FZ-6A5 system, Catch region. On the 21st of April at 10:24 EVE Standard Time, a battle unfolded in the system over an Azbel engineering complex.
The battle was instigated by Pandemic Legion [-10.0]. The alliance had formed to reinforce the engineering complex in question which belonged to Dangerous Voltage [DV] to draw out a fight. Responding to the provocation, Dangerous Voltage and their ally Tactical Supremacy [TIKLE] which together form the Tactical Voltage (TV) coalition, assembled a 95 pilot Rattlesnake battleship fleet to defend the structure. The fleet included nearly three squadrons of dreadnoughts as well.
However the defenders were still organizing when Pandemic Legion arrived first to contest the structure. The alliance initially deployed a 40 pilot combat carrier fleet, with a dreadnought squadron on the field and another held in reserve. The force set up on the engineering complex and started reinforcing the vulnerable structure. However, unbeknownst to the attackers the Azbel was fitted to combat capital ships with specialized missiles and void bombs. The dreadnoughts came under heavy fire from the engineering complex, with one dreadnought even caving in to the onslaught and exploding.
In the meantime the defenders had sorted their fleet and were ready to engage the hostiles. A titan logged in to bridge the fleet and an Arazu force recon cruiser warped in to the structure to light the cynosural beacon needed to open the portal. TV interdictors flooded the system and dove into the Pandemic Legion capital formation to tackle the fleet though missing the dreadnought squadron which warped off to safety earlier. Once the Arazu landed it cycled its cynosural field generator, allowing a Lif force auxiliary through to light the actual beacon. This was done due to the Lif’s more robust shields. The Rattlesnake fleet bridged through, landing with its force auxiliaries on the structure and opened fire on the Pandemic Legion fleet.
Pandemic Legion reacted immediately. Fighter squadrons descended upon the the battleships, tearing through several hulls. In addition, the reserve dreadnought squadron was quickly deployed to the field and the ships entered their respective siege cycles targeting the smaller vessels. Capital guns bombarded the battleships, adding to the immense firestorm unleashed on the sub capitals. However TV forces were waiting for this. Another cynosural beacon flared up near the Pandemic Legion fleet, allowing the TV dreadnought force to materialize on field. The new arrivals quickly targeted their hostile counterparts and started blasting them.
Pandemic Legion quickly found itself under heavy fire as the battleships, dreadnoughts and the Azbel combined their firepower. The Azbel continued to bombard the fleet with void bombs, sapping energy and draining the capacitor of the capital ships completely. Many dreadnoughts and force auxiliaries found themselves struggling to activate their hardeners or guns as their capacitors ran dry. Even so, Pandemic Legion continued to fight, trading blows with the defenders over the structure.
The fight continued unabated, both sides committing to the slugfest. Pandemic Legion was able to dispatch some of the hostile dreadnoughts but was losing far more capital ships in return. Force auxiliaries, dreadnoughts and combat carriers soon fell to the defenders’ fire. At one point, one of the Dangerous Voltage titan pilots decided to join the fray, lighting his own cynosural beacon near the Pandemic Legion force. The Avatar titan materialized on the field and cycled its bosonic field generator (BFG), bathing the Pandemic Legion capitals with its lethal energy before warping off. Pandemic Legion had little time to tackle the ship, with mostly capital ships deployed to the system.
The battle itself was cut short before it could develop further. The two sides had started fighting close to the server’s daily scheduled maintenance time. With the clock ticking before the server shut down, neither side was ready to stand down. This led to the time running out and the entire cluster shutting down while the two fleets were still engaged in combat. With the server down, neither side could claim victory of the field, leading to a disappointing draw. However TV forces did manage to secure the strategic objective, saving the Azbel which Pandemic Legion forces were unable to reinforce.
Thus the battle ended.
The Battle from the Perspective of Tactical Voltage Dreadnought
Battle report for the FZ-6A5 system can be found here.
All told, the battle lasted 36 minutes with Time Dilation not reported and the system hosting 127 pilots at the peak of the fighting.
Tactical Voltage lost 16 ships in the fighting including 3 dreadnoughts and 3 battleships for a total of 12.41 billion ISK damage.
Pandemic Legion lost 19 ships in the fight, including 9 dreadnoughts, 5 combat carriers and 4 force auxiliaries for a total of 60.71 billion ISK damage.
Salivan Harddin is a member of Hoover Inc., Pandemic Legion, and covers battles across New Eden
