Epee light fighter

The F-54C Epee light fighter is a fictional spacegoing warplane from the Wing Commander series of computer games, produced by Origin Systems and Chris Roberts.

The successor to the venerable Hornet light fighter, the Epee featured highly-enhanced weaponry in the form of the Particle Cannon, humanity's most advanced beam weapon; the addition of another heat-seeking missile (bringing the total to two infrared and two unguided warheads); a faster cruising and afterburning speed; and enhanced shields and armor. On paper, it sounded wonderful; in practice, it was anything but. Perhaps carrier group commanders simply overestimated the Epee's lethality and overextended it, but pilots of the planes frequently found themselves in dire peril, the craft's thin shields depleted and nowhere near regenerating and its armor all too easily burned away. A number of disgruntled jocks have suggested that wrapping the ship in toilet paper would easily double its durability. Whatever the case may be, no one was particularly sad to see it go when it was retired to make way for the Arrow light fighter.

Épée is the French word for sword; specifically, it describes a one-handed weapon with a stiff, non-edged blade used solely for stabbing. Though now relegated solely to the modern fencing field, it once saw use as a personal sidearm on the field of armor; perhaps tellingly, it was found to be far inferior to the rapier during that time.