X-7OMU system, Pure Blind region. On the 25th of November at 20:39 a capital battle unfolded in the system involving 4 fleets and leading to 170 billion ISK in damages.
The battle was instigated by Mercenary Coalition [MC] by attacking a tower belonging to Mordus Angels [MOA] in the system. Mercenary Coalition gathered an 80 pilot fleet comprised of Rattlesnake battleships and many capitals, including 2 squadrons of combat carriers. The force waited in range of the system, sending a small mixed capital force ahead. The capitals arrived in the system, set up on the tower in question and allowed their dreadnoughts to enter their siege cycles. Once engaged, the dreadnoughts opened fire on the tower, blasting away its massive shields.
Immediately, notifications of the tower’s status started flooding Mordus Angels channels, drawing the attention of its fleet commanders. As it happened, Mordus Angels and Pure Blind Cartel [PBC] had a joint fleet assembled prior to Mercenary Coalition’s attack. The fleet, a 100 pilot Rattlesnake fleet, waited in the alliances’ respective staging systems. The two had formed the fleet for a different objective, but chose to change their plans upon seeing the Mercenary Coalition dreadnoughts.
Scouts were dispatched to the tower and Mercenary Coalition’s staging system to get an accurate measure of the hostile force. Once reports streamed in and the full extent of the Mercenary Coalition fleet was uncovered, the fleet commanders for the joint fleet decided to engage regardless. Without delay an Onyx heavy interdictor was sent to the system, landing on top of the Mercenary Coalition fleet and lighting a cynosural beacon.
Unfortunately, it was quickly destroyed by the Mercenary Coalition fleet, leaving Mordus Angels and Pure Blind Cartel stranded in their respective staging systems. Another Onyx was sent while the fleet held its breath, waiting in anticipation.
As this was going on, a couple of systems away Pandemic Horde [REKTD] and Brave Collective [BRAVE] prepared to duel. The two alliances formed Hurricane battlecruiser fleets of equal size, estimated at the time at 90 pilots. Before the two could square off however, news of the Mercenary Coalition dreadnoughts reached Brave Collective. Deciding to go after the bigger target, the Brave Collective fleet commander diverted the fleet, racing to X-7OMU and warping at long range of the dreadnoughts. Pandemic Horde was not about to stand down and gave chase, arriving to the system as well and landing on the grid.
The Pandemic Horde fleet spotted its Brave Collective counterpart on the grid and re-positioned, landing near it. With the two fleets next to each other, artillery cannons suddenly lit up as hundreds of explosive shells were fired. The shells crossed the void between the two, slamming with great force against the battlecruisers’ shields. As the exchange started, the second Onyx finally entered the system and landed near the Mercenary Coalition capital group. It wasted no time in activating its cynosural generator and blazing a bright beacon on the grid. Titans locked on the signal and opened portals to the system, allowing the battleships to materialize in the system with their Minokawa force auxiliary support.
Upon landing in the system, the joint fleet anchored up and opened fire on the enemy capitals, cruise missiles taking flight and detonating against robust shields and thick armor plates. Scores of sentry drones were deployed, adding their fire to the mix. Fighter squadrons and dreadnought guns joined in. Mercenary Coalition retaliated, lighting its own cynosural beacon and bridging its own reinforcements to the field. Hostile Rattlesnakes landed on grid as well with force auxiliaries in tow.
The two sides immediately focused on each others’ force auxiliaries, which served as the fleets’ logistical backbone. Yet both sides lacked the sub capital firepower to overcome the mighty shields of the capitals. Thus, Mordus Angels/Pure Blind Cartel escalated first, bringing in their dreadnought and combat carrier squadrons. The capitals jumped in, dreadnoughts entering siege cycles and opening fire while combat carriers unleashed squadrons of fighters. Mercenary Coalition reacted immediately and brought in the remainder of its dreadnoughts as well as its combat carriers. The fight had become a full capital brawl.
The two battleship fleets and their capitals traded blows while remaining at close range, less than 40 kilometers of space separating the two sides. Mordus Angels/Pure Blind Cartel focused their fire on the Mercenary Coalition capitals, unleashing a firestorm on the capitals. Mercenary Coalition on the other hand kept its focus on the hostile sub capital fleet, continuing to fire on the Minokawa force auxiliaries. Once two of them were removed from the field, the Mercenary Coalition fleet split its focus, its sub capitals targeting the hostile battleships while the capitals traded blows with each other.
As the battle near the tower’s shields grew in pace, the Pandemic Horde and Brave Collective fight was in full swing. The two fleets maneuvered on the grid, targeting mainline ships in coordinated artillery barrages. With each volley, a battlecruiser disappeared in a flash of light, leaving nothing but a twisted wreck to mark its existence. The first exchanges saw Brave Collective suffer the brunt of the losses, losing mainline and support ships left and right. Yet after a couple of minutes it managed to retaliate, inflicting several losses on Pandemic Horde.
