U.S.S. Hood

U.S.S. Hood, in orbit of Earth, post Iconian War

The U.S.S. *Hood* is the lead ship and only member of the *Hood-*class, a subclass to the *Sojourner-*class Dreadnoughts that head the Engineering efforts Federation Fleet. Heavily modified from it's base frame, the *Hood* draws and mixes elements and systems from the *Sojourner, Endeavour* and *Yorktown* Classes that create a truly unique starship. However, due to operating manpower, and the unique maintenance requirements, it is assumed that *Hood* will be the only one of her type.

Launched in early 2413 as a standard *Odyssey-*Class frame, *Hood* was assigned to the 9th Fleet as Flagship, under the command of Rear Admiral Keeley Jones, and tasked with policing former Romulan Empire borders, and assisting fleeing Romulan civilians should they require it.

After her launch, and following a 6 month shakedown around the home systems, *Hood* found herself on her first assignment, and it was not without conflict.

## The Border Conflict

In late 2413, *Hood* came under attack for the first time as a flight of Tal-Shiar warship, two *T'Varo*'s being led by a *Mogai*-Class heavy warbird were besieging a fleeing, damaged *D'Deridex* Class, containing over 1,000 civilians. A cursory scan revealed the larger warbird had no weapons, and without interference, would soon be destroyed. Rear Admiral Jones ordered the *Hood* into sector, at Red Alert, and tried to hail the attacking Romulan vessels.

Her only response was disruptor fire. Immediately coming under attack, *Hood* put herself between the fleeing heavy warbird and the trio of attackers. Broadcasting a distress call back to Starfleet, the *Hood* continued to engage the attacking ships until help arrived in the form of the *Nagato*, a Sovereign Class starship on routine patrol. Between the two ships, the Imperial forces cloaked, and retreated, minus one *Tvaro.* However, that marked *Hood'*s general operations in the region for the next 18 months.

## The Iconian War

### Starbase 234

Operating out of Starbase 234, *Hood* was away from port when the Iconian Sphere jumped into orbit of Iconia, and when dozens of Iconian ships sieged the starbase. However, she arrived in time to commence final evacuations, and see the destruction of the Starbase. Immediately making her way to New Romulus with the survivors, *Hood* found herself leading a mixed flotilla of Starfleet, Klingon and Romulan forces in fighting a way to the orbital path to beam support down to the beleaguered New Romulus defense forces, currently under heavy attack from Iconian Ground troops.

### Eridani Alpha II

Shortly after the attack on New Romulus, *Hood* received multiple distress calls from the Eridani Alpha system, home to 2 colonies, 6 mining efforts and 3 research posts. Almost 100,000 called Eridani Alpha home, with the largest contingent housed on the second planet in the system. *Hood* picked up an Iconian cruiser squadron. With only the starship *Yamashiro* for support, *Hood* was able to evacuate almost half of the colonists before being forced to withdraw.

### Battle of Earth

During the Battle of Earth, *Hood* formed a squadron with her sistership *Odyssey* and the starships *Galaxy, Nagato,* and *Al-Dhubani*, and tried to hold the San Francisco yards. However, 4 ships were damaged and disabled, with the *Al-Dhubani* being destroyed. After the battle's conclusion, *Hood* was recovered and towed to Utopia Planetia, where she was left for nearly 2 years, while other ships were repaired and new ships built. However, towards the end of 2017, it was decided to rebuild *Hood* using parts that were readily available. Her hull was rebuilt to match that of the *Sojourner-*Class, a *Yorktown-*Class saucer was docked to the hull and the nacelles replaced.

## Hood Class

Following the ships relaunch in early 2418, *Hood* was once again placed under the command of Keeley Jones, this time bearing the rank of Vice Admiral. Immediately assigned to the Tzenkethi Front, *Hood* was ambushed while traversing the Fontellani belt. Caught with shields down, the bridge was destroyed, and all senior staff killed. Chief Engineer Commander Gabriella Donnelly took command of the ship from Main Engineering, and was successful in escaping her pursuers. However, forced to return to Deep Space 9 for repairs, *Hood* wouldn't be ready for duty again until the turn of the year.

However, the latest refit of the ship saw *Hood* prepared for war. New phaser emitters were installed, which had an increase of 9.2 percent in fire rate and an decrease of nearly 13 percent in thermal degredation of the nadion coils. Additional torpedo launchers were installed on the rear of the saucer, and secondary shield generators were installed, designed to come online the moment the primary shield collapsed. Additionally, modifications were made to her impulse drive, allowing her to sustain a higher impulse speed than her contemporaries.

As it stands, *Hood* currently lives up to her namesake's history. A fast battlecruiser, *Hood* however has armour where HMS *Hood* didn't. Able to respond to armed conflicts quickly, and more than capable as an explorer, *Hood* is a notable exception to the old adage of *Warhips can't scout.*

## History of the Name

### HMS Hood

**HMS *Hood*** (pennant number 51) was the last battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy. Commissioned in 1920, she was

   named after the 18th-century Admiral Samuel Hood. One of four Admiral-class battlecruisers ordered in mid-1916, *Hood* had design limitations, though her design was revised after the Battle of Jutland and improved while she was under construction. For this reason, she was the only ship of her class to be completed. Despite the appearance of new and more modern ship designs over time, *Hood* remained the largest and most powerful warship in the world for 20 years after her commissioning, and her prestige was reflected in her nickname, "The Mighty Hood".

