USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B)

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B) was a Federation explorer in service to Starfleet in the late 23rd and early 24th centuries. She was launched in 2293 under the command of Captain John Harriman. She was later commanded by Demora Sulu and Tomas Johnson, Jr..

Over the course of the Enterprise-B's service, she was remembered as a key figure in exploring beyond the Gourami Sector, mapping over 142 star systems and making first contact with 17 different civilizations. 

Construction
The Enterprise was built at the Antares Ship Yards; the decision to model the ship after the failed experiment USS Excelsior (NCC-2000) was highly controversial. However, Starfleet decided to use it for both economic and technical reasons, as Excelsior classes had shown that they could withstand the test of time; indeed, they would still be in service nearly a century after first being developed. 

Maiden voyage
By 2293 construction work on the Enterprise had been completed, with only a few components needing to be installed such as a tractor beam and the loading of photon torpedoes. Despite this, the Enterprise-B was launched from a drydock orbiting Earth on a maiden voyage with three honored guests aboard in the form of Captains James T. Kirk and Montgomery Scott and Commander Pavel Chekov, as well as a large number of journalists.

Although the maiden voyage was just meant to be a short trip out to Pluto and back again, the Enterprise received a distress call from two Federation transport ships who were bringing El-Aurian refugees back to Earth. Although not fully equipped, there were no other vessels in range, and Captain Harriman reluctantly gave the order to intercept them. Upon arrival, the Enterprise discovered that the transports had become trapped in an energy distortion called the Nexus, and the starship herself became ensnared in the distortion when moving into transporter range. Unfortunately, the Enterprise's was too late to help the crew of one transport, the SS, as it exploded and was only able to rescue 47 people at of 150 aboard the SS, before it to was destroyed.

Trapped in the Nexus, Captain Scott devised a way to free the ship using a resonance burst from the deflector dish to simulate an antimatter explosion, after a plan to use torpedoes had failed, as there weren't any on board. Captain Kirk went to deflector control in order to make the necessary modifications as the Enterprise's secondary hull was struck by an energy tendril. The Enterprise escaped with minor casualties and a major hull breach along sections 20 through 28 on decks 13 through 15. Kirk was believed killed in the breach, and the mission became notorious due to his loss. 

An inquiry that followed cleared Harriman of any blame, although several former members of Kirk's crew held him to account. At some point by approximately 2294, Harriman would have a dedication plaque for Kirk installed in the area of the ship where he was at the time believed to be killed. 

Service history
In 2307, Enterprise underwent a rather extensive refit, possibly bringing it up to the standards of the new Romulan vessels. 

Captain Harriman remained in command of Enterprise until 2311, when the ship played a key role during the Tomed Incident. Following the incident, Harriman stepped down, and command was given to his first officer, Demora Sulu. 


 * Note: The Starfleet Operations Manual stated that John Harriman's tenure as captain of the Enterprise lasted five years (2293 to 2298).

Sulu commanded the ship until 2315, when she took a leave of absence to care for her terminally-ill paternal grandmother. During this leave, Enterprise set off on a year-long exploration mission, which was wildly successful, and earned the new captain a promotion to admiral. Sulu then returned to the ship, and remained in command for several years thereafter. (SS TLE (Iron and Sacrifice))

Other captains of the NCC-1701-B during its lifetime included Tomas Johnson, Jr.
 * It is unknown if Johnson was the captain during Sulu's leave, or after her second stint as captain of the Enterprise-B.

On reference stardate 2/9208.12, the Enterprise-B engaged two hostile battleships, a Klingon and a Romulan, in the Triangle sector, about five parsecs from the space of the Imperial Klingon States. Both vessels were defeated, but the Enterprise was also lost with critical battle damage. The upshot of the encounter was the end of IKS activity in the area, as the rebel government could not afford to lose any more capital ships after two large scale vessels were claimed by the Enterprise battle. 


 * The Enterprise-B was lost sometime prior to 2332, when the story "Hour of Fire", featuring the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C), was set.

USS Enterprise-B personnel

 * See: USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B) personnel