In 'Yesterday's Enterprise,' who commands the USS Enterprise-C?

Captain Rachel Garrett commands the USS Enterprise-C in “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” She and her damaged crew emerge from a temporal anomaly more than two decades after their own time, discovering an alternate future in which the Federation is losing a war with the Klingons.

Garrett explains that the Enterprise-C had answered a distress call from the Klingon outpost on Narendra III and was attacked by Romulan warships. Guinan recognizes that the ship’s return to the future has changed history. To restore the proper timeline, Garrett agrees to take the Enterprise-C back through the anomaly, even though the mission is effectively suicidal.

Garrett is killed during the attempt to withdraw. Her helmsman, Lieutenant Richard Castillo, then assumes command and pilots the ship back toward its own era. The Enterprise-C’s sacrifice helps establish the Federation-Klingon alliance seen in the normal timeline.

The episode aired February 19, 1990, as TNG season three’s 15th episode. Rachel Garrett was portrayed by Tricia O’Neil and remains one of Star Trek’s best-known historical female starship captains.