The Hope-class is the primary ship of the line of the Collective Navy. Used as a heavy escort for the Order-class Carrier, the Hope-class is responsible for dealing with heavy enemy starships. Though they don’t often get to fight against heavy opponents as they were designed to, they prove highly lethal against the smaller vessels usually fielded by pirates and mercenaries who oppose the Collective.
The Hope-class is 6,000 meters long, smaller than the more powerful battlecruisers that most other species use as their mainline combatants. However, the vessel can still hold its own in a fight, its thick armor plating and powerful shield array allowing it to absorb heavy fire from larger vessels in a protracted engagement. It is armed with 16 magstream cannons and 34 magsling cannons for shredding enemy capital ships, along with 40 electron turrets and 26 photon interceptors for point defense. Its primary armament, however, consists of 12 singularity cannons, capable of launching small, self-contained black holes at targets.
Capable of reaching up to 6 G’s of acceleration, the Hope-class is much faster than most other battleships, and can even outrun less advanced destroyers and light cruisers. It uses its high degree of speed and maneuverability to cover their carriers against enemy vessels.
While not up to the task of challenging full-sized battlecruisers, when working in conjunction with a carrier group, these vessels are lethal powerhouses capable of reducing enemy ships to blasted-out hulks.