Took a lot less time to unlock this cutter than I expected (already had a clipper, googled for good imp rep grinds and... I guess FDev are ok with the one that's popular because there are like 50 fleet carriers in those systems).
Anyway. 600
million credits later, the Argent Cavalry is looking better. A-rated FSD, thrusters, size 8 bi-weave shield (for now) providing 2400 points(?), FSD booster, some solid guns, a big first class cabin, vehicle hangar, and 256t of cargo. Only thing I wanted and couldn't work out a good spot for was rescue limpets. I may yet sacrifice 64t of cargo for them, will see how those delivery missions go. Or maybe come down to a 7A shield. Got a lot of boosters doing many things. It would take a beefy pirate to cause me problems.
So now it's time to tour the engineers. Fortunately they're largely unlocked and on decent terms, and I've got a big stash of materials. Boost speeds over 400m/s seem pretty good for something this chunky, and 37ly range isn't bad either. Shield resistances close to 50%. Going to go optimise the guns a bit, and then maybe go pick a minor faction to assist for a while and see what happens on the BGS.
(Could also look for some prismatic shields. And maybe work out what to do with sensors, sitting on regular Ds at the mo...)