Solace Class (AHH).

New medical vessel classed as a Heavy Hospital Ship (AHH). Model seen on Starship Modeller page built by Kevin Loftus.

This is the primary starship for any major medical disaster involving significant numbers and/or no local medical resources.

To-date barely a dozen of these large hospital ships have been constructed (The few ships of this class that were produced were specifically commissioned by Starfleet Medical, as shown by the medical caduceus.) although there are plans for more. Antares Yards, Avidyne division, has orders in the books for the next three to five years but are hoping for more.

The Solace class was planned from the late 2280s when the medical needs of the United Federation of Planets were deemed to becoming beyond the scope of the Hippocrates class, even with the stretch variant. The plasma plague outbreak on Oby V accelerated the commissioning of the pioneer vessel of the design as Starfleet Medical gained a new prioritisation.

A new, larger design was to be built that combined the capacious primary hull design of the previous Mercy class Daedalus class variant with the secondary hull and new technology of the Excelsior class. The warp nacelles were a cut-down version of the LN-72 design and the impulse drive was taken from the new one for the new Excelsior class variant.

The design has return bays for recovery/emergency shuttles on the underside cargo bay area. The large spherical primary hull allows greater area for primary casualty reception, isolation wards, operating theatres, laboratories and crew accommodation. Careful attention was placed on making the hospital ship easy to sub-isolate as necessary, to quarantine wards and sections of the ship as necessary.

Starfleet Medical consulted with ExtenzaLife, the medical division of Massive Dynamic, for the latest medical technology available. The Solace class was to raise the bar beyond any medical vessel currently in service – or projected. New Sickbay technology was fitted into the prototype NX-10341 even before testing was completed. Starfleet Medical brought over a century of knowledge and experience to the design board, ensuring that lessons of the past were not forgotten. Too many mistakes had cost too many lives to repeat these tragedies.

The whole cycle of medical emergency and patient care was considered: ambulance shuttles and responder teams on the surface and the transit to and from the hospital ship and the maintenance of quarantine and sterility throughout the whole process. An allowance was made for crew rotation to ensure the medical staff were cared for and at their most vigilant when dealing with the medical crisis at hand.

Star Trek: The Interim Years will feature a feature length story on the Plasma Plague pandemic on Oby V, as ST: Solace. This will be the story of 2295 with Surgeon-Captain Leonard H. McCoy 2 years out from his 27 years on the Enterprise. He hasn't found a role for himself beyond celebrity doctor and friend to Ambassador Spock and the late James T. Kirk. The outbreak on Oby V soon gets out of hand, and McCoy realises this pioneering medical ship is the only one that can cope with the catastrophe. Take a dark journey of self-discovery and re-invention as McCoy realises a new path for himself and realises that techno-medicine is not the cure all he once thought.

1 - Infection

2 - Incubation

3 - Vector

4 - Contamination

5 - Pandemic

6 - Quarantine

7 - De-personalisation

8 - Crash

9 - Recovery

Length: 362.4 metres

Beam: 158.2 metres

Height: 122.5 metres

Vessels include:

Solace NCC-10341, commissioned circa 2307.

Hope NCC-10831

Mercy

Comfort

Relief

Bountiful

Samaritan

Haven

Benevolence

Tranquillity

Consolation

Repose

Sanctuary

Rescue

U.S.S. Hope, NCC-10841

U.S.S. Hope NCC-10841 is currently attached to Starbase 15 ‘Pharos’ as part of the primary response medical fleet. Captain Aatrin is a Deltan male who has worked his way up through Starfleet Medical. A veteran of the plasma plague crisis of 2295, Aatrin has seen the ferocity and rapidity of an uncontrolled medical crisis and has sworn to do everything in his power to stop a repetition.

When Aatrin saw the plans for the Solace class hospital ship he knew he was destined to serve on them. The Hope is the third medical vessel that Aatrin has served aboard and the first as Commanding Officer.