Whatever Happened to the Other Riker?

1.1

The heat enough was exhausting aside from the backbreaking work in the Lazon 2 colony. Thankfully it was the end of both as the sunlight faded and the prisoners were marched back to the cellblock. Slowly and painfully some hobbled back to only a bare cement room just big enough to lie down in, let alone stand in. The guards hustled the troublemakers along but today he wasn't one of them.

He quietly stooped over to get into his tiny room, but the guard wasn't buying his silence, and just to prove his macho-attitude, the guard butted the back of his weapon into his spine and sent him reeling to the floor.

The heavy metal door slammed shut, leaving him to lie on the freezing cold floor.

Slowly he pushed himself into a sitting position against the wall, closing his eyes to stop the glare of the dying sun from getting into his eyes from the tiny window in the opposite wall.

"Damned green light." He thought bitterly. "Just once, just one more time I'd like to see the yellow sun back on Earth."

His built up heat from working all day was quickly dissipating into the cement wall and his previous sweat now turned into a shiver down his spine.

He forced his mind off his growing discomforts, his usual practice, to fix on more lovelier images... of two women. Both of them soft and warm and welcoming. One with short red hair, the other with the flowing dark curls, easy to get lost in. Both had black eyes, deep enough to sink in. And every night, he did. One had held out the promise of a lifetime to him, of eternal love; the other held out the promise of freedom, of escape from the hell he was in.

Tonight was different to every other night though, tonight his mind couldn't hold onto these images and dreams. Instead they turned sour. "It's your own damn fault you lost both women. It's your own damn fault you'll never see the sun back on Earth again."

It had been two years since he was caught. Two years since Kira Nerys had promised to rescue him. Two years was long enough to question hope.

"Two years on top of the eight years on Nervala 4." Heaviness in his chest took over, weighing him down, and pulling him down even further. "I've been imprisoned for a decade..." He tried to take a deep breath, but let out a rasping sob instead. "If I hadn't of left Deanna... if I had of contacted her instead of ignoring her messages... if I hadn't of left her for the second time, instead of trying to prove the idiot I am in the damn Maquis..." His mind whirled and whirled in self-pity and blame. "If the eight years hadn't of been bad enough on Nervala, I had to go and put myself in prison again with the Maquis... for the rest of my life. But even a Federation Prison would have been better than this."

His hope was as fleeting as his body-warmth had been. Perhaps this had been the reason why for the past two months he had quieted down, why he no longer struggled against the guards, or the work they forced him to do. The Cardassian guards had been cruel enough, but recently, those new guards, the Jem H'Adar... they had no amusement at expelling torture on the ones that tried fighting back. They just killed them instead. Riker had lost two people he had considered friends to them.

They were working in the quarry when their usual water rations were denied them one particular day. When one struck up a fuss, the Jem H'Adar soldier simply shot him. When his friend retaliated, he was shot too. Riker's will to live to escape was the only thing that held him back, he had been running on hatred ever since. But now, that as well as the hope was beginning to run out. An empty hopelessness took their places.

The memory of his friends' deaths played over and over in his mind. The firing of the guns... was all it took, and down they fell. Just like that. One shout, one yell, and they fired on them. And they were gone. If he would yell, if he tried to attack one... it would be all over for him too. No more slave labor, no more cold cement cells, no more starvation. It would be all over... no more anything.

Suddenly Deanna's concerned expression took over. He jumped, startled, opening his eyes again, as if freezing water had been thrown on him. "What am I doing? Suicide?" he asked himself incredulously. The hurt in those dark eyes of hers filled him with guilt. "No, I'll keep going. I'll stay alive. I've been foolish enough to leave her twice, I won't do it again." A new determination filled the empty space.

"I will see Deanna again, I will make it. I have to make it up to her. I have to tell her how sorry I am for hurting her again." He straightened himself and stared up at the sky that was quickly filling with stars. The new blackness reminded him of her, her eyes and her hair. And for the rest of the night he stared up at it, dreaming and planning, with his re-new sense of purpose.



1.2


A month went by with each night still spent in his cell, staring up at the dark, sparkling sky, picturing Deanna amongst the constellations.

That was until one morning he was awakened by his cell door banging open.
For reasons unknown to him two Jem H'adar soldiers came in, pulled him up, and dragged him in the opposite direction that the other prisoners were being taken for daily labor. He was pulled and pushed down corridors he'd never seen before, and sat forcefully in a chair in a room he'd never been in before. It was another cement room, with the only piece of furniture being the chair he was occupying at the moment.

The two soldiers remained behind him, keeping their hands on his shoulders incase he tried to run away.

