WLAR-J system, Catch region. On the 17th of December at 09:00 EVE Standard Time, Pandemic Legion [-10.0] and I N F A M O U S [GLORY] forces clashed in the system in a battle which ended with surprising results.
The battle was fought over three towers in the RNF-YH system which contained supercapital ship assembly arrays. The towers were reinforced previously by Pandemic Legion forces with the timers set to expire in the Australian time zone. Both sides were expected to form maximum numbers.
I N F A M O U S managed to assemble a 150 pilot Proteus strategic cruiser fleet. The force waited in the F4R2-Q system after deploying mobile warp disruptors on the route from RNF-YH to Pandemic Legion’s staging in Curse. System wide Cynosural jammers were also activated, making it impossible for Pandemic Legion forces to bridge into the system or in its vicinity.
Pandemic Legion formed its own Proteus fleet, with Northern Coalition. [NC] supplying pilots as well. In total the joint fleet had approximately 95 pilots. The force made its way from the Curse region towards the RNF-YH system by gates.
By the time the joint Proteus fleet had assembled, two of the three towers already exited reinforced mode and were repaired by I N F A M O U S forces, with their triage carriers working on restoring the third. Thanks to the earlier placement of the mobile warp disruptors the Pandemic Legion fleet could not arrive before the last tower was fully repaired and restronted.
Regardless, I N F A M O U S forces decided to engage the hostiles, perhaps fearing it might reach the RNF-YH system in time for the last timer, or perhaps feeling confident in their numbers. As the joint Proteus fleet passed the F4R2-Q system, the I N F A M O U S fleet gave chase with both fleets entering the WLAR-J system one after the other.
By the time I N F A M O U S forces entered the system, the hostile fleet had already anchored up and gained some distance from the gate. Once the I N F A M O U S Proteus fleet loaded the grid, it anchored up as well and burnt towards the hostile fleet, starting the fight on the F4R2-Q gate.
The battle was a brutal exchange as both sides fought at close range, rail guns discharging super heated plasma as streams of laser fire scorched armor plates. Both sides manoeuvred towards each other, leading to a head on collision. With ships being only a few kilometres away tracking became an issue as shots glanced or simply missed targets.
Both sides employed electronic warfare, with I N F A M O U S again having a clear numerical advantage in the field. Regardless, the joint Proteus fleet’s electronic warfare squadron managed to disrupt the logistics wing of the I N F A M O U S fleet, jamming several of its Guardian logistics cruisers which messed with their capacitor transfer chains. This in turn led to Guardians simply shutting down, unable to activate remote repairers as their energy reserves quickly depleted.
At this point I N F A M O U S attempted to target the joint Proteus fleet’s logistics wing, managing to destroy a few Oneiros logistics cruisers whilst sustaining heavy losses. As the battle continued to rage the Guardians for I N F A M O U S came under heavy fire, the fleet’s logistics wing quickly collapsed as Guardians were destroyed in rapid succession.
With their logistics wing obliterated, the I N F A M O U S fleet attempted to disengage, trying to burn out of the cover of the anchored warp disruptors it deployed before. The hostile fleet was in hot pursuit, rail guns and beam laser batteries blasting opposing Proteus and Legion strategic cruisers, who could do little to resist the incoming fire with the absence of logistics.
Finally, the survivors managed to warp off, leaving the hostile fleet behind to loot the field and claim victory. With the last of the stragglers dispatched, the joint Proteus fleet extracted from the system, ending the engagement.
While losing the fight, I N F A M O U S was able to secure the third tower, thus winning the strategic objective.
Battle report for the WLAR-J system can be found here.
All told the battle lasted 27 minutes with Time Dilation not reported by either side. The system is estimated to have held approximately 260 pilots at the height of the fighting.
I N F A M O U S and their allies lost 71 ships including 27 strategic cruisers for 28.5 billion ISK damage while Pandemic Legion and Northern Coalition. lost 12 ships including 3 strategic cruisers for a total of 4.25 billion ISK damage.
Wolfensrevenge of Black Aces, I N F A M O U S wished it to be known that “On behalf of I M F A M O U S we would like to say it was a great fight and we had a lot of fun.”
Salivan Harddin is a member of Reikoku, Pandemic Legion, and covers battles across New Eden
