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August 9, 3056

Luthien System, Zenith Jump Point, Draconis Combine

Bridge of the CSR James McKenna (McKenna Class BattleShip)

Star Admiral Hinda Shu was thinking about her options before addressing her officers.

"Warriors, now that we have secured this Jump Point, we have two options : go right for their heart or jump somewhere where our Dezgra opponent might have set traps and win only a few days but at the potential cost of several units.

We are Snow Ravens, we are the Clans, we deploy our wings, and we will let fear strike in the hearts of our opponents as they witness us going for them.

Full speed ahead."

August 17, 3056

Luthien, Draconis Combine

Eight days earlier, a huge Clan fleet had appeared at the Zenith Jump Point.

Quickly dispatching the forces protecting it, it had advanced towards the capital of the Draconis Combine, ten days away at 1 G, as the defense forces around it were preparing to intercept them.

The DCA Home Fleet was by no mean light with the Destroyers Asama and Izumo (Narukami Class) and the Frigate Kyushu (Kyushu Class), which was still undergoing trials, accompanied by 6 Assault DropShips and about 400 ASFs and faced them within two days of Luthien IV.

Unfortunately for the DCA, the invading force consisted of 7 WarShips, the Smoke Jaguar CSJ Snow Leopard(Congress Class Frigate), the Hell Horses CHH Bucephalus (Congress Class Frigate), and the Snow Raven Swift Wing Naval Assault Star, consisting of the CSR James McKenna (McKenna Class BattleShip), the CSR Blizzard (Cameron Class BattleCruiser), the CSR White Cloud (Sovetskii Soyuz Class Heavy Cruiser), the CSR White Terror (Aegis Class Heavy Cruiser) and the CSR Spur (Lolla III Class Destroyer). 

Demonstrating that they had learned something from the previous battles, the Clan WarShips were accompanied by Assault DropShips and CV ones, from the Pentagon, Vengeance and Titan Classes, as well as a considerable number of ASFs, while the fleet of DropShips carrying the various Galaxies came considerably behind, escorted by the ASFs of the respective Galaxies.

Even though the more agile Kuritan ASFs had managed, at great cost, to open a gap for the heavier ones loaded with Alamos to get into range, the WarShips were far away enough for the Capital Missiles and the Pentagons to destroy many of the Combine ASFs before they reached the distance where they could launch the Alamos, almost exhausting their stocks of capital missiles

In the end, less than a dozen Alamos were launched, destroying one of the Pentagon DropShips and damaging the CSR Spur.

The last Kuritan ASFs were destroyed, but the Clan OmniFighters had also been severely reduced in number, now numbering less than a hundred.

The Assault DropShips were massacred by the long-range weaponry of the Clan forces, more precisely the Naval Lasers and Naval PPCs of the Ravens' heavy ships, without having done much damage.

Now, only the DCA WarShips and the surviving ASFs were left against a much superior force.

Unfortunately for the Kuritans, with their use of nuclear weapons, the Clans considered them dezgra and the rules favoring individual combat were no longer followed. Their greater range and firepower made themselves quickly felt, when the CSR James McKenna put a massive broadside of HNPPCs on the DCS Izumo, crippling the ship. The Asano managed to hit CSJ Snow Leopard's flank with its HNPPC, but the armor held, even if barely. The Destroyer paid dearly for its actions, being hit next by the Heavy Cruiser White Cloud, which destroyed part of its left broadside, with a salvo of NAC/20, NL45 and MNPPC, in a display of good shooting precision. Meanwhile, the Kyushu was trading shots with the CSR Blizzard, and by luck or superior skill, was doing more damage than it was receiving. That ended suddenly, when the CHH Bucephalus moving alongside it, with a maneuver few captains can equal, unloaded an entire broadside volley on its engines, greatly reducing the maneuverability of the Frigate.

After finishing off the Izumo with a long range heavy salvo of HNPPCs and NL55, the CSR James Mckennademonstrated why the Mckenna Class was considered the zenith of BattleSghips, destroying the lamed Kyushuat close range with a devastating salvo from its NAC/40s. The Asano, managed to hit the CJS Snow Leopardagain, causing moderate damage, before finally being destroyed by the CSR White Terror.

After recovering their surviving DropShips and ASFs and running SAR operations, the Clans resumed their advance towards Luthien IV.

Soon after the battle, the Taizai, a lone Overlord class DropShip departed Luthien heading towards the pirate Jump Point behind Orientalis, one of the four moons of Luthien IV, where a Scout JumpShip was waiting, ready to transport Minoru and Omiko Kurita to New Samarkand.