On another topic, I wonder if the Warspite could be refit to have shields, it may be the only ship of its class remaining but there is precedent for single ship classes being refit with new technology, in the US Navy alone the USS Enterprise, USS Triton, and the USS Long Beach were all upgraded through their lifespan even though they were the only ships of their class. The Thunderchild class's warp 3.6 cruise makes it worthless for offense compared to the Sagarmatha class who's warp 5 efficient cruise is faster than the Thunderchild's 4.9 sprint but that 4.9 sprint is still more than enough for fast-response system defense. It has better maneuverability than the Sagarmatha, is its peer in firepower, and adding shields would shore up what is arguably its greatest weakness, its low defensive rating. Even if there's no room in the original design for a shield generator stuff like the cargo bay, which is needed for long distance expeditions but not for in-system defense where a starbase full of spare parts is minutes away, could be eliminated and turned into the space needed. Stuff like engines and weapons are probably too expensive to upgrade but with the a layer of shielding in addition to its polarized armor the Warspite could live out the rest of her days as Earth's last line of defence against attack, unlikely to see any action but invaluable if it is ever needed. Plus keeping the Warspite around means one less Sagarmatha class is needed to be kept at home for defensive duty, freeing it up to go out there and explore. Probably not something we as players would spend updates on but maybe something that happens in the background.