"What's this all about?" he asked them, only to get their usual reply, which was silence and deadly glares.

"Good morning Lieutenant." A strange man he'd never seen the species of before entered the room behind him and came to stand in front of him, flanked by two Cardassian Officers. He had black hair and blue luminescent eyes.

"Who are you?" Riker asked suspiciously, not liking how things were turning out.
They'd left him alone from questioning for nearly a year and a half now, and he certainly had enough for two life times of Cardassian interrogations. His nerves still twanged from their 'questioning techniques'.

"I am Weyoun, an official with the Dominion. And I would like to ask you a few questions, Lieutenant." He smiled pleasantly back.

"I already told you, I'm no longer in Starfleet. I don't know anything. I left them for the Maquis, remember?" he snapped back tiredly.

One of the Cardassian officers took a threatening step closer, and Riker's instincts made him instantly flinch, expecting pain.

"Now, now, Lieutenant Riker. I know what you've told my Cardassian partners in the past. This is just an introductory meeting. You are a very interesting person I would like to become acquainted with." Weyoun continued to smile at him.

"Yeah, I bet." He sneered back.

"It's not every day I can meet a person who is a replica of a well-respected Starfleet Officer, created in a transporter accident. You have had an interesting life. Particularly interesting by the fact that you have been incarcerated for the majority of it. It was Nervala 4 that you were trapped for 8 years, wasn't it?" Weyoun asked casually, beginning to circle him, like a predator.

"Yes." Riker watched him, wandering what angle Weyoun was taking with him. The Cardassians had tried them all on him, which none worked. He knew they had only kept him alive in the beginning to use him for some purpose.

"And now you've been toiling away solidly for two years here on Lazon 2. As I estimate, you've only been free for 2 years out of the 12 years you've been given existence." Weyoun continued.

"So?" Riker retorted. "You're here to offer me my freedom?"

"I am." Weyoun stated.

"Sure you are. But I have to do something in return, right?" Riker scoffed, as he'd heard it all before.

"No you don't. I can appreciate your skepticism, from the pathetic existence that you are coming from. But I am here to change all of that." Weyoun stopped before him, and leaned in closely. "We share something in common, Riker."

"And what exactly is that?" he laughed back in Weyoun's face.

"We both were created unnaturally."

Riker looked at him in surprise. "I'd never consider myself, unnatural."

"Of course you wouldn't. Humans have a certain arrogance to themselves that makes them consider themselves above us. We were created by the Founders." He stated with pride, then sneered. "The humans were created from mud."

"So how does this apply to me?" Riker asked impatiently.

"You were created in a transporter, by sophisticated technology. You are more than a simple human is. But in your culture, people look down on you, don't they? They grade you by the other you's standards, don't they?" Weyoun sung, starting to wander around again.

"They don't look down on me, they just don't know how to handle it sometimes..." he tried explaining but Weyoun interrupted.

"Some would see you as a clone, wouldn't they?"

"Some did, but..."

"You proved yourself, didn't you."

"Yes, I..."

"By joining the Maquis and leaving Starfleet. You distinguished yourself from your other." Weyoun stood in front of Riker again. "Didn't you, Thomas."

"I wouldn't say I distinguished myself. I'm here, aren't I?" Riker rolled his eyes.

Weyoun frowned. "But Thomas Riker, you've been brought here to distinguish yourself."

"Forget it, I'm not working for you." Riker glared at him. "You can stop it right here. I'm not about to divulge information, and I'm not about to join your side."

"We don't expect you to. You have your own path to follow." Weyoun smiled warmly to him.

Riker sat there, studying him, trying to figure him out. "What exactly are you playing at, Weyoun?"

"I'm offering friendship, Thomas Riker. Unlike the other human's, I have no expectations for you to follow. You are a special person. You are unique and should be valued for your qualities."

"Sure I am." Riker gave his best sarcastic smile. "And you're going to treat me well. So well, you'll expect me to join you. It's not going to happen."

"What is this fascination you keep broaching on with me trying to seduce you? If I didn't know better, I'd think you were flirting with me." Weyoun chuckled and clapped his hands together.

Just then Riker felt sick to his stomach. He'd heard of Cardassian guards offering 'friendship' to prisoners. They'd give them blankets and extra food. The Cardassian guards that were here with out their wives or loved ones would make do with their charges. One guard even offered him once, a few months ago. When Riker turned him down he became violent and tried to take him forcefully. But that was the good thing about being a prisoner, days of labor would make the prisoners stronger than their Cardassian counterparts. That was the one good thing about the Jem H'Adar, since they didn't amuse themselves with torturing, they were no way inclined towards the prisoners either.

