USS Devonshire
History of the Devonshire
Starting life as a carrier ship in the latter stages of the Romulan and Klingon wars, the USS Devonshire was a low tech, high capacity means for deploying troops, shuttle and even small fighter craft to battle areas around the entire Federation. Designed originally as a Coronado Class through Deck Cruiser, she participated in several key battles which brought about an end to the initial confrontations with the Romulan Empire, and was finally badly damaged in a skirmish with a Klingon D-7 class cruiser only days before the intervention of the Organians and the subsequent conclusion of the Klingon Wars.
Current Incarnation
The USS Devonshire is a reconditioned constitution class starship, (Circa 2270) created by the mis-matched marriage of the engineering hull of the USS Exaclibur and the primary saucer hull of an old, outdated carrier ship, the USS Devonshire.
The saucer and engineering hull had been mated together primarily for storage in lunar orbit prior to the intended destruction of the ship as a target in wargames (testing new upgraded phaser designs on the upgraded and re-fitted USS Enterprise NCC 1701.) The ship was left to fester until the promotion of Captain James Kirk, at which time the now Admiral Kirk was given the hapless and fankly daunting task of refitting the entire Federation Starfleet contingent of heavy cruisers to deal with the more heavily armed and armoured Klingon K'T'inga class warships.
(Many thanks to Brendan Chris for his Constitution Class graphics....)
Seeing the Devonshire as a means to get a single ship, already partially refitted to current specs, back into the field way ahead of any possible completed refit, Kirk pulled every string he could to get the ship ferried back to Spacedock and recomissioned. As the Primary hull had been basically preserved, and merely trimmed down for warp stability, the ship kept her original primary hull name and designation, becoming the 13th vessel (and unluckiest?) of the Constitution Class fleet, with the Naval Construction Code NCC 1808. (Her original Coronado class designation).
Current Crew
During the incident which finally gave fleet Admiral Nogura the leverage to vault Kirk into the Admiralty, a certain Commander Marcus Stone made himself instrumental in the events, causing Kirk to seek retribution by giving the Commander the promotion which he so badly sought.
Initially, Stone is over the moon with his new rank and status as a Captain with his own ship, however after boarding the Devonshire, he soon realised just how much Kirk wanted retribution, and just how much it was likely to cost the new Captain and his crew of misfits and rejects, assembled from the crews of every other ship in the fleet.
Essentially a complete crew of redshirts and other lowly below decks personnel, the men and women of the Devonshire are definitely not your standard Starfleet crew.
Oh Dread! Thy shirt is RED!!!!!