TPARty

Well, it appears to be over bar the shouting. TPAR sovereignty will switch to Tortugan hands as of downtime today (barring a bug/ act of God/ whatever).

Last night (GMT night), a major support fleet of mainly BSs, and a cap fleet was assembled to finish off the remaining BoB POSs in TPAR that had been put into reinforced the previous night.

The cap fleet was a combined effort of the following:

Tortuga (providing about half the numbers)
IRON
RZR
TCF
IAC

Total numbers at peak:

116 Dreads
50 Carriers
13 MS
2 Titans

I was in a Tempest, and me and my BS buddies were sat off the heavily bubbled MGO gate, while the lighter support zipped around as the FC directed. Everyone was wondering if BoB would show, but it soon became clear that they probably wouldn't. This was confirmed to us when we got word that RA had somehow got a BoB POS password, warped in a Titan and BOOM HEADSHOT. Reports were 50-60 BSs died. I am not sure if this is down to the initial blast or any follow up pewpew? I know that KIA fleet setups for BS, on the whole, can take a Titan blast. Anyway, I digress.

Some screenshots of the cap fleet (BMP format, apologies, I didn't take them):

Cluster
POS shooty
Purty

We were getting word of POSs as they were coming out of reinforced, then getting popped 5 minutes later. Not many of us BS pilots had seen the whole Cap fleet, so when we heard they were popping POSs in 3-5 minutes, we got some idea of just how many Caps there were. Some kind soul had set up a news thread on EveO so we could keep up with what was going on.

The final POS fell, and I think you could almost hear the sighs of relief.

PB had been expected to fall quickly, but not by me. I know hindsight etc., but when it was first announced we'd form Tortuga I thought it wasn't going to be quick. There's no way on earth BoB would let us steamroller PB. Maybe if the forums didn't exist and there wasn't chest-beating smacktacular flamefests, they'd have defended TPAR long enough to get their kit out and then concentrated on Delve defence. But they had a point to prove, and I think they did a brilliant job to be honest. It's a real credit to their leadership and pilots that they held us off as long as they did.

And now the dust is settling, the fat lady is walking onto the stage, who knows what will happen. The spotlight has now shifted to Delve. Whether BoB will pull an 'RA' and go down to one system, hanging in there at all costs, we shall see. Personally, I think once an entity is down to one system, defence is made easier, you just need numbers. And BoB sure as hell has those. And Caps. Any victory over BoB in such a circumstance could turn out to be pyrrhic.

I am reasonably sure we won't be joining in the attack on Delve, that wasn't what we set out to do, but I'm not involved with any command decisions. With any luck, we can go back to contract work, but I'm not naive enough to think it's a situation that can last. As mercs before Tortuga, we weren't bound to territory. After Tortuga, we very much are, as are MC. As such, we'll have to come defend when attacked.

What effect this will have on KIA Alliance's future as mercs remains to be seen. But for now, we will enjoy the honeymoon period...