"No way Weyoun, there'll be no 'friendship'." Riker said through gritted teeth.

"I'm hurt to hear that. Things could have been so much more pleasant between us." Weyoun's smile faded. "But you still will be released. Afterwards, that is."

"After what?" Riker tensed up, the Jem H'Adar hands on him growing heavier.

"Like I said, you are a unique person. You need to be examined."

"Why?" the guards were holding him down now.

"One of the things the Cardassians noticed in your genealogy when they first examined you upon your arrival here, was a certain cell division. Your cells go through the separating process, mitosis, at double the rate than in normal humans. We now believe it is because of the transporter accident that created you. This cell division warrants further investigation. Just from your cells we could find a way of duplicating more human beings, or even more humanoids. We could possibly replicate any humanoid we want by using your 'transported' DNA. By this task the Dominion would no longer need to use the Founders for undercover work, and by this means, our agents would never be found out, because the DNA of the people we emulate would be identical."

"You're going to use me to create clones of more people?!" Riker tried to lash out but the guards were too strong.

"Oh please, Lieutenant, you make it sound so every day. We will not be creating simple clones. Federation technology is not as nearly as superior to ours, but it is advanced enough to pick out a clone. By replicating the person, we would be creating a replica unsurpassable to any medical examinations that your simple people have done." Weyoun laughed freely at his captive. "Take him to the lab to begin the tests."

Riker struggled against the Jem H'Adar who were clearly stronger than any Cardassian he had to match up against before. Weyoun stood there, laughing with his Cardassian companions as he was dragged from the room.

Down a new series of hallways and passageways, Riker was pulled roughly against his might.

Upon entry of the laboratory he was flung onto a bench that immediately slipped metal straps around his wrists, ankles, neck and waist. It was another cement room, but the walls were lined with computers, scanners and other medical technology, with tools sitting on sterilized benches. There were already two Cardassian scientists there, seemingly waiting for him. Once he was contained, they began to work.

Thomas Riker was scanned, poked and prodded. When they took samples from him, they did not bother to apply any anaesthetic, particularly when they took tissue samples of his organs. The scientists instead smirked and watched the look of pain spread across his face. Riker even wandered if they really needed to prod as much as they were doing, if it was for business or their own pleasure. His naked, swollen body was spotted with little red dots from the long, syringe-like devices by the end of the day.

He lay on the bench, aching all over. He could tell they had taken samples from his lungs as well, because it now hurt to breathe. As he watched the scientists leave for the day, his mind began to race through ways of escape. Even his head ached from the device they attached to his forehead to get samples from his frontal lobes of his brain.

Things had gone from bad to worse. "I have to warn the Federation..." he thought desperately. Deanna was in the Federation, he wandered where she might be now amidst this war. "Imzadi..." his mind was tired from all the pain, but he focussed the last of his energy on her. "I have to save Imzadi." Her face floated inside his mind, and he fell, exhausted, into dreams of her.



1.3

Instead of the morning light pouring through his little window in his cell to wake him, he awoke, cold, stiff and bruised on the bench in the laboratory, with the same lighting from the evening before. He wandered what time it was, and whether it was morning or even if it was still during the night. But then he realized there was something different, the metallic straps, his bonds, were gone.

He sat up, surprised. He was untied and unguarded, with not a sign of a guard or a scientist in sight. It had to be a trap. But he would risk it, he had to. "This may be my only chance to get out of here." An opportunity such as this had not presented itself the whole two years he had been here.

Sorely he slid to the floor, and compressed down the pain inside of himself. His feet patted over the cement floor as he went over to the door and checked. There were still no signs of any guards at all in the hallways. "Now this is strange." He frowned. He looked back inside of the laboratory. His clothes were gone, and he felt extremely self-conscious. "What am I going to do? Miss this chance to escape because of no clothes?" he chided himself. After one more scan with his eyes, and seeing the coast was clear, he now jogged down the corridor.

Each new corridor that presented itself was deserted, and he was now full on pelting down each that appeared and twisted and turned, unsure of where he was headed. He was running on blind instinct.

The compound seemed deserted, the silence enveloped him. He stopped and hid around a corner, breathing heavily. The next hallway was also deserted before him, and had a series of huge windows along the opposite wall. If he guessed correctly, those windows looked down on the launch pad, the area he had been marched around the two years he had been here. The area he had previously looked at so longingly, the shuttles landing and taking off and dreaming that he was on the one that was leaving this hell. Now, could this be his chance at last?

