Imperial Navy Ship
Invocation
Invocation
Specifications:
| Type: | 3rd rate ship of the line / man of war |
| Weaponry: | 64 cannon |
| Propulsion: | Sail only |
| Status: | Active (1765) |
| Affiliation | Imperial Navy |
History:
Completed on the 11th of Bugs, 1737, Invocation was the last major warship ordered for the Imperial Navy before the naval drawdown imposed upon it by Minister of War Willard Brudenell. Part of an order for several large 'man o' war' vessels issued to replace losses taken in the Winter War, Invocation was laid down and built in the commercial shipyards of Maquistry Cape, though construction was slow due in part to demands placed upon the yards by the concurrent development of the much larger Tarquin Supership.
Launched in a small ceremony replete with the typical public drunkeness of several high-ranking naval officers, Invocation was immediately attached the Valles Mensa squadron, taking part in several small skirmishes with Alkamarian Navy vessels prodding the limits of Imperial control in the region. She was reported as having excellent sailing characterists, with a speed roughly comparable with that of the famous Golden Hide, and faster than any other ship in the squadron.
Commodore Lee H. Wavell, commanding the Valles Mensa station, moved his flag from the Valkyrie to the Invocation in the spring of 1739, with Valkyrie being detached to recieve refit and repairs in the summer of that year, leaving Invocation as the largest ship in the area. In this capacity she delivered an Imperial diplomatic contingent for the settling of certain war debts the following year.
In 1741 she was herself detached from the squadron, with Commodore Wavell moving command back to the newly refurbished Valkyrie. Invocation spent two months recieving repairs in Maquistry Cape before being dispatched on a diplomatic mission to Hrushka, stopping to show the flag at several ports in Varangia along the way. Stopped at a port in Hrushka, she would become the focal point of an incident known as the Tahbos Affair in 1743, in which the crew of the Invocation was caught up in a battle between local militia and mercenary forces aligned with Vulpinsulan commercial interests in the area. Though the battle was more or less an Imperial victory, the resulting diplomatic fallout made continued stay unteneable, and Invocation set sail for Bully Harbor soon after. Captain Zshama Cossatra (already suspect as the sister of noted Maelstrom traitor Datko Cossatra) was removed from her post as a result of an official inquiry into the incident.
The ship was one of a few that defected from the government during the civil war in 1748, with captain Xavier L. Feridge taking the ship and sailing for Tookumberry to join a fleet of ships being assembled for the republican movement. Invocation saw heavy fighting in the years to follow, particularly in the north, as rebel forces tried to take Maquistry Cape on several occasions. She would also be involved in raids on loyal commerce and the nominally loyal colonial authorities in the MSC.
A mutiny in 1750 flipped control of the ship back to the Ministry of War, with Feridge and several officers and crew loyal to the republican cause being left stranded in lifeboats off the shore of the MSC. Sailing back to Maquistry Cape, Invocation was decrewed and temporarily placed on the reserve list, sitting in mothball until the end of the war.
In 1753, as part of a navy-wide rearmament program, Invocation was refitted with newly developed naval cannon, with work completing the following year.
Newly upgunned, as one of the more modern ships in the fleet, Invocation was assigned to the so-called Southern Squadron, running anti-piracy patrols along the coast of the MSC. In more recent years she has seen use as the flagship for the squadron, especially now under the command of newly minted Admiral Cossatra (her career having seen a considerable boost thanks to wiser affiliations chosen during the civil war.)
Crew:
| Captain: | Zshama Cossatra |
| First Mate: | - |
| Bosun: | - |
| Other: | - |
| Total: | 296 beasts |
Characters:
| Name: | Positions Held: | Start Date: | End Date: |
| Lee H. Wavell | Commodore | 1739 | 1741 |
| Xavier L. Feridge | Captain | 1743 | 1750 |
| Zshama Cossatra | Ensign (1737-1739), Lieutenant (1739-1741) Captain (1741-1743), Admiral (1762) | 1737, 1762 | 1743,- |
