Providence Bloc Suffers Defeat in S25C-K

S25C-K system, Catch region. Following the fall of 7MD-S1 and UL-7I8 systems, Providence Bloc and HERO Coalition forces clashed over the control of the S25C-K system on the first of the two Infrastructure Hub timers at the 26th of August.

The system saw one of the largest sub capital engagements recently, with more than six hundred pilots in the system at the height of the fighting. Providence Bloc forces were organized in a hundred and eighty Battleship class fleet and set up on the BR-N97 gate in S25C-K system, expecting HERO Coalition forces to jump into them.

Instead, HERO Coalition forces opted to bridge into the system in three fleets: A hundred and forty Brave Collective mixed Moa class Cruisers and Eagle class Heavy Assault Cruisers with Ferox class Battlecruiser support, a hundred and ten The Unthinkables Tengu class Strategic Cruisers and a Test Alliance Please Ignore forty Ishtar class Heavy Assault Cruisers. All told, HERO Coalition forces had two hundred and ninety pilots on the field.

HERO Coalition forces decided to warp to the BR-N97 gate in order to engage Providence Bloc forces, but the Brave Collective fleet was caught by the mobile field disruptors set by Providence Bloc, while The Unthinkables’ Tengus managed to land at range. With both forces on the grid fighting quickly broke out.

While Brave Collective and Test Alliance Please Ignore exchanged losses with Providence Bloc, partly due to their bad positioning, The Unthinkables managed to tank the incoming damage, and with their help, Providence Bloc forces were soon being overwhelmed, losing ships at an alarming pace.

A fleet of sixty Pandemic Legion Proteus class Strategic Cruisers attempted to intervene on Providence Bloc’s behalf at the height of the battle (Though sources within Providence Bloc claim Pandemic Legion shot a few Providence Bloc ships as well) but was quickly brushed aside when its logistics wing was annihilated by the combined Unthinkables and HERO Coalition fleets. Thus Pandemic Legion was forced to retreat from the thick of the fighting, though it did continue and attempt to harass the combatants until the end.

However, the outcome was predictable, Providence Bloc forces were completely decimated by the superior numbers and doctrine fielded by HERO Coalition. Though struggling for almost an entire hour, Providence Bloc was forced to finally concede the field, after most of its fleet was destroyed, with many of the Fleet Commanders and logistics taken off the field during the fighting itself. This loss continues the chain of defeats experienced by Providence Bloc ever since the fall of 7MD-S1 on the 14th earlier this month.

The butcher’s bill saw more than three hundred ships destroyed during the fighting, representing a forty-eight billion ISK loss by all parties. Time Dilation was a factor in the fighting, reaching upwards of more than sixty percent. Bomber activity was high as well, with both sides targeting each others’ logistics wings, though HERO Coalition saw much less success than usual with its bombing runs.

Fixed Battle Report can be found here.

Brave Collective’s Fleet Commander, Blue Ice, commented that The Unthinkables were present mainly in order to deal with any interference made by Stain Wagon forces, which intel indicated were suppose to show for the timer, but did not appear for the fight. Stain Wagon has been an active participant in the fighting since the beginning of the campaign, often aiding Providence Bloc against HERO Coalition.

Though Providence Bloc forces claimed it was overall a good fight, much resentment has been expressed by individuals in the coalition, mainly at the tactics continuously employed by HERO Coalition Fleet Commanders, specifically Blue Ice, such as decapitating Fleet Commanders and eavesdropping coms. These, they claim, run anathema to everything Brave Collective claims to hold dear, such as “Classiness” and “Fun-per-Hour”.

Regardless, since 7MD-S1 the tide of war seems to have shifted strongly in HERO Coalition’s favor, with two systems already captured and another one on the way. One must ask whether HERO Coalition is able to maintain this momentum or will Providence Bloc be able to stem the tide?

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/CrmkB3xFPJ0&source=uds

a clip of the fighting from The Unthinkables perspective

Providence Fight Club: UL-7I8 7.8.2014

UL-7I8 System, Catch region. On the 7th of August Providence Bloc and HERO Coalition clashed for a second time over the control of the system, with entities such as N3, Stain-Wagon Coalition and Pandemic Legion getting involved as well in the fighting.

The first engagement saw an eighty pilot strong Harbinger class Battlecruiser fleet fielded by Providence Bloc, engage a similar sized HERO Coalition force in Moa class Cruisers, on the G-AOTH gate in the UL-7I8 system. The fight did not go well for Providence Bloc, as the loss of Fleet Commanders and logistics ships quickly forced them off the field, leaving the system in order to re-ship and re-group.

