Editing Bernlad (Individual Congress-class WarShip)

{{otheruses|the WarShip|the JumpShip|Bernlad (Individual Star Lord-class JumpShip)}}
{{infoBoxIndividualSpacecraft
| image      = 
| vesselname = Bernlad
| prevname   =
| type       = [[WarShip]]
| class      = [[Congress]]
| prevclass  = 
| servicesince = 
| serviceuntil = 
}}

==History==
As of [[3061]], the ''[[Congress]]''-class frigate '''''Bernlad''''' was a [[WarShip]] in the [[Clan Goliath Scorpion]] [[Clan Goliath Scorpion Touman|''touman'']] and was serving as the CGS ''Bernlad''. The ''Bernlad'' was serving as a part of the four-ship [[Einheriar Battlegroup (Clan Goliath Scorpion)|Einheriar Battlegroup]] and acting as an escort vessel for the Goliath Scorpion flagship, the [[McKenna (WarShip class)|''McKenna'']]-class battleship [[Lei Kung|CGS ''Lei Kung'']].<ref name="FM:WCp108">''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 108: "Naval Assets"</ref>

In December [[3068]], [[Clan Snow Raven]] was involved in a large [[Trial of Possession]] in the Lum system called by [[Clan Star Adder|Clan Star Adder's]] [[Delta Naval Star (Clan Star Adder)|Delta Naval Star]] for control of the planet's orbital space. The resulting battle saw almost six [[Star]]s of WarShips and [[DropShip]]s, and almost seven Stars of [[aerospace fighter]]s, battle each other in one of the largest naval engagements to be fought in the [[Clan Homeworlds]] up to that point. The [[Bloody Talon|CSR ''Bloody Talon'']] survived the engagement, although the other two Snow Raven WarShips<ref name="WORp40"/>—subsequently confirmed as being the ''[[Sovetskii Soyuz (WarShip class)|Sovetskii Soyuz]]''-class heavy cruiser [[Avalanche (Individual Sovetskii Soyuz-class WarShip)|CSR ''Avalanche'']] and the ''[[Aegis (WarShip class)|Aegis]]''-class heavy cruiser [[Morning Violence|CSR ''Morning Violence'']]<ref>[http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,34533.msg806356.html#msg806356 BattleTech Developer confirms the destruction of the ''Avalanche'' and ''Morning Violence'' at Lum]</ref>—were crippled and on fire, and the [[Cho Polu|CSA ''Cho Polu'']], a ''[[Volga]]''-class transport, was destroyed, burning in Lum's atmosphere before carving large craters in the surface of the planet with its remains.<ref name="WORp40">''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 40: "Lamentations and the Raven"</ref>

No sooner had the Star Adders retreated from the Lum system when a second hostile force arrived: [[Clan Goliath Scorpion]]'s [[Beta Naval Star (Clan Goliath Scorpion)|Beta Naval Star]]. The Goliath Scorpions also announced a Trial of Possession, this time for the Lum naval yards, and the senior Snow Raven officer present, [[Star Admiral]] [[Thomas Waters (31st c.)|Thomas Waters]], bid the entire of the Lum system's assets in defense out of sheer exasperation.<ref name="WORp40"/>

Water's decision proved to be a very costly mistake for the Snow Ravens. When the Lum Shipyards tried to cover the ''Bloody Talon'', which was facing down the ''Bernlad'', one of the escorting Goliath Scorpion DropShips, the ''[[Carthage (Individual Goliath Scorpion DropShip)|Cathage]]'', was penetrated by point defense weapons from the shipyards and exploded. This led the ''Bernlad'' to immediately fire a broadside on the Lum shipyards, which were subsequently targeted by other Goliath Scorpion vessels as viable targets. Three days later, the remains of the shipyards, perhaps half of which had been destroyed, were in the possession of the Goliath Scorpions, and there were no Snow Raven naval assets left in the system.<ref name="WORp40"/>

In June [[3073]], the ''Bernlad'' was one of five vessels amalgamated hastily into a new star, the [[Alpha Naval Reserve Star (Clan Goliath Scorpion)|Alpha Naval Reserve Star]], and deployed to the [[Foster]] system in an attempt to reassert the Goliath Scorpion presence in the system following the disastrous loss of [[Gamma Galaxy (Clan Goliath Scorpion)|Gamma Galaxy]] and [[Loremaster]] [[Kyrie Ben-Shimon]] in the system a few months beforehand. Deploying alongside the ''[[Nightlord]]''-class battleship [[Atropos|CGS ''Atropos'']], the ''Aegis''-class [[Corona Borealis|CGS ''Corona Borealis'']], the ''[[Lola III]]''-class destroyer [[Auriga|CGS ''Auriga'']] and the ''Sovetskii Soyuz''-class [[Serket|CGS ''Serket'']], the various ships transported both the remains of Gamma Galaxy and the entirety of [[Beta Galaxy (Clan Goliath Scorpion)|Beta Galaxy]], and discovered when they entered the system that there was no trace of any forces on the world other than those from [[Clan Steel Viper]].<ref name="WORp124">''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 124: "Scorpion Gambit"</ref>

The resulting [[Trial of Possession]] for two Steel Viper enclaves on the surface began cordially, but were disrupted by the actions of a Goliath Scorpion warrior who had unwisely used [[necrosia]] to excess during the duel, resulting in the battles quickly becoming a free-for-all with the Goliath Scorpions ultimately seizing control of the two enclaves after deploying elements of the Alpha Naval Reserve Star to strike key targets from orbit.<ref name="WORp124"/>

