I was straggling behind the fleet in a laser fit Ferox-class battlecruiser which I had just borrowed from my old comrade, Raphael Saint. The fleet was making a push to try to regain the Kourmonen system, and the Matari had been fighting back every step of the way. Two engagements had already taken place, and I had survived both. A new strategic objective had been broadcast, so, I needed a bigger ship. I had to fly to Arzad to get it. Thus, my tardiness.
I jumped into the Lamaa system, just one jump from my rendezvous with the main body of the fleet. I warped to the Kourmonen gate, and jumped. When my display finally loaded, I knew I was in trouble. A Claw-class interceptor was waiting for me. I engaged my warp drive to try to make a break for the complex my fleet was assaulting. Unfortunately, the Ferox was sluggish, and I saw the familiar indicator of my warp drive being disrupted. So, I made a mad dash for the stargate back to the Lamaa system. The Claw could stop my warp, but couldn't stop me jumping through the gate. I made it back with little to no damage, but found several of the Claw's friends waiting for me. This time, they hit me with stasis webs and warp scramblers. I tried to make it back to the gate, but was essentially frozen in place. That's when I noticed the Blackbird class cruiser ten kilometers away. Like most insane people, I smiled.
I locked up the blackbird and disrupted its warp drive before opening fire with my battery of pulse lasers. Yes, that's right. A Caldari hull with pulse lasers. Get over it. The blackbird was not equipped to deal with that much electromagnetic energy on its shields and began to pull range. Tragically, I had no way to keep the blackbird close enough. That and the bastard kept jamming my targeting systems, which had the effect of pissing me off. Once I had targeting back, I engaged the Claw, which had rejoined the fight, and the Vengeance class assault frigate that was trying to damage my ship's rather strong shield. Neither these Matari, the Rifterlings, nor my ferox seemed to be making much headway. I opened up comms to the fleet commander and informed him of my situation. The fleet commander decided to send aid. So, I waited. Mostly, I just didn't feel like having to sit there for the ridiculous amount of time it would take for the Rifterlings to destroy my ship. It was only a moment or two before the familiar purple squares signifying my friends began to populate my display. The blackbird, recognizing impending doom, warped way quickly, as did the claw. The vengeance, however, was locked down, imprisoned by my warp disruptor and that of likely three or four others. He disintegrated rapidly.
I thanked the fleet and we quickly headed for the complex to assault it. We managed to get set up at range and waited for their arrival. They didn't keep us waiting very long.
My tactical overview began to fill up with the familiar flashing orange boxes I had come to love. The fleet commander's orders began to fill my ears and our fleet aligned to the system's star with microwarpdrives on. Engagement orders piled in and comms and space both seemed to fill with the furor of battle. Ship after ship was engaged and destroyed on both sides, before finally, our fleet realized we had to leave. I left in my capsule, the ferox a cloud of debris floating in dead space.
In the end, we lost over 50 ships to some 40 minmatar kills. ISK wise, we came out ahead. I would say, truly, it was a monetary victory, a tactical defeat, and a strategic victory. We showed that we still have the ability to fight. We showed we can do it in lesser ships. So, despite our losses, I feel it was an overall victory. Most importantly, it was a good night.
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