Conflict On The Rise in Providence in Wake of Realignment
Providence, New Eden - Just as the second half of day 4 of ATXIV got underway, reports started flowing in that a hostile fleet had entered Providence. In JEIV-E, Provibloc ships clashed with the primarily Triumvirate.[Tri.] and League of Unaligned Master Pilots [Lumpy] fleet. The invaders, numbering just over 200 sub-capital ships, faced off with a force of over 300 Provibloc ships led by CVA, Yulai Federation, and Sev3rance. In what appears to be an attempt to destroy a second Citadel within Providence in 4 days, the fleet was met at the XHQ gate. Tri. Macharials and Lumpy Tengu’s ran into Provi capitals and a heavy Maelstrom/Nightmare fleet and when the dust had settled, nearly half of the attacking fleet had been destroyed.
Preliminary battle reports showed that, 60 Macharials had been lost, while Lumpy’s Tengu’s fleet fared much better, escaping with only one loss. The defending fleet, at the time of writing, had lost 20 Stealth Bombers, 17 battleships, and 11 Logi. While roughly the same number of ships were lost by both sides, the value of the Tri. & Co. losses topped 30 billion, while the Provi fleet lost approximately 13 billion.
In the days leading up to this, a Fortizar owned by Sev3rance was destroyed by a Tri. Macharial fleet in B-WPLZ.
This recent aggression, combined with the recent departure of The Volition Cult [VOLT] from the coalition within Providence known as Provibloc has led to speculation that a larger scale invasion could be in the works. VOLT recently changed their aggression policy from the Providence standard of NRDS [Not Red, Don’t Shoot], to a much more aggressive NBSI [Not Blue, Shoot It]. VOLT has also run afoul of the CVA ratings system and has been set KOS [Kill on Sight] due to aggression by some of their pilots within the Providence Region. While it appears that VOLT is not in league with Tri., many are left wondering.
FuriousPig, CEO Emeritus of Sev3rance [-7-], seems pretty confident as he states, “Volt wanted to spread their wings & come out of the perceived CVA shadow. And Tri are down to flex their muscles.”
This appears to be confirmed by Garst Tyrell, Executor of Tri. as he shrugs off the rumors of a larger conflict in Providence, stating that the reason for being there is “Just fun” and what their plans are for the future, “We’re staying in Provi for now and will flex to wherever needed in the coming months based on political developments.”
CVA Diplomat xHjfx echoes the sentiment; “[Tri. are] A formidable foe but the impression is that it's a phase rather than a determined assault.”
Whatever the truth is, the temperature is heating up in Providence and only time will tell how this evolves.
Battle Report for JEIV-E :
https://zkillboard.com/related/30003760/201610091900/
Battle Report for B-WPLZ: