Stinger

The Stinger was a Surronian Conqueror-class assault ship.

Description
The Stinger was a modified Surronian assault ship, roughly 28 meters long and with a curved hull which had an almost sculpted appearance. The vessel comprised of fore and aft sections linked by a slender "neck". The forward compartment contained the cockpit, which had adequate seating for two passengers in addition to the pilot. A small emergency escape pod located at the rear of the cockpit allowed the crew to quickly vacate the vessel. The larger section of the ship, located to the rear of the neck, held the main cargo hold, though the vessel's cargo space was limited. In addition to cargo space, the rear section of the ship contained the reactor core, shield generators and spare parts for the engines.

The underside of the ship featured the retractable landing skids, located under both the fore and aft sections. A retractable entry ramp under the neck allowed access to the ship, while a separate hatch provided access to the cargo hold. A further hatch, located on top of the vessel, allowed access to the main power core while exhaust valves for the reactor core were located at the rear of the vessel.

The ship featured an advanced MicroThrust Processors computer system which automatically monitored internal systems, redirecting power or activating reserve systems in the event of a major overload. This allowed the pilot to focus on piloting and combat duties. A sensor cluster, located in the fore section, provided the pilot with data on the ship's surroundings.

Propulsion
The Stinger was powered by eight Surronian ion engines mounted around the rear section&mdash;two dorsal and two ventral A2-grade ion engines, along with two port and two starboard A2.50-grade ion engines. Together, these engines combined to produce a sublight speed greater than that of the T-65 X-wing starfighter and only slightly below that of the TIE/ln starfighter. Under atmospheric conditions, the Stinger was capable of reaching speeds of up to 1,150 kilometers per hour. For hyperspace travel, the ship had a modified Corellian Engineering Corporation H2-1 hyperdrive, giving it a Class 1 hyperdrive rating.

The ship had much greater maneuverability than most vessels its size due to the engine exhaust nozzles which could be individually adjusted by the pilot via the onboard computer system, eliminating the need for maneuvering jets.

Among the modifications installed by the Human replica droid Guri was a set of four emergency braking jets at the front of the rear section. These provided an advantage in firefights by allowing the ship to stop suddenly while being pursued, often causing the pursuing ship to overshoot its target, leaving it vulnerable to the Stinger's weapon systems.

As a droid, Guri could withstand faster deceleration than organic pilots could, giving her an added tactical advantage in such maneuvers.

Armament
The ship's firepower was provided by a pair of fire-linked ion cannons mounted to the front of the cockpit and a double laser cannon turret mounted to the top of the rear section. While the ion cannons faced directly in front of the ship, the turret provided greater flexibility and could be controlled from either a dedicated gunnery position or the cockpit, though with a significant reduction in accuracy. The ship's shield generators were also modified from the class's standard.

The Stinger was also equipped with powerful proton torpedoes, as Guri was reported to have single-handedly destroyed an Imperial Star Destroyer with them.

History
The Stinger originally belonged to Galactic Republic Admiral Tarnese Bleyd. After his murder by Kaird, the ship fell into the hands of Black Sun.

The ship was in the possession of Prince Xizor, leader of the Black Sun syndicate, for many years before he eventually gave it his bodyguard Guri. Guri used the vessel as her portable base of operations, from which she could command Black Sun's forces around the galaxy. She was also known to use the ship to smuggle precious cargo for the Falleen crime lord. Over time the ship came to be feared by criminals from Coruscant to the Outer Rim planets.

Behind the scenes
MedStar co-author Michael Reaves confirmed on the Jedi Council forums that the Surronian conqueror featured in the series was the same ship that featured in Shadows of the Empire.

Appearances

 * MedStar I: Battle Surgeons
 * Shadows of the Empire comic
 * Shadows of the Empire novel
 * Shadows of the Empire: Evolution