MVCJ-E system, Providence region. On the 24th of June, 21:30 EVE Standard Time, forces belonging to Providence Bloc and Northern Coalition. [NC] clashed in the system in a brawl that showed much effusion of blood and destruction.
The fight began with Providence Bloc attempting to regain the BK4-YC system, which it lost a few days before (Click here for an article on the subject). The station was leaving its first reinforcement timer, and Providence Bloc forces were moving in to push it into its second timer.
Providence Bloc brought a 150 pilot Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, with a Stealth Bomber wing for support. [NC] forces were aware of Providence Bloc’s attempts, and decided to use the timer to get a fight, the system itself holding little significance for them.
[NC] brought an estimated 70 pilot Loki Strategic Cruiser fleet and set up on the 2-TEGJ gate in the MVCJ-E system. The system is the only point of entry to the BK4-YC system, and the 2-TEGJ gate itself was the most probable point of entry for the Providence Bloc fleet, which was spotted in the 9UY4-H system clearing a hostile tower as it was slowly forming up.
Providence Bloc made its way as theorized to the MVCJ-E system, their Fleet Commander getting reports of the awaiting [NC] fleet. However, he made the decision to jump into the system anyway, starting the fight. The Providence Bloc Ishtars quickly anchored as they entered system, losing a few ships as they pulled range. Sentry drones were dropped in large clumps, making it hard for the [NC] Lokis to find a good spot to negate their tracking and optimal range.
The Ishtars started returning fire, managing to break the tank both of the Logistics and the Lokis themselves. For a while the two sides exchanged losses, Providence Bloc settling to an alternating rhythm of Logistic ship, then Strategic Cruiser, while [NC] busied itself with removing as many mainline ships as possible.
At some point the [NC] fleet was getting dangerously low on Logistics ships, and the call was made to bring Triage Archons. However, due to the distance of the system from the [NC] staging, the Carriers had to jump to a system a few jumps from the fight itself and make their way to the battle.
At this point the Fleet Commanders’ opinions split. According to the Providence Bloc Fleet Commander, [NC] brought the Triage Carriers to the system via a cynosural beacon off grid, while the [NC] Fleet Commander stated they jumped via gate from the LF-2KP system.
Regardless, both agree that the Triage Carriers arrived quite late in the battle, thanks in part to Providence Bloc Interdictors which deployed interdiction probes on them, preventing them to warp and join the [NC] fleet for quite a while.
With the [NC] Triage on field, the Lokis fared better, managing to stabilize, many saved entering deep armor. Realizing they couldn’t be broken anymore, nor the Triage Archons themselves and sustaining continued losses, Providence Bloc decided to extract from the system, conceding the field to [NC] forces. [NC] itself decided not to remove the Providence Bloc Sovereignty Blockade Unit or repair the station, choosing instead to extract safely home, ending large scale hostilities for the day.
Battle report for the MVCJ-E system can be found here.
During the peak of the battle, the system saw less than 300 pilots in local, with Time Dilation not reported as an issue. The fight itself took nearly half an hour in total.
Providence Bloc lost 107 ships, 19 of which were Ishtars, for a total of 9.31 Bil ISK damage. [NC] suffered 28 losses, 12 of which were Strategic Cruisers, for a total of 11.37 Bil ISK damage.
Providence Bloc lost the field, but thanks to [NC]’s decision to leave the BK4-YC station unprotected, managed to later reinforce it, achieving the strategic objective. Special mention has to be made of the Providence Bloc Stealth Bomber wing, whose Void Bomb runs managed to help cap out Lokis, turning their shield off and stopping them in their tracks.
With a new timer for the station, it is quite possible the system will see further clashes soon by the two sides, as the war in the Providence region continues.
Salivan harddin writes for The EVE Scribe, Providence Bloc’s News Portal. When he isn’t busy writing articles, he searches for articles to write.
