Shield class 6
Armour Below 2500
Smaller power than normal
Maybe no CD?
But to balance that:
Keep the Flea's handling characteristics as much as possible without messing with balance. I wanna see these things zooming around pew pewing all.
Why not make a star flea with a cargo pod on the back and call it the starhauler. The most mass produced ship in sirius history should have many variants.
Even raising the starting money isn't needed, if you don't deem Helium mining beneath your dignity and don't mind the 10 minutes it takes you to earn for a Rhino.
On to more significant matters:
Starripper? What pops up in my mind: Starstripper!
Freight variant? Mmm... That's a pretty good idea. Starlifter would work for that.
I would enjoy a Flea mkII, but it definitely needs to keep the same handling characteristics. Just make it similar to other LF mkIIs except 3 guns only, 2 class 8 and 1 class 9.
Seriously, though, while the freighter variant is a good idea, and just about every other vanilla Light Fighter has a Mk.II version, do we really need another one? I mean, I always pictured the Hawk line as a successor to the Starflier line. But I suppose it would be an interesting new tool for certain groups *cough*xenos*cough*.
How about Starsoarer? It fits the trend for Mk.II fighters pretty well. Although maybe Starhunter fits the whole line better. (Flier, Tracker, Blazer, Hunter/Soarer)
While I'm rambling on, what would a bomber version be like? Might be a good use for the Starlancer name. Probably be a royal pain to balance, though.