“Supers on field, supers on field!”
The words resounded, and like a battle cry they echoed through the Mumble channel. A cyno was lit and the titan pilot activated the jump portal array; the Machariel fleet leaping through space into the Cloud Ring region. A short warp, a jump, another warp and before them lay tackled the hostile Capital fleet. The pieces had been positioned, the trap was sprung; it was time for the coup de grace.
Minutes earlier in, 6-4V20, Tinnimerci constellation, Cloud Ring region:
Escalating Entropy [CHAOS] had been called to assist Voxis Accord [VOXIS] in their assault of an anchoring Fortizar belonging to Suddenly Spaceships [CYNO]. The Fortizar citadel had been onlined successfully and a number of VOXIS Apocalypse Navy Issue Battleships destroyed in a short, but decisive engagement. CHAOS were moving to assist, bringing with them a strikeforce of T3 Cruisers and 3 Dreadnoughts.
In order to move the engagement off CYNO’s now fully armed Fortizar, CHAOS opted to light a cyno in dead space, and bring in a neutral Moros – the very same pilot who had baited The Culture supercapitals merely a week ago. CYNO + allies (SCRUBS) moved to engage the lone Dreadnought with a handful of Capitals and support ships, well aware of the waiting fleet in Mantenault.
It is not known at this point whether CHAOS had simply underestimated the CYNO fleet or expected to hold out longer, but the CHAOS strike force including all 3 Dreadnoughts was quickly destroyed. It has been suggested that the CHAOS sub-capitals were unexpectedly delayed when their titan pilot realised he could not reach the destination system with his jump portal array, leaving the Dreadnoughts exposed without support at first.
With the initial CHAOS fleet dispatched and their Dreadnoughts still sieged, CYNO took their time to loot the field and prepared to extract. CHAOS used this time to bring into range a number of Supercapitals, Dreadnoughts, Carriers and Apostle Force Auxiliaries.
Unbeknownst to CHAOS, The Initiative. was not only fully aware of the going-ons in 6-4V20, but also in constant communication with the CYNO fleet and had moved into position to assist CYNO should the need arise. The CHAOS strike force had been spotted moving well before arriving in Cloud Ring, prompting preparations for a possible escalation. A 150 man strong fleet consisting of Machariels, supported by Apostles and Dreadnoughts was waiting in the wings, hidden in plain sight, but hidden nonetheless. Furthermore, about 20 Supercapitals of their own had been moved into range and logged off.
Deliberately delaying their departure from the field of battle, CYNO was looking a tasty treat for the encroaching CHAOS Capital fleet. Escalating Entropy had opted not to bring a supporting sub-capital fleet, making clear their intentions of mercilessly destroying the CYNO fleet with superior firepower. Precisely when they were expected to, having accounted for fatigue and jump reactivation timers, CHAOS re-entered the field with their Capital fleet. ‘Supers on field!’
Seconds later, a good portion of the CHAOS fleet had been engulfed in interdiction spheres, super capitals scrambled by Heavy Interdictors. INIT. logged on their Supercapitals, and together with their Dreadnoughts and Apostles, jumped into 6-4V20, arriving almost simultaneously with their sub-capital fleet that had been bridged into O-0HW8 due to the difference in jump range between Supercapitals and Capitals.
Given the extraordinary amount of firepower, CHAOS had brought to bear on the CYNO fleet even in the short amount of time between their arrival and the re-enforcement by The Initiative., the CYNO Capitals suffered heavy losses. Quickly, the CHAOS fleet switched to trying to extract what Supercapitals they could, focusing their fire on Interdictors, HICs and Siren fighters, likely well aware that their Sieged and Triaged Capitals were in all likelihood doomed.
Thanks to their Afterburners, combined with the use of ECM Bursts and Heavy Energy Neutralizers, some CHAOS Supercapital pilots managed to maneuver out of the interdiction bubbles and make good their escape in the mad scramble to secure and confirm tackle on them.
Within minutes, the outcome had been decided. The supporting INIT. Carrier pilots made short work of nearly all CHAOS fighter squadrons that had taken to space from their Carriers and Supercarriers, allowing their Supercarriers to wield their Heavy Fighters with impunity. The CHAOS Apostles were helpless in the face of the relentless onslaught of the combined DPS that the combined INIT. and CYNO fleets brought to bear on them. Valiantly, they attempted to keep their fleet mates alive, buckling one after the other. Similarly, the CHAOS Dreadnoughts were quickly dispatched, unable to receive repairs while in Siege Mode, while the Archons sat by almost helplessly as the enemy’s Superiority Fighters destroyed their own squadrons.
In the end, it was a clean sweep for The Initiative. and a significant victory for the new residents of the Tinnermerci constellation, Suddenly Spaceships. While INIT. and CYNO had previously clashed in the Syndicate region months ago, lines of communication had been opened and a sense of mutual respect had been established between the two entities. With Escalating Entropy looking to leverage their position of strength in the AU and US TZ, both alliances welcomed the opportunity to strike a blow to their common foe.
Battle report from zkill.
Article by Soraya Kha’marr of Vanishing Point. corporation.