Following the battles on Foster, the Scorpions merged the remains of Beta and Gamma Galaxies together and moved to [[Glory (system)|Glory]], arriving in-system in September 3073. Glory was home to [[Kindraa Mattila-Carrol]], one of the many Kindraa within [[Clan Fire Mandrill]] and allies of the Goliath Scorpions. When the Scorpions arrived they found that the shattered remains of the Kindraa were trying to hold  on to their enclave at Portage in the face of repeated strikes from Steel Viper forces. Under the command of [[saKhan]] [[Kelton Myers]] the Scorpions moved to assist their allies, only to be intercepted by two Steel Viper WarShips, the ''[[Potemkin]]''-class cruiser [[Ophidian|CSV ''Ophidian'']] and the ''[[Congress]]''-class frigate [[Silver Snake|CSV ''Silver Snake'']]. The Steel Vipers declared the Scorpions to be ''[[dezgra]]''—a consequence of the earlier battle on Foster—and immediately attacked, with the ''Ophidian'' inflicting heavy damage on the ''Bernlad'' at range.<ref name="WORp125">''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 125: "Scorpion Gambit"</ref>

Both fleets promptly launched aerospace fighters and DropShips and a brutal fight ensued as the Steel Vipers attempted to disrupt the Scorpion forces trying to land on Glory. The Scorpions destroyed the ''Ophidian'' and heavily damaged the ''Silver Snake'', but lost the ''Auriga'', ''Corona Borealis'' and ''Serket'' before the ''Silver Snake'' and the remaining Viper fighters were driven back.<ref name="WORp125"/>

In April [[3074]] the '' Bernlad'' was deployed as an escort vessel for [[Beta Galaxy (Clan Goliath Scorpion)|Beta Galaxy]] alongside the ''Lei Kung'' and the ''[[Potemkin]]''-class cruiser [[Karttikeya|CGS ''Karttikeya'']], all operating under the overall command of [[saKhan]] [[Connor Rood]]. The task force was charged with investigating the various systems that made up the state known as [[Nueva Castile]] in the [[Deep Periphery]], and by June had traveled as far as [[Waypoint 531]] where a [[Binary]] from the [[3rd Scorpion Seekers (Clan Goliath Scorpion)|Third Seekers]] had been left behind there.<ref name="WORp129+">''The Wars of Reaving'', pp. 129–130: "Scorpion Deception"</ref>

What the task force did find at Waypoint 531 was a battered ''[[Black Lion]]''-class battlecruiser; which was identified by her ID codes as the [[Streaking Mist|CSJ ''Streaking Mist'']], a vessel formerly a part of the [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]] [[Clan Smoke Jaguar Touman|''touman'']]. The crew of the ''Streaking Mist'' were moving supplies from the cache at the waypoint onto the ''Streaking Mist'' when the Scorpion task force arrived, and after some initial hesitation Rood ordered [[Star Admiral]] Towie to engage.<ref name="WORp129+"/>

As the Scorpion forces moved to intercept, the ''Streaking Mist'' evaded the attempt to box her in and struck at the ''Bernlad'', inflicting substantial damage to the rear of the ''Bernlad'', including her engine decks. The ''Streaking Mist'' jumped when it reached the nearby jump point, taking half of the contents of the Scorpion cache with it.<ref name="WORp129+"/>

Rood adjusted his plans, moving the remaining equipment to DropShips aboard the ''Lei Kung'' before reassigning the matériel amongst his troops. Rood then led the task force into [[Umayyad]] space in July, arriving in the [[Córdoba]] system. A Trinary of forces from the [[1st Cateran Cluster (Clan Goliath Scorpion)|First Cateran Cluster]] was dispatched to raid Córdoba, while the ''Lei Kung'' moved on to deploy troops again, this time in the [[Valencia]] system. By the end of the year the task force had struck at six worlds, obtaining intelligence and prisoners from both the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyads]] and [[Nueva Castile|Castilians]].<ref name="WORp129+"/>

Following the ejection of the Goliath Scorpions from the [[Clan Homeworlds]] in the wake of the [[Wars of Reaving]], the subsequent conquest of Nueva Castile and the creation of the new Periphery nation known as the [[Escorpión Imperio]], the ''Bernlad'' was one of the three WarShips to remain in service with the former Scorpion ''touman'' by [[3085]].<ref name="WORp160">''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 160: "Escorpión Imperio (Periphery Nation)"</ref>

==Notes==
* The destruction of the ''Avalanche'' and four other Snow Raven WarShips unaccounted for specifically by name in sourcebooks was confirmed by the BattleTech Developer [[Øystein Tvedten]] via the Catalyst Game Labs Ask The Writers Forum:

{{Quote|*Opens Ye Olde Tome of Warshippe*

Avalanche - Lum 3068<br>
Morning Violence - Lum 3068<br>
Eternity - Lum 3070<br>
Blue Lancer - Lum 3070<br>
Tenacity - Lum 3070<br>

With regards,<br>
Øystein|[http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,34533.msg806356.html#msg806356 Øystein Tvedten, 01 November 2013]}}

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Field Manual: Warden Clans]]''
* ''[[The Wars of Reaving]]''


[[Category: Individual WarShips]]
[[Category: Individual Frigates]]
[[Category: Individual Congress-class WarShips]]