Unlocking ships question

[PvK]

I've tried the Assault Scout, with the idea of playing a captain who tends to never go ashore without need, and who is interested in and willing to blast other ships. I did quite well on Hard/Permadeath, though I kept losing my away teams and several sets of officers through foolish mistakes, and I eventually did a YASD which was my fault. I liked the ship, as it's fast and starts with a two-weapon power generator, but it is low in cargo and supplies, but that wasn't a big problem particularly after I had a thing or two to enhance supplies and/or reduce use. Low cargo meant I was less tempted to try to make money on shipping runs.