Editing Devastator (Individual Soyal-class WarShip)

{{infoBoxIndividualVessel
| image        = 
| vesselname   = Devastator
| prevname     =
| type         = [[WarShip]]
| class        = [[Soyal]]
| prevclass    = 
| servicesince =
| serviceuntil = March [[2789]]
}}

==Overview==
The '''''Devastator''''' was a ''[[Soyal]]''-class<ref name="FSWp63"/> heavy cruiser in service with the [[Free Worlds League Military]] as the FWLS ''Devastator'' during the years following the collapse of the [[Star League]].<ref name="HS(TLC)p50"/>

==History==
===Acquisition of the Ship===
The ''Devastator'' was among the Free Worlds League's order for the ''Soyal''-Class, after the Capellan Confederation had ordered a batch of these ships for their fleet from [[Delhi WarShips]].<ref>''Field Report 2765: CCAF'', p. 21: "Soyal-Class Heavy Cruiser" - Free Worlds League purchases Soyals from Delhi for its fleet.</ref>

===Third Battle of Hesperus II===
The [[Free Worlds League]] launched an attack against the world of [[Hesperus II]] in [[2789]], intent on capturing the planet and the vital factories there despite the destruction of the orbital shipyards there by WarShips from the [[Draconis Combine]] in [[2787]].<ref name="HS(TLC)p50"/> Launched in March, the attack was commanded by [[Fleet Admiral]] [[Thaddeus Marik (29th c.)|Thaddeus Marik]] from his flagship, the ''[[Lola III]]''-class destroyer [[Bucharest|FWLS ''Bucharest'']]. Thaddeus—the son of [[Captain-General]] [[Kenyon Marik]]—used information obtained by Free Worlds League intelligence agents on the attacks launched against Hesperus II by the [[Federated Suns]] and Combine to form his plan of attack, and had decided that he wouldn't attempt to capture the world - instead, he was intent on destroying the factories from orbit. This meant that Thaddeus wasn't constrained by the need to escort or protect ground forces and their transport vessels; his attack was intended to use speed and surprise to achieve victory, and was based around a daring gamble - a jump insertion into the Hesperus system via a Lagrange point between the system primary and Hesperus I.<ref name="FSWp63">''First Succession War'', pp. 63–64: "The Third Battle (vs. Marik)"</ref>

While the [[Star League Defense Force]] had used similar tactics, the [[SLDF]] had only attempted such maneuvers using ships equipped with [[Lithium-Fusion Battery|Lithium-Fusion batteries]], so that if there was a problem, the ships could quickly jump back to safety. Of the WarShips assembled by Thaddeus, only the ''Bucharest'' had such a battery; nevertheless, the advantages in jumping in to such a risky pirate point outweighed the risks for Thaddeus - the arrival of his fleet would limit the Lyran response time, with emissions from the system primary masking both the arrival of the fleet and the signs of their swift acceleration towards Hesperus II.<ref name="FSWp63"/>

The task force approached Hesperus II from an unusual vector, intent on not repeating the mistakes made by the Draconis Combine and the [[Federated Suns]] during the first and second battles for Hesperus II. Unfortunately for the League task force, the [[Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces]] had bolstered the garrison at Hesperus II just days before by assigning two cruisers to the system, the veteran WarShip [[Granite (Individual Aegis-class WarShip)|LCS ''Granite'']] and the [[Endeavor (Individual Aegis-class WarShip)|LCS ''Endeavor'']] under the overall command of [[Fleet Admiral]] [[Oscar F. Dewey]].<ref name="HS(TLC)p50"/> Veteran ''[[Aegis]]''-class heavy cruisers, the ''Endeavor'' and ''Granite'' also possessed LF-batteries, having been refitted by the SLDF prior to the [[Amaris Civil War]]. Dewey responded to the urgent warnings of the inbound League fleet by ordering the ''Endeavor'' and ''Granite'' to execute an emergency jump to the lunar Lagrange point between Hesperus II and its moon, allowing the two Lyran heavy cruisers to reach planetary orbit at the same time as Thaddeus' ships were due to make contact with the bulk of the Hesperus II naval defenses.<ref name="FSWp63">''First Succession War'', pp. 63–64: "The Third Battle (vs. Marik)"</ref>

Thaddeus had anticipated heavy defenses, and ordered the ''Devastator'' and a sister ship, the [[Skulker (Individual Soyal-class WarShip)|FWLS ''Skulker'']]<ref name="FSWp63"/> - the two largest WarShips assigned to the fleet tasked with capturing Hesperus II<ref name="HS(TLC)p50">''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 50: "Attacks on Hesperus II"</ref> - to break off from the main battle and attack the factory sites. The sudden arrival of the ''Endeavor'' and ''Granite'' caught both League heavy cruisers by surprise;<ref name="FSWp63"/> the ''Endeavor'' and the ''Granite'' targeted the two ''Soyals'', exchanging furious broadsides with their opponents in a fashion akin to the blue water naval battles of old on [[Terra]], but after several broadsides it became apparent that the more modern ''Devastator'' was swiftly getting the upper hand against the much older ''Granite''. From his position aboard the ''Granite'' it became apparent to Dewey that he was faced with the potential loss of the entire battle, and as a consequence Dewey took a desperate step, ordering the ''Granite'' to ram the ''Devastator''. The Lyran cruiser drove its prow deep into the bowels of its opponent, pushing both of them out of orbit and into a spiral towards the surface of Hesperus II while the ''Endeavor'' and the ''Skulker'' continued to battle each other.<ref name="HS(TLC)p50"/>

When Dewey became aware of the rapid descent of both ships towards the planet he had the ''Granite'' pull itself free of the ''Devastator'' using its maneuvering drive, the two ships finally separating as their hulls began visibly glowing from the friction of atmospheric entry. The venerable ''Granite'' fought for several minutes to remain above the atmosphere, but it became apparent that she could no longer maneuver effectively and Dewey ordered his crew to abandon ship. The ''Endeavor'' vanquished the ''Skulker'' and swiftly recovered the crew of the ''Granite'', and with both League cruisers vanquished, the League fleet no longer had a clear advantage over the Lyran defenders and retreated<ref name="HS(TLC)p50"/> even as three squadrons of attack DropShips were detected lifting off from Hesperus II to help close the gap in the orbital defenses left by the attack.<ref name="FSWp63"/>

The ''Devastator'' and the ''Granite'' burned up together in the atmosphere of Hesperus II, the last remains of the two ships crashing violently into the surface close to the vital factories over which they had been fighting.<ref name="HS(TLC)p50"/>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[First Succession War (sourcebook)]]''
* ''[[House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)]]''

[[Category: Individual WarShips]]
[[Category: Individual Heavy Cruisers]]
[[Category: Individual Soyal-class WarShips]]