question about the runabout in timescape

[hayesc0]

Was that runabout assigned to the enterprise and why didn't we see them used more instead of them using shuttles all the time

[C.E. Evans]

No way of knowing, since there was never an onscreen explanation for it. The Enterprise-D was definitely big enough to carry a couple of runabouts, IMO, but shuttles may have been considered sufficient for most of her missions. Runabouts may have been reserved for special missions we never saw onscreen in which the Enterprise might have left an away team behind somewhere for an extended period of time, and the runabout would be their means of getting back to the ship as we saw in "Timescape."

[Timo]

Or then Starfleet or the Federation would maintain a pool of courier craft that can be freely flown from location to location; there'd always be other people to fly them onwards from where they are last dumped.

Note that while this particular craft has the usual arrowhead-and-red-cheatline pennant art, it has no registry or name on the hull. Perhaps an indication that it's not Starfleet property as such, but a civilian rent-a-craft, for which different registration practices apply?

On the other hand, we know that field commanders get to name their own auxiliaries (there was dialogue about Sisko being able to name his runabouts, and Picard's yacht on the E-E has a dedication plaque with Picard's own name on it). Perhaps Picard has recently acquired this craft and will be painting the name on it only later on? Combining the ferry flight with the CO's need to return to his ship is simple flexibility in logistics.

Timo Saloniemi

[R. Star]

I always just figured it was a nod to DS9 and left it at that. There's no reason the E-D couldn't carry a variety of craft at need.

[The Green Mushroom]

R. Star wrote:

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I always just figured it was a nod to DS9 and left it at that. There's no reason the E-D couldn't carry a variety of craft at need.

I actually once heard that they used the set as a favor to DS9. TNG had the budget to build a set for the back of the ship and did so with the understanding that they would give the set to the new show when finished with it. Of course that may be wrong since I cannot recall DS9 ever using the set again or even ever showing the back of a runabout in any form.

For an in universe explanation, I always just assumed that Picard and company needed to travel a bit further than usual and used a runabout for the job.

[Flake]

The strangest thing about that runabout is that its the only time we see the back room and they shove a giant dining table in it and nothing else :P

It must have been Runabout 'Catering version' Mk2

[Tosk]

Flake wrote:

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The strangest thing about that runabout is that its the only time we see the back room and they shove a giant dining table in it and nothing else :P

It must have been Runabout 'Catering version' Mk2

It also features bunks, a replicator, and a workstation. Seems perfectly reasonable to me. Certainly moreso than the way TNG folk would always go on long haul trips in tiny little shuttles. (And even worse, sometimes in shuttlepods! Basically just a chair with walls on all sides. Yikes.)

[Timo]

Also, that's just the back compartment. There supposedly also exists a middle compartment, similar in size to the other two...

Of course, both the "endpiece" sets terminate in a doorway that on the cockpit set is often blocked, and even at best leads to a T crossing, as it isn't possible to display any sort of a corridor or other space beyond the door. So the middle section would appear to have corridors running on both sides or something... Not the most efficient way of using space. But no TARDIS technology is required to make the pieces fit, for once.

FWIW, it seems DS9 did make use of the TNG set elements by turning the bunks into Defiant cabin contents...

Timo Saloniemi