I find it simply tragic that this game hasn't made it to GOG yet, it took all the great gameplay of the first game, made several QoL upgrades and added new races from the old table-top game (Starfleet Battles, for those not aware that SFC was a spiritual adaptation of that TT battle sim), which introduced complex new strategical challenges.
As I recall, although I never completed the story, it had a more fully realized story mode that could be played from the perspective different factions.
I still have my game disc in usable state, but I lack the technical expertise to setup the emulation for it to function properly if I were to install the game.
My love for this game over the first does come with a slight bias, because one of my favorite races to play on TT was ISC, the proverbial "Villain / Antagonist" for the story.
Hehe, writing this actually makes me want to dig into the back of my closet to find my rules and game gear for SFB so I can introduce my grandkids to the game. I used to play 1v1 with my kids to kill time while we supervised the laundry at our apartment complex, then sit and watch TNG together before they went to bed.