3D-CQU system, Providence region. On the 16th of April at 20:00 EVE Standard Time, Providence Bloc and Spectre Fleet forces collided in the system in a battle that saw a surprising turn of events.

The Spectre Fleet force, estimated at 107 pilots in Omen Navy Issue cruisers, formed a scheduled fleet in order to roam the Providence region and provoke a fight from its inhabitants. After scouring the region for a while, skirmishing with a few fleets but overall not getting the fight its commanders wanted, the force reached the main staging system of Providence Bloc, F-YH5B, where it settled on the 8P9-BM gate, camping it in order to provoke a response.

Providence Bloc obliged, and formed a mixed armor fleet comprised of battleships, strategic cruisers and heavy assault cruisers. All told the fleet had approximately 70 pilots, including 2 triage carriers held in reserve. The fleet did not engage Spectre Fleet head on over the 8P9-BM gate, instead choosing to set up in the adjacent 3D-CQU system, anchoring up on the F-YH5B gate.

Spectre Fleet allowed the Providence Bloc force to set up before warping to the 3D-CQU gate, jumping in and engaging the Providence Bloc fleet, starting the battle proper.

With Spectre Fleet forces jumping in, Providence Bloc quickly jumped its two triage carriers to the field and opened fire. Spectre Fleet swiftly anchored up, and decided to engage Providence Bloc at close range, the two fleets tangling up as the battle became a close quarters brawl.

From the start Providence Bloc was having troubles. Spectre Fleet was able to destroy a few of its logistics cruisers in the opening volleys, before switching off and concentrating on support battleships instead, whose energy neutralizers and stasis webifiers proved dangerous to the Omen Navy Issue cruisers. Even with the triage carriers on the field, Providence Bloc was unable to tank the incoming damage, and the heavy beam laser batteries of Spectre Fleet cut a bloody swathe across the enemy fleet.

Returning fire, Providence Bloc was able to inflict damage on the intruders, but was trading terribly, losing 4-5 mainline ships for each one of the enemy it downed. As the battle progressed, this trade only became more and more one sided as losses mounted on the Providence Bloc side, allowing Spectre Fleet to tank the incoming damage with ease and only losing fragile support ships in the ordeal.

Realizing it had enough firepower on the field to ignore Providence Bloc’s logistics wing in its entirety, the Spectre Fleet force settled into a comfortable pace, concentrating first on battleships and heavy assault cruisers before hitting the much tougher strategic cruisers. At a rapid rate, Providence Bloc’s mainline ships caved in to the onslaught, the fleet’s ranks dwindling fast before only the logistics wing with its two carriers remained.

Having broken the Providence Bloc fleet, Spectre Fleet forces easily dispatched the remaining ships, leaving the two carriers for last. Once the two capitals were felled by the combined might of the Omen Navy Issue cruiser fleet it departed the region, extracting safely and putting an end to the fighting.

Battle report for the 3D-CQU system can be found here.

All told the battle lasted 17 minutes, with Time Dilation not reported and the system estimated to hold 230 pilots at the height of the fighting.

Spectre Fleet forces suffered light casualties, losing 13 ships including 6 cruisers for a total of 979.58 million ISK damage.

In contrast, Providence Bloc lost the majority of its fleet, losing 50 ships including 2 carriers, 8 battleships, 6 heavy assault cruisers and 15 strategic cruisers for a total of 19.47 billion ISK damage.

Salivan Harddin is a member of Reikoku, Pandemic Legion, and covers battles across New Eden