The Cutlass functioned as an Imperial Patrol Craft for the Galactic Empire, its service commencing post-4 ABY. Under the command of Captain Untirrka, it was dispatched to the Sev Tok system with the intention of boarding the freighter Argent Lady, based on suspicions of smuggling. The information about the freighter arrived with insufficient lead time for adequate preparation, resulting in the ship departing from port with only half of its standard gunner complement and without any support troops. Despite being undermanned, the Imperial Navy believed its forces were adequate to handle what they assumed was an unarmed freighter. Unbeknownst to the Empire, by the time the Argent Lady arrived in the Sev Tok system, its cargo bay was loaded with armed and extremely dangerous R5-series astromech droids.
Thomas Bowling conceived the Cutlass for his article Droids Defiant, which appeared in February 1996 within Star Wars Adventure Journal 9. Its publication served as an addition to Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, a game developed by West End Games.