NT-200 Nightingale

History

As the fading Galactic Empire gave way to the New Republic, senators, dignitaries, and other elected officials found themselves needing to travel in order to keep up with the rapidly developing political culture of the new regime. This proved to be a non-issue to some members of the galactic elite, many of whom already had personal starships, if not small fleets of their own. However, this did not account for the majority of the Republic. Some of the more impoverished members settled on simply being ferried by the New Republic’s navy itself, usually in the form of a diplomatic corvette along with an escort from the New Republic Starfighter Corps. While this means of travel was not lacking in security or comfort, it did lack a certain degree of freedom. Schedules were rigid; lacking in flexibility and convenience for those being transported. New Republic personnel, whilst professional, would not accommodate any requests that diverged from a flight plan. Furthermore, many officials believed that there was a certain peace of mind that came with having personal security as opposed to ‘outsourcing’ protection to the Republic. It would not be long before a market formed to meet the needs of these new target customers.

The Corellian Engineering Corporation quickly designed and produced new luxury variants of the venerable CR90 corvette. These new variants touted improved sub-light performance and additional defensive measures. Though significantly pricier than stock CR90s, these vessels would see immense financial success as the first ready-made option for potential customers, with the amenities and other features justifying the cost in the eyes of most. Furthermore, CEC began offering retrofit packages for the older CR70 as a cheaper alternative.

While CEC may have had the early advantage in sales and marketing, it would not hold its monopoly for long. By 6 ABY, there were numerous limited-production offerings from a wide selection of starship manufacturers. Among them were the Mon Cala Shipyards and Nubia Star Drives Incorporated. The CEC remained dominant in the corvette market, consistently beating out its competitor models from Mon Cala. However, there was a need for ships smaller than a corvette-sized vessel. Nubia Star Drives were the first to succeed in this area. In collaboration with the Theed Palace Space Vessel Engineering Corps, Nubia Star Drives set out to create a number of yachts and personal transports for export — a far cry from their usual domestic production. These starships would be made-to-order, and their price would ensure that only the most affluent members of the galaxy would have access to these exclusive ships. These yachts would simultaneously boast interiors worthy of a noble estate, sleek exteriors that exuded style, and performance to match that of starfighters. The Mon Cala shipyards followed suit, and while their hulls and exteriors may have been ugly to some, their performance more than made up for it. The Mon Cala offering also boasted a superior climate control system, a product of the lessons learned from the Galactic Civil War. This made it one of the best choices for species whose ideal environment was not the conventional norm.

CEC was late to enter the smaller vessel market, having been reliant on its CR70, CR90, and CR92 sales. CEC had previously attempted to enter the executive transport market at the end of the Clone Wars with the KST-100 Kestrel line of light freighters. Unfortunately, due to a number of reasons, it failed and was discontinued after only five years. This time, CEC attempted its tried-and-true method of offering new configurations of existing vessels. Specifically, it had designed variants of its popular and extremely modular YT-series freighters to fit the task. While these modified freighters were more than competent starships, it was a financial failure for the company. Despite holding new technologies, boasting superior performance, and carrying over the unique modularity that none of its competitors could offer, there were few buyers for these ships. These modified freighters carried a stigma amongst its target customer base. They were associated with smugglers at worst, and common-folk at best. Few officials, nobles, celebrities, or other public personalities would be caught dead in such a starship as it could be perceived as almost denigrating. Perhaps ironically, these freighters were still far out of the budget range for even well-to-do citizens, thus ensuring the fate of these configurations.

Forced to go back to the drawing board, CEC drew on its wealth of experience in designing freighter-sized starships to create a completely new vessel aimed at the star yacht and executive transport customer base. CEC engineers sought to create a ship with the performance and amenities that their customers came to expect, whilst also maintaining the extreme modularity of past designs so that vessels could be customized to their customers’ preference. Finally, it had to be all contained within a stylish hull exterior befitting of the status of those who flew it. With the failure of its past projects still fresh in the company’s mind, CEC engineers collaborated with engineers of the recently de-nationalized Sienar Fleet Systems to iron out some design issues. The result: The NT-200 Nightingale.

Sleek in aesthetic, the ‘Nightingale’ was both unlike anything CEC had designed before, and yet strangely reminiscent of its past work. Decently armored and with capable deflector shielding, its defenses were more than competitive for a ship of its size. The ‘Nightingale’ also boasted a sub-light speed equivalent to most heavy starfighters and a class-one hyperdrive to easily traverse the galaxy. Furthermore, the ‘Nightingale’ was luxuriously spacious, offering more room than any Nubian vessel for its speed. Interiors were furnished lavishly according to the needs of the customer, with the standard configuration drawing large inspiration from CEC’s legendary success with the MPO-1400 class star cruiser and its collaboration with Chandrila Star Line. The most enticing feature to customers was the model’s modularity and customizability, something that no other manufacturer could match. CEC, looking to rehabilitate its reputation from its previous attempts at such a vessel, offered to go the extra mile and satisfy custom orders straight from the manufacturing line. All of this would be priced lower than most Nubian starships, and still miraculously be sold at a profit.

The ‘Nightingale’ saw overnight success, catapulting CEC’s sales in executive transport past Mon Cala shipyards, and just under Nubia Star Drives. There is a saying that “no Nightingale is the same bird”, a testament to the uniqueness of each vessel. In fact, CEC’s clientele for the ‘Nightingale’ is filled with many unique individuals - although, most names on that list are not available to the public.