- "He's not Will. He is Will, but... you know what I mean."
- — Beverly Crusher, 2369
| Thomas Riker | |
 Thomas Riker in 2371 | |
| Full name: | Thomas Riker |
| Species: | Terran |
| Gender: | Male |
| Born: | April 15th, 2335 |
| Affiliation: | Maquis, Terran Empire, Imperial Starfleet (formerly) |
| Family | |
| Mother: | Annie Riker |
| Father: | Kyle Riker |
| Sibling(s): | William T. Riker (transporter duplicate) |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Children: | Joshua Riker |
| Career | |
| Occupation: | Resistance fighter |
| Previous Assignment: | ISS Gandhi (NCC-26632) |
| Rank: | lieutenant |
| Insignia: |  
|
 Lieutenant Thomas Riker in 2369 | |
In an alternate mirror universe, Thomas Riker, or Tom as his Maquis comrades would later call him, is a male Terran, he 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 and career[]
As Tom Riker was for all intents and purposes an exact double of William Riker, they share an identical history prior to the Nervala IV mission. However, Tom split off from Will at a younger and more impulsive age, and lacked Will's extra years of experience and maturity. Tom also remained in love with Deanna Troi, and comforted himself in exile with thoughts of her. Hence their personalities diverged markedly. (Star Trek: Terran Empire)
Nervala IV[]
In 2361, the ISS Potemkin was ordered to evacuate a Terran 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. Upon arrival in orbit, Lieutenant Riker was ordered to lead the evacuation teams down to the surface and ensure that all personnel were 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, and with the intention of merging the beams once Riker was safely stored in the pattern buffer. But due to the unusual atmospheric distortions, only one beam reached the Potemkin, while the other rebounded to the planet's surface and, unknown 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. He was eventually discovered in 2369 when the ISS Enterprise-D arrived to check on the research base. Leading the Enterprise away team 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.
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 Imperial Starfleet career and was offered a position aboard the ISS Gandhi, under the command of Captain Azon Lexen. (Star Trek: Terran Empire)
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 Riker requested to be removed from the command track in order to pursue a new career in medicine. Due to his skills as a pilot, he was made a medical courier.
Tom prepares to leave the Gandhi
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 was intercepted by the Maquis and taken to Helena, a planet made up of differing cultures, which was experiencing a plague similar to the one that had struck Archaria III and Bajor. Torn between his duty to Imperial Starfleet and sympathies with the Maquis, he decided to join the Maquis and used the medical supplies to help treat the citizens of Helena. (Star Trek: Terran Empire)
Thomas and Kira aboard the Defiant
Later that year, Thomas stole the newly-commissioned Defiant in his plot to attack Earth on behalf of the Maquis. With Major Kira and Typhuss as his unwilling passengers, Thomas took the Defiant, to sector 001, deep in Terran space, where the Maquis believed that the Terrans were building a fleet of warships. Major Kira accused Thomas of still acting like a Imperial Starfleet officer instead of a terrorist; more concerned with intelligence reports and interstellar politics than with simply hurting the enemy. Despite entering the system, the Defiant was forced to withdraw when faced with a large fleet of Terran warships and Riker, Kira and Typhuss escaped on a Maquis raider and returned to the Bajoran sector along with the Maquis crew of the Defiant. (Star Trek: Terran Empire episode: "Conquerors")