Ubtes, Derelik - On 16.04.112, a B A N E [BANE] alliance espionage operation destroyed a Cult of War [CoW] carrier group in Ubtes in retaliation for the destruction of two BANE supercarriers in Auga last month.
On the 28th of the previous month, a joint operation by CoW and Gentlemen's Club [GC] set up a trap involving a fleet of around 100 ships split between 60 Carriers, 8 Supercarriers and support.
CoW pilot Teschan explained that BANE Alliance pilots were attempting to target a Thanatos fitted specifically to bait Supercarriers. He said he was woken by his corp-mate T'Karr summoning him to use his Avatar-class titan for the operation to make a jumpbridge for the combined CoW and GC fleet.
Three titans were used to bridge the fleet into position and after a 45-minute-wait, the bait Thanatos pilot cynoed into the target system and docked for the second time. An Aeon, Wyvern and Nyx were reported hunting for the carrier. The ambushing fleet then jumped into system, calling the BANE Nyx primary, followed by the Wyvern. The Aeon was reportedly able to escape and due to a shortage of probes, the CoW fleet was unable to scan down the ship before it cynoed safely out of the system.
Lilith Velkor of BANE attributed the incident to the actions of a disgruntled corporation member coupled with the aggressive use of supercarriers to hunt and destroy capital ships in the area. "All espionage aside, something like this will put you on the radar for larger entities as a target... Our small group ran into a trap with little support... It was inevitable in the long run for things to turn out like they did. We had been pursuing neutral capital ships too aggressively for a while and arguably with excessive force, so the setup itself was rather easy and just needed patience to carry out. One thing you have to consider when deploying supercarriers is they are not just excellent offensive weaponry but also somewhat of prestigious targets at the same time."
Three weeks later, in a retaliatory operation that was considered "a matter of pride" for BANE, a group of 13 CoW carriers was destroyed by a combined fleet of Pandemic Legion and BANE ships. Lilith Velkor said "It was due to espionage as well, but I won't confirm or deny we had anything to do with it other than our vessels on the field... I did not even know CoW was the target before I bridged into combat with my Interdictor."
Cult of War and BANE denied any large-scale political ramifications or resentments behind either the initial ambush by CoW of the two BANE supercarriers or the later retaliatory attack against the CoW carrier group. Both considered such attacks inevitable between aggressive space-faring alliances operating in relatively close proximity.
GalNet References
Battle Records - Nyx Loss
Battle Records - Wyvern Loss
Battle Records - Carrier Group Loss
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