Sword-class Frigate - History: Escort class ships are designed to support heavier warships during patrols, cruises and engagements, protecting the larger and often much slower and ponderous voidships' vulnerable flanks from opportunistic strikes. It is exceptionally rare to see an Imperial battleship or cruiser without at least two, if not more, Sword-class Frigates by its sides.The Sword-class is a very old design, which has seen service since the earliest days of the Imperium. A staple class upon which many other variants of Imperial escorts have been based, all its components have been tried, tested, refined and if necessary redesigned over innumerable engagements, resulting in a surprisingly efficient warship.As an escort, the Sword-class Frigate is expected to come under fire, and was designed with this in mind. Its bulkheads are thicker than would be expected, and the beams and supports that hold the warship together have redundant copies that will take the load if the primary beam or support fails. Its banks of void shields are also strong and sturdy, designed to offer maximum protection for a voidship of its tonnage. Due to this, the Sword-class Frigate can take more punishment than would be expected for a voidship of its relatively diminutive size.Its laser-based weapons batteries provide equivalent fire power to those of the less-reliable plasma-based alternatives. These batteries are able to fire to both sides, or forward with full strength. The class' plasma engines are powerful, yet simple enough to be maintained by a freshly ordained Tech-priest, and are regarded as reliable even under extreme duress or after the warship has suffered heavy damage.The Sword-class Frigate does suffer from one drawback: while potent, its laser-based weapon batteries are by void warfare standards short-ranged, and a Sword-class Frigate captain must always be wary of biting off more than they can chew. Whilst its strong void shields and superior structural integrity allows a Sword-class Frigate to go head-to-head with even an Iconoclast-class Destroyer and emerge battered but victorious, its lack of long-range armament can prove detrimental in larger engagements if it finds itself without any support from heavier warships.This flaw was perfectly illustrated during the Battle of Belatis, when the duo of Sword-class Frigates Pegasus and Achilles came under surprise attack from the Murder-class Cruiser Charybdis and its escorting Infidel-class Raiders. Caught too far away from the cruiser they had escorted to withdraw back to it in time, both warships boldly decided to bring the battle to the foe rather than flee, but the Pegasus was destroyed by a concentrated torpedo volley from the Infidels before it could get into firing range.The Achilles fared slightly better, crippling one of the Infidels before powering onward towards the Charybdis; but was finally obliterated by its much larger opponent's broadside before being able to manoeuvre itself into firing range.Sword-class Frigates are so well-liked and efficient that even many Space Marine Chapter fleets include them in support of their battle barges and strike cruisers whenever they can. Because of their excellent performances, Swords are also valued by Rogue Traders, who usually convert them to contain more cargo space to meet their merchant needs. Pirate fleets have also been known to operate captured Sword-class Frigates.