View source for Siege of LS-JEP Jan-Feb 108

[[Category:Alliance_Conflict_Timeline]]

====Siege of  [[LS-JEP_%28System%29|LS-JEP]]/ ([[Vale of the Silent (Region)|Vale of the Silent]])====

Principle Attackers: [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|Morsus Mihi]]<BR>
Principle Defenders: [[The_Forsaken_Empire_%28Player_alliance%29|The Forsaken Empire]]<BR>
Date: Jan 19th 108 EST to Feb 15th 108 EST<BR>
Result: Formal limited surrender by [[The_Forsaken_Empire_%28Player_alliance%29|F-E]] <BR>
<BR><BR>
<I>January 19th 108 EST</I> - [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|Morsus Mihi]] unveils dreadnaught [[Fleet|fleet]] and siege of [[The_Forsaken_Empire_%28Player_alliance%29|The Forsaken Empire]] held [[LS-JEP_%28System%29|LS-JEP]] refinery in [[Vale of the Silent (Region)|Vale of the Silent]] begins. [[The_Forsaken_Empire_%28Player_alliance%29|F-E]] is the then largest [[Capsuleer|capsuleer]] alliance and ten times the size of [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]].<BR>

<I>January 20th</I> - [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|Morsus Mihi]] alliance formally registered in the morning. In the afternoon F-E co-leader Krullz loses [[Revelation|Revelation]] in a tense battle that sees [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]]'s dreadnaughts capture the refinery. A large F-E [[Battleship|battleship]] [[Fleet|fleet]] travels from F-E's more populated territory in [[Tribute (Region)|Tribute]] and counter-attacks the exposed dreadnaughts but is forced back by [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] [[Battleships|battleships]]. <BR>

<I>January 21st</I> - F-E and [[Kaos_Empire_%28Player_alliance%29|Kaos Empire]] mass in the evening to defend F-E [[Starbases|starbases]] and announce they will siege [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] [[Starbases|starbases]]. [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] is outnumbered and unable to engage but successfully dissuades the enemy [[Fleet|fleet]] from attacking it's [[Starbases|starbases]] and a tense stand-off begins as night turns to early morning.<BR>

<I>January 22nd</I> - Sporadic fighting and mental attrition over 12 hours wear down the F-E/Kaos [[Fleet|fleet]] as [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]]'s [[Fleet|fleet]] strength holds steady. In a final frustrated bid to turn the situation around Kaos deploy dreadnaughts and lose one, handing [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] a significant morale victory. [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] capitalizes immediately and deploys dreadnaughts again to finish off the key [[Sovereignty|sovereignty]] holding F-E [[Starbase|starbase]]. Fully 20% of [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|Morsus Mihi]] pilots miss a night's sleep to secure the victory.<BR>

Both sides increase [[Sovereignty|sovereignty]] claiming [[Starbase|starbase]] numbers and there is heavy sub-capital fighting but [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|Morsus Mihi]] control of the system remains tight. [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|Morsus Mihi]] offers F-E terms and states that it's goal is symbolic capitulation by F-E, not long term control of [[LS-JEP_%28System%29|LS-JEP]]. F-E leadership is torn but they decline stating they can't trust [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] to uphold any agreement.<BR>

F-E's attention is soon on [[D7-ZAC_%28System%29|D7-ZAC]] in [[Tribute (Region)|Tribute]] as [[Arcane_Technologies_%28Player_corporation%29|Arcane Technologies]] siege it. Frustrated by a lack of support from it's northern allies F-E agrees to a truce with [[Arcane_Technologies_%28Player_corporation%29|ATUK]] and completely realigns itself politically. F-E members [[Rage of Angels (Player corporation)|Rage of Angels]] leave in disgust, they would later join [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]].<BR>

<I>February 2nd</I> - Arcane Technologies invite [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] into a planned ATUK/F-E/RAWR/KAOS axis to control the north-east. [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] declines. ATUK then tries to mediate a truce between F-E and [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] because [[LS-JEP_%28System%29|LS-JEP]] is tieing up F-E and delaying ATUK's plans. ATUK state that they will liberate [[LS-JEP_%28System%29|LS-JEP]] if F-E and [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] remain hostile. [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] concedes they probably could but restates it's former terms to F-E. F-E is more bullish and sees no reason to give in now ATUK help is promised. [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] rallies full [[Fleet|fleet]] strength during negotiations in case of attack but F-E and ATUK remain stood down. In an attempt to regain some initiative in the face of ATUK threats [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] deploys it's dreadnaughts again within an hour of closing negotiations and destroys four of the offline moon-holding control towers which F-E has littered [[LS-JEP_%28System%29|LS-JEP]] with. The next day F-E removes all remaining offline moon-holding towers.<BR>

<I>February 8th</I> - Twelve ATUK dreadnaughts staging from [[ZLZ-1Z_%28System%29|ZLZ-1Z]] reinforce all [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|Morsus Mihi]] [[Starbases|starbases]] in [[LS-JEP_%28System%29|LS-JEP]] backed by huge F-E and [[The_Five_%28Player_alliance%29|The Five]] support fleets. [[Sovereignty|Sovereignty]] is already neutral so they capture the [[Station|station]] too. [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] ship-scan the ATUK dreadnaughts and are surprised to see them all fitted with [[Expanded_Cargohold_I|Expanded Cargoholds]]. ATUK and .5. withdraw following the attack but F-E remain in full force and lockdown [[LS-JEP_%28System%29|LS-JEP]] for 36 hours solid displaying a noticeable step change in morale.<BR>

