USS Panacea
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USS Panacea (NCC-73027) is an Olympic-class medical frigate currently assigned as a subordinate command to Olympia Station, part of Fourth Fleet Operations. Serving a dual function as a pre-positioned hospital ship and as a training vessel, Panacea spends most of its time on training cruises within and near the Olympia system, staying close enough to her home port to quickly take on additional medical personnel and supplies if she is needed for a humanitarian mission.
Namesake and Lineage
The starship Panacea is named for the Greek goddess Panakeia (Πανάκεια, from πᾶν (pân, “all”) + ἄκος (ákos, “cure”), "All-Healing"), which is Latinized as Panacea. The goddess of universal health and remedy, Panacea was the daughter of Asclepius, regarded in Greek mythology as the first physician and later worshipped as the god of medicine, and Epione, a minor deity responsible for the soothing of pain and of recovery. From Panacea's name, we get the English words panacea and panaceum, which means a chemical, plant, or drug able to cure anything.
Panacea had four sisters, each of whom represented a different aspect of health: Hygieia, the goddess of cleanliness and sanitation, Iaso, the goddess of recuperation, Aceso, the goddess of the healing process, and Aegle, the goddess of the splendor of good health. Two of her brothers, Podaleirus and Machaon, were legendary healers during the Trojan War. Her youngest brother, Telesphoros was another minor deity of healing, sometimes associated with the healing of children. Finally, Aratus was an obscure demigod sometimes listed as a son of Asclepius, and thus Panacea's half-brother. Collectively, Panacea and her siblings can be referred to as the Asclepiadae (Ἀσκληπιάδαι), a term which also refers to a guild of physicians claiming their lineage back to Asclepius, including Hippocrates.
As of 2403, the current starship Panacea is the first vessel to bear the name.
History
Panacea was launched in 2369 from Avalon Fleet Yards. Operating at various levels of readiness over the subsequent decades, Panacea has provided medical support during the Federation-Klingon War of 2372 to 2373, the Dominion War, and the Evacuation of Romulus. For most of the 2390s, Panacea was in service with Starfleet Auxiliary operating with a minimal crew except when needed for medical duties. The ship underwent a comprehensive mid-life refit in 2402 in preparation to return to mainline service in 2403.
In her current role, Panacea serves double duty as a training ship and hospital vessel. Based out of Olympia Station, Panacea carries an operational crew of 150. For the majority of the time, the ship embarks fifteen training officers and 150 Starfleet cadets and enlisted trainees for cruises within and near the Olympia system. When needed as a hospital ship, Panacea returns to Olympia to bring aboard additional medical supplies and 750 medical crew who otherwise serve within the station's hospital. Panacea can be deployed on medical assignments within 48 hours of getting the order. As the primary Starfleet unit in the Olympia sector, Arcturus Wayfinding Squadron, includes several vessels with robust medical capabilities, Panacea is intended to serve in a relief function: providing dedicated medical support capabilities so that other starships can return to their other missions.