Another redesign of a Privateer 2 ship. I needed a break from the Straith and so I started something challenging and I like strange looking ships. :stuck_out_tongue: https://www.wcnews.com/wcpedia/Heron_Medium_Fighter_ML04 It's at point where its fleshed out enough that it hopefully isn't too lol wot and I can risk an unveiling. The original P2 lore for the ship is basically: It's a ship belonging to the Chirichan pirate clan. I've set about writing some Star Citizen compatible lore for it, in brief: Built by a struggling smaller ship manufacturing called Aries Systems and sold to police and militia forces. The company suffered from corruption on its home planet, high import costs, labor problems, quality control issues and irregular sales. It was being funded by local government contracts to keep it afloat until they could turn things around. The Heron was their last ship, initially sold exclusively to private security and militias. After Drake Interplanetary undercut the majority of the low-cost segment of the market with the more cost effective and more versatile Cutlass variants Aries Systems was in serious trouble. One final civilian variant of the Heron was sold in low numbers. It's government support was finally cut and it went into liquidation. The Heron had its downfalls but proved to be a generally reliable ship, many ex-service Herons entered private sales yards and this is how they also ended up in the hands of pirates. Especially the Chirichan clan, their wide roaming wolf packs of yellow and red Herons a nightmare for even the most heavily defended trader or rival pirate organisation. The Herons capacity for human cargo and contraband also happens to hit the sweet spot for smuggling and bounty hunting. Stats unconfirmed, but its being built with a capacity for four S3 hard-points on the wings, two S2 hard-points on the chin and missile pylons still to be added. Its made with civil defense in mind, and for that it has either four prisoner pods or storage for eight small carry boxes. The lore design philosophy of the Heron was to minimise its front profile without sacrificing forward surface area for fuel mass collectors and thus patrol range. The dorsal wings can be configured in a horizontal position to provide stability and lift in atmospheric flight. Boosters on the wings rotate to provide VTOL thrust in conjunction with the retro/VTOL jets on the front in landing configuration. Its using a Drake Herald console and seat as a placeholder that almost fits. Variants: Heron A 'Enforcer' - First and highest cost variant for security duty. Cargo Scanner. 4 Prisoner Cells. Endurance Fuel Cell. Heron M 'Military' - Less featured low cost variant for militia fleet stocks. Light container hold. Additional missile pylons. Heron C 'White' - Civilian variant. Light container hold. White/Accented external paint. Furbished interior. --- tip: middle mouse click images for full size. Aries Systems logo concept, and a Chirichan pirate with one of her taunts from Privateer 2. Posted for nostalgia. She dies in Herons an awful lot. :stuck_out_tongue: Extra lore fluff: Merc-Magazine’s opinion: Danger rating: Moderate. Unless you’re packing some serious front shields, don't play chicken with a Heron, that narrow front profile and a painful array of four or more forward gun mounts and missiles could easily hurt you more than you hurt it. Don't bother shooting at the wings either unless its shields are already gone, any Heron pilot worth their salt is going to roll away from you, instead go straight for its fat ass and don't let up until you pop its engine. Your ship is simply not cut out for this line of work if you cant either outmaneuver or out-gun a Heron. Atmospheric capability: Poor. It can glide a bit and bring all its weapons to bare on ground targets. But then it will have to turn around and that takes forever. Its VTOL boosters are mostly just for actual VTOL, so don't worry too much about it stalking your position like a true ground attack gunship. Coolness factor: We reckon you need two pirate eye-patches to really appreciate the odd looking Heron. I once overheard a comment in a bar that ships match their owners, when it comes to the heavily cyborged Chirichan ship jackers, this actually makes perfect sense. Amenities: A padded seat and not much else. You could almost mistake it for a Drake ship with its exposed wiring and bare metal. But wait whats this!? Behold fellow mercenaries, it has the fabled rare cup holder of legend as standard. Get your notepads out Aegis designers. Cost: A used Heron in working condition (don't expect much more than that these days) can be had for very little if you can find one. Heron Cs in reasonable condition can fetch good money thanks to the fact there is only about thirty in existence. Rarity: Not too uncommon in some of the outer regions, very few are operated by lone-wolf privateers, just the occasional bounty hunter or smuggler that is happy to sleep rough. They are still used in security and still mothballed wall-to-wall in some militia bases. Then of course there are the pirates, who must have gotten some really good deals at auctions to be running so many.