Aphrodite-class flying hospital

## Aphrodite-class hospital ship

### Engine units

4 Unision Mk-8M Low-cycle Ion Thrusters4 Unision Mk-8J Low-cycle Variable Ion Thrusters

### Power plant

Unision Prohrelloh-class Type 5 fusion reactor

### Sensory systems

Illuminate Industries PL/B 1009R vox array

### Targeting systems

Illuminate Industries KL/D-Type thermal targeting array

## Complement

### Craft complement

2 T602NC "Caduceus" heavy ambulance craft4 T402NC "Medi Jumper" light ambulance craft

The **Aphrodite-class** "flying hospital" is a destroyer sized hospital ship used by the State Navy, though a few hulls are also utilized by the smaller Phocian Navy. It boasts a bed capacity of 1000 patients, and possesses 24 specialized medical facilities for the use of surgery and enhanced medical care.

It is referred to commonly as a flying hospital, distinguished from a standard hospital ship by it's ability to perform full atmospheric landings.

## Design History

The Aphrodite-class was originally designed in-house by Phocian design bureau Unision in 5084. The vessel design underwent trials in 5086, and in 5087.cc, 10 hulls were commissioned for the State Navy, as well as 2 hulls for the Phocian Navy.

The design uses entirely in-house produced components, with the exception of Illuminate Industries electronics suites. This allows any further hulls to be built without a major draw on State logistics in the event of a significant military conflict or full scale war. During the First Ethnoid War, 9 additional hulls were produced.

Though the Aphrodite-class is a somewhat dated vessel class, most of the ships undergo retrofitting procedures every few years, upgrading them with modern medical technology in order to keep them at peak readiness in the event of medical crisis. This includes the latest robotic surgery tech, and large cryo-banks of the latest vaccines and curatives available to the State.

## Protection

Aphrodite-class flying hospitals are painted pure white, with large red circles and crosses to indicate that they are medical vessels, and are protected from combat under interstellar law. However, despite this, several occasions of small pirate bands attacking hospital ships for their hi-tech cargo prompted Unision to equip the Mark II production of the Aphrodite-class with four rapid sweeping pulsar batteries for self-defense purposes.

## Complement

All Aphrodite-class vessels are equipped with a two large quick-response hangar bay, one in the aft, and one in the fore, both closely situated to intensive care wards. These hangar bays are stocked with stretcher units, QEPRS', and are often staffed by quick-response medics. The aft hangar bay is designed to field two T602NC "Caduceus" heavy ambulances, which is each capable of transporting 60 wounded or injured patients from atmospheric or non-atmospheric environments.

The fore hangar bay is designed to field four T402NC "Medi Jumper" light ambulances, each of which are capable of transporting 10 wounded or injured patients from any environment. Medi Jumpers are often used to quickly transport the most critically injured patients from a crisis area, as they are much faster and more maneuverable than the larger "Cadudeus" ambulances. Due to their greater maneuverability, they are also often used to access areas where larger craft cannot safely fit, such as starship wrecks, which are highly dangerous to slower vehicles and often present very small areas with which to maneuver in. For this reason, Medi Jumpers in are crewed by only the most qualified navy pilots and medics.