CloakShape fighter/Legends

"I once had a guy come in here looking to buy an 'original' CloakShape. I just laughed and told him that there's no such thing as an 'original' Cloakshape."

- Mechanic Shug Ninx

The CloakShape fighter, or CS fighter, was a space and atmospheric fighter built by Kuat Systems Engineering decades before the Clone Wars.

Characteristics
These starfighters were not considered particularly agile or powerful when first introduced, but the reinforced hull made the vessel quite durable and overall they were generally considered adequate for their class. They had comparatively small powerplants which made them less than ideal for combat in deep space, but they performed competently in planetary atmospheres and were thus considered best suited to a defensive role.



The CloakShape's simple design, modular compartments, and universal adapters encouraged modification, allowing them to be fitted with a variety of aftermarket systems. A skilled mechanic could remove and replace entire systems with ease, and by the time of the Battle of Yavin it was widely considered impossible to find an "original CloakShape."

Upgrades were commonly available to provide a stronger power generator, greater fuel storage, stronger weapons, more advanced sensors and targeting computers, and more powerful engines. Upgrades could even add completely new systems such as deflector shields, or convert the cockpit into an escape pod. In stock form, these fighters did not include a hyperdrive, which is why a self-powered hyperdrive sled was a popular upgrade.

The most popular addition was the Curich Engineering rear wing and stabilizer conversion kit; it was so common that many assumed that the fighter originally came with the stabilizer. Even with the improved handling and turning radius provided by this modification, however, the CloakShape still had its flaws; like the Z-95 Headhunter, its relatively slow sublight speed allowed heavy weapons, normally useless against a starfighter, to target the sluggish craft.

By 10 ABY, they only cost 15,000 credits.

History
CloakShapes were adopted by the Judicial Forces of the Galactic Republic, the Jedi Order (as Whitecloak fighters, a modified version), several corporations and local governments, as well as criminal organizations like the Nebula Front.

Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker was familiar with the controls of the CloakShape. In 23 BBY, while on a mission to Fondor, the 19-year-old Skywalker piloted a CloakShape owned by Fondor's Senator Rodd to infiltrate and destroy a Groodo the Hutt-fabricated counterfeit of the ancient Corellia StarDrive transport, the Sun Runner. While successful in the task (by way of a hypermatter reactor-planted proton grenade), he was forced to make a nighttime crash-landing on the Fondorian jungle-moon Nallastia, from which he was later retrieved by his Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Knight Bultar Swan. Skywalker was forced to eject from the CloakShape's cockpit—explosive bolts releasing its canopy—before the starfighter itself spiraled nosefirst into a grassy field and blossomed into a burst of flame upon impact.

Despite its drawbacks, the CloakShape remained in service for decades after it was first regarded as outdated. CloakShapes could often be found in service as system patrol craft, smuggler blockade vessels, and support vessels for anti-piracy actions.

A squadron of CloakShape fighters was part of the New Republic fleet that hunted for Warlord Zsinj; however, due to age, these ships suffered badly during the battles with the warlord.

Han Solo encountered a CloakShape flown by a bounty hunter on Nar Shaddaa. The hunter pursued Solo and the Millennium Falcon, following the Corellian through heavy traffic, right into Shug Ninx's garage, where the targeting cannons behind the garage's secret door made short work of both the bounty hunter and his ship.

The Anzat Kell Douro used one of these ships, named Predator, as he searched the galaxy for the truth of fate. He kept live beings in stasis in the hold to feed upon up until his demise.

The ace pilot Jayn flew one known as the Leilana's Dagger, named after his deceased wife; however, it was destroyed, along with him, at Iope shortly after the Battle of Yavin by the assassin X-7.