Starfleet. The stuffy middle management of the Alpha Quadrant. Alway sauntering around, sector to sector, in their fancy starships looking like they just rolled out of Utopia Planitia. Until today! In an effort to convince unaffiliated, often charmingly rogueish and occasionally “outrageous” freelance ship captains to officially operate under Starfleet’s purview, the Starfleet Corps of Engineers searched high and low for ship designs that would embody those qualities. Enter Captain Malcolm Reynolds, whose brief exploits garnered lasting attention for the now infamous Firefly Class. With its trademark patchwork look and user-friendly interior it exemplified the precise “vibe” Starfleet was seeking, to use 21st century vernacular. Now an entire fleet of privateers flying Starfleet livery could maintain their Scoundrel With a Heart of Gold lifestyle in this shiny new vessel with a rear-facing warp core, deflector plates and a massively reinforced transparent aluminum viewing port up front to protect pilots from errant projectiles.
I mean…it’s common sense.