Thomas Riker William Thomas " Tom " Riker was a result of a transporter accident in 2361 that created two William Thomas Riker s , genetically indistinguishable from each other , with personality and memories identical up to the point of the duplication . One of the duplicates continued to be known as William Riker . The other chose to use his middle name and be known as Thomas Riker . Eight years later . The existence of this other William Riker ( hereafter referred to as " Thomas " ) was discovered on Nervala IV eight years later in 2369 when the returned to retrieve scientific research that had been left behind . With the aid of Thomas , who had altered the computer systems on the planet to aid in his survival , the " Enterprise " away team was able to access the information and return to the ship with Thomas . Relationship with Deanna Troi . During the time he spent on the planet , Thomas had remained deeply in love with Deanna Troi , his girlfriend at the time . Thomas had planned to meet Deanna on Risa the year of the transporter mishap , a fact upon which he had dwelt while stranded . In contrast , the Riker that beamed off - planet eight years prior was soon promoted and made his career a priority over their relationship , and never made the trip to Risa with Deanna . Upon his rescue , Thomas told Deanna that he could not believe Will had failed to meet her as planned and that he was hoping their relationship could resume . Initially , Deanna was opposed to the idea , but found herself won over despite her objections . In the end , however , Thomas decided that he could not remain on the " Enterprise " alongside his countpart , while Troi ' s feelings for him were not strong enough for her to leave the " Enterprise " with him . Divergent personality . Thomas and William clashed almost immediately due to the resentment each felt towards the other . The eight years of living different lives made them entirely different men – William evolved into a cautious and duty - driven officer while Thomas remained impulsive and reckless . As a result of conflicts with William – who was by that time a superior officer ( a commander ) – Lieutenant Riker decided to leave the " Enterprise " . He chose to use his middle name , Thomas , to distinguish himself from his counterpart . Captain Jean - Luc Picard managed to get Thomas a posting on the where he could continue his Starfleet career . Upon Thomas ' departure , William seemed to have accepted Thomas ' existence and gave him his ( or rather , " their " ) trombone as a parting gift . ( ) Maquis affiliation . In 2370 , Thomas expressed dismay at the Federation ' s policies towards the Cardassian s and the Federation colonies in the Demilitarized Zone , and later joined the Maquis resistance . In early 2371 , Thomas , posing as William Riker , came aboard Deep Space 9 and stole the newly - commissioned . With Major Kira as his unwilling passenger , Thomas took the " Defiant " to the Orias system , deep in Cardassian space , where the Maquis believed that the Cardassians were building a fleet of warships . Major Kira accused Thomas of still acting like a Starfleet officer instead of a terrorist ; more concerned with intelligence reports and interstellar politics than with simply hurting the enemy . Trying to locate the " Defiant " with the assistance of Commander Sisko , Gul Dukat swore that he knew nothing of the fleet in the Orias system . He was telling the truth , as the fleet had been constructed by the Obsidian Order in direct violation of Cardassian law . As the " Defiant " arrived at Orias , it was intercepted by a number of Cardassian warships . Imprisonment . Sisko achieved a compromise with Dukat and negotiated Thomas ' surrender – in exchange for the " Defiant " s sensor log s of the secretive Orias base , Thomas ' sentence would be reduced to life imprisonment in the Lazon II labor camp , while the " Defiant " would be escorted back to the Federation - Cardassian border returning the rest of the Maquis crew to the Federation for trial . Thomas was initially wary of accepting the terms offered to him , but Kira pointed out that it would accomplish his mission and let his crew escape Cardassian imprisonment , even challenging his reluctance as some kind of death wish , a desire to go out in a blaze of glory in order to distinguish himself from the more successful Will . Immediately after Thomas surrendered the " Defiant " to the cruisers of the Cardassian Central Command , the " Kraxon " extended its shields around the " Defiant " to protect her from the fast approaching ships from Orias ( upgraded cruisers with markedly higher top speeds than regular ships of the class ) . Dukat was confident that the Orias ships would not dare fire on Cardassian ships . Upon seeing this , the ships from Orias – under the command of the Obsidian Order and not technically part of the Cardassian military – turned around and returned to the Orias system . Just before Thomas transported over to the " Kraxon " , Kira promised to return for him one day . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Thomas Riker was played by actor Jonathan Frakes , who also portrayed Will Riker . The TNG writing staff toyed with the idea of having Thomas Riker permanently replace Will Riker in " Second Chances " . With Will killed off , Thomas Riker would have become the " Enterprise " s new ops officer , and Data would have been moved to the first officer position . ( " " ) Jonathan Frakes described Thomas Riker as being " " much less confident than Will . But he ' s also tender and sweeter . I think I like Tom better . " " ( " " ) Troi actress Marina Sirtis concurred , " " I preferred Thomas Riker . I thought he was cuter than Wil . " " ( ) Jonathan Frakes filmed his scenes for " Defiant " between Wednesday and Tuesday 11 October 1994 on Paramount Stages 4 , 17 , and 18 . According to the call sheet , he received a hair and beard cut prior to filming on 5 October 1994 . The call sheets also distinguished the parts of " Will Riker " and " Tom Riker " in the cast section by using the numbers 9A and 9B . The DS9 Companion notes that Thomas ' return was on a list of stories the DS9 writers were not interested in hearing pitches on . In an interview with Jonathan Frakes provided with the TNG Season 6 DVD box set , however , he stated that he had approached Ronald D . Moore