The two fleets kept trading ships, but as the fight progressed it became apparent that Pandemic Horde was in control. Brave Collective was only able to destroy one mainline ship for every two it lost. As the battle wore on its firepower slowly depleted, allowing Pandemic Horde to start tanking the incoming damage. Finally, it reached a point where Pandemic Horde was only suffering an occasional loss while Brave Collective’s casualties began to soar.
After a few more bloody minutes, the Brave Collective fleet was spent. Having lost most of its mainline ships it withdrew, warping off the grid. Pandemic Horde attempted to tackle as many of the retreating battlecruisers as possible, dispatching those it caught. With the Brave Collective fleet gone, the Pandemic Horde fleet warped in range of the capital brawl.
Back near the tower’s shields, the savage exchange continued. Dreadnoughts and carriers were overwhelmed, torn apart in relentless fire barrages. In return, dreadnoughts pulverized battleships, aided by swarms of fighters which chewed through the Rattlesnakes’ shields with ease. Explosions illuminated the grid with such frequency that it seemed like daylight on a planet.
Mordus Angels/Pure Blind Cartel were able to overwhelm the Mercenary Coalition dreadnought force and destroy it. With the Mercenary Coalition dreadnoughts removed from the field, the Mercenary Coalition force auxiliaries came next. One by one the Minokawas were brought down by the dreadnoughts’ barrages, forcing Mercenary Coalition to jump in two more. Yet even those fresh reinforcements were easily dispatched by the Mordus Angels/Pure Blind Cartel capitals. With most of their force auxiliaries destroyed, the Mercenary Coalition carriers were put in a precarious position.
Yet the tide of the battle turned again. With the Brave Collective fleet removed from the equation, the Pandemic Horde fleet joined Mercenary Coalition, adding its considerable firepower to the mix. The Hurricanes opened fire on the Rattlesnakes, adding to the already immense pressure exerted by the Mercenary Coalition force. As the last Mordus Angels/Pure Blind Cartel Minokawa was destroyed, the Rattlesnake fleet found itself in a vulnerable position.
Without remote shield transfers, the Rattlesnakes had to depend on their local shield generators, which may have been robust, but were nowhere near as strong enough as to hold against the devastating firepower fielded by their enemies. In rapid succession, Mordus Angels/Pure Blind Cartel Rattlesnakes were cut down. Artillery barrages, missile salvos and capital munitions felled the hostile ships in growing numbers.
What’s worse, with Pandemic Horde’s staging in range and reinforcements streaming in, a small capital force was organized by the alliance. A mixed force of carriers and dreadnoughts assembled and a cynosural beacon was secured for it on the grid. As the two sides continued to brawl, a new cynosural beacon lit up on the field, heralding the Pandemic Horde capital force.
The pandemic Horde capitals landed on grid and joined the fray. With fresh dreadnoughts and carriers in, Pandemic Horde and Mercenary Coalition could continue to fight in full strength. The same could not be said of Mordus Angels/Pure Blind Cartel. Having slugged it out for the better part of half an hour, the fleet had sustained heavy losses and was unable to hold against the renewed assault. In effect, the battle had turned to Mercenary Coalition’s favor.
An attempt was made to keep on fighting. The remaining battleships and their capital support continued to fire on the newly arrived dreadnoughts. They managed to inflict some losses, but by then were bleeding capitals. As losses mounted, the realization came that the fight was lost. An order was made for all Rattlesnake pilots to activate their micro jump drives and teleport away from the maelstrom. Once out of the fight, the remaining battleships warped to the neutral station in the system, docking up.
The remaining capitals and battleships unlucky enough to get caught by the enemies’ tackle wings were doomed. Nearly all of them were dispatched by the hostiles. Within a few minutes the grid had been cleared of all enemies, leaving Mercenary Coalition and Pandemic Horde victorious. Having won the field, Pandemic Horde extracted its capitals and Hurricane fleet. Mercenary Coalition remained, looting the field and salvaging all it could.
With Mordus Angels and Pure Blind Cartel re-forming and most of the valuables stripped of the many wrecks littering the grid, Mercenary Coalition departed from the system, bringing the battle to a close.
The Battle from the Perspective of the Pandemic Horde Hurricane Fleet
The Battle from the Perspective of the Mordus Angels\Pure Blind Cartel Capital Force
Battle report for the X-7OMU system can be found here.
The battle lasted 26 minutes with the system hosting an estimated 450 pilots at the peak of the fight and Time Dilation not reported.
Mordus Angels, Pure Blind Cartel and Brave Collective collectively lost 149 ships including 18 dreadnoughts, 3 force auxiliaries, 4 carriers, 38 battleships and 28 battlecruisers for a total of 104.55 billion ISK damage.
Mercenary Coalition and Pandemic Horde lost 90 ships combined, including 15 dreadnoughts, 5 force auxiliaries, 1 carrier and 4 battlecruisers for a total of 64.89 billion ISK damage.
Salivan Harddin is a member of V0LTA, WE FORM V0LTA, and covers battles across New Eden
