The Sim

"Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. But I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey, and reminds us to cherish every moment because they'll never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we've lived." -Captain Jean-Luc Picard

The USS Missouri is a Bellerophon Class starship currently serving in Theta Fleet's Area 51.

Origin of the Missouri Name:

Unofficially nicknamed the "Show Me State," the state of Missouri in the Midwestern United States is named for the Missouri River, which in and of itself is named after the indigenous Missouria tribe. (Spelled Niutachi in their own language) French colonists adapted a form of the Illinois language name of the tribe: Wimihsoorita. Their name means "one who has dugout canoes."

History of the Missouri (1841-2400)

Named after the US State of Missouri, the 24th state admitted to the union, the USS Missouri has a long history of many different ships dating back to the 1840s and has had a huge impact on the naval capacity of both the United States of America and the United Federation of Planets.

The first recorded vessel to carry the name Missouri was a 10 gun side wheel frigate that was one of the first steam warships in the United States Navy. She was launched on January 7, 1841 and commissioned in early 1842 with Captain John T. Newton in command. The Missouri departed New York at the end of March 1842 on a shakedown cruise to Washington D.C. with her sister ship Mississippi. The Missouri ran aground opposite Port Tobacco, Maryland on April 1, and did not arrive in Washington until the 13th. For the rest of 1842, the Missouri performed numerous trial runs out of the nation’s capital, demonstrating the advantages of steam propulsion to the United States Government before departing for a long distance cruise to the Gulf of Mexico. She returned on April 25, 1843, and underwent an overhaul in preparation for an extended distance deployment.

On August 6, 1843, the Missouri embarked Caleb Cushing, the US Minister to China, bound for Alexandria, Egypt on the first leg of Cushing’s journey to negotiate the first commercial treaty with China. The ship arrived in Gibraltar on August 25, 1843, and anchored in the Gibraltar harbor. On the night of August 26, the engineer’s yeoman accidentally broke and ignited a demijohn of turpentine in the ship’s storeroom. The flames spread so quickly that the crew was forced to abandon ship. Fortunately, Minister Cushing was able to save his letter to the Daoguang Emperor of China, saving his mission as a result. In the span of four hours, the steam frigate was reduced to a blackened and sinking hulk before finally, at 3:20 AM on the morning of the 27th, the forward powder magazine exploded, finishing off what remained of the still-burning ship.

HMS Malabar assisted the Missouri in fighting the fire and took aboard some 200 survivors. Sir Robert Wilson, the governor of Gibraltar at the time, opened the gates of Gibraltar to the Missouri survivors in an act of courtesy which was recognized by a resolution of appreciation from Congress. What remained of the Missouri was a hazard to navigation, and the wreck was later removed by divers from the harbor’s shallow waters. Ultimately, Captain Newton was court martialed for negligence in regards to the loss of the ship, and was found guilty, being sentenced to suspension from service until March 3, 1845, when US President John Tyler remitted the rest of Newton’s sentence.

The second vessel to carry the name Missouri was a Maine Class battleship that was also the second ship of her class. Laid down on February 7, 1900 at Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company, launched on December 28, 1901 and formally commissioned almost two years later on December 1, 1903, this Missouri spent her entire career in the Atlantic with the North Atlantic Fleet, later just the Atlantic Fleet. In late 1907, The Missouri and the rest of her fleet mates in the Atlantic Fleet circumnavigated the Earth as the so-called “Great White Fleet,” which ended in February of 1909.

The Missouri was decommissioned in 1910, though she was periodically reactivated for summer training cruises over the next six years. After the United States entered Earth’s First World War in 1917, the Missouri was brought back into permanent service to train personnel for the expanding wartime navy. She served briefly as a troopship in 1919, ferrying American soldiers back from France, before she was decommissioned for good in September of 1919. Ultimately the Missouri was sold for scrap in 1922, and met her demise at the cutter’s torch.

The third and perhaps most famous vessel to carry the name Missouri was an Iowa Class Battleship built for the United States Navy in the 1940s and seeing action in Earth’s Second World War, Korean War, and Gulf War, known colloquially as “Operation Desert Storm.” Built between January 6, 1941 and January 29, 1944, being christened by then-United States Senator from Missouri Harry S. Truman’s daughter, Margaret Truman, at her launching ceremony, at which her father also gave a speech, the Missouri was formally commissioned on June 11, 1944.

After her commissioning, the Missouri was assigned to the Pacific Theater of Earth’s Second World War, where she participated in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and had a part in the shelling of the Japanese home islands. Her quarterdeck was the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2nd, 1945, ending World War II. A notable crewmember who served aboard the Missouri during this era was Fireman 1st Class Harry Francis Cooke, a plank owner of the vessel from Des Plaines, Illinois who served aboard from June 10, 1944 until March 24, 1947, the day before his 20th birthday.