Riker slid over to a wall beside one of the windows and looked out, careful to conceal himself from outside view. There was one shuttle down on the launch pad, with only one Jem H'Adar soldier standing guard. He tried peering closer to get a better look around, searching for any more of the enemy, only to see none. "I guess this is it." He took a deep breath. By the light outside he could tell the sun was only beginning to come up. "I guess everyone else must be still asleep. But then, I never saw a Jem H'Adar sleep, so where are they all?"

He found a stairwell, a curved one by Cardassian design he had grown to loathe, to take him down to the launch pad. He snuck outside as stealthily as he could, hiding behind a cement beam. The Jem H'dar had his back turned to him, and stared in the opposite direction. "This still doesn't feel right." He frowned. "It's too easy... but here's nothing!"

Suddenly Riker charged and jumped the guard! He struck a blow to the back of the Jem H'adar's head, kneed him in the ribs, pulled out his tube of 'white' from his neck, and gave him the extra kick while he was down to complete the attack. Looking about him, fearful someone had seen or heard, he quickly grabbed the guard and pulled him inside, shutting the shuttle door behind them.

"Now, to get us up in the air...?" he looked confused at the controls. There weren't even any seats to sit in. He put on one of the headsets, and saw that the headset was linked with navigational controls. After a few more moments, and adjustments, he managed to start up the thrusters to take off, and once in the air, head straight up out of the atmosphere.

The sky disappeared from the view screen to be replaced with the familiar blackness, sprinkled with tiny lights of stars. "Yes!!" he let out a laugh in relief. "Oh thank you..." he now allowed himself to relax a little, as he laughed even more. "Oh Deanna, maybe we will meet up again after all..."


"That was a clumsy escape. If you had of permitted it, I calculate we would have shot him at least on 45 different occasions." Gul Racet commented, watching the shuttle disappear from the skies on the security screen.

"A promise is a promise. We got what we needed from him, so I gave him what he wanted, his freedom. It's just a pity he won't live long to enjoy it." Weyoun shrugged.

The two men had watched all that had proceeded in the surveillance room.

"He won't even reach the boarder with our patrols out." Racet snickered.

"Oh, he won't be destroyed by them." Weyoun informed him. "I've ordered it so he does reach Deep Space Nine. It's his own kind that the danger lies within."

"Oh?" Racet looked at him, impressed. "Let me guess, you let it slip to Starfleet that one of our replicas 'escaped' and is a danger to both of our forces? A lose canon, perhaps?"

"The man did want his freedom desperately, didn't he?" Weyoun shared a chuckle with his cohort. "Humans have a strange notion of what it is to be 'free'. Now our friend will see what it really is like. If Riker didn't want to stay incarcerated in our prison, then he can be kept in theirs."



1.4


The ship glided into the docking port on half impulse before cutting off its engines. The clamps took hold of the mighty vessel, and the airlocks opened.

The two parties met on the promenade.

"Captain Sisko."

"Captain Picard. Welcome back to Deep Space Nine."

The two men shook hands warmly.

"The Enterprise E is a beautiful ship." Sisko smiled.

"She is, we had an interesting christening for her though." Picard smirked, and so did all the party members, Riker, Crusher and Troi. "Mr. Worf." Picard now shook his previous security officer's hand as he, Dax and O'Brien stood next to Sisko.

"Sir." Worf nodded back in respect.

"Congratulations on your wedding. I am sorry that we were unable to attend." Picard told him, as Dax came to stand next to her new husband to shake his hand next.

"It was quite the event sir." O'Brien smiled as he shook his hand next.

"I can imagine." Riker grinned at Worf and Dax.

Troi and Dax gave the other a small smile and nod in acknowledgement, and Worf shifted a little uneasily, which made Riker grin even more.

The group now began to walk.

"Has there been any sign of the ship yet?" Picard asked.

"No, but our sources within the Dominion have told us the clone's ship should be coming any day now." Sisko answered.

"Starfleet thought we would be useful to you because of our experience with Commander Riker's twin. Our orders are to catch the clone alive to assess and examine it. Dr. Crusher has all her records of her medical examination of Thomas Riker from four years ago to use to compare in the examination." Picard told him.

"If Dr. Crusher would like to go to our Infirmary then, Dr. Bashir will be expecting her." Sisko suggested, and Picard nodded to Crusher who then curtailed off.

The rest of the group went to Ops.

Soon all the seats around the table in the Briefing Room were taken, with both Captains sitting at each end.

"Our sources say that the clone had stolen one of the Jem H'Adar shuttles to escape the laboratory on Lazon 2 a week ago. It has managed to avoid all Cardassian and Dominion patrols and was travelling at Warp 5. We should be picking it up on sensors within the next 24 hours." Dax informed the Enterprise
crew.