regarding a Thomas Riker DS9 episode involving Damar ' s rebellion , an idea that was not brought to fruition by the conclusion of the series . Towards the end of DS9 , a rumor that Tom was to be revealed as a member of Section 31 emerged , although Moore said it was not true . Apocrypha . In John Vornholt ' s novel " " , set in 2371 , Thomas transferred from the operations division to the sciences division after a conflict with the USS " Gandhi " first officer . He wore a blue Starfleet uniform and served as a medical courier pilot . It was in this function that he abandoned Starfleet for the Maquis , joining Chakotay and B ' Elanna Torres ' cell after working with them to stop a dangerous virus . According to " Quarantine " , it was Chakotay ' s idea to steal the " Defiant " from Deep Space 9 . In Peter David ' s novel " " , also set in 2371 , Thomas was freed from the Lazon II labor camp by Romulan s , and had a brief affair with Sela , who believed that he was the original Riker . Driven by jealousy over news of Worf and Deanna ' s recent engagement , Thomas was manipulated into aiding an assassination attempt on Klingon Chancellor Gowron and Emperor Kahless , but it was averted due to Odo ' s interference , as Riker and Worf managed to replace the bottle that Thomas had been given – he had been told it contained poison that would only kill Gowron but it actually contained a dangerous nano - virus that would annihilate the Klingon race – with Odo . Thomas managed to escape capture , but his actions actually strengthened the Klingon - Federation alliance ; believing the bottle to be poison , Thomas had been prepared to drink it himself before Gowron , thus prompting Gowron to reflect that there was still value in the alliance with the Federation if even a discredited Starfleet officer was willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of their alliance . This novel also featured some reflections on Thomas ' reasons for abandoning Starfleet , including the idea that he sees himself as an " alternate " for Riker – having witnessed what Riker became as a loyal Starfleet officer , he decided to find out for himself how he would do as something else – as well as Troi speculating that Thomas had come to idealise their relationship , to the extent that he appeared to have forgotten how their last few days on Betazed had actually unfolded ( " " revealed that Riker and Troi ' s last meeting on the planet occurred when Troi walked in on Will in bed with another woman when he was drunk and believed that Lwaxana had convinced Troi to abandon any future relationship ) . In the Malibu Comics " Deep Space Nine " title , two stories were published extending Riker ' s story . " Sole Asylum , Part One " and " Part Two " , set at the end of 2371 , showed that Riker had been taken to Cardassia Prime and that Cardassian scientists were trying to discover the secret of his duplication in order to create an army of duplicates . It was also revealed that Riker ' s cells were only nine years old , suggesting their complete creation at the time of the accident . Unable to rationalize the accident against the Law of Conservation of Mass and proven transporter theory , one of the scientists , a Dr . Nol , told the Cardassian High Council that he must be from an alternate dimension . Because of this , the Council decided to send him back to a labor camp . In the computer game " " , set between 2372 and 2374 , a Federation Alliance mission involves rescuing Thomas from a Cardassian convoy , after which point he is available as a commander for your ships . A Dominion mission in the same game requires the player to destroy the starship under his command . In Judith and Garfield Reeves - Stevens ' novel series " " , an alternate timeline found Thomas rescued from the labor camp by the Grigari . Feeling abandoned by Starfleet , Thomas joined the Bajoran Ascendancy , although he secretly worked as a double agent for Starfleet . By 2399 , he was the commanding officer of the USS " Opaka " and was killed on Christmas Day of the same year after failing to kill Kai Weyoun . This timeline was later reset thanks to Benjamin Sisko and the crew of Deep Space 9 . The eBook " A Weary Life " revealed that , shortly before the events of , Will Riker still felt betrayed by Thomas ' actions in stealing the " Defiant " . In a conversation with Deanna Troi , it was revealed that Thomas had left the USS " Gandhi " and her crew to join the Maquis . Thomas had been recaptured by the Cardassians after the attempt to assassinate Gowron , and had been returned to the labor camp on Lazon II . All of these feelings had Will questioning his inclusion on a mission to the DMZ assigned by Picard . The feelings came to the surface again when Will met with Kalita and discovered that Thomas had allowed himself to be captured to save his Maquis conspirators . Discovering this led Will to feel pride for his " twin , " the first positive feeling he ' d had since Thomas joined the Maquis . In " Star Trek Online " , Thomas ' son Joshua Riker can be met in the Badlands . He explains that the labor camp was eventually abandoned and that his father had led the survivors to build a community . Thomas died several years later of heart failure while carrying his critically injured wife back to camp where she died . According to the " " novel " Fallen Gods " , it was commonly believed by 2382 that Thomas Riker had died while in Cardassian custody during the Dominion War . According to the " " novel " The Poisoned Chalice " , Thomas Riker was still alive in 2385 and had been recruited into a Starfleet Intelligence black ops team known as Active Four , working with Tuvok and Nog to find those responsible for the recent assassination of the Federation President , only to nearly be killed as part of a conspiracy to frame the Typhon Pact – a recent collection of anti - Federation powers – for the crime rather than the Cardassian terrorists truly responsible . In the next novel " Peaceable Kingdoms " , he assists Doctor Crusher and a Cardassian contact in finding evidence that the current Federation pro tem president – then holding the position for sixty days after the assassination until a full election can be held – is actually a former collaborator with the Cardassians during the Occupation of Bajor who adopted another Bajoran ' s identity to fake his death .