After World War II, the Missouri served in various diplomatic, show of force, and training missions. On January 17, 1950, the ship ran aground during high tide in Chesapeake Bay, and after great effort, was refloated a few weeks later. The Missouri later fought in the Korean War during two tours between 1950 and 1953. The Missouri was the first American battleship on scene and served as the flagship of several Admirals. The ship took part in numerous shore bombardment operations and served in a screening role for American aircraft carriers. After eleven continuous years of service, the Missouri was decommissioned on February 26, 1955 and placed in a reserve fleet.

However, in 1984, the Missouri was reactivated and modernized as part of the 600 ship navy plan under US President Ronald Reagan. Cruise and anti-ship missile launchers were added along with updated electronics. The Missouri’s original aircraft catapults were removed and replaced with a helicopter pad. The ship served in the Persian Gulf escorting oil tankers amidst threats from Iran, often while keeping her fire control systems trained on land-based Iranian missile launchers. In 1991, the Missouri served in Operation Desert Storm and provided fire support to coalition forces.

In 1992, the Missouri was decommissioned for the last time, though she remained on the naval vessel register until she was struck in 1995. In 1998, she was donated to the USS Missouri Memorial Association and became a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. She was strategically placed so that her bow faced the USS Arizona Memorial above the wreck of the USS Arizona to convey that the Missouri watches over the remains of the Arizona so that the crewmembers interred within Arizona’s hull may rest in peace.

The fourth vessel to carry the name Missouri was the seventh Virginia Class Attack Submarine. Built under a joint arrangement between General Dynamics Electric Boat and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Newport News between her keel laying on September 27, 2008 and her christening on December 5, 2009, the Missouri was completed nine months early and under budget. She was formally commissioned on July 31, 2010.

The Missouri completed her first 6 month deployment to the United States 6th Fleet on December 20, 2013. Three months later, in March of 2014, the Missouri made an 11 week long surge deployment in the North Atlantic. While unconfirmed, the Missouri’s deployment was likely linked to the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, which occurred that exact same month. The Missouri served with the 6th fleet through 2015.

On January 26, 2018, the Missouri sailed into her new homeport of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii from Groton, Connecticut. On March 31, 2022, the Missouri returned to Pearl Harbor following a deployment to the 7th fleet. The Missouri remained in active service with the US Pacific Fleet as of 2022.

The fifth vessel and first Starfleet vessel to carry the name Missouri was a Miranda Class Starship commissioned in 2285. She served along the Romulan Neutral Zone for just over Fifty Years. She was mainly used as a patrol vessel and didn't see much action in her service. She did however detect Romulan Activity along the Neutral Zone sixteen times, which was recorded and logged by Starfleet Intelligence. She was decommissioned in 2335, shortly after her 50th birthday.

Rumors of her reactivation persisted until 2344, when Starfleet announced that the Missouri would be added to the Fleet Museum. Restored to the condition she was in when her last crew disembarked and put on display in 2345, the Missouri would serve as the Museum's example of the Miranda class' late 23rd century configuration: A contrast to a later addition to the Museum's collection: The Missouri's contemporary, the USS Saratoga, which was controversially updated to a 2360s configuration to pay tribute to the Saratoga which was lost at Wolf 359, on which Benjamin Sisko had served as First Officer.

The sixth vessel to carry the name Missouri was an Excelsior Class Starship commissioned in 2346. She was built for the Eighteenth Fleet and was assigned to patrol duties along the border of the Cardassian Union, especially after their recent invasion and annexation of the Bajor System. She engaged in minor skirmishes along the Cardassian Border. When open war between the Federation and Cardassian Union broke out in 2347, the Missouri found herself on the front lines. She participated in fleet battles and skirmishes to protect Federation Citizens. The Cardassians attempted to take the Minos Korva system in 2369, where she had been assigned along with the USS Potemkin and the USS Redemption. She stayed here until the end of the war in 2370 where she was decommissioned.

Three years later in 2373, the Missouri was pulled out of Mothballs to bolster Starfleet’s numbers following the outbreak of the Dominion War. When she was reactivated, some of her less essential facilities were ripped out so accommodations could be made to station a marine garrison on the vessel. This is how Starfleet marine Francine Cooke, who made the rank of Major before she resigned her commission in 2376, came to be assigned to the Missouri. She was present at major engagements such as Operation Return, the first battle of Chin’toka, and the Battle of Cardassia. The Missouri racked up an impressive kill streak over the course of the war, destroying the most Jem’Hadar cruisers out of any surviving Excelsior class starship, earning herself the nickname “The Old Reliable.”

