*squees*<br/><br/>I had another Trek-gasm after reading those posts.<br/><br/>Here are my two cents...which in this economy unfortunately is only work about a 1/4 cent.<br/><br/>The McNair is a Science vessel. The reason for the designation is for a number of reasons including Mission delegation (what they get to do), crew assignment (who are the major players), and purely to appease the more passive members of the Federation (this ship is not meant for war/battle). I'm sure there are other reasons.<br/><br/>So, why the big systems?<br/><br/>Well...the Federation is still rebuilding from the Dominion War and are frankly trigger happy. The instability in the Romulan Empire doesn't help. Every empty space on a ship will be loaded with possible defensive and offensive weapons.<br/><br/>Just my thoughts.<br/><br/>I'm actually planning on a post with Airik and an Admiral about the experimental weaponry in the future that might show this point more effectively.