USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B)

USS Enterprise
The USS Enterprise-B (NCC-1701-B) in spacedock
First appearance	Star Trek Generations
Last appearance	Star Trek Generations
Information
Affiliation	United Federation of Planets Starfleet
Launched	2293
General characteristics
Class	Excelsior variant
Registry	NCC-1701-B
Armaments	Photon torpedoes Phasers
Defenses	Deflector shields
Propulsion	Impulse engines Warp drive

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B) (or Enterprise-B) is a fictional starship in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. It is an Excelsior-class variant Starfleet vessel that appears under the command of Captain John Harriman in the film Star Trek Generations. It is the third Federation starship to carry the name Enterprise. Although it does not appear until Star Trek Generations, the presence of an Excelsior-class model amid the models of other starships named Enterprise aboard the Enterprise-D at least informed viewers of its class, though the on-screen version varied slightly from said models.

Maiden voyage

See also: Star Trek Generations

The first mission of the Enterprise-B is to take a number of reporters, Captains James T. Kirk and Montgomery Scott and Commander Pavel Chekov on a ride around the solar system. It is during this demonstration that the Enterprise-B receives a distress call from the transport Lakul which, along with the Robert Fox, is transporting El-Aurian refugees from their homeworld. Being the only ship within range, the Enterprise-B responds – despite lacking a tractor beam, photon torpedoes, and medical staff (as a running gag, all of these things were to be installed on Tuesday).

Harriman and his crew try to free the ships by a variety of means to no avail. After one of the ships is destroyed, Harriman takes Kirk's advice and takes the Enterprise-B into the rift. When the Enterprise-B gets within transporter range, Scott is able to rescue 47 out of the 150 people aboard the Lakul before its destruction. However the Enterprise-B becomes trapped in the rift. Scott believes the navigational deflector can be adapted to emit a blast that can free the ship. The reconfiguration requires manual adjustments, which Kirk performs. As the Enterprise-B moves free of the rift, an energy discharge from the rift strikes the ship near the deflector dish, shearing through several sections in the stardrive hull, including the area in which Kirk was working. With that area exposed to space, Kirk goes missing and is presumed dead.

Notable officers

• Captain John Harriman - Captain of the Enterprise-B.
• Ensign Demora Sulu - Helmsman of the Enterprise-B and daughter of Hikaru Sulu. In the licensed novels, she later replaces Harriman as captain.

Later missions

The Enterprise-B has only been seen in the movie Star Trek Generations. Further details on her, such as specific missions, crew, and her decommission date are not canonically known.

According to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, the Enterprise-B "was a key figure in the exploration of space beyond the Gourami Sector. This ship and her crew were responsible for mapping over 142 star systems, including first contact with seventeen civilizations."

The Enterprise-B is involved in all of the following off-screen works:

• The novel The Captain's Daughter by Peter David
• The PC-based simulation Star Trek: Starship Creator
• The novel Star Trek: The Lost Era: Serpents Among the Ruins by David R. George III
• The short story "Iron and Sacrifice", from the Tales from the Captain's Table anthology, also by David George

The aforementioned works depict the following highlights:

• 2301 — Demora Sulu is promoted to first officer. (The Captain's Daughter)
• 2311 — Following the Tomed Incident with the Romulan Star Empire, Capt. Harriman steps down, and Demora Sulu is promoted to captain. (Serpents Among the Ruins)
• 2315 — Capt. Sulu gives up command—for one year—to care for her terminally ill paternal grandmother, Hana Shimizu. (Tales from the Captain's Table)
• 2332 — The Enterprise-C is commissioned. (Star Trek: The Lost Era: Well of Souls)

In the "Ship's Legacy" section of the officially licensed Enterprise-B cut-away poster by Christopher Cushman; a Captain Tomas Johnson, Jr. is listed as a commanding officer. In retrospect, this would seem to imply that he was the captain during Demora Sulu's leave of absence, however, no additional information is given about him within the novels.

The fate of the Enterprise-B is uncertain, but destruction/decommissioning circa 2330 is implied by the Enterprise-C commission date.