month, after he left Betazed but he never went back. In 2362 he was assigned to the USS Potemkin, this led to a career rise that put personal issues in the background. He was then assigned to the USS Hood under the command of Captain DeSoto, only a lieutenant commander at this time, DeSoto made him his first officer, he had a very high opinion of the young officer and his impressive knowledge about Starfleet.

2364 Will turns down his own command on the USS Drake. Instead opting to take the position of first officer on board the Starfleet Flagship USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D. His new captain Jean-Luc Picard chose Riker over 50 candidates Picard had never met him, but let his brilliant record speak for itself.

COMING LATER

RIKER: SECOND IN COMMAND