Siseide system, Heimatar region. On the 6th of December at 21:40 EVE Standard Time, Did he say Jump [JMP-N] and WAFFLES. [N0MAD] forces clashed in the system in a bloody battle.
WAFFLES instigated the fight by reinforcing a Did He say Jump tower in the Bosboger system, in order to draw them into the field. With the tower set to exit its invulnerability period, the two sides formed up for a clash.
WAFFLES organized a 70 pilot Machariel battleship fleet with a capital squadron set in reserve. The force waited in its citadel in the Amamake system, while 3 dreadnoughts were brought to Bosboger. Once in the system, the dreadnoughts set up on the tower as it dropped out of its reinforced phase and entered their siege cycles. Immobile, the capital ships opened fire on the vulnerable tower, chewing through its remaining defenses.
Did He Say Jump did not sit idly by as the dreadnoughts besieged its tower. The alliance formed an estimated 50 pilot Machariel battleship fleet and rushed to the system, halting in the neighboring system of Gulmorogod. By the time the fleet had arrived to Gulmorogod, the tower had been razed, and the WAFFLES dreadnoughts were exiting their siege cycles. With the main objective lost and the dreadnoughts about to extract, Did He Say Jump decided to return home, setting course to its staging system of Siseide.
The WAFFLES fleet commanders, seeing this, decided to pursue them, and ordered their fleet to leave the citadel. The WAFFLES fleet warped off, landed on the Siseide gate and jumped in. Once on the other side of the gate, the Machariel fleet set up a camp, attempting to catch stragglers as the main bulk of the Did He Say Jump fleet made it home safely. The WAFFLES fleet kept holding its position on the Amamake gate in Siseide, hoping to provoke Did He Say Jump into a fight.
After a few minutes, the WAFFLES fleet got what it wished for. Did He Say Jump left the confines of its station, warping its fleet to the Amamake gate and the waiting WAFFLES Machariels. The battleships landed a short distance from the WAFFLES fleet with an accompanying Apostle force auxiliary and anchored up, both sides opening fire. Repeating autocannons spat dozens of rounds as the two fleets maneuvered on grid, keeping the engagement at a close range.
A constant hail of bullets was exchanged between the two fleets, crashing against thick armor plates and literally chewing through them. However, while the WAFFLES fleet had the advantage in numbers, it was tied both in terms of firepower and logistics. Thus, both sides had no problem tanking the incoming damage, remote armor transfers restoring damaged armor plates faster than the opposition could damage them. The two fleets kept probing for weaknesses, hoping to catch the logistics wings off guard, but to no avail.
A stalemate had ensued, both sides firing at each other with no impact. In order to break it, Did He Say Jump started bringing in dreadnoughts to the field. The dreadnoughts warped in, landing a few dozen kilometers away from the Machariels and entered their siege cycles, ready to open fire on the battleships. As more and more dreadnoughts landed near the gate, WAFFLES decided to counter escalate. The fleet commander gave the order and a cynosural beacon was lit, allowing the WAFFLES capital reserve to lock on to the signal and jump in. In an instant, the WAFFLES capital squadron materialized near the gate. Dreadnoughts entered siege cycles and targeted their hostile brethren. Within moments the grid descended into a capital brawl.
The Machariel fleets immediately switched targets, turning their attention on the hostile capitals and lending their firepower to the dreadnoughts. Capital turrets lit up as the behemoths focused on each other. The WAFFLES fleet concentrated on removing the many force auxiliaries which Did He Say Jump kept bringing to the field, dispatching them as fast as it could. Did He Say Jump, on the other hand, focused entirely on removing as many dreadnoughts as possible from the field.
The fight, which was bloodless only a few moments ago, turned ugly fast. Capitals on either side caved in to the relentless fire barrages, exploding in bright flashes of light. Back and forth the capital exchange went. A WAFFLES dreadnought would explode in great conflagration, only to be joined a moment later by a Did He Say Jump force auxiliary, torn apart by the combined might of the WAFFLES fleet. Each loss was answered almost immediately, and neither side was able to take control of the battlefield.
As the amount of wrecks around the Amamake gate increased, WAFFLES finally managed to get the upper hand. After removing most, if not all of the Did He Say Jump force auxiliaries, the WAFFLE fleet started targeting the Did He Say Jump Machariels. After losing a Bhaalgorn battleship, the Did He Say Jump fleet commanders realized the immediate danger their fleet was in and ordered a retreat. The Machariel fleet warped off, leaving only a few capitals still on the grid.
With the sub capital fleet gone, WAFFLES turned its attention to the surviving capitals. It managed to catch a couple of carriers that hadn’t manage to extract. The nimble Machariels swarmed the capitals, tearing them apart with autocannon fire. Finally, all that was left were a couple of Did He Say Jump force auxiliaries, still cycling their triage modules. Yet without more dreadnoughts, the WAFFLES fleet could do very little to break through their immense tank. Instead, the fleet turned its attention on clearing the grid of fighters, having practically won the grid.
Yet the WAFFLES victory was short lived. Did He Say Jump took a beating, but was not defeated. Its fleet quickly re-shipped into Rattlesnake battleships while its fleet commanders contacted their friends in Shadow Cartel [SHDWC]. WAFFLES scouts in Shadow Cartel’s staging system reported a spike in player count as Shadow Cartel pilots logged in and started forming a relief fleet. With Shadow Cartel joining the fray, the WAFFLES fleet stood little chance. As the Did He Say Jump Rattlesnake fleet returned to the grid, landing near it, the WAFFLES Machariel fleet declined to engage. Having secured its remaining capitals, the WAFFLES battleships simply warped off, leaving the wrecks to Did He Say Jump to salvage.
Thus the fight was brought to a close.
The Battle from the Perspective of the WAFFLES. Machariel Fleet.
Battle report for the Siseide system can be found here.
The battle lasted 30 minutes with Time Dilation not reported and the system hosting approximately 170 pilots at the peak of the fighting.
Did he say Jump lost 27 ships in the engagement, including 11 dreadnoughts, 7 force auxiliaries, 2 carriers and 1 battleship for a total of 63.39 billion ISK damage.
WAFFLES. lost 18 ships including 13 dreadnoughts and 1 battleship for a total of 45.92 billion ISK damage.
Salivan Harddin is a member of V0LTA, WE FORM V0LTA, and covers battles across New Eden