*Hood* was involved in several showing-the-flag exercises between her commissioning in 1920 and the outbreak of war in 1939, including training exercises in the Mediterranean Sea and a circumnavigation of the globe with the Special Service Squadron in 1923 and 1924. She was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet following the outbreak of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. When the Spanish Civil War broke out, *Hood* was officially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet until she had to return to Britain in 1939 for an overhaul. By this time, advances in naval gunnery had reduced *Hood*'s usefulness. She was scheduled to undergo a major rebuild in 1941 to correct these issues, but the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 forced the ship into service without the upgrades.

When war with Germany was declared, *Hood* was operating in the area around Iceland, and she spent the next several months hunting for German commerce raiders and blockade runners between Iceland and the Norwegian Sea. After a brief overhaul of her propulsion system, she sailed as the flagship of Force H, and participated in the destruction of the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir. Relieved as flagship of Force H, *Hood* was dispatched to Scapa Flow, and operated in the area as a convoy escort and later as a defence against a potential German invasion fleet. In May 1941, *Hood* and the battleship *Prince of Wales* were ordered to intercept the German battleship *Bismarck* and the heavy cruiser *Prinz Eugen*, which were *en route* to the Atlantic, where they were to attack convoys. On 24 May 1941, early in the Battle of the Denmark Strait, *Hood* was struck by several German shells, exploded, and sank within 3 minutes, with the loss of all but three of her crew.

### U.S.S. Hood

The **USS *Hood* (NCC-42296)** was a 24th century Federation *Excelsior*-class starship operated by Starfleet.

The *Hood*, under the command of Captain Robert DeSoto, was William T. Riker's assignment after he left the USS *Potemkin* some time after 2361. While Riker served as first officer, Geordi La Forge was also transferred to

   the ship in 2362 after completing a tour on the USS *Victory*.

In the course of his duties on the *Hood*, Will Riker refused to allow Captain DeSoto to transport to the surface of Altair III for an away mission. Riker felt the mission was too dangerous to expose the ship's CO to such a risk.

### Service from 2364-2369

In 2364, the *Hood* rendezvoused with the USS *Enterprise*-D in orbit of Deneb IV, to transfer crew and equipment, including the ship's new first officer, William Riker, CMO Beverly Crusher, and Geordi La Forge, as well as Admiral Leonard McCoy, who inspected the medical facilities of the *Enterprise*-D.

Two years later, the *Hood* and USS *Monitor* were dispatched to the Romulan Neutral Zone in order to counter a possible Romulan sneak attack emanating from a cloaked Romulan base on Nelvana III with the goal to retake the Neutral Zone.

A few months later, the *Hood* was due to assist the *Enterprise*-D on a terraforming project on Browder IV.

The *Hood* rendezvoused with the *Enterprise*-D again a couple of weeks later to drop off Tam Elbrun for the "Tin Man" mission.

In 2367, the *Hood* was at Starbase 174 for a major system upgrade. The ship was named on the chart "Starfleet Operations-Sectors 21166-23079" in the *Enterprise*-D bridge.

In 2368, the *Hood* joined Captain Picard's fleet that blockaded the Klingon-Romulan border during the Klingon Civil War. The ship was one of twenty-three assembled for the fleet and was one of the seventeen chosen for the tachyon network. Identified by its name and registry number, the ship's position in the network was monitored from the *Enterprise*-D.

When the network was disrupted by a high-energy burst released by the Romulans, the net was no longer effective in a radius of ten million kilometers around the USS *Sutherland*. Subsequently, Picard ordered the fleet to proceed to Gamma Eridon at maximum warp, where the fleet would attempt to reestablish the net before the Romulans got there.

In 2369, the *Hood* was at Starbase 134 for a major systems upgrade. The ship was named on the chart "Starfleet Operations-Sectors 21538-23079" in the *Enterprise*-D observation lounge.

Later that year, the *Hood* was named on the chart "Sector Ipai Relay Log – Relay Message Flow 1293" in Relay Station 47 Ops. This ship, in Sector 0912, sent a message to Relay Station 102-A via encoded epsilon. The ship's next mission was a warp drive testing of the ship's Mark VI warp drive version engines.

### Dominion War

The *Hood* fought in several engagements during the Dominion War. In early 2374, it was part of the task force that participated in Operation Return, the attempt to retake Deep Space 9. (DS9: "Favor the Bold", "Sacrifice of Angels")

In late 2374, the *Hood* participated in the First Battle of Chin'toka, traveling in close formation with the USS *Defiant*.

### Postwar service

In 2379, the *Hood* was part of Star Fleet Battle Group Omega, a group of starships assigned to Sector 1045 near the Romulan Neutral Zone to intercept the *Scimitar.*