Airik cleared his voice. He had to admit that engineering was not his strong suit, however he studied the Nova extensively. An ablative generator was designed to protect starships by generating a nearly impenetrable hull armor, which was deployed from the externally mounted generators, that when deployed expanded across the ship's hull. Though phasers could not be utilized while ablative armor was deployed, apertures at torpedo launchers allow for the use of torpedoes.<br/><br/>"We have the capabilities to install an ablative hull, but at this time it is not functional." The Commanding Officer understood the importance of the protection, particularly in any unknown hostile encounter.  Sometimes it just wasn't possible.<br/><br/>Transphasic torpedoes were a different story. The power of the weapon was not to be understated. One torpedo could easily destroy an entire borg cube. "This ship is currently not armed with transphasic torpedoes." There was no doubt that both the ablative hull and transphasic torpedoes weren't an "if" but rather a "when." Airik fought hard to maintain the scientific nature of the vessel. Weapons such as those would only work to alter the perceptions of the ship.<br/><br/>Source: Memory Alpha