<I>February 9th</I> - [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] engage in frantic diplomacy while attempting to break F-E blockades and get extra [[Battleships|battleships]] into [[LS-JEP_%28System%29|LS-JEP]] ready for the showdown. Few get through. A new small control tower is deployed and succesfully onlined but reinforced before it can be armed. All spare [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] ships are evacuated from the original [[Starbases|starbases]] and crammed inside the new tiny forcefield.<BR>

<I>February 10th</I> - [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] confidence is extremely high despite the precarious position. The stated goal is to kill 'at least one' dreadnaught, not to save [[Starbases|starbases]]. F-E stamina has noticeably slackened and [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]] control the [[LS-JEP_%28System%29|LS-JEP]] gates for an important hour during the early morning. [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|Morsus Mihi]] [[Starbases|starbases]] are staggered to leave reinforced mode at 9am, 5pm and 11pm to maximize hostile dreadnaught exposure. However allies are scheduled to arrive early evening and the first [[Starbase|starbase]] is expected to be lost.<BR>

[[Plague Black (Character)|Plague Black]]'s debrief of that morning battle was later declassified: "<I>We had a small [[Gang|gang]] of people chatting... and then... [[Cyno|CYNO]] FIELD... I warp at 100, 6 dreads... then the last victim appears... FE [[Dread|dread]]... 7 dreads. 

They warp straight at hirr [[POS|pos]] and start shooting... I go there and start approach... Arka is setting the [[Gang|gang]]... people are complaining about not attacking right away... Zakon gets on comms... Arka comments about 'something stinking' to Zakon... It was not my feet... I also thought it seemed too easy. 

Finally the [[Fleet|fleet]] warps on me on 15, I'm about 20km from the closest [[Dread|dread]] and he goes pop very fast... [[Fleet|fleet]] goes out... AND THEN... FE SUPPORT [[Fleet|FLEET]] WARPS IN!!! I thought - FTW?!? 4-5 [[Battleships|battleships]] and rest frigs... And then they start going POP, POP, POP... 6 cans in less then 30 sec... they warp out... one guy stays in trasher... he goes POP... 7 support ships owned by the [[POS|pos]]... 

I change warp in spot, and place myself above the dreads but a bit too far... 55km from closest... he goes POP while our [[Fleet|fleet]] is warping out... 

And then Atuk gets cold feet and starts running... dreads start jumping out... I SCREAM IN [[Gang|GANG]] CHAT THAT ONLY ONE IS LEFT... Silus Yarmon... [[Gang|gang]] warps to me and he dies 

So no losses, [[POS|pos]] saved... 3 dreads and many small ships down.</I>"

It was a totally unexpected victory, the goals for that evening had been exceeded 12 hours ahead of schedule before a single ally had arrived. The control tower was left with structural [[Damage|damage]] but re-stronted in the early afternoon. As evening drew closer allies poured in from [[Geminate (Region)|Geminate]] ([[Stella_Nova_United_%28Player_alliance%29|Stella Nova United]]), [[Tenal (Region)|Tenal]] ([[NBSI_Alliance_%28Player_alliance%29|NBSI Alliance]]), and even as far away as [[Fountain (Region)|Fountain]] ([[Cold Fusion Inc._%28Player_corporation%29|Cold Fusion Inc.]] who would later join [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|Morsus Mihi]] as part of [[Shiva (Player corporation)|Shiva]]). Working with other entities in large numbers was completely alien to [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|Morsus Mihi]] at the time and not something their FCs were comfortable with but it was clearly experience that would be invaluable in the future.<BR>

ATUK dreadnaughts did not return. The evening saw a large sub-capital battle which went moderately in F-E's favour as [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|Morsus Mihi]] attempted to coordinate three seperate fleets assaulting F-E's entrenched gate positions. All [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|Morsus Mihi]] [[Starbases|starbases]] were saved and noone was in doubt who the day belonged too. ATUK expressed shock on Galnet and admitted the defeat was hard for their proud corporation to come to terms with.<BR>

<I>February 15th</I> - F-E finally accept surrender terms: [[LS-JEP_%28System%29|LS-JEP]] refinery will be held by [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|Morsus Mihi]] for one month before being handed back to F-E. F-E will also publically acknowledge [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|RAWR]]'s control of [[Geminate (Region)|Geminate]], minus the [[The_Big_Blue_%28Player_alliance%29|The Big Blue]] controlled [[IPS-QB_%28Constellation%29|IPS-QB]] constellation. All [[Geminate (Region)|Geminate]] will be open for neutrals with [[NRDS|NRDS]] rules-of-engagement adhered to by all including [[The_Forsaken_Empire_%28Player_alliance%29|The Forsaken Empire]] despite it's roots in piracy. [[Morsus_Mihi_%28Player_alliance%29|Morsus Mihi]] however later abandons these [[Geminate (Region)|Geminate]] plans before they go public, as a result of choosing to relocate to the north instead.