Dimensions: 2.2 km long, 0.3 km abeam at fins approx. Mass: 6.5 megatons approx. Crew: 27,000 crew, approx. Accel: 4.6 gravities max sustainable acceleration. The Falchion is considered a new class, having only been laid down in 261.M41. Given the Imperial Navy’s deference towards the truly ancient ships in its arsenal, the class (given its mere 550 years of service) is regarded as an untried and untested pretender to the throne of more established ships like the venerable Sword. The Falchion has a small weapons battery and a single torpedo tube. It also has a shield generator and turret array for protection. The Falchion design began with a set of plans that were stolen by Chaos traitors from the Imperial shipyards at Monsk. While this design would appear in the Chaos Fleet as the Infidel -class raider, the Imperials' attempt to reconstruct the stolen plans would result in the Falchion class. The pattern's operational successes have tended to be in a defensive, rather than offensive, role where it is used to clear ordnance threats to the more ponderous capital ships, however in a stand up fight it simply cannot compete with the damage potential of the much more widespread Sword Class Frigate that are found in most fleets. The Gargantua was until very recently in the employ of Eckhart Tül, a famous Rogue Trader that was recently discovered to be trading in Xenos artifacts from beyond the fringe of the Jericho Reach. The Dynasty used the escort frigate more as a deep space communications relay, occasional electronic warfare boat, and all around support vessel. However her shipmaster, Captain Florence Craye has been itching to loot the worlds of the Jericho Reach for all that they are worth. The recent declaration of his liege as Hereticus Traitorous has allowed him to re-evaluate the loyalties of the ship and crew without risking a mutiny. Additionally, it gives the Gargantua a credible reason head off into the wild unknown to escape Imperial attention and perhaps find wealth and profit in the process. The majority of the Gargantua's crew are still very much loyal to the God Emperor, but also deathly afraid of His Holy Inquisition, and playing up those fears is the key to Craye's plans. Like all vessels in the House Tül fleet that reside outside the bounds of the Imperium, the Gargantuan is outfited with a handful of Xenos ship components acquired from their trading partners. House Tül Dynasty Markings : Enemy (Inquisition) and Peer (Demiurg and Fra'al). His Word Obeyed : Any crew-member who makes Command Tests aboard this ship gains a +10 bonus. Xenophilous : Through dealings with some xenos race, this vessel has been outfitted with examples of their blasphemous technology. When constructing this vessel, players must select 1 Xenotech Component of their choice. However, any Tech-Use Tests to repair the ship suffer a –30, due to the strange and blasphemous nature of the machinery. Should the character attempting the repairs have Forbidden Lore (Xenos), the penalty is only –10. Also, the forces of the Ordo Xenos have an interest in the vessel and who controls it. Crew Rating : Crack (40) Speed 8 VU Maneuverability +32 Detection +14 Hull Integrity 36 Armor 18 Turret Rating 1 Power: 18 power available of 49 produced Essential Components: Clan-kin Quarters, Combat Bridge, Jovian-pattern Class 8.1 Drive, Geller Field, mark 1.r Life sustainer, Miloslav G-616.b Warp Engine, Single Void Shield, and Witch Augur. Supplementary Components: Astropathic Choir-chambers, Augmented retro-thrusters. Broadband Hymn-casters, Fra'al Masking Battery (Dorsal), Fra'al Maneuvering Lenses, Jovian-pattern Missile Battery (Dorsal), Voss-pattern Torpedo Tube (Prow), Warp Antenna, Warp Disruptor, and Xenos Habitats. Weapon Capacity : Prow 1, Dorsal 2 (all slots are filled) Torpedo Specialist : The Falchion has been designed as a torpedo gunship. The Falchion’s Prow weapon slot is occupied by a Voss-pattern Torpedo Tube Component. This Component may not be removed, and has only room for six torpedoes plus one in the tubes. The space required is already taken into account, but when this ship is constructed, it must provide one power to this Component.