At the same time, Stain-Wagon Coalition entered the system, in a fifty pilot Ishtar class Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet. As with the previous battle in the system, Stain Coalition and Providence Bloc forces agreed to hold a mutual ceasefire so long as HERO Coalition forces were present in the system. This force effectively cut off HERO Coalition reinforcements in the form of a mixed Fraternity(dot) and The Unthinkables allainces gang, some thirty strong and mainly consisting of Ishtar and Cerberus class Heavy Assault Cruisers. As the two forces ran head first into each other on the ERVK-P gate in the UL-7I8 system.

While Providence Bloc forces were regrouping, scouts reported a sharp hostile spike in the D-GTMI system in the Providence region, which is under the control of Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance. With Pandemic Legion Alliance Fleet Commanders logging into the game it became clear that a hot drop was only a matter of time, as an Erebus class Titan was reported showing on the directional scan in the system. Within moments a cynosural beacon was reported in the UL-7I8 system, and a force of around sixty pilots, in assorted Strategic Cruisers, bridged into the system.

The force, comprising of both Northern Coalition(dot) and Pandemic Legion pilots, proceeded to brawl with the HERO Coalition force, quickly decimating a good chunk of their ships before they managed to disengage. After a short stay in the system, the Strategic Cruiser force departed. Providence Bloc took the opportunity and entered the system, focusing on the Sovereignty Blockade Unit located on the G-AOTH gate and erecting defensive bubbles around it. HERO Coalition attempted to brawl with the fleet a couple of times, but found themselves lacking in fire power, with each engagement ending with a few losses, while Providence Bloc forces took almost little to no damage.

A couple attempts were made to corner the HERO Coalition force, but with little tackle and almost no Interdictor class Destroyers, it was impossible for the heavier, slower Harbinger fleet to catch up to the nimbler and faster Moa fleet. Thus, it was decided to focus on the strategic objective, and trust Stain Wagon with keeping watch over the Infrastructure Hub.

After a while HERO Coalition received reinforcements from ERVK-P system, swelling its numbers to almost a hundred pilots. Emboldened by their new numbers, they attempted to engage Providence Bloc forces several times, however, Providence Bloc ships held under the fire, and instead it was the HERO Coalition ships who broke, with Moas and Scythes volleyed left and right. As the engagements lengthened, Stain Wagon forces joined in as well, trapping HERO Coalition on both sides and forcing it to disengage.

This ritual continued a few times, with HERO Coalition at one point attempting to to land on top of the Providence Bloc logistics wing, in order to re-create the scenario from the previous battle. However, this time the logistics ships were kept much closer to the fleet, and the Moas found themselves in the unenviable position of fighting close range with the Harbingers. Taking another bruising, the HERO Coalition fleet attempted at this point to harass the Stain Wagon forces, who kept on the field, helping Providence Bloc forces. Though they managed to destroy several of the Stain Wagon ships, the grid was strewn with wrecks, allowing Providence Bloc to warp on top of the HERO Coalition fleet and once more apply damage. Again, Moas and Scythes were destroyed in increasing numbers, slowly decimating HERO Coalition’s effective damage and logistics.

After a continuation of this cycle, HERO Coalition forces seemed to have been spent, allowing Providence Bloc to safely remove the Sovereignty Blockade Unit and effectively making the Infrastructure Hub invulnerable again. This meant the system’s sovereignty was safe, remaining firmly in Providence Bloc’s hands. The HERO Coalition fleet, failing its goal and suffering heavy casualties, chose to retreat. Without much tackle, Providence Bloc forces declined to chase, instead turning their attention to the Sovereignty Blockade Unit on the ERVK-P gate.

This turned to be a mistake, as this gate was not the site of much fighting, and lacked much in wrecks. Worse off, Providence Bloc was light on tackle, and had no more anchor-able bubbles to put a defensive perimeter against bombers. Within minutes, a bomber wing belonging to HERO Coalition performed a bombing run which was easily tanked by the Harbingers. However, after that another bombing run was performed, managing to destroy at least five Harbingers. Before Providence Bloc forces could rally or warp off, a third bombing run, this time carried by Northern Coalition(dot) was performed. This third run basically obliterated a large percentage of the Harbingers, forcing Providence Bloc to retreat in order to muster more ships and pilots.

Returning after a quick reform, Providence Bloc forces found the system mostly empty, with only a few opportunistic hostiles remaining in the system. Stain Wagon forces having left the system after the bombing run, when it was made clear that HERO Coalition forces were not going to re-group, choosing instead to schedule a low priority fleet later that night. Providence Bloc took the opportunity to lock down the system, eliminating many of the pirates around the system and quickly taking the other Sovereignty Blockade Unit down. This marked the end of large scale hostilities in the system, as well as insured it remained in Providence Bloc’s hands.

Though the second battle of UL-7I8 was both a strategic and tactical success for Providence Bloc, it is still too early in the campaign to say whether or not HERO Coalition’s expansion to Northern Catch is doomed to failure, or whether Providence Bloc will falter in its defense. What is certain though, is that the Northern Catch pocket is going to see a lot of action in the coming weeks.