The Missouri was present at Deep Space 9 when the Treaty of Bajor was signed, formally ending the Dominion War. After which, the Missouri was transferred to the Third Fleet to bolster their numbers after the heavy losses they suffered during the war, and she was assigned peacekeeping duties in Cardassian space while the Cardassians rebuilt. She would remain in Cardassian space until 2378, when she received orders to return to Earth Spacedock, where she was to be decommissioned for the second and final time.

The seventh vessel to carry the name Missouri was an Intrepid Class Cruiser. Commissioned in 2387, she was originally commanded by Commander Michael Chase new out of spacedock, and was tasked with tracking the course of the energy ribbon known as "The Nexus". However Commander Chase was lost on the mission and the Missouri was given to its executive officer, Kagami Izumi. The Missouri was attached to Task Force 23 in Theta Fleet, and Captain Izumi commanded her for five years. In that time the Missouri helped solve the mystery of Epsilon Five, assisted and retook the Starship Hinamori which had been overrun by Romulans, was thrown back in time to the 1940s where the ship had crash landed on a pre-warp Earth; Made first contact with the Paxans and helped her sister ship, the USS Wisconsin, with a virus that had caused them to go rogue.

However, in late 2392, Captain Izumi's husband was murdered, leaving her alone with her daughter who was only around six months old at the time. Therefore Captain Izumi stepped down from her Command Duties as the ship pulled in for a six week resupply and overhaul. Captain Aika Tenku, a recently promoted officer was then placed in command to take the Missouri to the far edge of Federation Space to begin what was known as the Heartfilia Project.

In 2394, The Missouri mysteriously vanished shortly after leaving Starbase 472 after a routine resupply. A two year search for the Missouri concluded in 2396 with the Missouri being declared lost with all hands. In the years following the Missouri’s disappearance and the cessation of the search, several conspiracy theories surfaced attempting to explain what might have possibly happened, ranging from Romulan sabotage to Borg assimilation.

Construction on what would become the eighth and current vessel to carry the name Missouri began in 2396 with the keel of a brand new Intrepid II Class Starship to be named the USS Branson being laid down at Manhattan Fleet Yards. However, construction didn’t progress very far before work on the Branson, as well as on all Intrepid II class starships currently under construction, was halted by Starfleet. After work was halted, shipyard staff were informed that all Intrepid-II class construction projects would be ‘subject to assessment’ by Starfleet. Many suspected that this was likely due to the impending discontinuation of the Intrepid II class, and a mass implementation of the long-rumored Intrepid III Class.

Starfleet only partially confirmed suspicions when they indeed announced the discontinuation of the Intrepid II class shortly thereafter. All Intrepid II class starships currently in a state of near completion would be allowed to be completed as such. However, those ships that were less far along in the construction process would be reevaluated for conversion into one of three new Intrepid subclasses being rolled out: Cochrane, Discovery, and Bellerophon.

The incomplete Branson was determined to be best suited for conversion into a Bellerophon Class Starship; the Intrepid subclass which borrowed design elements from Starfleet’s newest class of starship; the Odyssey Class. As work on the Branson had barely gotten past the keel before the stop work order, there was very little that needed to be done in regards to the conversion, and work resumed on the Branson as 2397 began.

In 2398, then-Commodore Kagami Izumi visited Manhattan Fleet Yards to get an update on the progress of the Branson’s construction along with the construction of the other Bellerophon, Cochrane, and Discovery classes Manhattan was currently building. The dock staff working on the Branson told Commodore Izumi that the Branson was currently scheduled for completion by the end of 2399, and would be ready for her shakedown cruise by early 2400. After presenting the construction update to her superiors, Commodore Izumi put in a request to have the vessel’s name changed from Branson to Missouri. However, her request was only partially granted, as the Missouri would retain the Branson’s planned hull number.

Construction of the Branson, now renamed Missouri, was completed before Manhattan’s yard shutdown ahead of the holidays, and the Missouri’s shakedown cruise was scheduled to commence after the New Years’ celebrations in early January 2400. The officer selected to command this new Missouri was Commander Patricia Cooke; a young officer with strong lineage ties to the Missouri name, as her grandmother had served aboard the Excelsior Class Missouri during the Dominion War. Furthermore, her ancestor had been a plank owner of the Iowa Class Battleship from Earth’s Second World War. Selected to be Cooke’s Executive Officer was none other than now-Rear Admiral Kagami Izumi’s younger sister, Lieutenant Commander Tsukasa Izumi