Battle of The Crucible

The Battle of the Crucible was a Vault attack carried out by NATO against Columbia's vault of Crucible, as part of the Infinity War. The battle took place at the Crucible Vault in Valyria, Columbia on February 17th, 2020. The battle ultimately resulted in a victory for various UDF and Entente forces, and an embarrassing loss for NATO and its allies.

Initial Events
On the morning of Monday, February 17th, Columbian citizens awoke to find that their vault of Crucible had been griefed and infiltrated by NATO fighters. The insider, Hollybell91, was a long time Valyrian citizen who had mistakenly been given access to vault groups, enabling her to deal substantial damage to the vault from within. Under NATO guidance, she had extensively griefed the vault and taken many of the valuables held within. Coalition forces were immediately alerted of the situation, and a team of 6 Entente and UDF fighters was dispatched to assess the damage and secure the vault. The grief was made up of large amounts of IRO and DRO, which filled most of the ground and sky bunkers, as well as obstructed large sections of the rings. Most of the doors on the vault had also been changed to NATO-owned groups, making movement around the vault very difficult. Upon their arrival at the scene, the Coalition forces of the UDF and Entente set to secure the vault and bring it to a state where it could be defended, then began freeing the accounts logged inside the griefed areas.

NATO Assault


2 hours after the cleanup crew's arrival, a force of over 12 NATO fighters was spotted just north of the Vault. Upon being discovered, the attackers immediately charged into the vaulthole through a small tunnel on the north side, and began breaking bastions. The defenders, at this point numbering around 8, set to the Vault's sky defences and began shooting the attackers to hinder their progress, while Commander Jay M.S. harassed them outside the rings to buy time.

5 minutes into the assault, an Elite Squadron of Mirian Operators, known as Mir Team Six was dispatched to relieve the siege. Upon learning of this, the attackers immediately retreated back to their bunker to regroup, allowing the Coalition forces to reinforce the defences and rally more troops.

Climax


Mirian forces soon arrived at Valyria, evening both sides' numbers. Soon thereafter, NATO attempted a second push into the vaulthole, but against a more organized defence with equal numbers, they were quickly pushed back. The defenders then left the vault to break NATO's bastions from the surface, before entering and taking control of much of the attack tunnel. The attackers met them halfway through the tunnel, and fighting broke out in the cramped space.

After a close call for one of their fighters, NATO pulled back from the frontline slightly. Commander Ben Nyz, while walking up to the front to observe the enemy forces, noticed NATO fighter, Bob_The_Builder, hiding in a corner in the defender's side of the tunnel, separated from his compatriots and stuck behind enemy lines. Coalition forces immediately descended upon the defenceless builder, while at the same time blocking his escape and keeping the rest of the NATO fighters from rescuing him.

After 58 seconds of cramped, pained, and gruesome fighting, Bob_The_Builder was pearled and taken back to Crucible, with both sides disengaging and returning to their defensive positions. Only 30 seconds after the pearling, the server suffered a severe lagspike, prompting rumours of foul play.

Aftermath
Having lost one fighter, and failing to capture the vault or break even one bastion, the NATO contingent was forced to abandon the attack and retreat from the area. The Coalition, having successfully defended the vault, was now left to repair the vault, a long and arduous task which took multiple days, despite extensive international assistance.