Gurista Dreadnought Enters Obe System.

Yesterday saw an astonishing display of firepower as a top-ranking Gurista official jumped into Obe with a task force specifically designed to take out a star base owned by the Takamatsu Trading Exchange. The official, known only by his ID number – 0003 – was piloting a Phoenix-class dreadnought. Escorted by a fleet of Rattlesnake-class battleships and a single Cerberus, the Phoenix jumped into the Obe system from the P3EN-E system and immediately began the siege of the star base.

While details are still unclear, it seems that the star base was sabotaged from the inside. Civilian transport vessels were spotted near the star base late into the evening, and coded transmissions have been intercepted which may have been hackers attempting to gain the access codes of the force field. We do know that within 30 minutes the Guristas fleet was destroying the star base structures surrounding the control tower.

As the siege was ongoing, isolated skirmishes with pod pilots continued. Just minutes after the force field fell, a fleet comprised of NBSI, Forsaken Empire, Phoenix Alliance, and the Mercenary Coalition ambushed and attacked the Guristas. Within minutes the two fleets were engaged. The Guristas soon found themselves outmatched and retreated to the planets of Obe, while the Dreadnought moved to a new location for a counter-attack.

As this reporter watched in horror, the allied fleet began to bicker over the salvageable loot from the few Rattlesnakes that had been destroyed. The tension threatened to escalate to violence when the Guristas task force re-entered the fray. The Phoenix dreadnought and her Rattlesnake escorts opened fire on the remaining ships at the star base, and the situation quickly escalated into a full battle. At one time over 40 ships were firing on the Phoenix. After ten tense minutes the Phoenix began to lose the fight, eventually succumbing to superior numbers.

Why did the Guristas stake so much on such a small operation? A political analyst from the University of Caille suggests that the situation is evidence of a superiority complex among the Guristas outlaws. “As they continue to fight with pod pilots in their home systems, they rely increasingly on superior technology and have the arrogance to match it. These groups cannot lose face and make increasingly daring strikes into empire space to prove their strength.” Yesterday’s debacle may be evidence of a Gurista commander proving that he could still strike fear in fringe systems.

A high ranking official in the Caldari Navy Command disagrees with the superiority complex. “I think this was to prove a point,” he says, “to show the Caldari Navy that with their increasing capital ship production they could afford to lose a ship like a dreadnought in a relatively minor incursion.”

Velio Fumigata, a member of the Takamatsu Trading Exchange, has another reason for the attack. “Espionage!” he says, “Plain and simple. Our competitors or the Obe natives complained and put out a contract on our star base. The Guristas thought they could waltz in and take it down. Fortunately, they weren’t allowed to leave the system, but now our star base is ruined!”

Rumours of the Guristas building several more dreadnoughts and other capital ships have yet to be substantiated, but with this latest attack, it seems that soon we will see fighting in a scale unheard of before.