Under careful examination, the Arání & Aurévar Designs Shadowcat-class blockade runner rapid interface freighter uses an identical spaceframe, high-performance fusion-torch drive with antimatter afterburner, sensor masking package and auxiliary systems as their Exciseman-class customs cutter. The Shadowcat merely replaces the staff accommodations and boarding pod of the Exciseman with a cargo hold, and discards the cutter’s offensive capability (although not the armor or point defense) in favor of additional cargo capacity. Apparently cosmetic hull and habitable-volume modifications complete the differentiation between the two designs.
In light of the similar requirements and dissimilar roles of these classes, the editors of Fíerí’s applaud both the efficiency and the irony of this design choice.
– Fíerí’s Starships of the Associated Worlds, 421st ed.