Chapter Title: The Best Deceptions

Chapter Synapses: Hyperion rushes to the aid the sole survivor of a mysterious shuttlecraft accident – Captain William Riker.

Written by: Seraph Koji

"This is Commander Dorian Collins of the starship Hyperion to damaged Starfleet vessel, can we render assistance?" Collins said, walking from the turbolift toward the central chairs. An ensign handed her a pad on the way, and she glanced at it. The reports from night watch.

"No response." The ensign replied.

Collins stopped next to Talara, "Life signs?"

"One. Fairly strong actually. The shuttle's comm. must be down." Talara replied.

Collins nodded, "Beam the survivor to Sickbay and let Sen know." She paused, "The Captain will probably want to talk to our guest too."

"Aye, ma'am." Talara nodded.

"Ma'am, we don't know what caused the shuttle to crash. Recommend Yellow Alert." Winters called from Tactical.

Collins nodded, "Agreed. And apprise Captain Starwind of our situation." She sat down, "Begin day watch." Lights around the bridge grew brighter.

Starwind entered the Sickbay and froze. The man sitting on the biobed was a figure of legend. "Captain Riker." Starwind approached, extending a hand, "My name is Victor Starwind. Welcome aboard the Hyperion."

"Thank you, Captain Starwind." Riker smiled, "Maybe you can help me get home."

"Captain's Log, stardate 57675.3. This morning, we rescued Captain William Riker from a shuttlecraft wreck on Quadra Sigma III. He will brief my senior officers at 1500 hours today, as we set course for the nearest Starbase."

"It was a system error." Riker explained, "My warp field destabilized on my way back from a seminar. I sent out a distress call before I crashed on the surface."

"Do you know if any other ships responded to your distress call?" Talara asked, "We detected another warp signature."

"What kind of signature?" inquired Starwind.

"Liseppian. Probably coming from Cardassia." Talara replied.

"We should hail the Titan." Collins suggested, "Let them know we have their Captain."

"No!" Riker quickly responded, "Titan's on a sensitive mission right now. A communication might expose them."

"We'll just take you to the nearest Starbase, then, sir." Starwind addressed Riker.

Riker grinned, "Captain, we have the same rank. You can call me Will."

Starwind shook his head, "I've seen your record, sir. Believe me, you deserve the term of respect."

"As you wish." Riker laughed.

"Scan for any more Liseppian warp signatures." Starwind sighed, "Dismissed."

Riker sat in his quarters, "Display service record. Riker, William T." He skimmed the log, "Been up to a lot since then, haven't you?"

"Captain?" Talara called Starwind over to her bridge station, "I took the liberty of informing Starbase 624 of Captain Riker's presence aboard our ship."

"And?"

"And Captain Riker and the Titan just left Starbase 624 three days ago." Talara said, haunted.

"What?" Starwind said, shocked, "Then who do we have aboard?"

Collins rose, crossing to the station, "I think its best not to alert the Captain until we assess his identity. And we should apprise the Titan of our situation."

"We have to have the real Riker. Sen confirmed an exact genetic match. The Titan must have the duplicate." Starwind said, trying to reconcile this situation.

"Here." Talara pulled up Riker's service record, "Look at this. Stardate 48467.3. Then Commander Riker was accused of stealing the Defiant, only to have it discovered the culprit was in fact Thomas Riker, an exact genetic copy of William Riker from a transporter accident on Stardate 46915.2."

"Computer, display record, Riker, Thomas W." Collins ordered.

"Following the incident on 48467, he was arrested and placed in a Cardassian Labor camp. No word of him has been heard sense." Talara read.

"So…" Starwind paused, "Which is Will and which is Tom?"

"Well, we must have Tom." VonBach had joined them, "The Liseppians trade with Cardassia. Riker probably escaped near the end of the war, got on friendly terms with the Liseppians, and finally got passage and information. They staged the shuttle crash, and we were about to deliver him to a Federation starbase."

"Wait, if he's been in a labor camp since 48467.3, he's done his time." Collins objected, "We'll ask him to drop the charade. It says here that Tom Riker was a Lieutenant Commander. We could take him on. No more having to act like the Captain to get home here."

