O1Y-ED, Fade

As of last Thursday the Horde advanced its staging system to O1Y, former capital system of Imperium member alliance SpaceMonkey's Alliance (SMA). In the wake of defeat after defeat, SMA announced its withdrawal from the front and has begun evacuating to the far removed Outer Ring. The allied forces have seized their territory and begun their assault on the Imperium stronghold of Deklein, the massive home region of the Goonswarm Federation. 

O1Y is noisy. At any one time 200 pilots are active in the system, and a handful of dedicated Imperium raiders prey on Horde ships that stray too far from the beaten path. A standing fleet patrols O1Y and its adjacent systems, providing security to miners, ratters, and the many freighters that ferry arms, ships, and equipment to the front lines. 

At ~23:30, the 70 strong fleet receives intel on the location of a marauding SMA Brutix, a combat battlecruiser bristling with firepower. A hapless, more-dead-than-not explorer jumps through the O-CNPR gate having just eaten a near fatal volley of 200mm railgun fire. A first response team rushes to engage, and within minutes a tactical destroyer, a strategic cruiser, and a flight of five frigates have the Brutix locked down with webifiers, warp scramblers, and disrupters.

Despite being outnumbered seven to one, the Brutix refuses to go quietly. The destroyer melts under sustained fire. My Kestrel, a nimble missile platform, is luckier, proving too quick and agile for the cruiser-class weaponry to target accurately. My shields are brought to thirty percent as the guns are turned on me, but once I bring my ship to orbit at a thousand meters the transversal velocity prevents her from landing her shots.

The Brutix, unable to hit the frigates or pierce the defenses of our cruiser, is reduced to a smoldering wreck without further casualties. I, ever the rogue, loot the remains ahead of my fellow fleet members and come up with some thirteen million ISK in better-than-military grade weaponry. Good compensation for my valuable contribution to this skirmish, I think.  

The Brutix, valued at some 80 million ISK, was a good kill, but the high end destroyer we lost was worth some 74 million itself, meaning it was more or less an even trade. The only winner here, it seems, was me.

Check back for more updates in the future.

o7