Type: Mercy Class Hospital Ships In Service: 2602 Number in Service: 25 Mass: 700,000 tons KF Integrity: 15 Sail Integrity: 3 Thrust: 3/5 Fuel: 4000 tons SI: 65 Armor: 910 Ton Ferro Carbide Armor ( Fore/Aft 122 + 7 Sides 121 +7) Heatsinks: 624 Docking Collars: 6 Small Craft: 40 Crew: 150 Medical Staff: 2000 (includes Doctors, Nurses and Technicians) Patients: 10,000 (8000 standard rooms, 2000 ICU) Lifeboats: 1000 Escape Pods: 0 Grav Deck: 6 (175m, 175m, 185m, 185m, 200m, 200m) Cargo: 47,675 tons Other Equipment: HPG LF Battery Bays: Bay 1: Small Craft 8 Doors Bay 2: Hospital Ward Bay 3: Operating Rooms/Medical Diagnostic Equipment Weapons: Forward: 4 Large Lasers Fore Left/Right: 4 Large Lasers Aft Left/Right: 4 Large Lasers Aft: 4 Large Lasers Designer?s Note: The medical equipment was calculated at 7000 tons. All patient facilities were calculated at 10 tons per person. Overview: The Mercy Class Hospital Ships were the pride of the Star League Medical Command. Tasked with providing for the health and care of the SLDF soldiers, the Medical Command spared no expense to ensure it had the most advanced facilities available for the treatment of wounded soldiers. The Mercy class of Hospital ships were built in response to problems the Medical Command experience during the Reunification War. During the Taurian Campaign there were many long and bloody battles, in which the SLDF suffering casualties numbering in the thousands. The SLDF's Caregiver class dropships (Specially modified troop transports that served as mobile hospitals) and MASH units were overwhelmed and could not keep up with the number of casualties. Further given the severity of many of the casualties (due to the brutality of the campaign) it was determined that the SLDF needed a mobile hospital facility that could handle large numbers of wounded as well as being able to treat cases of radiation and chemical poisoning. The Medical Command issued a request for a new ship that could handle several thousand casualties and mounted the most advanced medical equipment for the treatment of any conceivable medical problem. Thompson's Shipyards, working with Quo Medical System for the hospital equipment, presented the design that would become the Mercy Class Hospital Ship. After a making few modifications requested by the Medical Command, the ship was accepted and production began in 2603. At total of 25 ships were produced for the SLDF between 2603 and 2616. Capabilities: The Mercy class were some of the most advanced and capable hospitals in the Star League. In fact, except for a few facilities in the Terra System, the Mercy ships were the largest hospitals in existence. The ships were capable of handling 10,000 patients at a time and could perform any procedures from the the most basic first aid up to complete myomer limb replacements and other major operations. When designing the ship, Quo Medical systems and Thompon's Shipyards spared no expense on the medical facilities. There are 40 operating rooms, a highly advanced ICU capable of handling 2000 patients, radiation treatment facilities, fully equipped diagnostic facilities, Chemical Warfare treatment facilities, Myomer Limb replacement equipment, and physical therapy facilities. To ensure that the medical teams would be able to function effectively, many of these facilities were located on the Grav decks of the ship. To ensure that the ships would stay on the cutting edge of medical technology, the facilities were routinely upgraded as new medical devices were developed . In addition the SLDF assigned only the best Doctors and Nursing staff to the Mercy Class, to ensure that the quality of care could not be matched by any other hospital facility. The capabilities of the Trauma teams based on the Mercy ships was legendary throughout the Star League. In addition to it?s own medical facilities, the ships typically carried 4 to 6 Caregiver or Dove (modified Condor Troop Transports) class dropships. These could be used to land on the planet and establish forward medical facilities to both triage patients and stabilize the most severely wounded so that they would survive until they were evacuated to the Mercy ships. The Mercy class also carried 40 Lifesaver Shuttles. These were specially modified shuttles that could be used to evacuate the wounded from the planet direct to the orbiting ship. These were typically used to evacuate small numbers of critically wounded or when the landing area was not large enough for a dropship. The Mercy Class did not mount much in the way of weaponry. There were 24 Large Lasers mounted around the ship, but these were intended to serve as a Meteor defense system, rather then as an offensive weapon. The Mercy Class relied on the fact that they were a noncombatant under the Ares Conventions (and the other ships of the SLDF Fleet) to ensure their safety. To aid in identification, all Mercy Class ships were painted white with