[@ArmorPlated] First of all, protection: They have developed a personal containment field which they are attempting to get around worlds to keep them safe, but that's alot of work, and may do no good if the X get like a destructive space-faring army or something.  Second, although this is stuff to be spoken about in the IC-briefing of the RP, I'll give you the general idea.  Firebombing infected worlds has been going down already.  These are delay-tactics to keep massive outbreaks from endangering the galaxy, but they need people to go find the heavy-hitters who have been dropping X down on the planets, otherwise you're just following the arsonist setting fire to everything and breaking down houses to stop the neighborhood from going up...while he's still setting fires.  Basically, the military is doing military things, but they need a small group with modified weapons to catch up to the bastards, find out the precise nature of the problem, and then preoceed to the proper scragging phase.  Why not just blow whatever ships and planets up that are involved too?  Because they don't know where it all is.  The X survived and they don't know exactly where they all are, except for places getting plague-bombed.  They need information, first-hand data, and they want 'The Last Metroid' for both the vaccine and for their own purposes.  Make no mistake, there is significant reason not to trust the Galactic Federation, but you have to work with them because the alternative right now is pretty damn terrible.  The worst what-ifs of the series are happening right now: A huge outbreak and no Samus to help them.  Does that clear things up a little?