"Starwind to Riker, I need to see you in my ready room. Now." He motioned for Talara, VonBach, and Collins to follow him, "Winters, you have the bridge."

"Captain?" Riker walked in to Starwind's Ready Room.

Talara, VonBach, and Collins stood behind Starwind's chair, "Have a seat, Commander."

"Commander?" Riker asked.

"Lieutenant Commander Thomas W. Riker, arrested for aid to terrorists." Collins responded, "We know, Tom."

Riker looked from Collins to Starwind, saying nothing.

"Most of the Maquis are dead, Tom." Talara added, "The only other Maquis have been given field commission in Starfleet."

"We are prepared to restore your former rank in field comission as well, Tom." Starwind said, calmly.

VonBach objected, "Sir, he stole a ship!"

"Joe, how often have you and I broken Federation law. We've used an illegal weapon twice in the last year." Starwind replied, "Everyone does drastic things."

"He's a security risk." VonBach said, coldly.

"Assign him an escort." Collins recommended.

Starwind didn't break eye contact with Riker, "Thomas?"

Riker didn't reply for a few moments, "Thank you, sir."

"VonBach, escort the Commander to quarters." Starwind dismissed.

"Captain's log, supplemental. The survivor of the downed craft was not Captain Riker, but through a series of events I don't totally understand, we have his doppelganger, Lieutenant Commander Thomas Riker. Dorian and I have decided to give Tom a second chance."

VonBach and Riker entered the turbolift.

"Deck seven." VonBasch ordered as the turbolift began to move.

"Commander, tell me," Riker said, "How advanced are Hyperion's weapon systems?"

"Best in the fleet." VonBach gloated.

Riker smiled, "Well, that may be a little biased." He waited another moment, "Computer, initiate protocol Riker One." He dematerialized.

"Locate Commander Riker!" VonBach screamed, drawing his phaser. Oh, if only he had remembered his phaser pistols he used to carry so often.

"Commander Riker is in the Armory." The computer replied.

"Brig." He ordered to the turbolift, which chirped in confirmation.

"Captain, security alert in the Armory. Someone is tampering with weapons storage." Talara reported.

"VonBach to Bridge, initiate the Riker failsafe." A voice crossed the bridge.

"Dispatch a security team to handle it." Starwind replied, "Bridge to Phral, status report."

"I believe we're ready, Captain." Phral responded.

"Energize." Starwind sighed, "I had such hopes, Dorian." He said to her is disappointment.

"You can take the man out of the Maquis, sir, but perhaps it isn't as easy to take the Maquis out of the man." Collins replied rather philosophically.

As he worked on a torpedo casing, Riker again dematerialized. He rematerialized in the Brig, with VonBach on the other side of the force field, "Hello, again, Tom."

"What happened?" Riker asked.

VonBach smiled. He felt smart right now. "After I found out about 'Protocol Riker One', I devised a little protocol of my own. You started earlier than I expected, but it was ready. We reactivated Riker One, except instead of the Armory, it brought you here."

Riker said nothing.

"I knew you were trouble, Riker." VonBach said, angrily, "What were you doing in the Armory?"

"What I was paid to do."

VonBach presented his findings to the officers, "Tom Riker was freed from the labor camps as we thought, and has been working as a mercenary since. If anyone needed any Starfleet supplies stolen, Riker would have his Liseppian friends beam him into shuttlecraft wreckage near his target. Posing as Captain Riker he could have anything from any ship with very little effort. Each time he was on a mission, he'd gather new information on his counterpart, making the identity theft that much more believable."

"What was he after on Hyperion?" Starwind asked.

"Schematics for a Fusion Catalyst, which he'd place in a disarmed torpedo and shoot at the Liseppian ship." VonBach responded.

Collins was hesitant when asking, "Who wanted the schematics?"

"Terrorists." West theorized, "An F.C. would make the Risa attack look like nothing."

"We don't know, but it's fair to assume this won't be their last attempt." VonBach responded.

Starwind nodded, "VonBach, I want security stepped up until further notice. Computer, restrict access to all material regarding all experimental defensive systems to Level Five security clearance."

The computer chirped a response.

"Dismissed."