U.N.S Hibernia

U.N.S Hibernia was a three deck ship of the line (refered to as an Alpha Class ship in Patriarch's Hope). Like other ships in the UNNS, she was used on the run to the Hope Nation colony as well as to Detour.

Specifcations
Hibernia was built to the same design as the other ships of her class. She was armed with lasers which were fired from the Comm Room. Gossamer shields are deployed from the nose of the ship to protect against incoming laser beams. The ship had three decks plus a cargo hold and a shuttle hanger. The officers - except the Chief Engineer - resided on Level 1, and had their own mess area. Midshipmen shared a cabin the size of a passenger stateroom together regardless of sex. Passengers lived mainly on Level 2, but some of them were accommodated on Level 1. Crew lived on Level 3 and ate all their meals on this deck.

Level 1
Bridge, Captain's Quarters, Lieutenant's Quarters, Wardroom

Level 2
Passenger Accommodation, Passenger Lounge, Exercise Room, Dining Hall.

Level 3
Engine Room, Chief Engineer's Quarters, Hydroponics, Recycling Spaces, Workshops, Hanger Bay, Purser's Office, Cargo Hold, Brig.

In addition to this, airlocks were found at various points around the hull.

 Hibernia' s internal deck spaces also featured multiple safety features. One of which was that each deck was split into compartments. This was so that if a deck began losing atmosphere, it could be sealed off from the rest of the ship to stop the leak. The sections on each side would then be used as airlocks themselves to allow work crews to fix and replate the affected areas.

Crew
Hibernia had eleven officers comprising of the Captain, First, Second and Third Lieutenants, Four Midshipmen, Ship's Doctor, Pilot and Chief Engineer. The Doctor, Pilot and Engineer were not in the Chain of Command. (This becomes a plot point in Midshipman's Hope). There were seventy crew made of of mostly uneducated people who had basic reading skills. The ones who had perfect reading and writing skills made up the Petty Officers, Purser and Comm Room techs.

Hibernia had 130 passengers during the events of Midshipman's Hope, but this is not known if it is a full compliment or not. Hibernia sailed from Home System with 211 souls on board. Statements made by Seafort and several other characters though indicate that it might be a close enough figure.

Service History
Nothing is known about Hibernia before the events of Midshipman's Hope, but it is safe to assume that Captain Haag was in command before then.

After the events of Challenger's Hope, Seafort is given the command of Hibernia by Admiral Brentley. To his surprise and delight, Chief McAndrews remained on board as Chief Engineer, as had Lieutenant Chantir.

The vessel particpates in the defence of Hope Nation several times before leaving with the rest of the Hope Nation fleet back to Earth. Whilst not on board due to his assignment on light duties, Seafort is still able to hear the ship contact Admiral De Marney and Orbit Station.

Hibernia is presumed to have taken part in the defence of Earth during the attack in Fisherman's Hope.

During the events of Patriarch's Hope, Seafort thinks that the UNNS needs more Alpha Class vessels like Hibernia, and not the newly built ''Galactic. It is unclear if Hibernia'' is still in service, a museum or if he was just reflecting on his favourite ship. It it also unclear if Alpha Class was  Hibernia' s class or type.