Guide:Hopkins

Hopkins
Class Overview
Category	Hospital ship
Operational	2149 - 2173
Constructed	8
Dimensions
Length	238.0 m
Beam	150.1 m
Height	150.1 m
Mass	90,000 mt
Performance
Cruise Speed	w 2.0
Max Speed	w 2.75
Endurance	2 years
Complement
Officers	5 operations 8 medical
Enlisted	18 operations 97 medical
Patients	300 long-term 11 first aid cases per minute 600 total
Tactical Systems
Beam Weapons	4x plasma cannon (1.6 GW) (bow) 4x plasma cannon (1.6 GW) (stern)
Shields	1-layer graviton/subspace globular forcefield annular navigational deflector on bow
Laboratories	2 medical
Auxiliary Craft	2 to 5x medevac shuttles 4x shuttlepods
Historical
Ships of Note	UESS Hellenbach (HS-104) UESS Hopkins (HS 101)
Canonicity
Design	SFC
Name	SFC
History	SFC

Background: The Hobbyist's Guide

Since UE Starfleet in the 2140s operated in an area far away from established support bases, relying mainly on what the local colonies and their often irregular supply convoys could offer, numerous tender ships had to be fielded to support the operations. Among these were tankers and repair ships converted from commercial freighters, mainly of types Y and W. Also included in UESF plans were hospital ships, traditionally converted from passenger liners in Earth’s previous military conflicts. However, few of the spaceliners in operation in the early 22nd century would have met UESF requirements of high endurance and speed. When the fledgling interstellar cooperation in the late forties needed a tangible symbol, resources from Earth, Denobula Triaxa, Alpha Centauri, and Altair were pooled to create a practical hospital ship class.

The design constructed in Earth shipyards was christened Hopkins class after the Nobel-winning Earth biochemist of the 20th century. Featuring starliner and military components in a curious mixture, the ships paid little attention to aesthetics or warp dynamics and concentrated on adding accessibility and habitable volume to a military-standard propulsive core. The propulsion system was lifted from J-750 class freighters almost unmodified, yet the overall spaceframe was drastically altered. A new toroidal waist section housed the major medical functions, including operating rooms, patient wards and cryo-containers. Crew quarters for the operating crew of 23 and up to 105 medical personnel rimmed each deck, while patient wards were located further inside the ship for added protection.

Four shuttle hangars for casevac craft were mounted aft of the toroid on separate support arms. Atop or at the bow of the ship was the main bridge, surrounded by various antennas and an annular navigational deflector assembly. This was in turn surrounded by quadruple Almaz plasma cannon mountings. Another plasma cannon quad was installed on the stern, where twin warp nacelles and their fusion reactor powerplant also resided.

It may seem odd that a hospital ship on a mercy mission would be armed. But with the loss of UESS Hopkins (HS-101) shortly after her deployment in 2149, it was realized that the prominent Aesculapius symbols on the hull and other, more universal signs of nonaggression provided no protection whatsoever against deep space aggressor forces. Defensive armament was therefore carried on subsequent vessels.

Incoming casualties: heavy cruiser Valiant transfers her wounded to UESS Hellenbach (HS-104), while two frigates prowl to secure the area against surprise Romulan attacks. The Rihannsu were actually among the more "civilized" Starfleet opponents, sharing with Humans many concepts about the treatment of the wounded. True to their opportunist nature, however, they seldom passed a chance to eliminate enemy medical support facilities, along with other key logistical elements. Yet, for example, the Tarn, Tzenkethi, or Jem’hadar would have scorned chance and actively hunted for hospital ships, a brutal fact that has driven Starfleet mercy ship design and doctrine for two centuries now.

In addition to the hangars, which could handle eight casevac shuttles simultaneously, the ships featured berths for four shuttlepods on the hull exterior. The manipulator-equipped pods were mainly employed for the purpose of retrieving derelict small vessels and lifepods, but were also capable of transatmospheric liaison operations. The large casevac shuttles, two to five of which were typically carried, were fully capable of atmospheric operations as well and could carry some twenty litters each.

Seven more ships of this class were fielded after 2150 and two of these soon lost—the significant amount of advanced technology aboard attracted the attention of several players, from Romulan reconnaissance teams to Nausicaan raiders. The frantic efforts to build forward bases for spaceship maintenance and medical support had finally resulted in Starbase One being declared operational in sector 003A in 2155 and various light and medium transport classes were converted to medical roles, since patients could now be carried to this forward base in a reasonable time by such vessels. This eased the pressure on the Hopkins class ships, until SB 1 was lost in a long-reaching Romulan attack in late 2155. In the following major battles, the hospital ships were operated in the front lines, recovering crews from crippled Earthships but having no places to offload them. The situation continued until the end of the war, as Starbases Two and Three came on-line only months before the battle of Cheron.

One heritage of the desperate ending moments of the war was the extent of medical expertise incorporated in the design of Starbase Two. The base has since been a center of UFP medical excellence for over two centuries, and has largely given up its military and exploration support roles as its piers and hangar facilities have become outdated. New starbases have been erected in its vicinity to watch over the still tightly closed Romulan border.

After the war, the surviving Hopkins ships were converted to peaceful use with the removal of the (in any case obsolete) weapons and installation of more specialized and diverse equipment in place of massive first aid facilities. Acting as emissaries of Federation medical and economic aid, the ships achieved fame in the war-ravaged colonization zones and among the new UFP member cultures.

Technically soon outdated, the last ships of Hopkins class were retired in 2173. After the successor Bryne class ended service, the specialized military hospital ship mission also returned to the pages of history books. Advancing Federation medical technology made it possible for smaller facilities aboard spaceships of other types to provide equal or superior care, its quality and timeliness compensating for the lack of volume. Starliner conversions were planned for dealing with casualties in a potential Klingon war on several occasions throughout the 23rd century and numerous liners earmarked for Activation Class Seven duties, but very little actual conversion or construction was undertaken. In good and bad, the Klingon conflict took place close enough to the UFP support infrastructure that hospital ships were deemed an unnecessary investment.

Notes

• I'm choosing to interpret the text as meaning the Hopkins did go on to serve the UFP, just not in Star Fleet.

• The declared operational year of Starbase 1 is being changed to 2155 (from 2147) to match with beta-canon, namely the Enterprise novel series, The Romulan War. Similarly, its loss is amended to indicate it was later in the same year.

• The prefix "USS" has been changed to "UESS" for ships of the United Earth Starfleet.

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• Back to the Table of Contents
• Back to "Into The Romulan War"
• Appendix A: Of Ship Statistics
• Appendix B: Glossary
• Appendix C: Star Fleet Organization - General Outline
• Appendix D: Abbreviations From Outside