Old Man Star system, Essence region. On the morning of the 23rd of December at 03:06 EVE Standard Time to be exact, the system saw a major brawl between a multitude of fleets leading to countless ships destroyed.
The battle was prompted by Shadow Cartel [SHDWC] and Escalating Entropy [CHAOS]. The two alliances wanted to have an old fashioned brawl, and posted the event in order to attract other participants, hoping for a major free for all. Old Man Star was chosen as the system to host the battle and the two alliances formed each a 70 pilot mixed battleship fleet with force auxiliaries to serve as the logistics backbone and a few High Angle Weaponry (HAW) dreadnoughts for good measure.
The original plan was for the two fleets to merge and fight united against enemy forces however as they arrived to the system at the designated time, scouts reported that no major fleets had assembled to contend with them. Waiting for a few minutes and with news that only a few small fleets were arriving, the two alliances decided to keep their forces split and instead engage each other at the sun. The two fleets warped to the system’s sun, landing near each other and waited.
A countdown was held, and once the numbers reached 0 the two fleets opened fire on each other, starting the fight. The battleships exchanged fire at near point blank range as the two fleets clashed head on. The field quickly descended into chaos as the two alliances were soon joined by other fleets which waited for the fight to commence. A small Nightmare battleship fleet landed at the edge of the fight, maintaining long range and focusing beam laser batteries at the mass of battleships battling at the center. Other fleets, most only 10, 20 pilots each threw themselves into the maelstrom, opening fire on all involved.
Battleships Engaging in Heavy Fighting in Old Man Star
Within minutes, battleships were exploding left and right. The force auxiliaries did their best to repair the damage but the immense damage on the battlefield overwhelmed the ships. Whats more as the fight progressed the force auxiliaries became targets themselves. Heavy neutralizers drained their capacitors while dozens of battleships, augmented by the dreadnoughts, blasted at the capital ships at close range. An Apostle force auxiliary for Shadow Cartel was felled, its massive hull torn apart in a series of internal explosions. Nearly 10 minutes later an Escalating Entropy Apostle shared its fate, overwhelmed by the dreadnoughts.
As the force auxiliaries fell, the battleships’ turn came. The torrent of fire was unstoppable, seemingly coming from everywhere. Battleships were shredded by autocannon rounds, the searing bursts of light produced by pulse laser batteries or the spheres of super heated plasma spat by the many blaster cannons present. Even rapid heavy missiles crossed the void between combatants, colliding head on with the large ships and exploding in brilliant flashes. Regardless, neither side faltered, the carnage continuing with no pause.
The dreadnoughts contributed to the death toll, the massive ships soon turning on each other in terrifying displays of firepower. Dozens of capital turrets took aim and opened fire on their brethren, often aided by the battleships themselves who flew between them. A Naglfar dreadnought suddenly grew silent, its guns stopped firing only for the hull to rupture in a huge explosion. A Moros dreadnought broke into segments as enemy fire smashed against it like a wave. Yet as more dreadnoughts and force auxiliaries were turned into wrecks, joining the countless others littering the field, the two fleets kept bringing replacements. More force auxiliaries and dreadnoughts poured into the field, either warping in or jumping to lit cynosural beacons.
The Myriad of Fleets Battling amidst the Wrecks of their Comrades
New participants kept joining the fray, prolonging the fight and increasing the death toll which had already risen up considerably. Lazerhawks [LZHX] for example, arrived to the fight midway, bringing a Rokh battleship fleet with 2 force auxiliaries. Without fear, the battleships and their capitals landed in the center of the battle. The new arrivals soon found themselves hammered by both sides, their entire fleet shredded in a few minutes including the force auxiliaries themselves. No quarter was given and none was expected. This was seen especially when command destroyers swooped into the field, dragging a section of the combatants from the fight. The dueling battleships paid no head to the fact they were teleported away from their allies, not to mention their logistics backbone, and simply kept pummeling each other.
As more and more ships were dispatched from the field, the fighting started to die down. Already raging for a good hour and a half, the destruction wrought by all involved left hundreds of wrecks scattered all over the grid, the few survivors remaining continuing to fight in the growing graveyard. Finally, the remnants of the various fleets started to extract, the bloodlust which seemed to have driven them abated. A few combatants lingered on, preyed upon by gangs which were drawn by the heavy fighting or scavengers who came to pick at countless metal corpses floating in the cold void.
Thus, the bloodbath of Old Man Star came to an end.
The Battle from the Perspective of the Escalating Entropy Fleet
Battle report for the Old Man Star system can be found here.
All told the battle raged for 1 hour and 40 minutes, with Time Dilation not reported and the system hosting an estimated 280 pilots at the height of the battle.
It is nearly impossible to separate the many fleets which fought on the field. Thus a total tally of the carnage stands at 21 dreadnoughts, 8 force auxiliaries, 1 carrier and 113 battleships destroyed. The damage itself is valued at 128.24 billion ISK.
*All the images used in this article were taken by @HamektokGaming
Salivan Harddin is a member of V0LTA, WE FORM V0LTA, and covers battles across New Eden