"So there is no doubt that this is a clone of Thomas Riker, and not Thomas Riker himself?" Troi asked, and shared a worried look with Will Riker.

"The dominion is saying it is a clone, that the original Riker, Thomas that is," Sisko gave Will Riker an apologetic glance, "was killed a month ago when their testing first started."

"But the Dominion is not known for their honesty." Worf growled.

"This is why Starfleet sent us. To assess the situation. Hopefully we will be able to detect if it is a clone, sophisticated enough to pass our tests, or the real Thomas himself." Picard spoke, and looked at Troi. "Counselor Troi came to know Thomas Riker, so as well as running medical tests on him, Starfleet hopes that the Counselor can sense any differences in him that would give him away."

"That could get tricky though." Dax frowned. "Our sources also say that the clone's memories had also been duplicated. They managed to duplicate the clone in the same way Thomas had been created from Will, by transporter technology. The reason why the clone is so unstable and is a threat to both sides is because he thinks he is the original Thomas Riker. Before they could re-program him to function as a Dominion spy, he escaped, with the process only half completed."

"But that would make him unstable, and Counselor Troi would be able to sense that." Will Riker reasoned.

"Let's hope so." Sisko sighed. "Otherwise we're dealing with a Dominion spy and possibly an assassin with the skills and knowledge of a well-known and respected Starfleet Officer."

"And the fact that the Dominion can infiltrate the Federation in another way than sending in their precious Founders." O'Brien stated.

Will Riker and Troi shared another look, which Worf noticed, which Dax noticed in Worf.

The meeting ended and everyone began filing out of the room, leaving only Sisko and Picard behind to discuss matters further.

Will Riker and Troi went down the stairs in Ops with Worf and Dax following behind, and O'Brien behind them.

"How about we all go down to Quark's for a reunion drink?" O'Brien suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea Chief." Riker smiled, then nudged Worf and winked at Dax. "Then you can fill me in on the Klingon wedding ceremony."

Dax grinned playfully at her husband, as Worf moaned, knowing what was going to happen. "If you are going to make fun of your new cultural heritage, I am not in the mood."

"Who said I was going to do that?" Dax teased him.

"It's not your heritage that we laugh at Worf, you should know that." Riker said in mock offence. "It's you!"

"Huh! You're brave!" O'Brien rolled his eyes at the familiar banter. "If you think Worf is serious enough, you should meet his new mother."

"General Martok's wife?" Riker's grin grew bigger at what was about to come next.

"You should have seen that woman's respect for tradition." Dax smirked.

"That is your new mother-in-law you are talking about." Worf glared at her warningly.

Major Kira sat in her usual post at Ops, with Odo standing next to her, watching the proceedings. She looked away when Troi sensed something and looked at her, which Odo then picked up on. Odo was soon watching Kira more than the group of friends heading into the turbo-lift, by the expression on her face, and her reaction to when they had left. Immediately she picked up the PADD again she had been reading and pretended to continue with her work.

"Is there something the matter?" he asked her.

"No, why?" Kira didn't look up.

Odo was silent for a moment. "Is it about seeing Riker again?"

She sighed, and looked up out at the stars on the main view screen. "Kind of."

"You're thinking about Thomas Riker, aren't you?" Odo stated.

"I'm thinking about the promise I made to him. The promise I never kept." She sighed heavily, and Odo could hear a great sadness in it.

"How were you expected to help him with this war going on?" he tried pointing out.

"I know, it's just... a promise is a promise. He must have gone through hell in that prison colony, especially run by the Cardassians. I of all people should know that. And I never got to help him like I promised him I would." She looked at him now, hurt in her eyes.

Odo's immediate response at that moment was to take her into his arms and hold her, but as usual, he forced himself from doing so. So instead he tried changing the topic to cheer her up.

"Weren't Commander Worf and Counselor Troi involved once?"

"I don't know, where did you hear that?" she gave him a funny look.

"I hear a lot of things. It was a conversation between Worf and Dax here in Ops just yesterday. They were arguing because Dax wanted to have Commander Riker and Counselor Troi over for dinner while they were here and Worf didn't think it was adequate."

That made Kira chuckle. "Now that sounds about right from Worf. I think Commander Riker is in a relationship with Counselor Troi again, so Dax has told me from Worf telling her. Dax was a little concerned how Worf was behaving over this." She turned serious and stared off into space again.

"Do you still have feelings for Will Riker, or Thomas Riker?" Odo asked, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice.

"Well, neither now." Kira tried dismissing the topic. "We should run another scan for the shuttle."


1.5


"Computer, lower illumination to 50%." Troi ordered.

