A few things.
One, I think the game may suffer from generic rules.
I recently watched a review of Vaesen that I think illuminated this issue - the 2d20 rules presume a spread of activities that are less thematically present in a more genre specific game.
I built Aurin with the assumption that he was very specialized, with the ability to branch out by spending Momentum to reflect a character that was well-read with some real-world experience, but lacking broad competency outside his field. However, it turns out that in Star Trek, being the smart guy with science knowledge and a bit of an engineering background is pretty central to the theme of the setting, and shooting phasers and dogfighting in shuttlecraft is just less relevant to the story being told, even though those skills require a similar investment of resources.
Two, I think the scenario let us shoot ourselves in the foot a little, but we definitely took aim. The game pretty clearly centers itself around the PCs being the command staff of a starship. Players in those positions of command, even if their specialties aren't called for, have a stake in the course of the ship and the well-being of the crew. They have a seat at the table and a voice in the room when those grandiose decisions are being made. Without the ship being there, we're relying on whose boots are on the ground and the tools we have at our disposal. But even if the ship
were there, I think some of the characters much lower on the command chain might struggle to contribute equally.
Three, and related, I think this is where Supporting Characters are supposed to come in. This is a tough sell in pbp, where the pace is... what it is, but the rules support being able to leave your character at home, quote, "to play a more active role in an adventure that does not focus on their Main Character" (p. 132). If our ship were boarded, for instance, I would probably set aside Aurin, who would be hiding under his desk, and pick up the role of a lesser Security officer.
It not perfect system, but it does seem to be something that would work out in the long term.
So.... in short, I think I'm
pretty high on the game as a platonic ideal, I think we just have to do some work to engage on it on its level and acknowledge some of its shortcomings.
