QV28-G system, Fountain region. On the 28th of February at 19:00 EVE Standard Time, The-Culture [-T C-] forces clashed with Violence of Action. [VIOL8] and Cede Nullis [-CN-] over a tower in the system.
Violence of Action. is a fairly new arrival to the Fountain region, managing to wrestle the Chimera constellation and grow rapidly in a short span of time. By this point it had grown large enough to start contesting the more established powers in the region, such as The-Culture, over moons.
This has led to several clashes between it and The-Culture, including the recent battle in which Violence of Action. had reinforced The-Culture moon in the QV28-G system and the two sides prepared for a major fight over it.
Violence of Action. and their allies had assembled an estimated 100 pilot Bhaalgorn battleship fleet. The force arrived to the system before the defenders and set up on the tower in question, waiting for it to exit reinforced mode.
The-Culture in response amassed an 80 pilot Proteus strategic cruiser fleet. The force entered the system and warped at long range of the hostile force, starting the battle.
Keeping a range of 70 kilometers from the Bhaalgorns, the strategic cruisers were forced to use long range ammunition for the most part, which halved their damage output. Regardless, The-Culture fleet attempted to snipe at long range, probing for weaknesses in the Bhaalgorn force while defending itself from command destroyers.
The Bhaalgorn fleet managed to tank for the most part, losing a few ships in the rapid fire switches but concentrating on shooting the tower rather than the Proteus fleet as it came out of reinforced mode.
Still, harangued by the Proteus fleet and suffering losses, the Bhaalgorn fleet decided to engage the strategic cruisers, quickly perching on the grid with the intent of landing on top of the strategic cruisers. This however, did not go as planned when a The-Culture interdictor managed to position a defensive bubble between the two fleets, dragging the battleships to 60 kilometers from the Proteus fleet.
The-Culture fleet commander wasted no time in exploiting the situation, and the Proteus fleet opened fire on the battleships as they landed. However, the Bhaalgorn logistics wing was able to re-establish itself quickly enough, managing to help the battleships tank the incoming damage for the most part.
Seeing his fleet able to withstand the damage output of the Bhaalgorns while slowly breaking through the armor of the battleships, The-Culture fleet commander decided to start and close the range with them, allowing the strategic cruisers to switch to higher damage ammunition which helped expedite the process of removing the battleships.
By this point, the Bhaalgorn fleet was hemorrhaging ships, able to inflict a few losses back but overall trading poorly with the Proteus fleet. Regardless, the fleet continued to fight, pressing on and attempting to close the distance between the two fleets, something The-Culture fleet commander was happy to oblige.
As the two fleets maneuvered closer to each other, the Proteus fleet was given the order to spread tackle on the Bhaalgorns. As the fleet started tackling the battleships, it lit a cynosural beacon, allowing 21 dreadnoughts which were prepared in advance to land on the grid. With the strategic cruisers holding tackle, the dreadnoughts quickly entered their siege cycles and opened fire on the battleships, which could do nothing to resist the immense firepower hurled at them by the capitals.
Those that could retreat did so while the rest of the fleet was quickly annihilated by the combined force, battleships melting under the volleys of the dreadnoughts. With this, the field was claimed, and The-Culture brought in triage carriers to restore the tower’s shields, managing to save it.
Thus, victorious, The-Culture forces extracted from the system, bringing an end to the fighting.
The Battle from the Perspective of The-Culture Proteus Fleet
Battle report for the QV28-G system can be found here.
All told the battle lasted 40 minutes, with Time Dilation not reported and the system estimated to be hosting 230 pilots at the height of the fighting.
The-Culture lost 13 ships, including 4 strategic cruisers, for a total of 3.82 billion ISK damage.
Violence of Action. and its allies lost 69 ships, including 34 battleships, for a total of 25.47 billion ISK damage.
Salivan Harddin is a member of Reikoku, Pandemic Legion, and covers battles across New Eden
