Barleguet system, Placid Region. On the 9th of October at 12:20 EVE Standard Time, The Initiative. [INIT.] fought Snuffed Out [B B C] and WAFFLES. [N0MAD] in the system in a small and bloody engagement.
The conflict between Snuffed Out and Escalating Entropy [CHAOS], backed by Shadow Cartel [SHDWC], has seen the two sides reinforce each others’ towers and clash across the Black Rise and Placid regions. One such tower belonged to Snuffed Out in the Barleguet system, and had exited reinforced mode around 12:00 EVE Standard Time. The tower was uncontested by Escalating Entropy and its allies, allowing Snuffed Out to repair the tower with a lone Minokawa Force Auxiliary ship. A small WAFFLES. Cerberus heavy assault cruiser fleet, estimated at around 20 pilots, stayed to guard the Force Auxiliary.
Unknown to them, the operation had been scouted by the Initiative, which has been hunting in the area for quite some time. Spotting the lone Minokawa and its small escort, the Initiative hastily assembled a 30 pilot Rattlesnake battleship fleet and got in range to bridge on the force auxiliary. The Minokawa, for its part, was oblivious to the peril, and continued to work earnestly to restore the tower’s shields. Suddenly, a Proteus Strategic Cruiser uncloaked and tackled the Minokawa, lighting a cynosural beacon a few moments later, ushering in the Rattlesnakes.
Without a second to lose, the Rattlesnakes swarmed the Minokawa, drones and missile fire hitting its shields in great firestorms, slowly overwhelming them. The Minokawa itself was not fit for combat and ultimately succumbed to the barrages, its meager armor plating and fragile structure unable to resist the onslaught. With the Minokawa disposed of, the Rattlesnake fleet turned its attention to the WAFFLES. force which remained on grid in vain hope of freeing the Minokawa. Soon, the Cerberus fleet was forced to withdraw as the Rattlesnakes’ missile volleys simply tore apart its mainline and logistics ships.
Snuffed Out, which quickly learned of the event, scrambled to assemble a response fleet, managing to gather 50 pilots, including WAFFLES.. The fleet shipped to Rattlesnakes as well and made best speed to the system, with dreadnoughts and more force auxiliaries moving into range of the system. The Initiative. got wind of the incoming force and decided not to extract, instead preparing its own dreadnoughts and force auxiliaries, as well as reinforcing its sub capital forces.
By the time Snuffed Out forces reached the system, both fleets had approximately 50 pilots each, including force auxiliaries and dreadnoughts. The Snuffed Out force warped to the tower, only to find The Initiative. had warped off and set up on the nearby station, Barleguet VII – Moon 6 – Center for Advanced Studies School. Without delay, the Snuffed Out force warped to The Initiative. and the two sides opened fire, starting a close range brawl.
Flights of missiles crashed into opposing battleships as cruise missile batteries fired their payloads nearly at point blank range. The extraordinary damage simply volleyed the Rattlesnakes, both sides trading losses. As the first battleships for each fleet went down, the two fleets each lit a cynosural beacon, ushering in their force auxiliaries to bolster their logistics wings. However with the fight descending to an all out brawl, the opposing force auxiliaries were dropped in the middle of the maelstrom, allowing heavy energy neutralizers from hostile Rattlesnakes to drain their capacitor and disrupt their remote shield transfers.
The Initiative. was first to escalate, bringing in dreadnoughts to the field to get rid of the hostile force auxiliaries. Snuffed Out retaliated with its own dreadnoughts, and the fight became a capital slug as the capital ships jumped in, hit their siege cycles and opened fire on one another. Capital munitions were exchanged at extreme close range, simply crashing through shields and armor plating with amazing force. The exchange became ever more violent as the sub capitals added their firepower to the mix. On both sides dreadnoughts fell silent as missile barrages and capital munitions tore them apart before exploding in such a force as to fling debris across the field.
The initial capital battle seemed to have been won by The Initiative., as more Snuffed Out dreadnoughts were being destroyed. With most of the dreadnoughts gone, the Snuffed Out Minokawa became a prime target, bombarded by the combined The Initiative. fleet. Drained of energy and continuously assaulted, the Minokawa caved in, its shields reactors overloaded and forced to shut down. With its shields gone, the enemy barrages struck its armor, breaking through to the structure below and detonating inside. Suffering untold damage, the Minokawa’s reactors could not handle the strain and simply meltdown, causing a chain reaction which spread through the battered hull, ripping it apart and tossing huge chunks into the fray.
Unknown to The Initiative. though, throughout the entire battle a Snuffed Out super carrier squadron made its way in range of the fight. Seeing its capitals destroyed and fearing to lose his fleet, the Snuffed Out fleet commander had a second cynosural beacon lit on the field, 50 kilometers from the fierce fighting taking place. Into the battle jumped the Snuffed Out super capital force, as more dreadnought reinforcements followed it in. The super carriers wasted no time in unleashing their fighter squadrons, targeting the hostile Minokawas. The super carriers and the dreadnought reinforcements, complete with the Rattlesnakes’ firepower simply melted The Initiative. Minokawas, who fell one after the other in rapid succession.
By then The Initiative. realized it could not win the fight. Opting to save its fleet and remaining capitals, it held fire, clearing its aggression timers and simply docked in the station, leaving Snuffed Out to hold the field. With the battle won, Snuffed Out forces extracted their super carriers and remaining capitals before destroying their tower and replacing it with another, thus securing their initial objective. With it done, the rest of the fleet safely extracted, bringing the fight to an end.
Battle report for the Barleguet system can be found here.
All told the battle was 39 minutes long on its two parts and the break between. The system itself hosted an estimated 160 near the end of the fight, with Time Dilation not reported.
Snuffed Out and WAFFLES. lost 33 ships in the fighting, including 7 dreadnoughts, 2 force auxiliaries, 5 battleships and 6 heavy assault cruisers for a total of 33.82 billion ISK damage.
The Initiative. lost 12 ships, including 4 dreadnoughts, 3 force auxiliaries and 5 battleships for a total of 27.4 billion ISK damage.
Salivan Harddin is a member of V0LTA, WE FORM V0LTA, and covers battles across New Eden
