Editing Black Justice (Individual Aegis-class WarShip)

{{infoBoxIndividualVessel
| image      = 
| vesselname = Black Justice
| prevname   =
| type       = [[WarShip]]
| class      = [[Aegis]] 
| prevclass  = 
| serviceuntil = [[3070]] (destroyed)
}}

==History==
=== Founding of the Clans ===
The ''Aegis''-class heavy cruiser '''''Black Justice''''' was a [[WarShip]] in service with the [[Clan Snow Raven]] [[Clan Snow Raven Touman|''touman'']] and was one of the Snow Raven WarShips incorporated into the Grand Fleet assembled by [[ilKhan]] [[Nicholas Kerensky]] to pursue and destroy the fleeing [[Clan Wolverine]] survivors attempting to escape back to the [[Inner Sphere]] as a result of the [[Trial of Annihilation]] declared against the Wolverines. The ''Black Justice'' was involved in the major battle fought in the [[Deep Periphery]] system known as [[Barbados]] where the bulk of the remaining Clan Wolverine ''touman'' and civilian castes were killed or captured. The ''Black Justice'' engaged both the ''[[Vincent]]''-class corvette [[Badger (Individual Vincent-class WarShip)|''Badger'']] and the ''[[Whirlwind]]''-class destroyer ''[[Weasel]]'' in the opening stages of the battle before both ships bypassed the ''Black Justice'' to attack other ships; the ''Black Justice'' was then engaged by the [[Michigan|SLS ''Michigan'']], the Wolverine flagship.<ref name="BOI4-37+">''Betrayal of Ideals'', part 4, pp. 37–38</ref>

=== Clan Invasion Era ===
The ''Black Justice'' served as [[Operation REVIVAL]] escort and transport for the [[89th_Falcon_Striker_(Clan_Jade_Falcon)|89th Falcon Striker]], <ref name=JFS87>''Jade Falcon Sourcebook'', p. 87</ref> being on loan to [[Clan Jade Falcon]] along with several other Snow Raven WarShips.<ref name="FM:WCp124">''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 124: "Command Assets"</ref> 

In [[3061]] the ''Black Justice'' was one of five WarShips that made up the Snow Raven [[Brim Naval Assault Star (Clan Snow Raven)|Brim Naval Assault Star]] throughout the 3060s alongside the ''[[Conqueror]]''-class carrier [[Conqueror (Conqueror)|CSR ''Conqueror'']], the ''[[Potemkin]]''-class  cruiser [[Snowflake|CSR ''Snowflake'']], the ''[[Congress]]''-class frigate [[Magpie|CSR ''Magpie'']] and the ''[[Whirlwind]]''-class destroyer [[William Adams (Individual Whirlwind-class WarShip)|CSR ''William Adams'']].<ref name="FM:Up64">''Field Manual: Updates'', pp. 64–65: "Naval Assets"</ref>

=== The Wars of Reaving ===
Following a highly destructive [[Trial of Possession]] against forces from [[Clan Goliath Scorpion]] in the [[Lum]] system that saw several WarShips and much of the orbital yards destroyed, the Snow Ravens responded by launching a Trial of Possession of their own in the [[Roche]] system. Originally viewed by the other Clans as an act of retribution, the end result of the Trial revealed that the Ravens' real goal was that of replenishment. The Brim Naval Assault Star arrived at Roche in March [[3069]] under the command of [[Star Admiral]] [[Anta McKenna]], who immediately declared a Trial of Possession for all of the Goliath Scorpion WarShips currently on station and their crews. [[Khan]] Suvorov of the Goliath Scorpions agreed to the Trial, and the initial ''batchalls'' were bargained down until the bidding resulted in a single WarShip, plus [[aerospace fighter]]s. The Snow Ravens fought using the ''Black Justice'', squaring off against the ''[[Lola III]]''-class destroyer [[Sagitta|CGS ''Sagitta'']] and her accompanying fighters.<ref name="WORp42">''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 42: "Raven Justice"</ref>

The Trial was fought near the small asteroid ring in the Roche system and lasted for ten hours, with the ''Black Justice'' and a single [[Star]] of Raven fighters emerging as the victors... and with the ''Sagitta'' left drifting and powerless. As a result of the Trial the Ravens were left in possession of the ''Sagitta'' along with the ''[[Congress]]''-class frigate [[Garlon|CGS ''Garlon'']] and ''[[Potemkin]]''-class cruisers [[Enceladus|CGS ''Enceladus'']] and [[Prometheus (Individual Potemkin-class WarShip)|CGS ''Prometheus'']]. Admiral McKenna gathered the Raven forces together along with their new ''[[isorla]]'' and moved her forces back to [[Brim]], where the CSR ''Sagitta'' was quickly repaired. The four captured vessels and their crews were all kept together and deployed as a new Snow Raven Naval Star, the [[Hellgate Battle Star (Clan Snow Raven)|Hellgate Battle Star]], and tasked with defending the various escort vessels following what was known as the [[Raven Road]], a section of the stellar route from the Snow Raven holdings in the [[Clan Homeworlds]] to the distant [[Outworlds Alliance]].<ref name="WORp42"/>

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 (Individual Leviathan-class WarShip)|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 Justice''.<ref name="WORp52+">''The Wars of Reaving'', pp. 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 ''[[Fredasa (WarShip class)|Fredasa]]''-class corvette [[Black Beard|CSR ''Black Beard'']], the ''[[Aegis]]''-class heavy cruisers ''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 fighters 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==
* ''[[Betrayal of Ideals]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Warden Clans]]''
* ''[[The Wars of Reaving]]''


[[Category: Individual WarShips]]
[[Category: Individual Heavy Cruisers]]
[[Category: Individual Aegis-class WarShips]]