by galathonredd
Actually, there's a perfectly canon explanation for this:The YT-1300 (not YT-3000) is a relatively non-combat ship, lightly armed and barely armored for its size; it's best suited to smuggling and piracy. An 80-year-old design, the few still in service are owned mostly by smugglers and pirates; the Empire would never support such lawbreakers by hiring them when they could crush the illicit scum instead. Also, it's a Corellian design - like the Corellian Corvette (Blockade Runner) - and Corellians already provide the Empire enough resistance as is, supplying ships, weapons, and supplies to the Alliance whilst generally giving the Empire the finger whenever possible.
The very few prototype Firesprays ever built belong to bounty hunters, and the line never got a full retail release. We've already seen the Empire hire bounty hunters to catch fugitives once; it's a perfectly acceptable means, even if a bit shady and ill-regarded, to enforce Imperial law. the Rebels can't afford to employ them; they can't trust them, either, given that every Rebel is worth a price to the Empire.
[/nerdage]
That all sound acceptable?