USS Zhukov

*Mark II:*

*"What is madness but nobility of soul at odds with circumstance." - Theodore Roethke*
The **USS *Zhukov* (NCC-26136)** was an *Ambassador*-class scale 5 heavy cruiser operated by Starfleet in the 24th century.

## Service history

### Early service

After the success of the *Ambassador*-class prototype in its trials, Starfleet Command ordered six hulls of the new design. One of these, NCC-26136, was designated the USS *Zhukov*, after a Human military leader from Earth's 20th century. The starship was the third Starfleet vessel to bear the name.

### Refit

In late 2330, the *Zhukov* put into the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards for a refit to new Mark II specifications for the *Ambassador* design, known as the *Yamaguichi*-class. The cruiser was relaunched sixteen months later with many new systems and a new commanding officer, Captain Felicity Reynolds, a Human from Mars. Efforts made on refitting the *Zhukov* allowed for the process to be streamlined for other starships being upgraded to *Yamaguichi* specifications.

The *Zhukov's* first assignment was to survey and patrol along the Federation’s border with the Cardassian Union. In early 2333, the vessel was part of a task force assembled to repel an incursion into Federation territory by the D'prayl.

After the incident was peacefully resolved, the *Zhukov* returned to its original assignment and, under Reynolds' tenure, was responsible for surveying over a hundred systems and making first contact with fifteen different species.

As tensions rose with the Cardassian Union, the starship returned to its border patrol. The *Zhukov* was involved in two minor skirmishes with Cardassian forces, but managed to avoid any serious combat.

After serving as commanding officer for thirteen years, Reynolds retired in 2345 and captaincy passed to Lucas D'Emilio, an Alpha Centauran-Human from Centauri VII.

### Cardassian War

Open warfare erupted with the Cardassian Union in 2347 and the *Zhukov* was placed at the center of a cruiser group assigned to assist in evacuating civilians from the disputed areas. Mid the next year, the starship received a distress signal from a colony along the border. The Zhukov rushed to respond and arrived at Iadara to find two *Galor*-class cruisers bombarding the planet from orbit. The two Cardassian vessels maneuvered to confront the *Zhukov*, which destroyed one of them and forced the other to retreat. The rest of the cruiser group arrived soon after and provided aid to the ravaged colony.

The *Zhukov* Cruiser Group continued to lead evacuations and fend off Cardassian attacks all through the war’s exodus period.

When Starfleet’s offensive finally began, the *Zhukov* Cruiser Group was at the forefront. During the Battle of Chin’toka in 2356, the *Zhukov* earned a unit citation for single-handedly defeating three *Vidren*-class cruisers and capturing a listening post intact, providing key intel about Cardassian forces in the system.

Tired of war, Captain D'Emilio accepted a position as the Starfleet advisor to Cochrane Warp Dynamics on his homeworld in 2357. At the same time, the *Zhukov* put into the Proxima Maintenance Yards for minor repairs. A month later the starship left drydock for Earth, where it rotated its crew and received a new commanding officer, Captain Neil Gleason.

### Return to exploration

Born on Earth, Gleason had spent most of his life traveling the stars with his fathers, who were both astrophysicists and Starfleet officers. The *Zhukov* discovered the twin parallax stars of Ullais in 2363, and the ship returned the next year escorting Gleason’s parents to further study the phenomena.

### Dominion War

When the Dominion War erupted at the end of 2373, the *Zhukov*, like other *Ambassador*-class cruisers still in service, was stationed along the Federation's borders opposite the war. While still quite capable, the *Ambassador's* had lagged behind other designs in their upgrades. The *Zhukov* itself had not been retrofitted for a decade. While much of the fleet was engaged with the Dominion and their allies, the *Zhukov* and its siblings helped maintain a Starfleet presence and showed stability far from the front lines.

The *Zhukov* visited Madigoor IV for a conference and crew transfers in 2374. It was the closest the starship came to the war.

When the conflict ended in late 2375, the *Zhukov* remained on the Federation's coreward border for another year before putting into the New Aberdeen Shipyards for a long overdue retrofit. At this time Gleason was offered a promotion and command of the *Zhukov* was transferred to Andorian Captain Milius Verata.

### Maelstrom Conflict

The cruiser’s first assignment under Verata was to the Maelstrom, a volatile area of space that Starfleet had begun exploring in earnest after the Dominion War. Stationed out of Starbase 12, the *Zhukov* surveyed several systems within the region and was the first to respond to the Vesuvi supernova to check for survivors.

After the USS *Sovereign* was attacked in 2378, the *Zhukov* escorted it to Starbase 12 for repairs and upgrades.

### Attack on Mars

In February 2385, the *Zhukov* entered the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards for routine maintenance after its decade in the Maelstrom. The vessel was unmanned and powered down when the Zhat Vash took control of synthetics at the yards and the *Zhukov* was destroyed in dry dock by several commandeered *Deimos*-class frigates.

## Crew

### Senior staff

The following served as senior staff aboard the *Zhukov.*

## Appendices

### Connections

**Assets:** Starbase 247-Vershina • Jatha Dilithium Mine • Noonian Soong Spire • Delta Foundry • Starbase 234-Beskerm • Starbase 39-Sierra

**Components:** Romulan Theater Command • Task Force 200 • Task Force 201 • Task Force 202 • Task Force 203 • Task Force 204

**Leadership:** Commander-in-chief • Joint Chiefs • Chief of Starfleet External Affairs • Chief of Starfleet Operations • Chief of Starfleet Research and Exploration • Chief of Starfleet Tactical

**Agencies:** Operations (Engineering • Judicial • Materiel Supply • Mission Operations • Personnel Management • Records Service • Shipyards Operations • Starbase Operations) • Research & Exploration (Science • Medical) • External Affairs • Tactical (Intelligence • Security • MACO)

**Notable units:** Ktarn Fleet • Task Force 77

**Facilities:** Deep Space K-7 • Deep Space K-13 • Deep Space 9 • Masamichi Array • Starbase 45-Keepsake • Starbase 82-Maat • Starbase 234-Beskerm • Starbase 247-Vershina

**Agencies:** Starfleet • Diplomatic Corps • Department of Temporal Investigations • Federation Security Agency

**Facilities:** 40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards • Antares Ship Yards • Beta Antares Ship Yards • Copernicus Ship Yards • Laikan Starfleet Shipyards • McKinley Station • Memory Project • New Aberdeen Shipyards • Proxima Maintenance Yards • Salazaar Shipyards • San Francisco Fleet Yards • TL-9139 Starfleet Maintenance Yards • Tranquility Base • Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards

### Sources consulted

* USS Zhukov article at *Memory Alpha*.
* USS Zhukov (NCC-26136) article at *Memory Beta*.
* USS Zhukov article at Star Trek: The Dominion War PBEM RPG.