USS Devastator
- "We will do what is hard, we will achieve what is great."
- —John Fitzgerald Kennedy - Ship's Dedication Quote
The Sovereign-class USS Devastator-D was commissioned in 2383 under the command of Captain Christopher Johnson. The ship’s motto is “We will do what is hard, we will achieve what is great,” from the 20th Century American President, John F. Kennedy. The previous incarnation, a Nebula-class refit USS Devastator-C was commissioned at the Avalon Fleet Yards, with her commissioning taking place exactly one year after she was first launched. She was launched under the command of Lt. Commander Christopher Johnson and all her missions thus far have been great successes. Originally her motto was selected by the young and overzealous Commanding Officer, and read “Walk softy and carry a big stick.”
History
The Devastator name has had a long history that dates back to the 20th century. The USS Devastator, an 890-ton Auk-class minesweeper built at Alameda, California, was commissioned in January 1944. During the remaining part of Earth’s World War II, she served in the Pacific Ocean Fleet and took part in the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and in raids on Japan.
Following the War’s end, she operated off the U.S. West Coast and in Hawaiian waters until decommissioned in January 1947. Devastator returned to active service in February 1952 and twice deployed to the Far East over the next two years. In 1952-53, during the first deployment, she was engaged in Korean War mine sweeping operations. Devastator was reclassified MSF-318 in February 1955 and was again decommissioned in the following April. Transferred to Mexico in 1973, she was renamed Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada and remained in service with the Mexican Navy until she was scrapped.
The Second ship to carry the name was a Mine Warfare Vessel. In the early 1980s, the U.S. Navy began the development of a new mine countermeasures (MCM) force, which included two new classes of ships and minesweeping helicopters. The vital importance of a state-of-the-art mine countermeasures force was strongly underscored in the Persian Gulf during the eight years of the Iran-Iraq war, and in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991. Avenger class ships were designed as mine hunter-killers capable of finding, classifying and destroying moored and bottom mines.
These ships used sonar and video systems, cable cutters and a mine detonating device that could be released and detonated by remote control. They were also capable of conventional sweeping measures. The ships are of fibreglass-sheathed, wooden hull construction. They were the first large mine countermeasures ships built in the United States in nearly 27 years.
Spacefaring
After years of progress and scientific discovery, the Devastator name still lived on. One of the first DY-100 class sleeper ships ever built was named Devastator. It was one of the first ships to transport people to Mars. Soon after Starfleet was created, The Devastator was a ship in the early Earth Starfleet, though records on this have been lost.
The Devastator has also been a constitution class starship in the early 23rd century like the USS Enterprise. During that time it was the Federation’s tactical strike vessel. Going on the front lines of any conflict.
The Devastator-A was given to a Freedom class ship, after the former Devastator was destroyed by rouge Romulans after its 2nd Refit. The Devastator-A was a diplomatic vessel. The Devastator transported Federation diplomats to and from their conferences. Though it did find its share of trouble. The Devastator-A was on a routine mission when they were suddenly ambushed by 2 Romulan ships. Their mission was to kidnap the Federation Ambassador. The Devastator-A was commanded by Commander Charles Nepel. a good friend of LtCdr Johnson. He was unfortunately killed while the ship was being attacked. The Devastator-A was destroyed in that conflict, along with the Federation Ambassador, and the 2 Romulan ships.
The Dominion War. It was a time the Federation would rather forget. Against the Dominion, a brute force from the Gamma Quadrant. The Defiant class, the first pure warship the federation had ever produced. The Devastator, a name bread for war, lived on. Towards the end of the war, one of the defiant classes launched bore the name Devastator-B. It fought bravely against all odds, at the Battle for Cardassia. It served in Captain Sisko’s attack group. And when the war had come to end and the losses were tallied up, the USS Devastator-B was lost in glorious battle.
Nebula-class
The USS Devastator-C was commissioned on December 2nd, 2380 as a Nebula-class starship commanded by, then, Lt. Commander Christopher Johnson. She was placed into the Fourth Fleet’s (codenamed: Bravo Fleet) Task Force 58. Based out of the Raeyan Sector, a noted place of political and economic turmoil, her first mission was one with plenty of surprises. After spending over 6 weeks in spacedock undergoing last-minute replacements and refits she was declared active and sent out on her shakedown. While making a short trip around the sector a faint Federation energy signature was picked up on a planet that had been marked as uninhabited.
After going to investigate the signature, the crew stumbled upon a crashed landed NX class ship. The Columbia, as she was designated, was recorded as lost in Starfleet’s early records. Apparently, according to logs, the ship’s crew was put into stasis for a period of time; the stasis units malfunctioned, however. The ship then crash-landed on the planet decades ago. With further investigation they discovered that C’hakilians were using the ship as an “underground base” with the crew of the Columbia being forced into labor.
