D7-ZAC system, Tribute region. On the 2nd of February at 18:17 EVE Standard Time a joint Red Menace (RMC) coalition\Out of Sight. [OOS] fleet was destroyed in the system by Northern Coalition. [NC].
The battle was prompted by Out of Sight. and its allies. RMC and Out of Sight. had gathered a 150 pilot Rattlesnake battleship fleet, including 3 squadrons of dreadnoughts, in an attempt to bait Pandemic Legion [-10.0]. The alliance had proven time and time again its willingness to drop Rorqual capital industrial ships as well as super capitals with impunity. The fleet waited on a titan in range while a Vargur marauder battleship equipped with a cynosural beacon flew around, trying to draw attention.
The ship was spotted by members of Northern Coalition.. A small force of 3 combat carriers and a Nyx super carrier prepared to drop on the Vargur, which had been warping around the D7-ZAC system. The ship was finally caught on the H-W9TY gate, by a Claw interceptor. The interceptor warp scrambled the marauder and came to a halt, lighting a cynosural beacon. First the 3 combat carriers jumped in one after the other, the Nyx only lagging slightly behind them.
With the Nyx on grid, the Rattlesnake fleet sprang into action. Several interdictors which had shadowed the marauder entered the system and launched warp interdiction probes, trapping the small Northern Coalition. force on the grid. The Vargur proceeded to light a cynosural beacon of its own, ushering in the Rattlesnake fleet. Yet before the fleet could materialize on the grid, the Northern Coalition. force managed to destroy the ship, forcing the entire fleet to burn in via gates instead.
As this was going on, the Northern Coalition. Nyx pilot quickly broadcast his distress to the alliance, leading to a swift mobilization of the Northern Coalition. super capital force. Within minutes, dozens of titans and super carriers logged into the game and joined the Nyx’ fleet, swelling numbers to nearly 100 pilots by the end of the fight. An Apostle force auxiliary squadron was also brought in to serve as a logistics wing for the fleet.
In the meantime, the Rattlesnake fleet entered the system, warped to the gate and landed near the tackled Nyx. The Rattlesnakes had their own cynosural beacon lit up and brought forth their entire dreadnought force on top of the Nyx. The dreadnoughts jumped into the system, appearing in bright flashes of light before entering siege cycles and training their guns on the Nyx. Within moments, the Nyx was bombarded by the 30 dreadnoughts.
The dreadnoughts pummeled the super carrier while their sub capital counterparts focused their attention on the combat carriers. Two Thanatos carriers soon suffered under a constant missile barrage as the Rattlesnakes launched salvo after salvo into them. As the armor of all three ships started to go down, the Nyx pilot lit his own cynosural beacon to allow reinforcements to jump in.
The Northern Coalition. super capital fleet landed on the grid, the titans materializing and bumping away from each other as their hulls collided. The titans wasted no time, firing their doomsday devices and directing concentrated beams of energy at the dreadnoughts. The super carriers unleashed hordes of fighter bomber squadrons, sending them after the dreadnoughts while the Apostles entered their triage mode and applied remote armor repairers to the distressed Nyx.
By then, the Rattlesnake fleet had managed to destroy the 2 combat carriers, using a volley from the dreadnoughts to take the ships down quickly. However, this would prove costly for the fleet as the dreadnoughts returned to work on the Nyx. With the ship almost stripped of its entire armor, the Apostles managed to apply their remote repairs just in time, allowing the ship to survive in the face of the determined assault.
The Rattlesnake fleet felt the full fury of the Northern Coalition. fleet. The titans, equipped with high angle weapons (HAW), had no problem tracking and hitting the battleships. Volley after volley from enormous blaster turrets and pulse laser batteries smashed into the ranks of the Rattlesnakes, claiming lives with each barrage. The super carriers concentrated their effort on removing dreadnoughts, their fighter bombers swooping in to lay devastating torpedo runs. Those dreadnoughts lucky enough to survive the titans’ doomsday fire found themselves quickly beset by the fighter bombers.
Rattlesnakes blew up left and right, their wrecks minuscule in comparison to the titans attacking them. Dreadnought after dreadnought fell, ruptured by series of explosions as the fighter bomber attacks overwhelmed their shields and hit their relatively weak hulls. Regardless, the Rattlesnakes fought back, attempting to remove the Apostles from the field in the hope of destroying the Northern Coalition.’s fleet logistics wing and enabling the fleet to take down at least a super carrier or even a titan with them.
Apostle after Apostle caved in to the relentless assault of the (RMC)/[OOS] fleet. Even so, their fleet was losing dreadnoughts and mainline ships at a breakneck pace, diminishing their firepower at a rapid rate. This showed on the field as well, as it took more and more time for each Apostle to be dispatched. Finally, the joint fleet had lost the critical mass to destroy the force auxiliaries, leading to a stop to the Northern Coalition. losses.
With its fleet comfortably tanking, the Northern Coalition. super capital force proceeded to clear the grid of all hostiles. The Rattlesnake fleet realized the fight was over and attempted at this point to extract what it could. Its few surviving dreadnoughts exited their siege cycles and proceeded to jump out of the system. The sub capital ships not tackled or destroyed warped out, leaving Northern Coalition. in control of the gate.
With the Nyx secured and the field won, Northern Coalition. looted the field and started extracting its forces, its super capitals unable to properly chase the fleeing Rattlesnake fleet. With the super capitals safe and sound, the remnants of the Rattlesnake fleet withdrew as well, bringing an end to the fighting.
The Battle from the Perspective of the Red Menace Coalition\Out of Sight. Rattlesnake fleet
The Battle from the Perspective of the Northern Coalition. Super Capital Fleet
Battle report for the D7-ZAC system can be found here.
All told the battle lasted 16 minutes with Time Dilation not reported and the system hosting an estimated 270 pilots at the height of the fighting.
Out of Sight. and RMC suffered the majority of losses: 78 ships including 22 dreadnoughts and 50 battleships for a total of 88.52 billion ISK damage.
Northern Coalition. lost 13 ships in contrast, including 7 force auxiliaries and 2 combat carriers for a total of 24.12 billion ISK damage.
Salivan Harddin is a member of V0LTA, WE FORM V0LTA, and covers battles across New Eden
