Editing Black Beard

{{infoBoxIndividualVessel
| image      = 
| vesselname = Black Beard
| prevname   =
| type       = [[WarShip]]
| class      = [[Fredasa (WarShip class)|Fredasa]]
| prevclass  = 
| serviceuntil = [[3070]]
}}

==History==
As of [[3061]] the ''[[Fredasa (WarShip class)|Fredasa]]''-class corvette '''''Black Beard''''' was a [[WarShip]] within the [[Clan Snow Raven]] [[Clan Snow Raven Touman|''touman'']] and was serving as the CSR ''Black Beard'', one of five WarShips that made up the [[Circe Battle Star (Clan Snow Raven)|Circe Battle Star]]. Like the other ships of the Circe Battle Star the ''Black Beard'' was tasked with transporting personnel and matériel belonging to [[Clan Nova Cat]] from the [[Clan Homeworlds]] to the [[Inner Sphere]] at this point in time.<ref name="FM:WCp133">''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 133, "Circe Battle Star"</ref>

On the 20th of September [[3070]]  [[Clan Steel Viper]] introduced the Clans in the Homeworlds to their new flagship, the ''[[Leviathan Prime]]''-class battleship [[Perigard Zalman (Leviathan)|CSV ''Perigard Zalman'']]. The Steel Vipers did so by striking at [[Clan Diamond Shark]]'s [[Black Diamond Naval Star (Clan Diamond Shark)|Black Diamond Naval Star]] above [[Strana Mechty]]; the ''Perigard Zalman'' quickly destroyed the ''[[Carrack]]''-class transport [[Bloodletter|CDS ''Bloodletter'']] and the ''[[Lola III]]''-class destroyer [[Predator (Individual Lola III-class WarShip)|CDS ''Predator'']] in the first pass alone, and as the Diamond Shark civilian vessels frantically jumped out of the Strana Mechty system the ''Perigard Zalman'' continued its attack, destroying two more Diamond Shark WarShips before the last Diamond Shark WarShip, the ''[[Fredasa (WarShip class)|Fredasa]]''-class corvette [[Swift Strike (Individual Fredasa-class WarShip)|CDS ''Swift Strike'']], managed to jump out of the system.<ref name="WORp51">''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 51, "Closing the Net"</ref>

Warned by the Diamond Sharks about the existence of the ''Perigard Zalman'', the Snow Ravens gathered the bulk of their remaining Homeworld naval assets at [[Lum]], where they were gathering a huge convoy of vessels together, destined for the Snow Raven holdings in the [[Outworlds Alliance]]. The Snow Ravens gathered together the remains of both the [[Brim Naval Assault Star (Clan Snow Raven)|Brim Naval Assault Star]] and the [[Circe Battle Star (Clan Snow Raven)|Circe Battle Star]], stripping the convoy of its escort vessels. Included in this impromptu naval flotilla was the ''Black Beard''.<ref name="WORp52+">''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 52-53, "Closing the Net"</ref>

The Steel Vipers gathered together the remainder of their Naval Reserve and struck at Lum within days of their assault on the Diamond Sharks; when [[saKhan]] Hoskins of the Steel Vipers declared his ''[[batchall]]'' for the entire system, the Ravens declared all they had to defend. The resulting battle pitched three naval stars on each side against each other, making the naval engagement far larger than that at Lum in [[3069]]. While the Snow Raven fleet was by far the more experienced, their level of skill was counterbalanced by the sheer firepower brought to the battle by the ''Perigard Zalman'' and her escorts. The battle lasted for seven hours before the last four surviving Snow Raven WarShips - the ''Black Beard'', the ''[[Aegis]]''-class heavy cruisers [[Black Justice|CSR ''Black Justice'']] and [[Lord Death|CSR ''Lord Death'']] and the ''[[Carrack]]''-class transport [[Venture Star|CSR ''Venture Star'']] - forfeited the Trial by jumping out of the system, leaving Lum a Steel Viper holding.<ref name="WORp52+"/>

By the time the surviving Snow Raven vessels jumped out of the system, the ''[[Potemkin]]''-class cruisers [[Rook (Individual Potemkin-class WarShip)|CSR ''Rook'']] and [[Snowflake|CSR ''Snowflake'']] and the ''[[Lola III]]''-class [[Vision of Terra|CSR ''Vision of Terra'']] had effectively been destroyed, although a covert Watch team from the Diamond Sharks would salvage the ''Snowflake'' several years later with assistance from the Snow Ravens. The Steel Vipers immediately landed ground forces on Lum, but faced little organized resistance and discovered that the Snow Ravens had been in the midst of a mass evacuation of their holdings, with large quantities of supplies and matériel partially loaded onto [[DropShip]]s at the two main DropPorts. The Steel Vipers gleefully seized the former Snow Raven resources, preparing to absorb the lower castes left behind as the Steel Viper WarShips began repairs in orbit.<ref name="WORp52+"/>

The Snow Ravens were not done with Lum or the ''Perigard Zalman'', however. Five days after the naval battle in the system, all four Snow Raven ships that had fled the battle returned to the system, launching a ferocious attack against the ''Perigard Zalman'' without bothering with a ''batchall''; the Snow Raven vessels simply closed into range and opened up on the Steel Viper WarShips, with Steel Viper technical and laborer personnel continuing to work on repairs to the ''Perigard Zalman'' up until seconds before the first Raven blows hit the ''Leviathan Prime''.<ref name="WORp52+"/>

For all of the ferocity displayed by the Ravens, they were unable to destroy the ''Perigard Zalman''. The four-ship squadron managed a number of successes—the ''[[Vincent]]''-class corvette [[Coiled Serpent|CSV ''Coiled Serpent'']] was destroyed, along with three quarters of the Steel Viper [[aerospace fighter]]s in the system, and almost all the Steel Viper DropShips. However, three of the four Snow Raven WarShips were destroyed - the ''Perigard Zalman'' destroyed the ''Black Beard'' and the ''Venture Star'', while the ''Black Justice'' broke apart against the atmosphere of Lum after a failed ramming attack on the Steel Viper flagship. Only the ''Lord Death'' survived to escape the system, and did so with a heavily damaged main drive and while leaking atmosphere. The Snow Ravens had exacted a heavy price on the Steel Vipers, and while the last of the Snow Raven forces to escape the Homeworlds did so rapidly after the defeat at Lum, the lack of response from the usually-bellicose Steel Vipers indicated as to the amount of repairs needed following the last battle in the system.<ref name="WORp52+"/>

==References==
<references />

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


[[Category: Individual WarShips]]
[[Category: Individual Corvettes]]
[[Category: Individual Fredasa-class WarShips]]