large Red Cross Markings on them. As an added precaution the ships carried 910 tons of the latest Ferro-Carbide armor for protection. Deployment: The Star League Medical Command built 25 Mercy class ships. One of these ships was assigned to each army of the SLDF to provide medical support. Of the remaining 5, 3 were placed in the ready reserve fleet where they could be reactivated within 1 month, if needed. The other 2 were used as temporary replacements for the other ships when they were undergoing refits or overhauls. During the Star League the Mercy class saw heavy service responding to a variety of epidemics and natural disasters. They proved particularly valuable in many outlying systems where modern medical facilities were scarce or nonexistent. As a result they were very prominent goodwill ambassadors for the Star League. They also saw service in the war of Davion Succession and the Free Worlds League Civil war, providing humanitarian aid to all sides. During the Periphery Uprisings the 3 Ready Reserve ships were reactivated and sent to the Taurian Concordat, to provide additional facilities to the SLDF forces. These ships were used to treat the SLDF soldiers and return them to the Terran Hegemony for further care. Interesting during the New Vandenberg Rebellion, the Concordat forces chose not engage the Mercy ships that were supporting the SLDF. It is believed that the reason for this was because of the aid these ships had provided to the Concordat in responding to natural disasters at MacLeod's Land, Mithron and Landmark. One of the most tragic stories of the Amaris Coup is that of the Mercy Class SLS Nightingale. She was assigned to the SLDF's 19th Army and was returning to Terra loaded with over 10,000 badly wounded soldiers. Many were victims of Taurian Nuclear attacks and had severe burns and radiation poisoning. The ship was approaching Terra when the Amaris launched his coup. The ship was attacked and destroyed by the Casper drones of Terra's SDS system with the loss of all on board. The Mercy class continued to serve the SLDF through the Amaris Crisis. Many of these ships were used to help the planets that were devastated by the coup, providing emergency medical facilities for the civilian population, to replace those destroyed by Amaris's troops. During the course of the war 20 Mercy Class ships were lost to attacks by Amaris troops. Many of the captains and crews of these ships refused to wait until the Amaris naval forces were destroyed before entering a system, insisting that the wounded troops could not afford to wait for medical care. Unfortunately for the Mercy Class ships it appears that the Amaris forces took great pleasure in destroying these ships and would target these ships in the initial attacks against the SLDF fleets. After the end of the war, the surviving ships continued to travel around to the various worlds of the Hegemony to provide what assistance they could to the people. The SLS Mercy was only exception to this. She was stationed permanently at Terra from 2779 until the Exodus providing medical for the residents of the Sol System. When Kerensky left, all 5 surviving Mercy ships went with him. During the exodus they served the medical needs of the Fleet. It is believed the SLS Comfort may have been involved in the Prince Eugen Revolt, but the records are a bit vague on this. After arriving at the Pentagon worlds, 2 of the ships (SLS Solace and SLS Comfort) were stripped of all medical gear to establish hospitals on the newly settled planets and their hulls were mothballed. The 3 remaining ships (SLS Mercy, SLS Faith and SLS Hope) were kept intact so that they could be used to respond to emergencies if needed. When the Exodus Civil War broke out, the ships joined Nicholas Kerensky in the Kerensky Cluster. The Faith was stripped of her medical equipment in order to establish a hospital facility on Strana Mechty. The Mercy and Hope played a key role in the recovery of the Pentagon worlds after they were recaptured by the Clans, as they were used to help with the treatment of the people from the Pentagon Worlds. [Ed Note: It is believed that these ships were used to carry out Nicholas Kerensky's forced sterilization of those who did not follow him to Strana Mechty] The SLS Mercy is currently jointly maintained by all the Clans as an emergency medical facility and is located at Strana Mechty when it?s services are not needed elsewhere. Clan records do not say much about the SLS Hope, but from what little had been gleaned it appears the Hope was commandeered by the Wolverines during their Trial of Annihilation. Further, there are no records of the destruction of the ship by the Wolves or the Widowmakers, leading some to believe it may have escaped clan space. The 3 stripped hulks of the SLS Solace, Comfort and Faith were later converted into large cargo ships. The Diamond Sharks possess two of the ships and the Nova Cats one.