Erika Hernandez Erika Hernandez was a Starfleet officer who served during the mid - 22nd century . By 2154 , she had risen to the rank of captain and commanding officer of Earth ' s second warp five starship , . Early career . Before her promotion to the rank of captain , Hernandez was romantically involved with fellow Starfleet officer Jonathan Archer . However , when Archer was promoted , becoming Hernandez ' s superior officer , he broke off their relationship . ( ) Hernandez ' s last assignment prior to taking command of " Columbia " was on the " Republic " , under Captain Jennings . When she left the ship , Jennings told her that she could have anything that she wanted . Hernandez ultimately chose to take his chef . ( ) " Columbia " . Hernandez was promoted to captain in 2154 . She was then assigned , along with several other officers , to audit Archer ' s debriefing subsequent to ' s return from the Delphic Expanse . After Archer was ordered to take some time off by Admiral Forrest , Hernandez joined Archer as he went rock climbing . Although Archer was initially reluctant to accept Hernandez ' s company , as he viewed her as an uncomfortable reminder of the personal sacrifices he had made during his mission to save Earth from the Xindi , Hernandez was successful in assisting Archer in reconnecting with his Humanity , and briefly rekindled their intimate relationship . She saw in him the explorer her father had wanted her to be . ( ) Although " Columbia " was initially scheduled to launch in June of 2154 , engine difficulties prevented the ship ' s departure from spacedock until November of that year . During that time , Hernandez twice unsuccessfully attempted to recruit Commander Charles Tucker , chief engineer of " Enterprise " , to her crew . Ultimately , Tucker chose to accept the transfer for personal reasons , and was able to accomplish modifications allowing " Columbia " to launch . Shortly afterwards , Hernandez was contacted by Captain Archer , who was requesting Tucker ' s assistance in repairing " Enterprise " s warp drive , which had been sabotage d by Klingon s . After the successful repairs to " Enterprise " s engines , Hernandez and her crew joined " Enterprise " in a dangerous mission into Klingon space to rescue their chief medical officer , Doctor Phlox , and in resolving a crisis involving a virus spreading throughout the Klingon Empire . After the resolution of the crisis , Hernandez granted Archer ' s request to keep Tucker aboard " Enterprise " to assist with repairs . Eventually , Tucker asked Hernandez for a permanent transfer back to " Enterprise " , a request which Hernandez granted . ( , ) Appendices . Background information . Erika Hernandez was played by actress Ada Maris , wife of guest actor Tony Plana . Hernandez ' s first name comes from the " Home " and " Affliction " scripts , and is not used in any episode . Indeed , in her first appearance in " Home " , she is not named at all . Hernandez was conceived as a character for Archer to bond with , perhaps romantically , in the episode " Home " . The ENT writing staff wanted her to be " equal in stature " to him , in showrunner Manny Coto ' s words , and to be someone who would respect Archer as well as being respected by him in return . " " You know , I think at a certain point , the idea of a second starship commander came about , " " Coto recalled . The idea that she be Hispanic was pitched by Manny Coto , who is Cuban himself and had never seen a Latina starship commander . He thus thought it was high time that such a character be portrayed . The script for " Home " described Hernandez as being in her " late thirties " , which would put her birth year at some point during the late - 2110s . It went on to describe her as being " of slight build and carries herself with an air of confidence . " Manny Coto was involved in the casting of Ada Maris as Hernandez . " " I really liked this actress when she came in and read , and I was like , ' That ' s the one , " " Coto reflected . In hindsight , Manny Coto remarked that , if ENT had been renewed for a fifth season , he would have absolutely " loved " to have expanded Hernandez ' s character . Although he wasn ' t sure what he would have had her specifically do as the series progressed , he commented , " " I really liked her " [ . . . ] " She would have been a terrific additional , you know , with her ship and with " Enterprise " . It would have been an expansion of Starfleet . " " Apocrypha . Hernandez appears in the " Star Trek : Enterprise " novel " Beneath the Raptor ' s Wing " , during which her ship is attacked and incapacitated by Romulan forces , requiring a tow home from Vulcan ships . She is later present at a Coalition Security Council meeting during which Soval announces Vulcan ' s alternative defense plan . Hernandez finds this plan to be ridiculous and questions it . Later , she has dinner with multiple starship captains at the Lotus Blossom . The novel takes place in the year 2155 . The book " " states Hernandez was promoted to fleet captain prior to the start of the Earth - Romulan War , and in 2156 , " Columbia " and " Excalibur " were ordered to Starbase 1 in the Algeron system , officially for scheduled maintenance , though the real reason was to protect the base from a potential Romulan attack . The Romulans had declared that Algeron was their property and ordered Humans to leave weeks before . On May 18 , five Romulan warbird s attacked the system and jammed communication channels . Hernandez ordered the " Excalibur " to retreat and warn Starfleet , while " Columbia " stayed to defend the system . " Columbia " was lost with all hands , including Hernandez . In the " " novel " Gods of Night " , " Columbia " is assigned to escort a convoy when they are attacked by the Romulans , in the year 2156 . With the convoy destroyed and " Columbia " s warp drive offline , Hernandez orders the use of the ship ' s impulse engines to make a journey to reach the nearest class M planet with any sign of technology , during which the vessel and all aboard experience time dilation effects . While the journey takes twelve years in normal time , the crew of " Columbia " experiences a passage of only sixty - three days . Arriving in 2168 , Hernandez commands the landing party to the planet Erigol that makes first contact with the Caeliar race , liaisoning with Inyx . After efforts by Major Stephen Foyle and other members of the team to use the Caeliar ' s technology to return " Columbia " to its original time go badly wrong , the city - ship of Axion , including Hernandez and three of her crew , are relocated in time to the year 1519 . This story is followed up in the " Destiny " novels " Mere Mortals " , in which Hernandez encounters Captain William T . Riker and the in the year 2381 during a mass Borg invasion of the Alpha Quadrant , and " Lost Souls " , in which she meets the crew of the and reveals her true nature as a Caeliar , having been granted Caeliar " catoms " after she was the last member of the " Columbia " crew left alive and in Axion . She is subsequently able to use her catoms to " hack " the Borg Collective – which was created by corrupted Caeliar technology – as she acts as a second Borg Queen , destroying most of the attacking Borg ships and subsequently drawing the rest back to the Azure Nebula , where the Caeliar absorb the Borg Collective into themselves and ascend to a higher level with Hernandez .