The Devastator crew devised a plan to get the crew out and destroy the base. The crew of the Columbia is now living amongst the population.
After their gallant acts, Starfleet command granted the Devastator and her crew shore leave on Earth. However afterward Starfleet Command had a very important mission for them. Admiral Janeway was sent to the Devastator with orders to proceed to the Romulan Neutral Zone to wait for Ambassador Spock. Mission details were sketchy in the beginning however, because the Admiral did not wish to share Starfleet’s intentions with everyone just yet. Spock’s death was faked so that he could get back to Romulus without the Romulans knowing about him. After reporting to the Federation Council, Ambassador Spock was to be brought back to Romulus under the disguise of a Diplomatic conference. The plan went off without a hitch.
On their way back to the Starbase Bravo, the Devastator picked up an urgent distress call from the planet Sinela IV. A subspace anomaly was wreaking havoc on the planet’s tides causing the tides to flux on the planet covered 85% by water. The Devastator and her crew not only had to deal with closing the tear, but also keeping peace on the planet’s surface. Injured were sent up to the Dev to get medical care while Marines were sent down to protect the government that was in place. It was later found out that a crime lord known as Po’Real was behind the subspace anomaly and it was decided that he needed to be captured and brought in for questioning to find out how to close the tear.
Ships from another galaxy came out of the tear and attacked the Devastator giving Po’Real time to escape into the tear. Figuring that if the tear was closed, he wouldn’t be able to get back – Commander Johnson decided to find the source of the tear and destroy the emitter; therefore closing the rift, sealing Po’Real and his friends inside.
After another shore leave the Dev was out again with newly promoted Captain Johnson to investigate the strange medical condition that one Admiral Knapp was diagnosed with on the planet Rumlla V. It turned out, after a series of unfortunate events, that some kind of neural parasite took over his body. The Federation had encountered these being before and it appeared that they were back for more. The beings took over several high-ranking members of the Dev crew and were set on taking over more Starfleet officials. Captain Johnson was taken over for a brief period of time where he was able to communicate the frequency that the mother was transmitting on to the crew. Once the mother was destroyed, all the infected personnel lost consciousness and the healing was set to begin.
The crew needed some serious downtime after they saw several members of their own crew do things they never thought they would. Starfleet granted them two weeks worth of time off on Risa. However, as most things go, their leave was cut short. An explosion rocked the Risan government facility… Po’Real was back.
Another subspace rift had formed in the Ventrillius system and the Devastator made her way there. Sure enough, Po’Real was behind it all, this time the Dev followed him into the rift. They ended up 4 million light years away from their home, the Milky Way. After finding a planet called Del-Raeya the people soon enlisted the help of the Dev and her crew to defeat Po’Real who had aligned himself with a rebelling faction of their people. Captain Johnson decided that it was their duty to remove Po’Real from their world, he was getting involved in something that he had no business dealing with. With the help of the Del-Raeyans the Dev and her crew pushed Po’Real out, through a new rift he created back to the Milky Way. As the battle ensued the Dev was very badly damaged, a distress call was sent out but unfortunately, ships did not arrive in time to save the Dev. Captain Johnson called to abandon ship and set the Dev on a collision course with Po’Real‘s massive carrier ship which created an anti-matter explosion that sealed the rift. Johnson got out in time to be with his crew when the ships arrived to pick them up. It was unknown whether or not James Shadowfast survived.
Most of the Dev crew was safely pulled out alive, there were several members of the crew who did not make it however. Services were held for their fallen comrades on Starbase Bravo. After a period of uncertainty, it was decided by Bravo Fleet staff that the Devastator would be recommissioned as a Sovereign Class and given the registry NCC 81543-D. Captain Johnson was promoted to Commodore and became Task Force 58‘s Executive Officer. Shortly afterward, he was once again promoted, to the rank of Rear Admiral and assumed the position of Task Force 58‘s Commanding Officer.
Sovereign-class
Devastator-D’s first mission was a medical emergency on the planet Karr. An away team was sent to figure out what the virus was and how to cure it. Through the efforts of the medical teams aboard the Devastator, it was discovered that the virus was actually the old human virus, Variola vera, or smallpox. The planet was quickly inoculated along with the crew of the Devastator.
Afterwards, Christopher Johnson was promoted to Bravo Fleet’s Beta Division CO and given command of Hawkeye Island. The Devastator is now an assigned ship to the base on Raeya 3. The Devastator saw action under Christopher Johnson by heading to the Ventrillius system on a mission to rescue a stranded Michael Dankar. The ship was later joined by the USS Kilo, and the USS John Glenn in a battle against Sinlean battleships. The Devastator received minor damage, and was able to return to Raeya.