Imperium Fleet Slaughtered in DW-T21

As the so called War of Sovless Aggression, or World War Bee, depending on which side a pilot is on, slogs on in northwestern New Eden a common theme among The Money Badger Coalition (MBC) line members and leaders is that The Imperium refuses to undock in anything other than interceptors. Those of us who fight regularly in the The Imperium’s fleets know better, yet this myth persists.

Recently, those who do not exist, led by Asher Elias [GEWNS], opened up one of the Reaver doctrines to the line members for a joint operation. The fleet was by no means full, attracting around 80 pilots.

It All Started Out Well Enough

The fleet undocked from Saranen and was set upon by a random Thrasher gang almost instantly. Of course the Thrashers were no match for a Cerberus fleet of 50+ and those who didn’t lose their ships quickly scurried off.

Having cleared the undock, Asher ordered his fleet to free burn to Okagaiken, then north into Fade via the Cloud Ring regional gate in 6RCQ-V. The fleet met no resistance en route and things went smoothly right until they jumped into the DW-T21 system. The Imperium once owned that system, but like so many systems in the northwest, it has become a decaying monument to the might of The Imperium during Dominion sov.

Then Things Got Dicey

The fleet arrived in DW-T21, but could not go forward, nor could it go back – not without a fight. The MBC fleets has laid a trap for The Imperium, fielding doctrines designed to counter a Cerberus fleet. Three fleets total enveloped The Imperium’s forces. This first fleet served as the Cerberus hunters, while the other two were Astarte and Navy Apocalypse fleets that took up blocking positions that dashed any real chance of escape.

A Forlorn Hope

Asher’s forlorn hope was that a wormhole may be in system and could could take them somewhere, anywhere away from DW-T21. Experienced scanners brought their ships in to the system to check for holes out, but to no avail. No wormhole was found and the Cerberus fleet was as good as dead if they could not escape.

FC, Shitposting Spike in Local

It’s another common myth among the MBC forces that the morale of the Imperium is already crushed completely.

In spite of this, morale was still fairly high. It’s another common myth among the MBC forces that the morale of the Imperium is already crushed completely. Line members made jokes, traded insults and friendly jabs with each other, and passed the time as Asher warped the fleet from safe spot to safe spot for over 30 minutes.

Meanwhile the MBC’s balls grew swollen and blue, which led to an endless torrent of impotent shitposting in local due primarily to what I can only guess was their frustration. It was also clear that MBC spies had compromised OP8 on mumble. A local shitposting spike taunted The Imperium fleet members about the absence of escape wormholes.

Some of the line members didn’t know that they were fated to go home in a pod, while others accepted their fate. No one was angry, angsty, or otherwise filled with tears over their impending doom, or displaying a defeatist attitude in general.

Extortion Attempts Masked as E-Honor

During the constant warping, one of the MBC FCs, Requiescat [TISHU], offered exorbitant terms for safe passage to The Imperium’s FC. A billion isk in exchange for 5 seconds of quasi- safe passage out of the system. Those terms were flatly refused by Asher, who had been lied to in the past too many times by enemy FCs offering such deals.

No, The Imperium FC and the line members were going to fight and not give in to half assed attempts at extortion.

The engagement started out well enough for the Imperium, but quickly faltered as they began losing Cerberuses.

The first engagement took place at the O-NCPR gate, which was bubbled well enough to block an escape by The Imperium. Targets for the Imperium fleet were primarily focused on degrading MBC fast tackle and interdiction capabilities in order to make a possible escape easier. The engagement started out well enough for the Imperium, but quickly faltered as they began losing Cerberuses. At least 6 line ships from The Imperium were lost in the exchange, while the MBC lost at least 3 of their Interdictors and a single logistics ship. Asher’s forces were routed and forced to resume warping the fleet at a breakneck pace to avoid being scanned down and warped in on by the MBC fleets.  

77 vs. 178 at the Sun

It was the end, the fleet had too many who were not Reavers and not used to the not existing lifestyle to continue. Asher asked for the interdictor pilots to X up in fleet and stand by to bubble at his command once the fleet had landed. Asher warped his fleet to the Sun and waited for the MBC to come for his fleet.

When the MBC fleets showed up on grid, bubbles were put up ahead and on anchor as ordered and the two fleets engaged in a vicious exchange of missiles and guns. The Imperium fleet’s Interdictors were vollied off the field within seconds and the Cerberus line began to fold rapidly a few moments later.  

Battle Report DW-T21

Aftermath

The MBC did fine job massing the numbers, the right ships for the job, the correct timing of the operation to trap The Imperium, and coordinating their forces. The few Imperium ships that remained tried to escape, but were mopped up in O-CNPR.

Overall, 9 billion ISK was lost by The Imperium, while Money Badgers losses were light. This was a clear victory from the Money Badgers, however, as I type this, The Imperium is pinging for fleets and undocking to continue their self-described hell war against the MBC. It would be a mistake for the MBC to believe that they have achieved complete destruction of the Imperium at this time though. The leadership of Goonswarm Federation and the Imperium are playing the long game..