The Stinger is the twenty-eight metre long assault ship of Guri, prince Xizor’s mysterious bodyguard. A modified Surronian Conqueror Assault ship the Stinger once belonged to Xizor, until he presented it to Guri. The ship has two main uses: one is as a mobile base of operations for Guri when she is co-ordinating Xizor’s diverse paramilitary groups; the other is as a smuggling ship.
Four Surronian A2-grade and four A2.50-grade ion engines power the ship. It also has an impressive sublight speed, beating that of an X-Wing but just falling short of a TIE fighter. Unlike most other craft, the Stinger lacks manoeuvring jets. Normally this would reduce the ship’s manoeuvrability a great deal, but the Stinger has a special onboard computer system. This allows the pilot to adjust each engine’s exhaust nozzles individually, thus actually enhancing the craft’s manoeuvrability. An atmospheric speed of 1,150 kilometres per hour allows Guri to outrun many enemies, but there are times when she wishes to eradicate them. In such cases she uses a set of four emergency breaking jets found in the forward wings. She installed these herself, and has used them several times to slow her ship down, allowing the pursuer to overtake. After that it is merely a formality to blow them into space dust. The Stinger has a Class One hyperdrive rating thanks to a modified Corellian Engineering Corporation H2-1 hyperdrive.
A pair of forward fire-linked ion cannons along with a turret-mounted double laser cannon make up the Stinger’s weaponry. All the weapons can be used from the cockpit, although the laser cannons can be fired from the turret’s gunnery position, giving them far greater accuracy.
The cockpit is located in the forward compartment, where there is seating for two passengers and the pilot. The main cargo hold is found just behind the neck of the ship. Since much of the rear compartment is filled with the ship’s shield generators, reserve engine components, and the large power core, only very special cargo is transported on board the Stinger. A single emergency escape pod is placed directly behind the cockpit.
So that the pilot can concentrate on combat and the actual piloting, an advanced MicroThrust computer system monitors the Stinger’s internal systems. This system reroutes power and, in case of a system overload, powers up reserve systems.
From Coruscant to some of the farthest planets in the galaxy, the Stinger is known and feared, just like its pilot.