The computer obeyed, and she wandered around her darkened quarters in her sleepwear. She was fidgeting, picking up things that could be left where there were, and putting away her uniform when she usually just left it out for the next morning. Riker noted all this from the bed.

"Deanna?" he sat up.

"I'll be there in a minute." She walked past him to put the uniform in one of her draws.

"Deanna." Riker got out of bed and caught her before she made another attempt at re-arranging the plants in the living area. "What is it?"

She frowned. "I don't know..."

"You've been edgy since the assignment began." He stated.

"I know, and I'm sorry. But I feel uncomfortable with the circumstance Starfleet has put me in." Troi pouted, annoyed.

"Well, anyone would be. Everyone is uncomfortable and unsure about this whole thing." He held her close to him, trying to reassure her.

"Why do I have to assess the clone? How am I suppose to tell if it's him or not." She sighed deeply into his chest, appreciating his support for her.
"Starfleet should have sent a full telepath, not an empath."

"He's always caused trouble." Riker moaned.

Troi pulled away and looked at him. "Do you think it's Thomas?"

"I don't know. Like they said, who can really tell?" Riker shrugged.

"You've never liked having Thomas around, have you?" she guessed.

"Would you like another Deanna Troi around? One that had tried taking your Imzadi away from you? One that defied Starfleet, so it would look bad on you, and run away with the Maquis?" he frowned, letting go of her and sitting on the bed.

"I know it upset you that he did that. But wouldn't the suffering he would have endured at the hands of the Cardassians more than make it up?" Troi sat beside him.

They exchanged a long look. "Don't say that." He moaned. "I'm sorry if you think I sound too hard on him."

"And what if this is a clone of Thomas, and Thomas was really killed. You would feel bad, I know you would." Troi put her hand on his leg.

"No I wouldn't." he straightened. "Don't forget this guy is just a duplicate of me. And now they're creating others? The less replicas the better." Riker stood up and went to his side of the bed and got in, leaving Troi sitting there, watching him.

"I know you don't think of Thomas as a simple duplicate of yourself. You both have developed very different personalities since that time you both emerged from the accident. He's had a harder life than you." she crawled into bed beside him and put her arm about him. "I think in this situation, we both need to keep an open mind."

There was a moment of silence as Riker turned off the illumination in the room and they both settled down to sleep.

"Would you have married him?" Riker broke the silence.

There was a pause. "I guess I would have." She said.

Riker rolled over to face her. "But then he made the biggest mistake of his life by not following through."

Troi rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling.

"He made the mistake I did. Running from you twice. And I'm never going to do that again." Riker took hold of her and made her look at him. "Imzadi, you've always been there for me. You are the person I've been closest to all my life. And I'm never going to run from you again. Marry me."

Troi looked on him in shock. "Will, you don't need to..."

"Think about it. We meet, we part, we meet again, and the past 9 years has been on and off. But we are the people we always turn to. Imzadi...?"

Troi smiled gently to him. "Yes. Of course I'll marry you."

Riker beamed and kissed her passionately, and things quickly heated up between the two.



1.6


"Sir, we have the Dominion ship in range now." Dax announced.

"On screen." Sisko ordered, and all eyes fell upon the sight of the ship sailing toward them. It wavered dangerously, as if it's direction were uncoordinated.

"Sir, the ship is slowing down but it's coming in on the wrong angle. If it keeps up that projection, it could crash into upper-pylon 3." Kira reported, looking worried.

"It's almost like he's flying blind." Picard said under his breath.

"Put a tractor beam on the ship and guide it in." Sisko replied.

"Aye sir." Dax obeyed as she was ready to do so, expecting that order.

The ship shone in the silvery-blue haze of the beam and glided in now smoothly into the waiting docking clamps.

"Docking clamps are closed. The ship is secure." Kira announced, and looked expectantly to Sisko.

"Alright. Worf, Riker and Troi, you're with Capt. Picard and myself." Sisko ordered, grabbing the phaser-rifles from the weapons locker and handing them out.

"Sir, I'd like to come with you." Kira looked eagerly towards him.

Sisko studied her for a moment. "Very well Major."

The six now entered the lift, leaving Dax and O'Brien to exchange glances.

Doctor's Bashir and Crusher met the group at Airlock 7, armed with their medi-kits and Tricorder's as the six held their rifles at bay. After safely positioning themselves in a defensive position, Kira opened the airlock doors to the ship.

They stood tense for a moment, and waited expectantly.

After a full minute, he showed himself.

Thomas Riker staggered out of the doorway, wearing what looked like a Jem H'adar suit by the empty tube of 'white' hanging down, and stared at the group as if in a daze. He managed to focus on one person before him though.

