Guardian-class light cruiser

Guardian-class light cruiser

The Guardian-class light cruiser was quite capable of handling common freighter and smuggler traffic, however, it was not well equipped for boarding actions as it lacked space for a boarding party. It was one of the three main ships employed by Imperial Customs and thus was a common Imperial system patrol craft. These cruisers were quick, tough, hard-hitting ships which were intended to patrol remote systems without the immediate fear of destruction. Guardians, which were in service at least by the Battle of Yavin were a common sight in lightly populated, isolated systems where the Galactic Empire needed to maintain a presence without underwriting the expense of assigning a larger vessel to patrol duty. Also, these light cruisers often patrolled with corvette or frigate support.

It must be noted however, that Guardian cruisers were totally outclassed when deployed against capital ships. These ships can be outfitted with external docking racks to carry TIE Fighters, however this modification reduces the Guardian-class light cruiser's maneuverability. These ships also saw use outside the Imperial military. The privately owned station known as “The Wheel”, a gambling haven located in the Besh Gorgon System employed ten of these cruisers for traffic control duty in its security forces. Political entities such as the House Pelagia in the Tapani Sector maintained these ships as well. Unfortunately, like the Guardian 344, pirates such as Shanto Dhil acquired these cruisers. Dhil's Guardian light cruiser, The Avatar's Needle liked to pose as an Imperial vessel in order to get close enough to bacta transports to steal their cargo.

The Guardian 344-class light cruiser was a follow up by Sienar Fleet Systems which addressed the previous cruiser's lack of space for a boarding party. It is known that the some 344s fell into pirate hands, an example would be The Last Thing owned by Dorok Zalaster.

Appearances

 * The Hutt Gambit
 * Talnar's Rescue