USS Henry Hudson

The USS Henry Hudson (NCC-57586) is a Challenger-class light cruiser assigned to Task Force 72 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Arsène Bachelet. Utilizing speed and her luxurious outfitting, Henry Hudson is primarily tasked as a diplomatic courier, transporting envoys and VIPs to participate in important negotiations and conferences within the borders of Federation space.

Design and Layout

Commissioned in 2368, Henry Hudson is a capable and maneuverable mid-sized starship developed as part of the Fleet Modernization Program of the 2340’s. A lean, efficient, and tactically proficient design inspired by the Andorian naval design doctrine, Henry Hudson features a vertically stacked arrangement of two nacelles, slightly off-center from one another, which makes them more efficient at higher speeds than other ships, though inefficient at lower speeds. Speed is the primary requirement for the performance of its duties as a diplomatic courier and Lieutenant Commander Bachelet takes particular pride in ensuring that his vessel leaves on time and arrives ahead of schedule—often to the chagrin of his Chief Engineering Officer.

Life aboard the Henry Hudson is comfortable, with her passengers and crew enjoying facilities and a design aesthetic contemporary to those of a Galaxy class. Whilst there are conference facilities aboard, delegates more often prefer to congregate in one of the many lounges or configure holodecks to serve their needs. Recent upgrades have also seen the installation of ship-wide holoprojectors and Lieutenant Commander Bachelet ensures there is always a vibrant social schedule maintained aboard—much to the delight of the younger crewmembers as well as their illustrious guests.

Mission Operations

Although an aging design (the Challenger class was produced over a relatively small production run of only 20 years), Henry Hudson boasts both an impressive sprint speed and luxurious interiors contemporary to ships of its era, thus remaining an attractive mode of transport for VIP passengers.

In service with Task Force 72, this means that Henry Hudson is tasked as a diplomatic courier, most often seen hastening from one location to another within the relative safety of Federation-controlled space, carrying Starfleet flag officers or diplomatic envoys to their destinations with expediency and style. Secondary functions include the transport of functionaries from other civilizations lacking starships of sufficient range and speed to make long journeys and the carriage of secure data that Starfleet does not wish to entrust to sending over subspace.

When not in use for diplomatic tasks, Henry Hudson is a capable escort vessel for other starships, as she is equipped with a potent weapons suite—though not one as comprehensive as found on a true escort. She is also utilized for patrols and surveys occasionally, though she never strays too far from starbases without a courier run, in case she is needed.

Auxiliary Vessels

The Henry Hudson utilizes the standard array of supporting small craft for a Challenger class with 6 shuttles of various types operating in her single shuttlebay to ferry her passengers to their ultimate destinations. Named famous messenger gods of myth and legend, they include:

Type 8 Shuttlecraft “Mercury”
Type 8 Shuttlecraft “Nira”
Type 8 Shuttlecraft “Hermes”
Type 9 Shuttlecraft “Zephyr”
Type 9 Shuttlecraft “Artemis”
Type 11 Shuttlecraft “Hermóðr”

History

Henry Hudson was commissioned in 2368, transferring to service with the Fourth Fleet relatively late in her career. Whilst many of her contemporaries did not survive their service during the Dominion War, remarkably, the Henry Hudson survived multiple tours of duty in the conflict with relatively little ill-effect, garnering a reputation as a "lucky ship." It is, perhaps, indicative of the nautical traditions that still endure within Starfleet culture that even today, officers are superstitious enough to give such conventions credence, and the Henry Hudson remains a popular posting sought by young officers.

Crew of the Raleigh

Lieutenant Commander Arsène Bachelet

Formerly the XO of the New Orleans-class frigate USS Trondheim, the Henry Hudson is the first opportunity for solo command for the enigmatic Lieutenant Commander Arsène Bachelet. Already familiar with other ships in the FMP Stable, Frenchman Arsène Bachelet relishes the relative increase in speed and capability of his new command. A fastidious man, Arsène is justly proud of his command and demands that his crew maintain a key focus on both the experience of their VIP passengers whilst onboard and strives to constantly exceed the speed & efficiency with which he is able to convey those passengers to their destination.

Lieutenant Traalal Ela

Where the CO is flamboyant and obsessed with perceptions, the XO of Henry Hudson could not present a more contrasting character. A native of Bajor, Lieutenant Traalal Ela is serious-minded, devoutly religious, and highly detail-oriented, making sure that the minutiae required to ensure the day-to-day running of the ship are attended to, whilst her superior attends to their guests and tries to impress his superiors by breaking speed records. Accordingly, there is often friction between captain and first officer as their wildly different command styles often leave them not seeing eye-to-eye on many issues.

In Play

The Henry Hudson is a Task Force Asset, and any writer in Task Force 72 can feature it in their stories in a cameo capacity.
Designed to complement your storytelling, the Henry Hudson is most often encountered speeding from one destination to another, usually with someone interesting aboard.
The Henry Hudson can be cited as a vessel deployed to support your own command or can be deployed to another location to fulfill a function to support your mission.
The Henry Hudson is a light cruiser and an aging design. Whilst it is not an ideal asset to select if you require tactical support, it is more than martially capable and able to protect its VIP passengers and use its impressive sprint -speed to extricate itself from danger.