VCX - 350 light freighter The VCX - 350 light freighter was a Corellian Engineering Corporation starship in the VCX series introduced to the starship market during the transition of power from the Galactic Empire to the New Republic . Benefiting from the New Republic ' s less - intrusive policies toward independent companies , CEC was able to create a more powerful freighter ; the end result combined lavish staterooms , a large cargo hold , and heightened performance . Despite the higher prices , the ship garnered much popularity among trading companies and smuggler convoys ; Talon Karrde used the VCX - 350 in his own fleet . Pirates would also exclusively target the ship due to its demand . This popularity put the ship into direct competition with the older YT - series as the CEC ' s best known design . Description . The VCX - 350 light freighter was the first of Corellian Engineering Corporation ' s VCX line , designed just after the fall of the Galactic Empire . Because of the relaxed atmosphere , business - wise , under the New Republic , the ships of the VCX line , including the VCX - 350 , were designed and built with heavier , almost military - grade shield generators , weapons , and engines . The VCX ships were extremely modular , matching a trait common to CEC ' s other starship designs . Dozens of standardized variations for the VCX - 350 freighter were already in place within a few years of the model ' s introduction . The VCX - 350 light freighter possessed a 31 - meter long double - decked frame , with a cockpit at the central fore of the vessel . The ship ' s lower level contained a sizable cargo bay capable of holding up to 250 metric tons . Located on the upper deck were amenities for the crew and any passengers . The crew and passenger accommodations were designed with comfort in mind , as each room was a small stateroom rather than the typical array of bunks provided aboard comparable ships at the time . Typically , a VCX - 350 freighter ' s crew consisted of three beings — though the ship could be flown with only two — and could shuttle up to eight passengers . Six months of consumables were also kept aboard the ship , allowing prolonged journeys . Docking ring s flanked the ship on port and starboard sides , just fore of the trio of engines . Three large engines sat in the rearmost portion of the craft , providing a high top speed . A class 1 . 0 hyperdrive allowed the ship to move from system to system quickly , and a class 11 backed the other up in case of malfunction . The stock ship was armed with only a single set of fire - linked laser cannons mounted above the ship , located in front of the engines and along the same axis as the ship ' s pair of docking rings . These cannons were capable of acting as a turret with a partial fire arc pointing fore , starboard , and port and , due to the relaxed policies of the New Republic , were far more powerful than the standard armament for a freighter . VCX - 350 freighters also included a shield generator , navigation systems , and an array of external communications devices . However , all of this came at a price ; a new ship cost around 300 , 000 credits , while used ships typically were sold for 175 , 000 credits . As such , independent traders typically were unable to purchase the starship , though trading corporations and small companies alike were purchasing the freighters at such a rate that the demand was far higher than the supply . Pirate groups also began exclusively targeting convoys of the freighters , to hijack them , dump their cargoes , and escape into hyperspace , all due to the ship ' s popularity . History . The VCX series was created around 5 ABY , after the fall of the Galactic Empire and the rise of the New Republic . Because of this power shift and the New Republic ' s tendencies for a less strict control over independent companies , Corellian Engineering Corporation was able to create the VCX line into a more powerful and better equipped freighter than was allowed under Imperial control . The VCX - 350 design itself was created to fulfill the role of a workhorse in any freighting role . While most individual freighter captains could not afford the 300 , 000 credits required to purchase a new one , or even the 175 , 000 credit price tag of a used model , trading companies , both large and small , could — and did — pick up many of the VCX - 350 freighters . In fact , the supply often paled in comparison for the demand for the ship . The amount of cargo space , as well as the advanced specifications the ship held , were not the only draws the ship had . The staterooms made standard on the stock ship made for a comfortable journey to and from a location , and the ship often became a personal shuttle . These ships even challenged the ships in CEC ' s YT - series , particularly the YT - 1300 , on being the best known CEC design . This was due to just how popular and common they had become only a short while after their inception . Most every smuggler fleet contained at least one of these ships in their fleet . Talon Karrde , a smuggler and businessman with galaxy - spanning influence , also used a VCX - 350 freighter in his own fleet . This popularity had a price : bands of pirates would often exclusively target convoys of VCX - 350 freighters for the ships themselves , rather than for any cargo they contained . Even with this added complication , the ship continued to sell . Behind the scenes . The VCX - 350 light freighter was first introduced in an RPG supplement on Corellian Engineering Corporation products , written by Owen K . C . Stephens and published in " Star Wars Gamer 2 " . The illustration of the ship was made by Jeffery Carlisle . Until the release of " Threats of the Galaxy " in May 2008 the " Gamer " article was the only source in which this ship had appeared .