6-Z Courier

The 6-Z Courier is a redesign by Marie Blackwood of Nova Drive Ltd of the venerable Vangaard Pathfinder. Rather than merely modernizing the design, Blackwood refocused the original design's use of sleek lines, high speed, and carrying capacity to turn into a capable courier ship. The new vessel is consequentally usually capable of outfighting what it cannot outrun due its turreted quad laser cannon and extensive proton torpedo complement. It also features some new innovatins, including the use of a carbo-plas hull for light weight, and consequently faster speeds and better fuel economy. It also maintains two x1 hyperdrives, ensuring that if one breaks down or is damaged in a fight, the 6-Z will still arrive at its destination on time and still be faster than many of its counterparts. Smallwood also built off of the ship's original sensor design and gave it an external sensor pod, which gives the ship a much better picture of space from longer ranges, in hopes that the ship would be able to better avoid fights. Unfortunately, the external sensor pod is also extreme vulnerable to enemy fire by being on the top of the 6-Z's tailfin. Lastly, the starship sports a light tractor beam projector to better faciliate the transfer of cargo in deep space, recover people and small objects in space, and lastly to hold down enemy starships to make them easier targets for the ship's quad laser cannon and proton torpedo launchers.

Officially, the 6-Z is marketed by Nova Drive as a secure, high-priority courier capable of moving small amounts of people and goods through contested space quickly and securely. In this role, Nova Drive has been able to sell small amounts to minor governments and merchants. Unofficially, the ship was designed to be a smuggler's dream, with its high speed and weapons loadout making it a reasonably dangerous ship, and the sensor pod allowing smugglers to use it to detect and avoid opponents and customs ships before they realize they were ever there. The ship has sold well to independent spacers, most of whom the designer suspects use it as a smuggling vessel. Lastly, several scouts have picked up the vessel to use as a scoutship partially because of its heritage, and partially because of its performance features.