Delve: 6-UCYU: YZ9-F6: At approximately 1830 EVE on October 18, a Keepstar was successfully onlined by PAPI forces.
This latest attempt to online a Keepstar comes on the back of several weeks of thick fighting in the NPC portion of Delve and represents the fifth attempt by PAPI forces to secure a beachhead in Delve proper. The previous four attempts were unsuccessful, as those Keepstars were destroyed by Imperium forces, who themselves sustained heavy ISK losses during those earlier battles.
PAPI leadership seemed intent on avoiding a repeat of past failures to online a Keepstar and dug in their defenses against another assault. Approximately 150 warp disruption field generators were anchored, completely surrounding the structure, making any assault attempt very difficult. This tactic, while successful, generated some controversy, as Imperium representatives accused PAPI of intentionally lagging out the server in order to prevent Imperium forces from being able to load the grid.
Asked about the tactic, Imperium leader The Mittani said, “If CCP will allow players to anchor 150+ bubbles on a Keepstar defense, we look forward to using this tactic ourselves at every opportunity. World War Bubble benefits the defenders, and we have far more Keepstars to defend than the enemy.”
Imperium Sky Marshal Asher Elias said, “If this was solely a legitimate strategy as they claim, and not an attempt to lag out the clients as they loaded grid, why would [PAPI] have their dictors drop bubbles inside the [already] anchored bubbles? There’s no strategic purpose to that.”
PAPI Fleet Commander ProGodLegend commented, “Yeah, it seems like, despite the rhetoric, Imperium forces did not have the resources to contest this Keepstar again so soon after losing another 150 caps and 2,000 battleships.”
While the consequences of this latest development remain uncertain, clearly the war in the south remains far from over. Fighting will likely intensify as PAPI forces move in to Delve proper and begin further assaults on the Imperium. With Imperium forces vowing to fight over every inch of territory, and PAPI seeking a war of annihilation, Delve will no doubt be a hotbed of activity for the foreseeable future.
