The reformed HERO coalition’s move into Fountain started with high hopes after having evacuated from Catch, moving across the universe to the promised land of milk and honey, but things haven’t gone quite a smoothly as planned. True to form, carnage and chaos followed HERO and its largest alliance the BRAVE Collective wherever it goes, beginning with the long-time residents of Fountain known as the ‘Fountain Core’ coalition, who leveraged their long experience in the region and advanced tactics to harass HERO as they moved in and set up shop.
HERO numbers grew as they slowly claimed the region’s moons for themselves. Fountain Core gave up more of the region’s moons to HERO’s implacable advance, but repeatedly threatened their bigger brothers would be arriving soon to help recapture them and their valuable goo. Over the following week, a small advanced force of Black Legion. members arrived in the HERO staging system of YZ-LQL, conducting a campaign of station games and skirmishes with HERO. Big brother dipped his big toe in the HERO waters.
A few days later, Fountain Core’s big brother Black Legion. arrived in force and began taking systems in Fountain for their own. Black Legion. ramped up the pressure over the next couple of weeks as more systems fell to the Black Legion. axe. In all instances, HERO was on the run and was being pushed back in to a corner.
As with all things, when people are backed into a corner, they are either going to have to push back, or be pushed to the floor.
A focal point of this conflict has been a Dysprosium moon in the NPC system of MN5N-X which has seen a number of conflicts after which Black Legion. has been able to hold almost without fail.
On the morning on the 20th of May when the MN5N-X dyspro tower came out of reinforced mode, the fight started off as most engagements had done over the last few weeks, with HERO’s logistics and frigate support wing bearing the brunt of the fight right from the start. This particular fight was different, however. HERO escalated with capital ships – the first time HERO has done so for many weeks, dropping 12 dreadnaughts and 5 slowcat Archons which quickly annihilated Black Legion.’s two triage carriers. With that blow, Black Legion. immediately withdrew allowing HERO to finally take the tower for themselves. The battle report can be seen here.
After the events of the next day I caught up with HERO FC Extrems Tivianne who forwarded me a battle report he posted on the Brave Sub Reddit:
The members of the POS gunning corp (including myself and W Rush) see a notification that the MN5 R64 moon is under attack. After Rush assures that we’re all safe for continued bashing entertainment he goes and checks MN5. Usually when one of these poses are attacked it’s a troll inty or something similar. This time it wasn’t.
Kelnon immediately ragepings caps and eagles and we form incredibly quickly. With about 20 dreads and about 50 eagles/scimitars we jump on over to MN5. This formup took longer for subcaps however because we were waiting for the bashing fleet of 30 dudes to return from bashing SBU’s (20 man eagle fleet rageping during the transition between eu and ustz on a Wednesday would be hilarious). We jump into MN5, align to the pos, launch sisters probes, and warp to the pos (gotta love tacs).
2 server tics before we land the cyno goes up on the pos and the dreads jump in. Unfortunately for us Black Legion finished their dreads’ siege cycles and got themselves out rather handsomely. Their carriers were less fortunate and died before all the dreads could whore on the killmails (kinda what happens when you drop 20 dreads).
The subcap fleet arrives on field as well and starts to engage whats left of the Black Legion. subcap fleet before they again withdraw. A battle report can be found here.
As the two sides continue to duke it out over Fountain’s moons, systems are changing hands with BRAVE taking over the system of J5A-IX but in the same day losing the system of C-N4OD. There appears to be no end to the fighting and this chapter in the history of Fountain, which is still unfolding, is far from over.
