>As I think about a reply a month or two later.

I know the refit is basically a rebuilding, but Gryphon basically scammed Starfleet out of a famous exploration ship that had just finished a major tour.

It wasn't a old museum ship that's been setting in docks for 40+ years and needed a grassroots campaign to get a fresh coat of paint and requires regular donations to keep the light on because it doesn't get enough visitors every year. That's a ship that just sailed back into port after the government's first successful around-the-world trip. It should be on every "Join Starfleet and See the Stars" poster and vidcast for the next half-decade or so.

Sure they can spin it, an already successful ship is getting an upgrade that puts it decades in advance of its neighbors, but still....