USS Rutledge

From Hidden Frontier

USS Rutledge
Registry:	NCC-57295
Class	New Orleans-class
Launched	unknown
Status	Destroyed
Current Assignment
Senior Officers
Captain
First Officer
Chief Engineer
Tactical / Chief of Security
Chief Science Officer
Chief Medical Officer
Helmsman

The USS Rutledge

During the first Cardassian war, Captain Benjamin Maxwell commanded the USS Rutledge. It was one of the closest ships to render aid to Setlik III, a Federation colony under attack from Cardassian forces. They arrived too late to save Maxwell's own family from being slaughtered during the fighting, and several of their own crew perished in ground assaults. At the time, the Rutledge was a state-of-the-art vessel. Maxwell eneventually moved on to command the Nebula-class USS Phoenix.

By 2375, the ship was part of the allied forces at the Battle of Lapolis. Whilst pursuing two Dominion vessels that had broken away from the main battle, the Rutledge was attacked by the Grey Confederacy. The entire crew was abducted with the exception of a Betazoid lieutenant named Myra Elbrey. Elbrey was rescued by the USS Devonshire before the Rutledge was destroyed in a second attack by the Grey.

Class Conjecture

The actual class of the USS Rutledge has never been officially stated, but the visual appearance of the USS Rutledge in HF101 "Enemy Unknown, Part 1" seems to indicate it is of the Galaxy or Nebula family of starships. The design was an idea formed for one of the kitbash models involved the ruins of the Starfleet attack force at Wolf 359 in the TNG episode, "The Best of Both Worlds". It is referred to as a Frigate and is implied to have inferior offensive capabilities to Intrepid-class starships, although other vessels that have been referred to as 'frigates' have later been identified as New-Orleans-class.