[CaptainCrunch]

Except that there isn't really peace or solid peace and the Ships of the Federation are armed ships that are expected to take part in Combat

1) Enterprise - Wars all over the place

1) TOS - Cold War with the Klingons, Cold War with the Romulons including several battles. Cold War with the Tholians including several battles. Coming off of a war with the Cardassians

2) TNG - War with the Borg, War with the Klingons, War with the Romulons.

3) Voyager - Well that was one big war, but war with Speices 857298573 whatever, War with the Kaizon, War with the Borg

4) DS9 - War with the Dominion, War with the Klingons.

I mean frankly I always thought that this whole Star Fleet is a peace armada was a nice recruiting bit but was never really true, the Federation was constantly in a state of war, and when they weren't they were basically threatening non aligned aliens.

GR had this nice little allegory of wagon train to the Stars, but lets be honest, that would have made for horrible TV so it was really the adventures of a ship in a space navy with heavy weapons slugging it out with aliens.

I always thought that the whole super comfortable hotel bar like love boat setting of the federation could have been a good idea story line wise, the Federation was like the Roman Empire at its end, opulent, contented, life style oriented, and then the Barbarians came out of the east, hungry, aggressive, coveting what the Romans had and they swept in and toppled the Empire.

I always thought that a Star Trek series could be done about 100 years after the end of DS9. The Federation contented, the ships even more luxury, supremely arrogant, we've conquered and bought our way tot he galaxy mind set. And then the Klingons re-appear, after the events of Ds9, they retreated in on themselves fought a series of brutal civil wars that destroyed the weaker more liberal elements that were rising in the Empire, they were more genetically pure and warrior focused Klingons. They sweep out of the Neutral zone with true warships heavily armed and advanced and sweep aside the flying hotels of Star Fleet, who protest "But we're just exploring". They conquer and enslave humanity and blast earth to a wasteland. And out of that rises a insurrectionist group of humans that have to learn to fight war all over again.

I call it Star Trek F you you dirty klingons.