since the space station of "" rarely moved, some sort of auxiliary craft was necessary. the first episode introduced the runabouts. equipped with warp drive and transporter for long missions, the runabout was described as a small starship. with its boxlike shape, chisel nose and ski-like nacelles the runabout looked like a descendant of previous shuttles. the design was initially inspired by the spacedock ferry in "". a runabout also appeared in the next generation episode "".