8KE-YS system, Etherium Reach region. On the 20th of May, 21:00 EVE Standard Time, forces belonging to the Vanguard Coalition clashed with Pandemic Legion [-10.0] in the system which resulted in a sound defeat.
The war in the Drone Lands has been going on for a few weeks, with the Vanguard Coalition (Comprised of Triumvirate. [TRI] SOLAR FLEET [SOLAR] Tau Ceti Federation [TCF] and Intrepid Crossing [IRC]) pushing forward on all fronts against The Geminate Coalition (Referred to as GemCo) and Legion of xXDEATHXx [X.I.X]. With Nulli Secunda [S2N] being hired by [X.I.X] and joining the fray, as well as the fierce defense of LXQ2-T, it seems the Vanguard Coalition’s forward momentum has been stopped, the war devolving into that of attrition, systems changing hands daily between the two sides.
The conflict has drawn Pandemic Legion’s attention, who has intervened several times in the fighting on behalf of both sides. This time, information about a Vanguard Coalition Machariel Battleship fleet, approximately 100 pilots strong had reached it. The fleet had just removed a Nulli Secunda Sovereignty Blockade Unit in the O-LJOO system and was making its way home.
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Pandemic Legion decided to fight it, bringing a Proteus Strategic Cruiser fleet, 90 pilots strong. [S2N] were also kept in contact, as they provided the initial information, and a temporary truce was put into effect between them and Pandemic Legion, the Vanguard fleet representing the bigger target. However, [S2N] forces ended up being camped in their staging system by a StainWagon Coalition Proteus fleet, 40 pilots strong, forcing Pandemic Legion to engage the Vanguard fleet on its own.
This led to both fleets clashing in the 8KE-YS system on the LXQ2-T gate, Pandemic Legion jumped into the system to find the Vanguard force perched a long way off the gate. This allowed Pandemic Legion to anchor up quickly, giving it the initiative. Probes were dropped and a warp-in supplied, the Proteus fleet landing on top of the perched Machariels. Bubbles were quickly deployed and the Strategic Cruisers spread their points across the Machariels, shutting down their Micro Warp Drives and essentially trapping them. They were then mercilessly cut down at close range. The rest of the Vanguard fleet managed to anchor again and warp off to a different perch on grid, and though losing quite a few Machariels, seemed willing to continue and fight.
At this point both the StainWagon fleet and the [S2N] fleet, an Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet of around 60 pilots, made it into the system. Both skirted at the edge of the fight, but all combatants seemed to be waiting for each other to make a move, perching at great distance on the grid. The Vanguard fleet was the first to act, aligning then warping to a different perch. As it landed though, Pandemic Legion managed to get another successful probe cycle and the process of bubbling, spreading points and then volleying the Machariels repeated itself.
By this point the Vanguard fleet was spent, having lost more than half of its mainline ships, and beat a hasty retreat by warping its remaining ships off the field. Pandemic Legion attempted to give chase, but lost sight of the retreating ships, and decided to extract instead, returning safely to their staging. This left [S2N] to hold the field, with Stain Wagon apparently declining to engage.
Footage of the Battle from Pandemic Legion’s Proteus PoV, Courtesy of fin1712
Battle report for the 8KE-YS system can be found here.
All told, during the height of the battle the system hosted around 350 pilots, with Time Dilation being noticeable, mainly during travel to the system than in the fight itself, reaching upwards of 50%. The battle itself lasted 20 minutes from start to end.
The Vanguard Coalition suffered the brunt of the losses, 46 ships in total, most of them Machariel Battleships. This added up to 30 Bil ISK of damages. Pandemic Legion suffered light losses, 4 ships only, mainly at the start of the fight, totaling 1 Bil ISK. [S2N] lost only 2 ships for a negligible sum of ISK.
Though the Vanguard Coalition took a heavy blow yesterday, the tides of the conflict in the Drone regions have yet to be determined, having swung from side to side plenty of times. Both sides continue their merciless war over the North-East of New Eden, making this far from a mortal blow or even a decisive engagement. Thus the war threatens to become a campaign of attrition, with both sides throwing everything they have, hoping to break the other side before FozzieSov hits the server. This is certain to keep the attention of other entities who may see an opportunity in the bloodshed as Pandemic Legion aptly demonstrated.
