Shelby Commander Shelby was a Human Starfleet officer . In the 2360s , she was noted to be a highly ambitious officer , on the fast track to promotion to the captain cy of a starship . History . In 2366 , Lieutenant Commander Shelby was assigned to Starfleet Tactical . She was in charge of Starfleet ' s tactical analysis and defensive planning for a potential Borg invasion . Under the supervision of Admiral J . P . Hanson , Shelby proved the first who was able to put the project on a productive track . Thereafter , Hanson worked extremely closely with Shelby , spearheading all efforts to develop defenses against the Borg . When the Federation colony on Jouret IV was destroyed , Shelby and Hanson were dispatched to consult with Jean - Luc Picard and determine whether or not the Borg were responsible . Following confirmation of a Borg presence in Federation space , she stayed aboard the to develop strategies for facing the imminent attack . Upon hearing that " Enterprise " first officer William T . Riker had been offered command of the , Shelby assumed Riker would accept and set her sights on gaining the appointment as Captain Picard ' s new first officer . However , when she arrived on the " Enterprise " , she got off on the wrong foot with Riker when she said she intended to become his replacement . She remained at odds with Riker , largely because her fast and loose style clashed strongly with his safe and by - the - book tendencies . Hoping to get an early start on locating evidence of the Borg attack , she led an unauthorized away team to Jouret ' s surface without receiving approval from Riker beforehand , going over Riker ' s head to propose combat strategies to Captain Picard himself . Shelby also demonstrated her keen senses when she beat Riker in a poker game by calling his bluff . Once the Borg attack came , Shelby proved herself to be an extremely capable officer . When Captain Picard was kidnapped by the Borg , she led an away team in an attempt to rescue him . When Riker was granted a promotion to captain , he appointed Shelby to be his first officer and promoted her to commander despite their differences , later noting that they made a good team . Following the destruction of the Borg cube and Picard ' s return as captain of the " Enterprise " , Shelby returned to Starfleet Command to lead the task force assigned to rebuild the fleet following the disastrous Battle of Wolf 359 . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Shelby was described in the script for " The Best of Both Worlds " as being in her late twenties . She was " " very beautiful , energetic , extremely motivated and ambitious " . " " " Shelby was played by Elizabeth Dennehy . Regarding the reference to a " Captain Shelby " in , Ronald D . Moore commented : Apocrypha . Shelby reappears in Peter David ' s novel " Vendetta " , as first officer of the starship USS " Chekov " , serving under Captain Morgan Korsmo . She recounts the battle over Earth to her bridge crew , and is reunited with Riker when the " Chekov " and " Enterprise " - D combine forces to halt a new Borg invasion . For some reason , David describes her as having thick red hair , rather than blonde . David re - used the character as the first officer of the in the " " series of novels , where her full name was revealed to be Elizabeth Paula Shelby . Later in the " New Frontier " series , she became captain of the for six months before taking command of the USS " Trident " ( NCC - 31347 ) . For more information , please see her " New Frontier " character entry . David later wrote passages into a " New Frontier " novel explaining that there were two unrelated Shelbys in Starfleet , clarifying the discrepancy introduced in " You Are Cordially Invited " . According to the video game " " , Shelby was born in Lawrence , Kansas to parents Anita and Brian Shelby .