At approximately 0130 EVE time on March 1, a Fortizar belonging to Brave Collective <BRAVE> was due to come online in the Catch system of GE-8JV. Test Alliance Please Ignore <TEST> and Circle-of-two <CO2> were also there to help with security. Altogether TESCO and BRAVE fielded Nightmares, Maelstroms, Hurricanes, and a Proteus fleet, with both BRAVE and CO2 dreadnaughts on standby. This Fortizar was uncomfortably close to Delve, so the Imperium sprang into action, fomenting a battle that saw capital use on both sides, and resulted in nearly a quarter-trillion ISK in losses.
Hours earlier, Thomas Lear of GoonSwarm Federation <CONDI> had contacted KillahBee of Pandemic Legion <-10.0> (PL) with intel on the anchoring structure. “We didn’t plan on going to the timer, then Thomas asked me if we wanted to tag team it” Killahbee told INN, “Looking at who was forming for it, I figured that might even the odds.”
“I formed Maelstroms and Rokhs initially, but when the intel on what TEST / CO2 / BRAVE had came in I decided to reship into Carriers, Force Auxiliaries, and Dreadnaughts” Killahbee continued. Thomas Lear formed a Proteus fleet and also decided to bring along Force Auxiliaries on standby to support his strategic cruisers.
“It’s been a thing for a while in low security space that you can bring a Force Auxiliary to support T3 cruisers because the scope of the fight is small. I thought this was a good time to test out the effectiveness of that strategy on a larger scale” Thomas Lear said.
As the fight unfolded, Thomas Lear took the fight right to the BRAVE subcapital fleet. Maelstroms landed shortly after, but landed very close to the Imperium strategic cruisers. “It would have been much better for BRAVE if they wouldn’t have landed so close,” Thomas Lear said. It was the opportunity for Pandemic Legion was looking for. They jumped their carrier fleet right on top of the Maelstroms and began laying waste to them.
As CONDI and BRAVE battled back and forth, TEST Nightmares and BRAVE Hurricanes also joined the fight. PL did a bombing run, and BRAVE decided to bring a few dreadnaughts into the mix. This prompted Thomas Lear to bring in the first wave of Imperium force auxiliaries, and Pandemic Legion dropped in their own dreadnaughts and carriers. The presence of the Imperium force auxuliaries would be critical to the Proteus’ continued ability to function, as the defending forces destroyed all but a hanfful of the subcapital logstics. The arrival of the PL carrier fleet triggered a full escalation from CO2 to drop their own dreadnaughts, and the capital fight had begun.
“It was amazing to see how well the faxes did to keep the Proteus fleet alive,” according to an enthusiastic Thomas Lear. “There were saving all kinds of T3s around 10%-15% armor. The carriers were also just shredding subcapital ships. Many people think “oh, they can’t be that overpowered against subcaps” but they really are.”
By comparison, KillahBee was very nonchalant about the battle.
“We killed their dreads. We finished the remains of their maelstrom fleet and then started killing TEST Nightmares until CO2’s dreads jumped onto us which we killed too.” It seems like wiping out almost an entire dreadnaught fleet is just another day at the office for one of Pandemic Legion’s top Fleet Commanders. Along with all this carnage, the Fortizar was destroyed. CONDI’s strategic objective had been fulfilled.
Both Thomas Lear and KillahBee expressed their respect for the fight that BRAVE and TESCO put forth. Thomas Lear especially gave them props for reforming Hurricanes and fighting for as long as possible. Killahbee also wanted to give a shout out to BRAVE and TESCO for a fun brawl.
INN would like to thank all of those involved with putting this article together, from the interviewees, to the battle report compiler, to everyone involved in this fight. INN has reached out to Vily of TEST, as well as representatives of CO2 and BRAVE for comment, but has had no reply as of this time.
