John Harriman

John Harriman

**John Jason Harriman II** (June 3, 2259 - 30 September, 2298\*), the son of Admiral John "Blackjack" Harriman, was a human Starfleet Officer and Ambassador for the United Federation of Planets in the late 23rd century. He rose through the ranks rapidly, in part due to his father's influence, eventually being assigned command of the newly commissioned U.S.S. *Enterprise*-B in 2293. Harriman would serve as Captain of the *Enterprise*-B until his disappearance, along with his whole ship and crew, in 2298.

\*Harriman and his ship were never found and so were declared dead in absentia on September 30, 2998, 6 months following the ships' last appearance in April 2998.

## Early life

Harriman was born aboard the U.S.S. *Sea of Tranquility* and lived most of his childhood on a series of starships. Until his entrance into Starfleet Academy, he had never spent more than a few weeks planetside. This was a uncomfortable experience for Harriman as he found the sky in particular to induce agoraphobic reactions. After a few months however, he recovered and excelled in his studies. He studied the Romulan Star Empire in depth, an interest he had maintained after hearing stories of his grandfather's participation in the Earth-Romulan War as told by his father. He graduated in three years on an accelerated program.

## Career

### **Aboard the *Hunley***

As a Lieutenant, Harriman served on the U.S.S. *Hunley* as the Conn Officer. During a disastrous conflict with the Romulan Vessel *Daami* and its commander Aventeer Vokar, the vessel was disabled and severely damaged, the majority of the senior staff killed during the attack. With a Romulan boarding party on the way, Harriman was able to beam over to *Daami* and hold Vokar captive at gunpoint. Though Harriman was tempted to kill Vokar for what he had done, he was unable to, but was successful in capturing the *Daami* and returning both ships to Federation space. This incident would spark a fierce rivalry between Vokar and the Federation, with his ascension to Romulan political office causing major issues for Starfleet. Vokar would later seek revenge against Harriman, only to find him and his ship (U.S.S. *Enterprise*-B) had gone missing.

### **Captain of the *Enterprise***

Harriman was granted command of the NCC-1701-B Enterprise, following the de-commissioning of Captain James T. Kirk's U.S.S. *Enterprise*-A. This came as a shock to many within Starfleet as Harriman was promoted directly to the Captaincy following only a year as Commander (and First Officer onboard the U.S.S. *Hunley*). Many attributed this to Harriman's father, Fleet Admiral John "Blackjack" Harriman, and his influence over the assignment of the Captain of the Federation's flagship. This was particularly hard for Harriman as he now knew he had a lot prove.

#### **Maiden Voyage**

The *Enterprise*-B is known as the "doomed flag", a nickname given following her maiden voyage. She was formally launched following a ceremony on March 3, 2993. However, on the day of her first voyage, she was called in to rescue three ships, of El-Aurian origin, which had been caught in a fierce energy ribbon. This spatial anomaly was never before explored by the Federation. The *Enterprise*, carrying a skeleton crew as well as Captain James Kirk (to witness the first voyage of the new *Enterprise*), arrived at the scene to attempt to rescue the vessels. Without the help of a tractor beam (it hadn't been fitted by the time of the first outing), the *Enterprise* herself got caught in the ribbon. With the use of their main deflector dish, the ship was able to escape. However, this came at the cost of Captain Kirk's own life. Following this incident, Harriman's *Enterprise* was believed by a few to be cursed. Despite an actual curse not being the case, the ship's bad luck is an interesting note on her short history.