The Federation is low-key terrifying. Their "peaceful exploration" starships can go toe-to-toe in combat with other imperial powers' dedicated warships. And when they build actual warships, they can lay waste to those other powers' warships even when outnumbered.
Well the power of Federation ships is directly related to what the plot needs, but in-universe yeah - Archer learned the hard way how exploring with an under-powered ship is just asking for alien assholes to harass you.
The Federation is low-key terrifying. Their "peaceful exploration" starships can go toe-to-toe in combat with other imperial powers' dedicated warships. And when they build actual warships, they can lay waste to those other powers' warships even when outnumbered.
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Well the power of Federation ships is directly related to what the plot needs, but in-universe yeah - Archer learned the hard way how exploring with an under-powered ship is just asking for alien assholes to harass you.