>They do, yes. Even back in TOS, the Enterprise wasn't
>as powerful a weapon as she could have been, because of all the space
>and power spent on laboratories and sensors, but she was still a
>capable fighting platform. My point is that Federation starships are
>not built solely to fight, like, say, Klingon ships. They're
>intended to be multirole. Of course one of those roles is combat - no
>one ever tried to deny that except Roddenberry in his dotage, when he
>got very, very weird. Starfleet aren't deliberately handicapping
>themselves - they're trying to expand their capabilities and be
>more than just a war fleet, and in that regard, I think they succeed
>quite well.
>
>(Part of this is also tied into the Federation's own purpose, which is
>not conquest, except perhaps of a cultural nature, but communication
>and understanding. They'll fight if attacked, and since the galaxy is
>a dangerous place and battle scenes are necessary to sustain ratings,
>they're attacked quite often - but their mission is not to start
>fights, so you don't see them developing first-strike weapons, for
>instance.)
>
>In later years, when the Federation finds itself involved in a number
>of wars through no fault of its own, Starfleet does shift its
>focus more toward the defense end of the spectrum, leading to things
>like the Defiant class. (Although they were still trying to
>hang onto that 'peaceful exploration' angle at some level, or they
>wouldn't have kept building hopelessly weenie ships like the
>Intrepid class... )
>
>In the UF universe, of course, things are quite different
>nowadays, and getting more different all the time...

In the UF universe, how much of a military focus do ships like the Galaxy-class have? Do they have the extras of the orignal class in Star Trek, or are they pure military vessels?

Matrix Dragon
"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." --J.R.R. Tolkien
"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for obvious reasons." -Matrix Dragon