Ha! When I have a Rebel Cruiser I don't do 'rush missions'. I KILL things. Preferably Confeds.
Actually, I usually go like this:
First (Naturally), a shuttlecraft.
Then, If I feel like adventure, a scoutship.
Then I always save up and get a clipper. I think a lot of people don't like the clipper, but I think it's a great combination if you are still interested in doing missions or trading. It has more cargo space than any fighter class-ship, and yet can easily hold it's own against them, so even if you are into trading there is no reason for running, which I hate doing. And if you have a really tough mission coming up you can still trade cargo space for weapons and not be horribly short, like, say, the Rapier. Finally, it is cheap, at a stock price of only 300,000.000 credits.
Next, I aim for the Kestrel, which Ilove, especially since it is the only ship that actually carries fighters that do major damage: The Lightning.
And then, of course, the Rebel Cruiser.
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We do not live to work, rather, we work to live.