RUF3-O system, Malpais region. On the 28th of April at 19:50 EVE Standard Time, a battle broke out between WE FORM V0LTA [GLHF] and Badfellas Inc. [BADI] over a tower in the system which resulted in the destruction of a Ragnarok titan.
The drone regions continue to be embroiled in a bitter civil war as the Drone Walkers (DW) coalition battles the Drone Regions Federation (DRF), led by Legion of xXDEATHXx [X.I.X]. The two sides have exchanged blows, with systems exchanging hands and production towers destroyed on both sides. The list of grievances between the two sides seems to increase, as is the involvement of outside forces.
One of the effects of the war was a schism in the Phoenix Company Alliance [P0CA], as the alliance was caught between its allegiance to DW and the DRF. With its holdings in the Malpais region in danger, the alliance decided to allow its corporations to vote on its fate. According to the executor of the alliance, the majority of corporations chose to stand with DW, with only 2 corporations voting against the move. Thus, the dissenters were given time to gather their assets and make a clean break. Instead, they chose to form their own alliance, Badfellas Inc. and attack their former allies, aided by Northern Coalition. [NC] forces.
This brought the fire of civil war to the Malpais region, as DW forces faced former allies over control of the space. Towers and systems on both sides were reinforced, as the region descended into chaos. The flame of war drew the attention of WE FORM V0LTA, who has been cooperating with DW forces. With intelligence of a Badfellas Inc. capital force intending to siege a DW tower in the RUF3-O system, WE FORM V0LTA set out to ambush the force.
WE FORM V0LTA and its allies in Therabois formed a joint Cerberus heavy assault cruiser fleet, estimated at 50 pilots, and set up in a wormhole, its interdictors foraging ahead as intelligence of Badfellas Inc. capitals, escorted by a small Drake battlecruiser force, were confirmed in the RUF3-O system, reinforcing a DW tower there. Not wasting any time, the Therabois fleet burned to the system, when reports of a Badfellas Inc. Ragnarok having jumped to the system at a safe tower filtered in. The Ragnarok had jumped near the tower, but had to slowly burn towards its shields. Therabois interdictors were quickly diverted to tackle the titan, as the fleet raced to catch the titan before it could reach the safety of the tower’s shields.
Finally arriving in the system, the Therabois fleet warped to the titan, already firmly tackled by the interdictors. The small heavy assault cruisers worked in unison in order to bump the behemoth away from the shields, as Badfellas Inc. realized what was happening, its capital force and its escorts warping to the tower in order to defend the titan. The fleet got caught by the many interdiction probes which now blanketed the grid, as Therabois and DW interdictors rushed to the system.
The Therabois fleet concentrated its fire on the capital escorts, its missile salvos decimating them before turning its attention to the Badfellas Inc. capitals. The Badfellas Inc. carriers attempted to hit the fast moving heavy assault cruisers with their fighter squadrons, which proved inadequate for the task, shot down in retaliation before the Therabois fleet focused its attention on the carriers themselves. One after another, the capitals of Badfellas Inc. were destroyed, torn up by the Therabois fleet and other allies which arrived on grid, including 2 Nyx supercarriers belonging to Ministry of Inappropriate Footwork [KICK].
Badfellas Inc. continued to stream in more sub capital reinforcements, only to seem them destroyed as fast as it could deploy them, as Therabois continued to clear the field of hostile ships, switching to the few dreadnoughts caught in the sea of interdiction probes. A few of the dreadnoughts managed to find refuge in the tower, but a two were unlucky and shared the fate of their carrier brethren.
At the same time, the Titan focused its fire power on the 2 Nyx supercarriers, managing to drive them away with help of the remaining Badfellas Inc. support fleet. The two supercarriers had to leave after sustaining heavy damage, reportedly warping out in low armor after tanking the hit of a doomsday device and the dreadnoughts’ fire barrages.
Yet, at this point most of the Badfellas Inc. fleet has been destroyed, and Therabois forces could focus their firepower on the Ragnarok. With more reinforcements streaming in, the behemoth succumbed to the relentless fire heaped at it, as shields were stripped, armor plates penetrated and the hull itself came under the fire. Finally, the titan was rocked by a series of violent explosions, signaling its death throes. As debris were hurled out in violence, the broken remains of the Ragnarok lay in eerie stillness, adding to the field of wrecks which coalesced around the tower itself.
Looting the field, the nimble Therabois ships departed the system afterwards, having won the field and their objective. Extracting from the system, the Therabois fleet vanished once again to the depths of wormhole space, celebrating another successful hunt.
The Battle from the Perspective of the Therabois Fleet
Battle report for the RUF3-O system can be found here.
All told the battle raged for 20 minutes, with the system hosting an estimated 150 pilots at the height of the fighting and no Time Dilation reported by combatants.
Therabois and DW lost 7 ships in the fight, mostly interdictors for a total of 1.87 billion ISK damage.
Badfellas Inc. lost 31 ships in the engagement, including 1 titan, 4 carriers, 2 dreadnoughts and 13 battlecruisers for a total of 127.35 billion ISK damage.
Salivan Harddin is a member of Reikoku, Pandemic Legion, and covers battles across New Eden
