Heydieles system, Essence region. On the 20th of November at 17:59 EVE Standard Time, a Shadow Cartel [SHDWC] capital force was ambushed in the system by The Initiative. [INIT.] and Snuffed Out [B B C] forces.
The Shadow Cartel force, a 60 pilot Nightmare battleship fleet with two capital squadrons, mainly composed of dreadnoughts, traveled to the system in order to raze a Snuffed Out tower which had come out of reinforced mode. The tower had been a source of contention between the two alliances, often defended by Snuffed Out. However, on the 20th, Snuffed Out forces were preoccupied in the Tribute region, assisting Circle-Of-Two [CO2]’s defense of the M-OEE8 system‘s infrastructure hub.
Seizing the opportunity, Shadow Cartel organized its fleet and traveled to the system with no interruptions. The fleet set up on the tower and the dreadnoughts entered their siege cycles, their capital turrets bombarding the weakened shields of the tower before hitting its armor and structure. The Nightmares remained near their capitals, with two Minokawa force auxiliaries acting as their logistics backbone.
Yet, the Shadow Cartel fleet did not go unnoticed. Snuffed Out scouts kept eyes on its staging system and once they saw the fleet set out, deduced its most probable target. Within moments of the fleet’s departure, Snuffed Out started contacting entities in the vicinity of the region to aid it, and one of those was the Initiative.
As luck would have it, the Initiative had already formed a 110 pilot Machariel battleship fleet, and their forces were headed to Tribute to join the fighting there. However, being contacted by Snuffed Out, the Initiative fleet commander decided to make a detour, changing the fleet’s course to Heydieles. Another stroke of luck was the fact that the Initiative had been contacted while its fleet was only 4 systems away from the target system. With no time to spare, the Initiative burnt towards the new destination.
By the time it jumped in, the Shadow Cartel force managed to raze the tower and was clearing its modules, its dreadnoughts only half way through their siege cycle. the Initiative wasted no time and warped to the Nightmares, landing on top of them and opening fire.
Artillery cannons bombarded the shields of the Nightmares, overcoming them easily and detonating against the fragile hull hidden beneath. In rapid succession, the battleships caved in to the artillery barrage and exploded. Shadow Cartel tried to fight back, aiming to clear tackle off the field but managed to inflict only light casualties.
As this was going on, a cynosural beacon suddenly lit up near the Shadow Cartel dreadnoughts, heralding Snuffed Out dreadnoughts. These were reserve dreadnoughts Snuffed Out had cached in the area and quickly brought into the action to aid the Initiative. The dreadnoughts entered their siege cycles, turrets slowly moving to aim on their hostile counterparts before locking on and lighting up. Dozens of capital munitions were hurled at the Shadow Cartel dreadnought force. First on the list were the Minokawas. With 19 dreadnoughts targeting the first force auxiliary, it stood no chance and was dispatched with haste, its sister ship narrowly avoiding a similar fate by warping off the field.
The Nightmare fleet retreated as well, unable to contend with the Machariels, especially with the loss of its force auxiliary. It warped off, leaving the capitals to their fate. With the grid under their control, the Snuffed Out dreadnoughts and the Initiative Machariels began the process of destroying each and every dreadnought.
One by one, the mighty capitals were brought down by an unrelenting barrage of super heated plasma, pulses of laser fire and torrents of artillery shells. The Shadow Cartel dreadnoughts fought back, managing to destroy a Snuffed Out Moros-class dreadnought, but it was a futile gesture. By then, two thirds of the fleet were annihilated. Those Shadow Cartel dreadnoughts that managed to exit their siege cycles and not get tackled by the Initiative’s fleet warped off, jumping out of the system to emergency beacons and escaping the slaughter.
As for the Initiative and Snuffed Out, the two cleared the grid of all hostiles, looting the fallen. With the battle won, the two alliances departed, allowing Shadow Cartel to take the moon, a consolation prize for its efforts. Thus the battle came to an end.
Battle report for the Heydieles system can be found here.
The battle lasted 10 minutes with Time Dilation not reported and the system hosting an estimated 250 pilots at the height of the fighting.
Snuffed Out and The Initiative. lost only 4 ships including 1 dreadnought for a sum total of 4 billion ISK damage.
Shadow Cartel lost 24 ships including 14 dreadnoughts, 1 force auxiliary and 8 battleships for a total of 62.55 billion ISK damage.
Salivan Harddin is a member of V0LTA, WE FORM V0LTA, and covers battles across New Eden
