7MD-S1 system, Catch region. On the 28th of September, 23:00 EVE Standard Time, HERO Coalition and Providence Bloc clashed over the last Infrastructure Hub timer for the system, in order to decide its fate.
Providence Bloc brought a sentry Prophecy Battlecruiser fleet, sixty-two pilot strong, though light on Logistics ships. HERO Coalition had their signature Eagle Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, with an equal number of Moa Cruisers, a hundred and fifty pilot big. The two forces clashed on the T-RPFU gate in the system.
The first round of fighting went badly for Providence Bloc, unable to break the tank of the Eagle fleet’s Logistics, and losing ships fast, the Providence Bloc fleet was forced to warp off grid, followed by HERO Coalition giving chase. Providence Bloc attempted to engage once more on the T-RPFU gate with little success, as Northern Coalition(dot) forces jumped into the system and joined the fighting, in a forty pilot Proteus Strategic Cruiser fleet.
However, as Providence Bloc forces were conceding the field, Northern Coalition(dot) forces turned on HERO Coalition forces, engaging them on the gate. They were soon joined by a Pandemic Legion fleet, numbering seventy pilots, in their usual mix of Legion and Proteus Strategic Cruisers. A short battle flared up, ending when HERO Coalition commenced a bombing run on the two Strategic Cruiser fleets, managing to destroy only a Nestor Battleship.
At this point Northern Coalition(dot) retreated, leaving Pandemic Legion to pursue HERO Coalition on its own. The two fleets finally met again on the Infrastructure Hub, where a prolonged battle took place. The fighting itself was intense, with much interference from HERO Coalition Stealth Bombers, who continued to pepper the Pandemic Legion fleet with bombing runs throughout the fight. However, while Pandemic Legion’s fleet was able to volley the Tech I cruisers in the HERO Coalition’s battle group, it was unable to break the tank of the Eagles. For HERO Coalition’s part, they could not break the tank of the Strategic Cruisers.
As the two fleets maneuvered around each other, Pandemic Legion was able to pick off stragglers in the form of Eagles who seemed to drift out of formation or stop mid flight for no apparent reason. Several mistakes by the HERO Coalition Logistics anchor also cost the fleet a few ships, as several time the Logistics wing came to close proximity to the Pandemic Legion fleet, who quickly switched targets to the now exposed Logistics ships.
As the battle dragged on, HERO Coalition’s Stealth Bombers made their presence on the field more pronounced, directing bombing run after bombing run at the Pandemic Legion ships. It seems the added pressure on the Pandemic Legion Logistics Wing did the trick, as HERO Coalition managed to break the tank of a few Strategic Cruisers, finally inflicting losses on Pandemic Legion.
As losses mounted on either side, the two fleets finally disengaged, with HERO Coalition conceding the field to Pandemic Legion, who chose to ignore the vulnerable Infrastructure Hub and instead extract from system. This allowed HERO Coalition to safely remove the hostile Sovereignty Blockade Units deployed by Providence Bloc and replace them with their own.
Fixed Battle Report for the 7MD-S1 system can be found here.
With this outcome, it seems the stalemate in the Northern Catch pocket continues, as Providence Bloc is heavily entrenched in its station systems, while HERO Coalition is able to continue and dominate the US Time Zone, where most of its timers are set. Without any radical intervention as in last week, we may be facing a long and arduous attrition war before us, where the winner will be decided by sheer willpower.
Special thanks to Draken Forlorn, of Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk Amarr branch(dot), Sev3rance Alliance for supplying an After Action Report.