"Deanna..." he moaned, before collapsing to the metal floor.

Riker stared at the other himself, surprised by such an entrance as the two doctors rushed forward and scanned him.

"He's dehydrated and suffering extreme exhaustion and malnutrition. We need to get him to the Infirmary immediately." Dr. Crusher barked, looking up at Picard.

Picard exchanged a look to Sisko, who then nodded.

"Computer, three to beam into the Infirmary." Dr. Bashir said, and the three disappeared into sparkling light and vanished.

Troi just stood there, obviously shaken by what she just saw, and could only stare at Will, who stared back, also in shock. But Kira was alert.

"We'd better see what happened." She looked at Sisko, and they both started heading towards the direction of the Infirmary across the Promenade.

Picard and Worf joined Will and Troi. "Number One, you and Counselor Troi follow Captain Sisko to the Infirmary. I'll have Geordie look over the ship for any clues." Picard told the small circle.

"Aye sir." Will nodded and he and Deanna left.

"Sir, I believe I may be of some assistance in checking the ship. I have had some experience on a Jem H'dar vessel." Worf informed his former Captain.

"Very well Mr. Worf." Picard nodded, then tapped his communicator. "Picard to La Forge."

"La Forge here sir." Geordie's voice answered.

"I would like you and a team to come aboard and examine the Jem H'Adar vessel. There may be some clue we could use in the investigation." Picard told him.

"Yes sir."

"Picard out." He flashed one more look at Worf before the two went in opposite ways as well.

In the Infirmary the two doctors worked away on their patient, acting quickly from the gravity of the situation.

Captain Picard came to stand next to his ship's First Officer and Counselor, as they stood and watched the proceedings. Captain Sisko and Major Kira were standing close by, watching as well.

A Bajoran nurse acted as the assistant to the two doctors who seemed to work in silent coordination, somehow aware what the other was doing as they also assisted the other. The nurse had to act and move quickly to keep up with their demands, fetching an instrument here, reading out a medical scan there. After half an hour, when Thomas Riker's vital signs were stable, they slowed down enough to give their audience a report on the situation.

"Yes Doctors?" Sisko asked as the two Doctors approached the two Captains.

"He's stable. But by his physical readings, he has been through one hell of an ordeal. There were scar tissues from old wounds that hadn't healed properly probably given to him from his captors, and by the rate of his metabolism, I'd say he hasn't eaten in 6 days. But even before then the high rate of digestion fluids show that he was probably accustomed to not eating properly anyway, probably from his Cardassian - Dominion captors again." Bashir informed them all.

"So this is Thomas Riker?" Picard asked.

"No, none of this is conclusive yet." Crusher shook her head. "Any physical trait Thomas Riker had would have been replicated into the new being. His scans are just the same as the scans I ran on the Enterprise 4 years ago when we first found him."

The Captains exchanged a tired sigh, sensing this task would not be an easy one.

"What's his condition now?" Sisko asked.

"Well, he's asleep at the moment and he'll be out of it for at least 2 days." Bashir answered.

"Very well." Sisko nodded, and as if on cue Odo came to join the group.
"Constable, I'd like two guards stationed inside as well as outside the Infirmary at all times. I'd like to make sure 'Thomas' here doesn't wake up unexpectedly."

"Yes sir." Odo nodded.

"Is this really necessary?" Troi asked them, regarding Odo a little warily. "Hasn't he been through enough 'guarding' already?"

"If it were the real Thomas Riker, I'd agree with you Counselor and none of this would be necessary. But we can't be sure yet." Sisko returned. He gave a nod to Picard, then left everyone to file his report to Starfleet.

Troi looked back at the unconscious Riker lying on the main bed, as Will Riker put his hand on her shoulder.

"Careful Deanna. We don't know who we're dealing with here." He said softly to her.

"I know that." She scowled back at him. "But whoever he is, he's hurt."

Picard looked on the pair in concern, before leaving the two their privacy.

"Be careful with him Odo. Let your people know he's injured." Kira murmured, looking on at the Riker on the bed in compassion.

"Of course, Nerys. I would do no less to anyone." Odo replied, looking at her with the hurt showing in his eyes now. But Kira didn't see.

1.7



Troi pulled over the stool beside the bed and sat down on it tiredly. She knew it could be a long wait. She glanced at the sleeping figure, and ended up staring into the familiar face. "Imzadi, is that you...?" she thought to him. "Is that really you? No more waiting, no more worrying... please let it be you..."

She sighed and leant over, resting her elbow on the side of the bed as she propped her head up wearily. All this anxiety had taken its toll on her, and no matter how many chocolate sundaes she indulged in could take away the strain of the sleepless nights. They became a little easier in the last 3 months with the re-kindling of her relationship once more with Will, but guilt still made her thoughts turn to Thomas.