The original battle report can be found here.
The fixed battle report can be found here.

News: Erebus class Titan Destroyed in the Timeor System

Timeor system, Derelik region. On the 14th of July, 16:33 EVE Standard Time, an Erebus class Titan was destroyed by a combined Pandemic Legion and allied fleet.

The Titan apparently logged into the system in a safe location, and was probed by Pandemic Legion Alliance and its allies, who managed to miss the Titan as it entered warp, heading to a safe Tower. Unfortunately, it seems that the pilot was either unaware of his status, as he was in an NPC Corporation, or entered the wrong password, since he was ejected from the force field back into open space.

At this point, sources claim the pilot must’ve panicked, as instead of entering the force field password again and warping back to the Tower, he just remained in his place, thus allowing the Pandemic Legion force to tackle it and lit Cynosural beacons, which allowed the bulk of the fleet, mainly Dreadnaught class Capital ships, to jump into the system and destroy it.

As of time of publication, no response was given by the Titan pilot.

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/FvLToNB4cZk&source=uds

A Clip detailing the destruction of the Titan, courtesy of JSSix, of CRY.NET, Nihilists Social Club Alliance

The Full EVE-Kill Battle Report can be found here.

Special thanks to JSSix, of CRY.NET, Nihilists Social Club Alliance for providing the initial report and the video evidence.

News: Two Evictus(dot) Motherships Destroyed in the Tastela System [Updated]

Tastela system, Domain region. On the 13th of July, 19:06 EVE Standard Time, two Mothership class Capital ships belonging to Evictus(dot) Alliance were destroyed by a Pandemic Legion Alliance fleet.

The two Motherships, a Nyx and Wyvern class ships, were spotted in the system by Pandemic Legion and its allies, who investigated the Cynosural beacon to which the two jumped to, only to discover the ships. Rushing Heavy Interdictor class ships unto the field, fitted with Cynosural Field generators, the initial force managed to tackle the two Motherships, who did not manage to warp to the safety of a nearby friendly tower in time, and lit their own Cynosural beacons, allowing a large force of Mothership and Carrier class Capital ships to jump into the system and destroy the ships.

While the Nyx class Mothership was quickly dispatched by the Pandemic Legion’s initial force, the Wyvern class Mothership was kept tackled for a few more minutes, in order to allow reinforcements to reach the system in time and participate in its destruction, as evident by a video detailing the entire event.

A Clip detailing the destruction of the two Motherships, courtesy of JSSix, of CRY.NET, Nihilists Social Club Alliance

By the end of the battle, more than fifty Mothership class Capital ships were present on the field. Reports from the Pandemic Legion side claim the entire affair was organized ad hoc in response to the discovery of the two ships.

Update
Gibguard, of FireStar Inc, Evictus Alliance Executor had the following response “Evictus were deploying outside of Providence, we had successfully deployed the bulk of our Supers. As is becoming increasingly the norm within EVE one or other of the big blobs (in this case Pandemic Legion) decided to hot dropped two late arrivals while they were traveling. As they say shit happens, both pilots have had the loses SRP’d we learn and move on”

The Full EVE-Kill Battle Report can be found here.

Special thanks to JSSix, of CRY.NET, Nihilists Social Club Alliance for providing the initial report and the video evidence and Gibguard, of Firestar Inc, Evictus Alliance for providing an official response to the incident.

News: Training Exercise Turns into a Capital Battle in the Ilahed System

Ilahed system, Derelik region. On the 8th of July, 19:50 EVE Standard Time, a training exercise held by The Volition Cult Alliance for its Capital ship wing took a turn for the worse when a Pandemic Legion Alliance fleet managed to drop on top of it, resulting in the loss of three Carrier class Capital ships.

The Capital ship fleet, comprised of ten Dreadnaught and six Carrier class ships of assorted hulls, was on a training drill when a decision was made to mobilize it in order to remove a hostile tower in the Ilahed system. This was considered a part of the exercise, with an estimated low risk for the fleet, considering the presence of an allied Providence Bloc fleet of a hundred Battleship and Battlecruiser class ships nearby.

The first siege cycle went without incident and the force was ready to extract when, apparently, a Pandemic Legion Alliance scout landed on top of the Capital force and activated a Cynosural Field beacon. At that moment jumped into the system thirty-one Mothership class Capital ships, mostly of the Aeon and Nyx hull variants. Three Carriers were caught by the fleet and were subsequently destroyed while the rest of the Capital force managed to warp off the field and jump back into safety. The Providence Bloc sub Capital forces managed to destroy one Archon class Carrier in retaliation, but lacked sufficient fire power in order to break the tanks of the Motherships, thus conceding the field to Pandemic Legion.

