Despite several scheduled formups and Sys-K chest beating during their alliance meeting, IT has made no serious attempt at breaking our control over the system. Several small gangs, including stealth bombers logged off in system, have tried to temporarily disable our rape cages (warp inhibitor bubbles arranged to completely cover a POS, station, or stargate) by targetting the bubbles themselves, but they've been unsuccessful thus far. Unless IT can muster a decent number of pilots to put up a defense, the system will fall to Dekco tomorrow morning when the station exits its last reinforcement timer.
Significance? Taking the system is only one objective of the 6VDT camp. We don't need to camp the system if that's all we wanted to do. The theory is that IT keeps most of their military assets in their staging system... one system. If we can camp in their assets, then they can't fight back. The vets will remember the PR- camp when the goons pulled the same ploy against BoB and took all or most of Delve. It happened again in H-W, the main NC staging system, where southern bloc forces attempted to take the system, only to be counter camped by resurgent NC forces. Now it's happening in 6VDT. In his blog, PK says that "6VDT is a joke... there aren't any assets in that system. We all evacced to Delve about 2 days before." I find that hard to believe, for two reasons: 1) In the IT meeting two+ days before the 6VDT invasion, SirMolle told his entire alliance to stop running around like headless chickens and move all their stuff back into 6VDT, and 2) There has been no major military action on IT's side since the camp began, in 6VDT or anywhere else. That's odd, considering that a 300-ish man IT fleet reinforced the 9R4 just hours before the 6VDT invasion. Yet they didn't bother to formup up when it came out of reinforcement, even knowing that Dekco forces weren't leaving 6VDT for any reason. IT hasn't been this inactive militarily since the fountain invasion began. You have to think that the 6VDT camp is having some kind of effect.
Anyway, IT is in a tough spot here. If you imagine the fountain campaign as a game of poker, SirMolle bringing INIT and Sys-K into the war was like making a re-raise. The 6VDT invasion was like Dekco responding by going "all-in" (not my analogy). Everyone that's still blue to IT is in Fountain, which probably isn't even enough to counter Dekco's blob. Additionally, Stain Wagon has begun their invasion of Querious, and Romanian-Legion has begun their invasion of Period Basis. Now everyone that has a grudge against IT or their allies is invading, and IT is surrounded on all sides. Considering this and their internal issues, I'm surprised that they're still hanging on. Granted, the "internal issues" are mostly rumors now that finfleet and x13 are gone, but rumors can do the damage of reality when alliance morale is hanging in the balance.
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In his blog, Easley makes some interesting points about the differences in leadership between Dekco and IT. Easley's analysis is pretty comprehensive, so I won't get into it, but I will say that most of these differences are reflected in their respective alliances. The goons are all about having fun and not caring who they offend while they do it. IT is about serious business. At the end of the day, the goons enjoy being on comms with each other while they crap all over everyone else in the forums and local chat. How else do you get hundreds of people to camp a system 23/7? Just from the forum leaks and listening to their alliance meeting, IT seems to be just as content insulting and conspiring against each other. I couldn't imagine enjoying myself in that kind of environment. To put it simply with an anology, the goons are the joker to IT's batman (and yes, I get the irony). For everyone that hates the goons: I totally understand why. I wasn't a fan myself, until I joined TEST. They're obnoxious and incredibly annoying... but I've never had as much fun in EVE as I've had since I joined TEST.
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A couple of 70-ish man gangs tried playing with us in 6VDT today. I was in jabber and got the alert that a fight was going on in 6VDT. When I logged on, there were 500 people in 6VDT local. Shortly thereafter, local had reached 800. That's 300 Dekco (at least) able to log on at a moments notice. Nulli bridged a mostly sniperhac fit gang next door to 6VDT and tried getting into system. We chased them around for a while in our maelstrom/drake fleet before finally getting decent tackle on them. They're entire gang was wiped out so fast that I couldn't get a lock on anything. Almost immediately after, Sys-K tried getting another 70-ish man gang into system. Their's was mostly drakes with some assorted hacs and logis. It was wiped out imediately after jumping into 6VDT. I wish I could report more from the front, but IT isn't fighting, and until they do, there isn't much to say.