On the 16th of March at 20:00 EVE Standard Time, allied forces struck several blows against the Imperium, reinforcing and claiming infrastructure across its territory while leaving its fleet commanders mostly dazed and confused.
The Imperium had gathered a massive armada, nearly 1000 pilots strong, which traveled to the Vale of the Silent region, where a tower had been previously reinforced by allied forces and was coming out of its invulnerability period. However, upon arriving in the system where the tower was located, the Imperium armada soon learned that its enemies had no intention of contesting the tower, using the opportunity instead to reinforce infrastructure in the Deklein region itself.
Hostile forces managed to infiltrate the region considered by many as the heart of the Imperium and reinforce towers with impunity, while a Low Sec Voltron (LSV) fleet hit a Circle-Of-Two [CO2] tower in the Taisy system of the Lonetrek region which had come out of reinforced mode as well. Imperial fleet commanders, realizing the Vale of the Silent tower was simply a diversion, attempted to respond by sending fleets to both areas, with two full Machariel battleship fleets burning to the Taisy system while two Hurricane Fleet Issue battlecruiser fleets attempted to intercept the hostile force in Deklein.
Yet in both cases, after arriving to the field, Imperium fleet commanders declined to engage, allowing both allied fleets to complete their missions unhindered. This allowed LSV forces to destroy the tower in Taisy and replace it with their own, while their allies managed to extract safely from the Deklein region, even attempting to chase the Imperium battlecruiser fleets which quickly retreated to safe towers.
An Imperium Hurricane Fleet Issue Force Camped into a Tower by an Allied Sleipnir Fleet
With no resistance offered, allied forces left the region without further incident, having done what was considered unthinkable a few months earlier.
This event comes on the heels of last week’s battles, where LSV and allies were able to score no less than 7 decisive victories against Imperium forces, annihilating Imperium fleets across its territory and neighboring regions, from Syndicate to Vale of the Silent and from Venal to Lonetrek, culminating in a decisive victory in the Hakonen system which saw two full Imperium Machariel fleets destroyed in what has been termed the Hakonen grinder.
A Supercapital Ship Assembly Array Destroyed by Allied Forces in the Vale of the Silent Region on the 14th of March
Whether this constitutes the beginnings of a true war or simply retaliation for Imperium invasion attempts into low security space, it seems the growing conflict between the two sides has taken a turn for the worse for the Imperium, as more entities flock to the aid of LSV.
EVE News 24 will keep you as always up to date on all developments.
Salivan Harddin is a member of Reikoku, Pandemic Legion, and covers battles across New Eden
