On the 3rd of December, Test Alliance Please Ignore [TEST] continued its assault over the rich moons of the Wicked Creek and Detorid regions, leading to two major clashes in the span of a few hours.
The first engagement was fought between Red Menace Coalition (RMC), which owns the moons and Test Alliance Please Ignore. The timer for one of the towers exiting reinforced mode came at a particularly bad time for Test Alliance Please Ignore in the ZLO3-V system of Detorid. Regardless, Test Alliance Please Ignore attempted to contest the tower, managing to assemble a 40 pilot Cerberus heavy assault cruiser fleet with four dreadnoughts kept in reserve.
The fleet bridged into the system only to find an RMC Typhoon battleship fleet, estimated at 60 pilots, waiting for it. The two fleets quickly positioned on the tower grid and attempted to engage each other, missile swarms exchanged at long range with little effect. In order to break the deadlock, Test Alliance Please Ignore’s dreadnoughts re-fitted for maximum tracking and were dropped on the field in the hopes they’d overwhelm the Typhoons.
However, this turned to be futile as the Typhoons simply kept out of range of the dreadnoughts. Instead, the dreadnoughts warped to the tower itself and attempted to destroy it under the cover of the Cerberus. RMC forces weren’t going to allow that to happen and started targeting the dreadnoughts. As the tower’s shields started to fall so too did the Test Alliance Please Ignore dreadnoughts. Three were destroyed on the tower itself while the fourth managed to warp off only to get tackled and destroyed later on.
Almost Managed to Escape
With their dreadnoughts lost, Test Alliance Please Ignore forces attempted to withdraw, losing a few ships on extraction. Thus RMC was left to claim victory of the field, having secured its tower once more.
Battle report for ZLO3-V system can be found here.
All told the fighting lasted approximately 30 minutes with Time Dilation not reported and local remaining at around 120 pilots for the duration of the engagement.
Test Alliance Please Ignore lost 19 ships including 4 dreadnoughts and 2 Cerberus for a total of 14.47 billion ISK damage. RMC lost only 4 ships for a total of 164 million ISK damage.
The second engagement was fought on another tower in the GGE-5Q system of Wicked Creek. However, this time the battle was fought between Drone Regions Federation (DRF) forces and the RMC. DRF forces have been engaged in a long war with the RMC over the Insmother region, making substantial gains, with member alliances often reaching down to Wicked Creek itself and lending help to Test Alliance Please Ignore at times against their common enemy. This time DRF, acting on intelligence from its scouts, decided to form up for the timer, believing RMC would form as well.
DRF forces had approximately 80 pilots in Machariel battleships with a capital squadron consisting of dreadnoughts and triage carriers. The force waited in range of the system for RMC forces to show up.
RMC for its part had a 70 pilot Typhoon battleship fleet ready in range of the system as well. Thus the two sides waited for the timer to expire.
Once the tower exited reinforced mode, RMC forces brought three carriers to restore its shields. This was the opportunity DRF forces were waiting for and they lit a cynosural beacon on top of the carriers, bringing forth their capital squadron. Quickly, the first carrier for RMC was destroyed but the other two managed to coast into the tower’s shields. RMC then lit their own cynosural beacon and ushered in their Typhoon fleet. DRF forces countered and bridged their Machariel fleet into the system, the battle starting in earnest.
The Unlucky Victim of the Initial DRF Drop
The initial fight was utter chaos as the fleets loaded onto the grid and engaged at close range. RMC managed to destroy one of the DRF dreadnoughts and volley a few Machariels before its Typhoons hit their micro jump drives and got into range. DRF forces were not idle either and opened fire on the Typhoons, destroying a good deal of them before the rest got out of range. The two fleets continued to bombard each other with missile and artillery fire, trading ships, though DRF fared much better in the exchange, managing to tank most of the incoming damage, though losing a triage carrier in the process.
Pandemic Legion [-10.0] forces entered the fray at this point, having known the timer and organized a 40 pilot Sleipnir command ship fleet. The fleet used wormholes to travel to the location and laid in wait for the two sides to engage each other before joining the battle. As RMC forces perched on the grid, The Sleipnir fleet warped to a perch as well before landing on top of the RMC Typhoons. Having recently fired their micro jump drives, the RMC fleet was caught flat footed. Interdiction probes quickly sealed its fate as the Sleipnirs tore into the Typhoons who attempted to return fire, managing to inflict some losses before the rest of the RMC fleet managed to free itself and escape.
Having lost most of its ships, the Typhoon fleet retreated from the system, conceding the field to Pandemic Legion and the DRF who in turn quickly destroyed the tower before extracting. This allowed Test Alliance Please Ignore to claim the moon, taking advantage of the departure of the combatants. As the new tower was anchoring, the remnants of the RMC fleet entered system once again and returned to the tower grid. They quickly shot all the remaining modules while waiting on grid. Test Alliance Please Ignore quickly pinged and formed a 50 pilot Cerberus fleet in order to engage them but by the time it reached half way to the destination, the RMC fleet decided to withdraw.
The Cause of the Fighting
Thus the Test Alliance Please Ignore Cerberus fleet entered the system and guarded the tower as it came online before returning home once more, having secured the moon without firing a shot.
Battle report for the GGE-5Q system can be found here.
All told the battle took approximately 20 minutes with Time Dilation not reported and system hosting an estimated 230 pilots at the peak of the fighting.
RMC forces lost 37 ships including 1 carrier and 17 battleships for a total of 8.55 billion ISK. DRF forces lost 20 ships including 1 dreadnought, 1 carrier and 4 battleships for a total of 8.7 billion ISK damage. Pandemic Legion lost 2 ships, both command ships for a total of 1 billion ISK damage.
Salivan Harddin is a member of Reikoku, Pandemic Legion, and covers battles across New Eden