However, it has been claimed that the Capital force had ample warning of the Pandemic Legion force, with observers noticing the mass log-in of Pandemic Legion Mothership class Capital pilots prior to the hot drop. Also, the Capital force was already in the process of extraction before the Pandemic Legion fleet jumped into the system, and two of the three Carrier losses were not due to hostile action (Such as tackle), but rather to pilot error, as the two pilots were new to the use of said Capital ships, and did not deactivate their siege cycles in time. This resulted in them remaining immobile on the field and unable to warp off, making them easy prey for the Pandemic Legion force. The third carrier, piloted by HANS STOKHOLM, of Worms Coalition, The Volition Cult Alliance, who commanded the Capital force, stayed behind to help his allies, to no avail, and was subsequently destroyed as well.

Complete Battle Report

According to HANS STOKHOLM, all of the Carrier class ship losses were reimbursed under the Volition Cult’s Ship Replacement Program.

Special thanks to HANS STOKHOLM, of Worms Coalition, The Volition Cult Alliance for giving an interview.

Breaking News: SOLAR FLEET Avatar Class Titan Destroyed in 9-8GBA [Updated]

A SOLAR FLEET Alliance Avatar class Titan was destroyed today by a combined N3 capital and sub-capital force in the 9-8GBA system, Catch region. An Against ALL Authorities Alliance Tengu fleet was attacking a Territorial Claim Unit belonging to Spaceship Samurai Alliance in the system, however, a Thanatos class Carrier belonging to Hellz Hitman, of No-Mercy, Spaceship Samurai Alliance, kept repairing the Territorial Claim Unit. This prompted the members of SOLAR FLEET Alliance, who were present in the system, to drop a Titan on him, in order to destroy his ship and end his interference. Unknown to SOLAR FLEET, Pandemic Legion Alliance had already set their sights on the dropping on the Against ALL Authorities Fleet. Once the Titan landed on the grid, Pandemic Legion siezed the chance and lit their own cynosural beacon, tackling the Titan, who promptly melted away by the combined firepower of N3’s ships.

Contrary to initial reports, this was an accidental Titan kill, and not an organized affair. The Carrier pilot, Hellz Hitman, reported that this was not the first time SOLAR FLEET dropped super-capitals on the field in the 9-8GBA system. Two nights ago, Spaceship Samurai Alliance scouted the system, discovering it did not have an Infrastructure-Hub installed. Realizing this, they anchored a Tower near the Against ALL Authorities’ Territorial Claim Unit, and used four Carriers to destroyed it. However, afterwards, their operation was interrupted by SOLAR FLEET Alliance, who promptly jumped five super-capitals onto the field. Since the Carriers were not tackled, the Spaceship Samurai force managed to safely extract.

Hellz Hitman reached out for his Pandemic Legion contacts in order to report the ordeal. Today, he was told by a character in an NPC Corporation to leave the Tower’s shields in his Thantos class Carrier, even though the Territorial Claim Unit was under attack by an Against ALL Authorities Tengu force. Having worked with Pandemic Legion before, and assuming something big was in the works, he obeyed. Almost immediately, A Manticore class Stealth Bomber belonging to SOLAR FLEET uncloaked, and lit a cynosural beacon, and the Titan jumped into the system.

Unfortunately for Hellz Hitman, the Titan was in range, and managed to destroy his Carrier, however, the loss was not in vain as a second cynosural beacon lit up, this time by Pandemic Legion. An N3 force comprised of capital ships, a few Motherships and Navy Issue Apocalypses landed on the field, tackling the Titan and promptly destroying it. SOLAR FLEET Alliance did bridge in a Tengu fleet in order to try and save the Titan, but to no avail.

According to James Kordent, the Pandemic Legion Fleet Commander in charge at the time, the initial intent was for SOLAR FLEET Alliance to bridge in their Tengu fleet to engage the Thanatos class Carrier, at that point N3 were supposed to bridge in on top of SOLAR FLEET force, in order to annihilate their Tengus. The Titan’s appearance on the field came as a complete shock to him. However, he decided to go after the Titan, as it did prove to be the better target. While SOLAR FLEET and N3 were engaged, Against ALL Authorities forces decided to extract from the battle, rather than lose ships.

Losing a few Interdictor and Heavy Interdictor class ships, the N3 force safely extracted out of the system, in what was described as Blitz action. The total damage done is estimated at one hundred and forty-one billion ISK for the Titan alone, and promises to grow as more Tengu losses are processed by EVE-Kill(dot)net.

The Titan pilot refused to comment, while both SOLAR FLEET and Against ALL Authorities Alliances remain silent on the matter

Special thanks to Hellz Hitman, of No-Mercy, Spaceship Samurai Alliance, and James Kordent, North Eastern Swat, Pandemic Legion Alliance, for granting me this interview.