Disclaimer: Due to the fact several Fleet Commanders refused to give their account of the battle, or supply accurate figures, there may be some inaccuracies in the report. This is coupled with the fact that 6 fleets were present during the battle, making it quite chaotic. I have tried my best to piece together a narrative from available material. My apologies in advance for any discrepancies.
SVM-3K system, Delve region. On the 22nd of June, 19:00 EVE Standard Time, Guardians of the Galaxy coalition (Referred to as GotG) clashed with Elite Space Coalition (Referred to as ESC) over the station timer in the system, in a chaotic battle that saw no less than 6 fleets commit to the field.
Initially, ESC forces in 2 fleets, a Tengu Strategic Cruiser and Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser, estimated at 190 pilots total, waited on the 8QT-HT gate in the SVM-3K system for GotG forces to enter, having deployed Mobile Warp Disruptors around it. GotG brought an armor Strategic Cruiser fleet, 190 pilots with 3 Triage Archon Carriers and the help of 2 allied fleets; Northern Coalition. [NC] and Gentlemen’s.Club [GCLUB] who each brought a Loki Strategic Cruiser fleet (though each with a different configuration), 70 and 50 pilots respectively. This unified force entered the system. The GotG fleet de-cloaking first and drew fire from the ESC fleets, the battle started.
The two sides exchanged fire for a while, the ESC forces keeping range from the GotG fleet as they lost quite a few ships at the opening salvos. At the same time, both [NC] and [GCLUB] fleets burned away from the gate and warped to pings. They then warped on top of the ESC Tengu fleet and started hammering its Logistics. In no time the ESC Tengu fleet was overwhelmed, the GotG and their allied fleets turning their considerable firepower on the Tengus themselves, who melted one by one.
At the same time, reports of a Pandemic Legion [-10.0] fleet coming to the aid of ESC filtered through. PL [-10.0] had a 80 pilot Proteus Strategic Cruiser fleet. GotG forces re-anchored near the gate in order to intercept the [-10.0] fleet, while [NC] and [GCLUB] forces continued to tangle with the ESC fleets, who by now hemorrhaged enough Tengus to call in Triage reinforcements. Two Triage Chimera Carriers jumped on top of the ESC fleet taking over the Logistics duties and helping the ESC Tengu fleet to stabilize a bit.
[-10.0] finally entered the system and burnt at the opposite direction of the GotG force before anchoring up, losing a few ships in the process. As they exchanged fire with the GotG fleet, it became apparent that [-10.0] could not break the tank of the GotG ships, especially with 3 Triage Archon Carriers on the field. At the same time, GotG had trouble volleying the [-10.0] ships, only managing to kill stragglers as it pursued the [-10.0] fleet. Thus, [-10.0] ships burnt out and warped to a ping, evaluating their options before warping off the field.
At the same time, [NC] forces, unable to break the Tengus’ tank, re-pinged onto the battlefield and warped on top of the ESC Ishtar fleet. They quickly volleyed a few ships before the Ishtars slipped away from [NC]’s grasp. This process repeated itself again, with the same result; a few kills then nothing. GotG and [GCLUB], having fended off [-10.0], went to brawl with the ESC Tengu fleet, attempting in vain to break the Triage Carriers’ tank.
After a while, [-10.0] returned to the field and warped to the 8QT-H4 gate itself, and decided to extract from the battle rather than fight on. GotG forces attempted to catch them, warping away from the Triage Chimeras and landing on top of the bubbles, as [-10.0] ships burned to the gate. This allowed the ESC Triage Chimeras to escape along with the Tengu and Ishtar fleets having done so beforehand. The field was conceded to GotG and its allies.
With [-10.0] managing to extract from the system as well, GotG and its allies quickly removed the Mobile Warp Disruptors from the gate, and pushed the station into its final reinforcement timer before extracting from the system, ending the fighting for the day.
The Battle from the GotG’s PoV
Battle report for the SVM-3K system can be found here.
The battle saw 600 pilots in local, with Time Dilation noticeable – peaking at 40% at one point. The fight lasted 30 minutes in total.
ESC lost 95 ships, 25 of which were Tengus and 15 Ishtars, for a total of 21.32 Bil ISK damage. GotG suffered light losses, 17, 4 of which were Strategic Cruisers, for 2.9 Bil ISK damage. [NC] and [GCLUB] lost 23 ships, 8 of which were Lokis, for a 6.49 Bil ISK damage. [-10.0] lost 13 ships, 4 of which were Strategic Cruisers, for a total of 4.73 Bil ISK damage.
GotG managed to grab both the tactical and strategic victory, though ESC spokesperson claimed that ESC could have taken down the hostile Sovereignty Blockade Units before GotG and their allies reached the system, but chose not to in order to have a fight. This is because ESC forces, with Confederation of xXPIZZAXx [PIZZA] in particular, are interested in fighting.
So far the fighting in the South was between ESC and GotG over the Querious region. The fight in SVM-3K signals the first time the two coalitions clashed on what is considered ESC’s home turf. Whether GotG is able to push its advantage or whether the strain of continued strat-ops burn its pilots, has yet to be seen.
Salivan Harddin writes for The EVE Scribe, Providence Bloc’s News Portal. When he isn’t busy writing articles, he usually prays he can reach the safety of the gate in time.
