Delta Flyer II

The Delta Flyer II was a specially-built shuttlecraft on the USS Voyager, constructed following the destruction of the original Delta Flyer. It featured fewer Captain Proton inspired interfaces than its predecessor. This version of the Delta Flyer sported pop-out impulse engine thrusters, which gave the ship greater sub-light speeds. The interior was slightly re-designed with an emphasis on comfort, the dark tones of the original Flyer were replaced with a more colorful environment. The Delta Flyer II was equipped with pulse-phased weapons and a duranium-enforced hull. =Missions= The Delta Flyer II first saw action when Seven of Nine's cortical implant began to malfunction, infiltrating a damaged Borg ship to steal an implant from one of the many Borg corpses. Although the attempt itself proved pointless, since Seven needed a "transplant" from a living Borg, the endeavor was still an impressive demonstration. 

The Delta Flyer II took part in the first Trans-Stellar Rally, where it was rigged by another competitor to explode. Its destruction was averted after the warp core was ejected into a Class J nebula, containing the antimatter explosion. It was also on this flight that Tom Paris proposed to B'Elanna Torres, and they subsequently went away on the Flyer for their honeymoon. 

On a later mission, while crewed by Harry Kim, Seven of Nine and the Doctor, the Delta Flyer II was captured by a race at war with their holograms, or "photonics", who nearly destabilized The Doctor's holographic matrix. To save him, Seven transferred The Doctor into her Borg implants to keep him safe until they were able to send a message to USS Voyager, allowing him to control her body and experience real sensations for the first time. 

It was on a mission in the Delta Flyer II that Harry Kim, Seven of Nine and Neelix encountered a damaged ship that requested Kim become its captain until they reached their destination. The experience did not go as well as Kim had hoped (mainly because the crew turned out to be lying about the contents of their cargo), but it still taught him some valuable lessons about command. 

The Delta Flyer II was used by Chakotay, Tuvok and Paris to pursue a vessel crewed by Hirogen-created holograms into the atmosphere of a Class Y planet. They disabled the vessel's shields to beam B'Elanna Torres to safety, then rescue The Doctor and surviving Hirogen Hunters. 

The Delta Flyer II also proved useful, albeit indirectly, as a means of rescuing the crew after they were nearly all abducted and brainwashed by a group of aliens called the Quarren. At the time of the abduction, Chakotay, Harry Kim and Neelix were using the Flyer II on a diplomatic mission to another planet, and were thus spared the attack. Following the mission, they were able to recover Voyager and The Doctor, who had remained behind and activated the newly-created Emergency Command Hologram protocols to repair the ship. With this minuscule crew, Voyager tracked down its missing crewmen and was eventually able to effect a rescue. 

A mission in the Delta Flyer II also proved vital in another regard; teaching Q's son, Q (Junior), how to take responsibility for his actions. When " Q, Jr." stole the Delta Flyer II and tried to run away from Voyager to escape his father. Accompanied by Icheb, it was Icheb's injury that convinced Q Junior to make up for what he had done. As a result, Q Junior was able to return to the Q Continuum. 

The Flyer II also saw use on Voyager's first, official, Starfleet mission for seven years; finding the lost Friendship 1 probe, launched centuries ago as a means of telling other civilizations about Earth's culture and technology in order to announce humanity's future exploration of the galaxy. While Friendship 1 was built with the intention of spreading a message of peace, it is an excellent example of why Starfleet later established the Prime Directive. The inhabitants of the planet where Friendship 1 was discovered, had used the information it conveyed to rapidly advance their technology. This rapid advancement, specifically in antimatter technology, caused a nuclear winter and erradiated the entire surface of their planet. The inhabitants blamed humanity for the disaster, convinced that the probe had been used as a pre-emptive strike against them. Their fears were re-enforced when Voyager appeared to recover the probe. Tom Paris, Neelix and Joseph Carey were taken hostage by the inhabitants in an effort to force Captain Janeway to relocate them to a new home to atone for the destruction caused by Friendship 1. After providing medical care for a sick infant, the away team was able to convince the inhabitants that no harm had been intended, although Joseph Carey was shot and killed before matters could be straightened out. One of the more humorous occasions where the Delta Flyer II saw use was when Paris, much to his chagrin, was forced to take piloting lessons after violating a local rule of a planet the crew were visiting for shore leave. However, due to the need to provide aid for a people with a unique way of life, Paris was forced to leave before the lesson was finished, and consequently received an automatic failure grade. 

The Delta Flyer II, fighting alongside Neelix's ship, the Baxial, proved pivotal in the defense of a Talaxian colony against the miners who wished to force the colonists out. This bought Neelix enough time to plant force field emitters to protect the colonists. 

The Flyer IIs last use prior to Voyagers return to the Alpha Quadrant occurred when The Doctor was forced to steal the Flyer II and the warp core to bargain for Captain Kathryn Janeway's life - after she was abducted by an alien race. With the aid of Paris and Tuvok in a shuttlecraft, The Doctor and Janeway were able to escape with the warp core.