She stared down into his face, her own close by. She looked to make sure the guards were out of hearing range before speaking softly. "You asked me to marry you. Then you disappeared. Again. Now I'm marrying the other you. I wander what my mother would think of all this." She smirked over the last part before falling back into solemnity. "What is it about you Rikers that make you so irresistible? What makes you think that you can just sweep into my feelings again, wrap yourselves into my being, and then leave when you feel like it? This is the second proposal I've had from the both of you..." She sighed. "But it hasn't been all you, I admit that. There were others..." she trailed off. "Worf. He's married. Do you know what my mother said to me when she heard of his wedding? 'if HE can do it, why can't YOU? Weren't YOU seeing him? I suppose I should be thankful HE didn't marry YOU.' Then she asked me if I'd heard how Alexander was."

She giggled, and checked over her shoulder at the guards. They were watching her with the same suspicion Odo usually carries with him. "Well, they've been taught well." She snided to herself, then felt guilty. "I suppose the Constable is just doing his job. But I have noticed he's not so stern all the time. Particularly when Major Kira is concerned." She spoke softly to him. "You were with her once, weren't you? I can sense some of the old feelings in her when she looks at you. She's feeling as awkward about this whole situation as I am. She doesn't feel comfortable with me. I thought things might be awkward with Lt. Com. Dax as well about Worf, but we were at her and Worf's quarters for dinner last night. Will and I were, that is. It was a lovely evening, I have to admit."

Thomas Riker continued to lie there, unmoving.

Troi sighed again, heavily, and continued to talk to him as she watched for any sign in him. "Please let it be you. I don't care if things get awkward between us and Will. Let the waiting and worrying be over. Don't let the real you be dead, or still in that dreadful place on Nervala 4. Please be here and safe."

Suddenly he rolled his head to his side toward her. "Deanna..." he murmured, with his eyes still closed.

She bolted upright in surprise, her breath caught in her throat.

"Deanna..." he moaned.

"I'm here." She took hold of his hand.

Then there was no more movement from him. He was asleep again.

Troi sat there, tense and waiting for something more... for his eyes to open, for him to look at her... but nothing happened.

She waited like this for a few more minutes, and then she decided he must have been delirious. So she returned to her previous slumped position and remained by his side like this for another hour or so. But she didn't let go of his hand.


"How is he?" Will Riker came to stand by her side.

"Still asleep." Troi replied tiredly.

"Strange. It's been two days, the Doctors thought he'd be conscious by now." Will frowned. "But you look exhausted. Come on, I'm relieving you from your post."

He tried helping her up, but she resisted, and he noticed she wouldn't let go of the other him's hand.

"No, Will. I'm fine. He was semi-awake two hours ago, I nearly was able to talk to him. I'd better stay." Troi shook her head to him.

Will Riker gave her a long look. "What's this?" he implied the held hands.

"He called out for me. I had to let him know I was here for him." Troi replied.

"Deanna, I think you're getting too involved here." Will frowned.

"What? Will, please, he's not even awake yet!" Troi scoffed back at him.

"That's what I mean. He's not even awake yet and you're holding his hand! You don't know who he is yet!"

"Yes I do! He's the duplicate of Thomas who is the duplicate of you! They're all duplicates of you! You're everywhere in my life and you won't let me go when you won't stay by my side!" she burst out tearfully now.

There was silence as they stood there, Troi unleashing the bottled up feelings and Will Riker letting them come at him. She tried wiping the tears from her cheeks and regaining some composure, but Will stopped her by using his hands instead to caress them away. He took her into another embrace.

"Let's ask Captain Picard for an Official from Betazed to help us with this investigation. There's too much strain on you." Will Riker said softly.

"No, I'm alright." Deanna pulled away and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I guess it has been a long day."

"I know what you need. A long hot bath and one of my famous massages." Will smiled at her and led her out of the Infirmary. They walked along the Promenade towards the lift to take them up one of the pylons to their ship. "Then perhaps we can meet all of our friends in Ten Forward for drinks and announce the engagement."

"Oh Will, not tonight. I'm sorry." She stopped him to his surprise. "Let's just have a night in tonight, alright?"

"Alright." He said, a little bruised by this not being the reaction he planned to get from her. "Our friends are going to be hurt if we don't tell them soon."

"Lets announce it when this has all finished." She suggested. "Then we can celebrate properly."

He still didn't look too happy so she leant in and kissed him softly. "Lets have that hot bath now."

He managed out a small smile at what she was offering him and decided he'd better let her have her way.