The YV-100 light freighter was the first of the Corellian Engineering Corporation's YV series starships released in the era surrounding the rise of the Galactic Empire. Its 46.5-meter-long frame housed enough room to hold 150 cubic meters of cargo, as well as other vital starship systems, including the hyperdrive, weaponry, and living arrangements. The ship's exterior featured a long, slender forward portion—a feature that would become trademark to the future ships of the YV series—which housed the ship's cockpit. The ship's aft half strongly resembled ships in CEC's YT-series, a feature specifically designed to capitalize on the influence of the popular YT-series already on the market.
The ship was considered to be well-built and hardy by pilots of its era, and, while considered an unremarkable ship design, was well-received by those who bought it. Even so, the YV-100 was not as easily modifiable as other CEC ships still on the market and as a result never gained the popularity its YT-series cousins had. Still, even with the slightly lowered demand, the YV-100 light freighter lasted from its original release well into the climax of the Yuuzhan Vong War.
Because the ship was the first in the Corellian Engineering Corporation's YV series line, the YV-100 light freighter closely resembled the YT-series line already on the market, a trend that became less and less noticeable as the ship designs in the series progressed. This was shown in the distinctly familiar saucer-shaped hull toward the rear of the vessel. However, beyond this design influence, the YV-100 differed greatly from its YT-series cousins, most noticeably in the design of the cockpit and connecting structure; it was this feature that gave the freighter its 46.5-meter length. Due to the extended aft portion of the vessel, cargo space was plentiful for a ship of its size and capabilities and the ship could hold transport approximately 150 cubic meters of freight. Three beings typically operated the ship, though only two were required. A YV-100 light freighter could also transport 10 additional beings as passengers.
Two large engines, positioned on the port and starboard sides of the rear of the vessel, provided the ship with much of its thrust; two smaller engines, located just in between the larger ones, assisted. A class 3 hyperdrive was fed into these engines, providing the ship with a shorter hyperspace traveling time; a backup class 12 hyperdrive existed to rescue the ship in case the class 3 failed. For weaponry, the stock YV-100 utilized two fire-linked laser cannons, located in the nose of the ship, and two fire-linked blaster cannons, located in a turret atop the freighter. The fore laser cannons had a very limited fire-arc, only able to fire forward, but the turret-mounted blaster cannons compensated for this lack of coverage by firing in any direction except aft. The ship was also equipped with a shield generator, navigation systems, and enough consumables to last crewmembers and passengers six months.
A new freighter was priced at 150,000 credits but, as it lacked the modular components common in CEC lines, the line never garnered as much popularity as had the YT-series. Thus, the freighter never established a firm foothold in the galaxy's starship markets, a trait also shared by later YV series models. Consequently, the cost of a used ship, around 50,000 credits, was fairly low when compared with other ships of its caliber. Still, those who owned it often claimed their YV-100 freighter was a solid, well-built ship that actually outperformed the older YT-1300 light freighter. Spacefarers with extra money would often convert the freighter to a luxury craft, even though it was more costly and harder to accomplish due to the lack of modularity. Despite the difficulty in changing the ship's features, it was not uncommon for YV-100 freighters to be extensively modified.
The YV-100 light freighter remained competitive up to and into the Yuuzhan Vong War, which began in 25 ABY. While not fast enough to evade the Yuuzhan Vong coralskippers, the ship could enter and exit a system quietly and undetected, and remain competitive to last long enough to escape a battle, if one arose.
The YV-100's main mission role was that of freight transfer. One such craft configured for cargo transport held a shipment of the addictive drug tempest. The ship crash-landed on the planet Endregaad sometime around 19 ABY, during the reign of the New Republic. In addition to its freighter capacity, the YV-100 light freighter also served the purpose of a shuttle. Utilizing this role, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker offered the modified freighter Lady Starstorm to a group of spacers during the Yuuzhan Vong War due to the ship's ability to safely land and protect from any complications. Following in the vein of shuttle transportation, the ship was often converted to a dedicated luxury craft by individuals with extra credits.
Corellian Engineering Corporation, not content with their huge successes with the YT-series line, began the YV series during the time of the rise of the Empire. The company redesigned and refitted everything from the ground up, and every system in the ship was reworked to fit these new specifications. The YV-100 was the first of this new line. Because of the line's fresh start, certain design elements were borrowed from Corellian starship designs, such as the YT-series' trademark saucer-shaped hull. This practice would eventually fade out with time and later incarnations of the YV series showed very few similarities to CEC's other ships. However, the extended boxy cockpit would go on to be a staple of the line, most notably showcased on the YV-666 light freighter.
Released sometime before the Empire's rise to power in 19 BBY, the YV-100 never latched onto the galactic starship market, mainly due to the lack of modular components so common to Corellian Engineering Corporation products. Thus, this freighter model was harder to adapt to various roles, a trait later YV-series models shared. Even so, the designs proved to be adequate for the intended purpose of hauling cargo, and those who did purchase them were not disappointed. Because of its lower cost, the YV-100 was heavily favored on worlds in the Fringe, as well as poorer or less-trodden planets in other sections of the galaxy.
The freighter would continue to be utilized long after its initial release, and usage persisted well into the later stages of the Galactic Civil War and beyond. Trading company Skydove Freight operated a YV-100 freighter in cargo configuration as late as 19 ABY, which the company used to transport a shipment of tempest, a drug akin to glitterstim spice, for the Hutt Mika Anjiliac Chiera. This ship eventually crashed on the planet Endregaard around 19 ABY. Mika Anjiliac Chiera set up a salvage tent to try and recover anything he could from the downed ship, including any of the potent drug remaining.
The ship remained prominent throughout the New Republic's reign and even into the Yuuzhan Vong War. Jedi Master Luke Skywalker offered the use of the YV-100 light freighter Lady Starstorm to a group of spacers on a mission to infiltrate the planet Myrkr to ascertain the extent of the Yuuzhan Vong's supply of vornskr canines and their hold on the planet. The ship was noted as being a good fit for the role by Skywalker based on its capabilities plus its ability to blend into everyday traffic.
The YV-100 was first introduced in an web-based RPG supplement, Mission to Myrkr, written by J.D. Wiker for The New Jedi Order Sourcebook. In the supplement, Luke Skywalker sends the player characters on a mission to spy on Yuuzhan Vong encampments on the planet Myrkr. Skywalker offered the craft as the players' method of entry and exit to the planet. However, the YV-100 freighter offered was a modified craft; stats for an unmodified YV-100 freighter were not provided until another RPG supplement, this time on Corellian Engineering Corporation products, was written by Owen K.C. Stephens and published in Star Wars Gamer 2. This was also the first time the ship was given a canonical picture; the illustration of the ship was made by Jeffery Carlisle. Shortly thereafter, with the update of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game rules, a conversion chart for starship stats was released, the YV-100 being one of the craft updated. The RPG supplement Tempest Feud, written by Jeff Grubb and Owen K.C. Stephens, used the freighter as a ship in a crash site that contained the drug tempest, which players would have a chance to investigate according to the plot.