Previously, this war has been referred to as “World War Bee.” Once the PAPI coalition began its retreat on August 2, 2021, members of the Imperium began referring to the conflict as Beeitnam, an allusion to the series of conflicts in Viet Nam fought by the French, and later the United States of America, against the Vietnamese. We are using the name change to reflect the end of one phase of conflict and the beginning of another. However, we’ll maintain the week-by-week count for the sake of continuity.
Week 57 was one of the most consequential of the war by far. Although INN has tracked 27 hostile actions, Monday saw the PAPI coalition ultimately declare defeat, beginning with leaks from NC. and continuing through Tuesday, with announcements from many of the alliance leaders that they intended to withdraw from Delve in particular and the war effort overall during the following week or two. Delve was largely home to the action, but with the former PAPI coalition’s retreat disintegrating into a rout, fighting continued across Fountain, Querious, Period Basis, and elsewhere.
[Editor’s Note: As the war has reached its anniversary, INN’s tracker is now split between the July 2020 to June 2021 events and July 2021 onwards. The first year’s data remains broken, but the author is tentatively hopeful the Year 2 data will calculate moving forward.]
There were four fights in week 57 that exceeded 20 billion ISK in cumulative losses, outside of the 1DQ1-A/T5ZI-S border skirmish battle report. All four were massive victories for the Imperium: the first was the final subcapital push on 1DQ1-A by PAPI forces; the second was a fight in NPC Delve; the third was the Imperium purging the 1-SMEB iHub; and the fourth was the Imperium chasing a PAPI fleet into Impass.
The three major theaters are the North (Fountain and the border with Aridia and Cloud Ring as well as western Delve), the South (the rest of Delve, Querious, and Period Basis), and the East (Paragon Soul, Catch, Stain, Immensea, and Esoteria).
THE NORTHERN THEATER
The North was busier than usual this week, as the Imperium began harassing the PAPI jump network in Western Delve, killing 16.5 billion ISK for 2.9 billion in losses on Tuesday. Thursday, the Imperium retook most of Western Delve’s iHubs and pushed off the harassing PAPI gangs, killing 1 billion ISK for 890 million in losses. By Saturday night, the Initiative in particular had retaken the iHubs in roughly half of Fountain and had begun reinforcing PAPI Keepstars in Western Delve.
THE EASTERN THEATER
The Eastern theater was relatively placid from a battle report perspective, although Legacy’s informal disbanding has created a power vacuum in the East, as former members of the Legacy coalition have scrambled to establish themselves in the new power hierarchy. Both TEST and Brave have elected to flee the Galactic Northeast.
THE SOUTHERN THEATER
Sunday in the South, the Imperium turned aside another attempt in 3-DMQT ahead of PAPI’s planned offensive. The Imperium killed 4.6 billion ISK for 1.4 billion in losses. The 1DQ1-A/T5ZI-S border skirmish battle report showed the Imperium killed 38.5 billion ISK for 49.5 billion in losses. Monday, the Imperium rebuffed PAPI once more on the far end of the O-EIMK constellation in 3-DMQT, killing 11.8 billion ISK for 2.8 billion in losses. The headline was no doubt the surprise assault attempt of 1DQ1-A and the O-EIMK constellation late in the day, with PAPI forces making their way into the fray and ultimately being chopped down. Imperium killed 209.2 billion ISK for 133.8 billion in losses as the two evenly matched sides faced off. The PAPI fleets eventually limped back into T5ZI-S to find that TEST and other Legacy alliances had begun to unanchor Keepstars across Delve, as well as some other strategic Fortizars.
During the fight, as reported on INN, NC.’s Lady Scarlet revealed in the Talking in Stations Discord server that NC. would be leaving the war effectively immediately. Shortly afterwards, Pandemic Horde’s Gobbins confirmed that they too would be leaving the war effective immediately. Within hours, TEST and Brave each held townhalls to confirm that they too would withdraw from Delve over the next two weeks. As the week progressed, PAPI’s proposed “fighting retreat” quickly devolved into chaos, as individual members and corporations tried to evacuate themselves ahead of the Imperium unleashing its fury. The news came as a shock to line members of both the Imperium and the PAPI coalition, in particular as PAPI leadership had asked for four more weeks of effort from their pilots, including for their players to resubscribe to the game. During the battle, Imperium scouts caught video footage of PAPI leadership members secreting their supercarriers and titans out of Delve ahead of announced move operations. Open communications on various PAPI townhalls descended into fury as players excoriated their leadership and decried their efforts in brutally unflattering terms.
Tuesday, Imperium forces fought with PAPI forces in NPC Delve, killing 41.8 billion ISK for 35.8 billion in losses as the two sides’ HAC fleets came together. Later in the day, Imperium forces tore through PAPI fleets as they reinforced a number of iHubs on the border with Aridia, killing 45.2 billion ISK for 20.3 billion in losses. The border skirmish battle report showed the Imperium killed 55.7 billion ISK for 31.9 billion in losses. Wednesday, the border skirmish battle report showed the Imperium killed 18.9 billion ISK for 25.4 billion in losses.
Thursday, Imperium forces baited a Ragnarok into aggressing a scout, then descended on the untethered supercapital stuck on its Keepstar. Eventually, the Imperium fleet killed 81 billion ISK for 6.8 billion in losses. The 1DQ1-A/T5ZI-S border skirmish battle report showed the Imperium killed 40.3 billion ISK for 33.4 billion in losses. Friday, for the first time in several months, TEST lost a Fortizar in Querious. The border skirmish battle report showed the Imperium killed 29.3 billion ISK for 30.9 billion ISK. Saturday, NC. lost a Nyx, Goons lost a Hel, and TEST lost another Fortizar. By the end of the day, the Imperium had retaken all but four iHubs in Delve, half of Period Basis, and a quarter or more of Querious. The border skirmish battle report showed the Imperium killed 52.9 billion ISK for 28.8 billion in losses, including some entosis hackers sacrificed as tribute when the Imperium retook the T5ZI-S iHub.
ELSEWHERE IN NEW EDEN
Sunday, Legacy forces lost a Hel in Detorid. Thursday, Imperium forces and some allies chased down a PAPI coalition fleet in Impass and mulched the Muninn fleet with Eagles and supercarriers, killing 34 billion ISK for 10.5 billion in losses. Friday, a former Legacy alliance lost a Nyx in Detorid.
