B-WPLZ system, Providence Region. In the early hours of the 5th of October, Providence Bloc forces attempted to defend a citadel in the system from an assault carried by Triumvirate. [TRI] and IT’S ONLY PIXELS [PIXEL].
The battle was prompted after Triumvirate. and its allies had reinforced a Fortizar citadel belonging to Providence Bloc in the system earlier this week. With the citadel exiting its reinforced mode, both sides were gearing up to fight over it. Triumvirate. and its allies organized a 120 pilot Rattlesnake battleship fleet, with 2 Minokawa force auxiliary in tow. The force bridged into the E-YCML system and quickly warped to the B-WPLZ gate, jumping in only to find its in-gate covered in mobile warp disrupters. clearing them easily, the force then aligned to the Fortizar, where the Providence Bloc fleet had assembled.
Providence Bloc for its part gathered an estimated 180 pilot Abaddon battleship fleet which had set up on the Fortizar itself. The fleet waited for Triumvirate. to arrive in system, ready to engage. Triumvirate., for its own part, wasted no time and warped to the Abaddon fleet, landing on top of it. With the Rattlesnakes landing near them, the Abaddons opened fire and the grid descended into chaos.
The battle from the start was a brutal exchange, both fleets fighting at point blank range trading missile salvos with laser fire. The opening volleys caught Triumvirate. unprepared, overwhelming a battleship, while the return fire cut through Providence Bloc’s electronic warfare and logistics wings. Blackbird cruisers and Guardian logistics cruisers were destroyed by a hail of missiles which simply broke through armor plates and detonated in the fragile and now exposed structure.
As the battle progressed, it became more and more apparent that Triumvirate. was in control of the field. Salvo after salvo of missiles found its targets, first thinning the rank of support ships before hitting the much sturdier and more robust battleships. Even with their thick armor plating, the Abaddons proved no match against the concentrated fire of the Rattlesnakes. Whats more, the 2 Apostle force auxiliaries which Providence Bloc had deployed at the start of the fight seemed incapable of soaking the incoming damage, the Rattlesnakes able to break through their remote armor repair cycles and continue to fell hostile battleships with relative ease.
Heedless of losses, Providence Bloc continued to fight, trying to find a weak spot in Triumvirate.’s defense. Dazzling rays of light focused in deadly bursts at Rattlesnakes and support ships alike to no avail. Finally, with casualties mounting, Providence Bloc turned its attention to the Minokawas present, concentrating its remaining firepower on one of them in an attempt to break through its formidable shields and destroy the ship itself. At the same time, Providence command destroyers tried to disrupt the logistics wing of Triumvirate., managing to teleport the majority of its Basilisk logistics cruisers too far from the besieged force auxiliary and the rest of the fleet.
The Minokawa was slowly breaking, the continued laser fire burning through its shields, scorching and melting armor plates and even penetrating its tortured hull, causing untold damage inside. With its loss, Providence Bloc could perhaps, turn the fight around. Only a sliver of structure separated the battered force auxiliary from its doom, but that was all Triumvirate. needed. The Minokawa managed to exit its triage mode and catch remote shield transfers from its sister ship at the last second, surviving Providence Bloc’s onslaught. Adding to the restoration of its shields were the Basilisks, which managed to ping on the grid and warp back again, joining the fight once more.
For Providence Bloc, this spelled doom. The last gambit to turn around the fight had failed. The Abaddon fleet was losing ships in droves, as the Rattlesnakes tore it apart. it had lost the numbers needed to break the Minokawas, and a second attempt would fall far shorter as the damage output of the fleet was further reduced with each Triumvirate. missile salvo. It was time to cut its losses short.
The Abaddon fleet retreated, ceding the field to Triumvirate. as it warped to a safe citadel in the system and docked. Triumvirate attempted to snag as many of its fleeing enemies as it could, managing to catch one of the Apostles. Triumvirate. then proceeded to unleash its fury on the tackled ship. One after another, devastating missile barrages slammed against its armor like rain drops, exploding against its skin and tearing chunks of metal. Within moments, much of the ship’s armor had been stripped, leaving the unguarded structure beneath it exposed to the Rattlesnakes’ deadly payloads. A few seconds later, as the explosions peppered the inner structure of the Apostle, the giant shuddered, trembling as its own reactors went critical, unleashing a chain reaction through its riddled body. Tongues of fire erupted from capital structure as what little remained intact was then hurled violently into the cold space as the ship breathed it last.
With the Apostle destroyed, its wreckage joining those of its brethren around the Fortizar, Triumvirate. turned its attention to the citadel itself. With the same ferocity exhibited towards the force auxiliary, the Rattlesnakes started bombarding the structure. Their relentless fire pierced through its remaining defenses, causing a similar chain reaction as in the Apostle. However the explosion the preceded its death was far greater, engulfing the entire field in scorching flames before evaporating, leaving behind a cloud of debris where once a station stood.
Its work done, Triumvirate. safely extracted its forces, having won both the field and objective. With its last ship leaving the system, the battle for the B-WPLZ Fortizar had come to a close.
The Battle from the Perspective of the Triumvirate.’s Rattlesnake Logistics Wing
The Battle from the Perspective of the Triumvirate.’s Rattlesnake Mainline Ship
Battle report for the B-WPLZ system can be found here.
All told the battle lasted for 40 minutes with the system hosting 300 pilots and Time Dilation not being reported by any of the combatants.
Providence Bloc lost 129 ships in the fight, including 1 force auxiliary and 45 battleships for a total of 35.43 billion ISK damage, including the loss of the Fortizar.
Triumvirate. lost in return only 8 ships, including 2 battleships for a total of 2.3 billion ISK.
Salivan Harddin is a member of V0LTA, WE FORM V0LTA, and covers battles across New Eden
