Laktran-class Frigate

Commissioned by the Prophets near the end of the Human-Covenant War, the Laktran-class Frigate was used exclusively by the Jiralhanae. Despite conforming to more traditional Covenant aesthetics, the ships were built at the Thrakakrathak Shipyards above Unmoving Virtue, and completed just before the outbreak of the Great Schism. Though one or two fell into Sangheili hands, for the most part the Separatists were content to simply destroy them - innovations and upgrades provided by human scientists allowed their own, older ships to quickly surpass the newer but inferior Jiralhanae frigates in manoeuvrability, offensive and defensive systems, and slipstream navigation.

History
Exactly why the Prophets commissioned the Laktran-class frigate remains a mystery. Their reasons for choosing the Thrakakrathan Shipyards of Unmoving Virtue, newly established and located very close to Doisac, are more readily transparent - seeing the chaos that the Great Schism would bring, the Prophet of Truth wanted extra infrastructure in place for the Jiralhanae to wage their campaign against the soon-to-be-exiled Sangheili. The first ships built at the shipyard were the Laktran-class, and it may be that they were designed solely to test the construction process of the shipyards. Regardless, fifty nine ships were built between 2445 and 2552, most carrying Jiralhanae crews - to appease the Sangheili, they were assigned to protect Jiralhanae worlds and interests, or used as scout ships under the Ministry of Tranquility, separate from the Covenant military.

When the Great Schism erupted, sixteen of the Laktran-class frigates were present at High Charity, covertly entering the region beforehand as part of planned "wargames" to demonstrate Jiralhanae capabilities. Instead, they entered actual combat, proving themselves just as capable as their Sangheili counterparts. Six were destroyed outright by the Assault Carrier Unending, while another four were crippled, their crews forced to abandon their ships - the lifepods were destroyed later by Seraph fighters as a symbol of the Sangheili's wrath. A small number of lifepods from the frigate Eternal Night were rescued by the Vrathek, the lead ship of the Jiralhanae's Vrathek-Class Cruisers, and joined the crew.

A number were present during the Battle of Ketesh, maintaining orbit and preventing planetary forces from leaving the system. During the battle for the Morhekan Naval Shipyards, two of the frigates were docked for resupply - commando strikes by the Voltakran Legion slaughtered the crews, and captured the vessels, taking the rest of the fleet by surprise. Though inexperienced in space warfare, the paramilitary legion commandeered the ships and used them effectively to damage the fleet, and support ground battles until the arrival of the Separatist fleet, which devastated the rest of the Jiralhanae fleet and mopped up the last of the enemy ground forces. The ships were studied by Sangheili tacticians and while deemed sound, no discernable advantages could be seen, and their development was put down to San'Shyuum bureoucracy.

More of the class were present during the Battle of Unmoving Virtue, when a joint Sangheili-UNSC battlegroup attacked the shipyards, hoping to cripple the Covenant war machine. As the battle in space got increasingly desperate, the battle on the planet was made worse for the Jiralhanae as a slave uprising erupted, sweeping through the shipyards. Denying the Sangheili use of the shipyards for attacking Doisac and other Jiralhanae, the frigates bombarded it from orbit with their plasma weapons, devastating the uprising and denying the enemy an important strategic resource. By the battle's end, the twenty nine surviving frigates escaped with the larger Vrathek's to slipspace, abandoning the now-devastated former Jiralhanae colony, granting the Sangheili and UNSC a decisive victory.

More of the class would be built as the War of Vengeance wore on, but would prove inadequate against the Sangheili fleet - though using ships built before the Schism, the Covenant's inability to innovate and improve made them a pale shadow of their true potential. In exchange for technological transfers and resources for rebuilding, human scientists and technicians allowed Sangheili ships to use weapons and shield upgrades that, when compared with the Covenant Loyalist fleet, made them nearly unstoppable juggernauts.

Design
For the most part, the Laktran-class frigate is a standard Covenant ship. Its command centre is buried deep in the ship, surrounded by layers of armour plating and bracings that make it extremely well protected. Energy shield generators surround the ship, keeping up a nearly impenetrable barrier, while the ship's single plasma torpedo launcher and six pulse laser turrets gave it respectable offensive power. For its size, the ship is unusual in that it also carried an energy projector, normally carried by much larger ships - although it required a significant charging period, and used a tremendous amount of power, it allowed the ship a surprise punch equivalent to a cruiser or assault carrier - a useful thing in battle.

At the rear of the ship, its twin repulsor engines were divided into two distinct nacelles, each capable of operating independently or cooperatively - Sangheili tactics of hitting the thrusters, crippling the ship for later mopup operations, soon became redundant as the ships simply limped off the battlefield. Its lateral edges were flattened, a feature intended to save power during atmospheric operations, acting as traditional "wings" despite its use of antigravity propulsion systems. Its only real distinctive feature was its lack of a gravity lift, forced to use dropships for troop deployment.

Quotes

 * "I don't really see the point in building them. I mean, they're not really that different to the older Covenant frigates, and they use the exact same technology. Its the smallest ship to mount an energy projector, but that's the only distinction it holds. Maybe the Prophets just wanted the Brutes to use something different?"
 * "They're small, nimble, and pack quite a punch for their size. But since the Prophets never allow their subordinates to improve on the technology they use, and the Brutes aren't exactly the most innovative species, they were far less effective than they could have been. The Elites just blew them out of the skies."
 * "The Jiralhanae never learn, do they? They send their fleets against us, trusting in sheer numbers and ferocity - we effortlessly parry their blows, and strike our own. With the human's improvements, it is all too easy. And yet the Jiralhanae still keep striking."