Serpentis heist foiled by capsule pilots in Evaulon

PLACID REGION – Early last night, distorted distress calls began filtering out from the severely damaged city of Rilnais on Evaulon VII. Rilnais's inhabitants had been locked in their homes for over 24 hours due to a poisonous gas cloud emanating from silos on the outskirts of the city which had been damaged in a ground troop attack of unknown origin or motive the day before.

The calls, picked up by capsuleers on several comms frequencies, warned of the presence of the criminal organization Serpentis, who were there to steal the city's supply of the immensely valuable Isirus poppy. Capsuleers were quick to respond, arriving at the planet to find a contingent of Serpentis and Guardian Angel ships guarding the forward point for planetary extraction, with Serpentis troops already on the ground scouring the damaged silos.

According to eyewitness reports the capsuleers, a combination of Federal Defence Union and independent pilots, bided their time, gauging the enemy force carefully. About twenty minutes into the operation, they then opened a cynosural field and sent in a mixed force of capital ships and battleships which quickly made short work of the Serpentis contingent. With no means of escape, the Serpentis troops on the ground were pinned down and eventually eliminated by the city's still-functioning drone defense and sentry gun systems.

Federation relief efforts, which arrived later that night, have in the time since then been tirelessly working to repair the damaged silos and drive the poisonous vapors out of the city's air space. The total death toll from the incident currently resides at 1462 people with another 313 injured, most of them in critical condition.

Federation President Jacus Roden released a statement this afternoon condemning the attacks and vowing to enact increased security protocols across the Gallente Federation to prevent further incidents like this. He made special mention of the "skill of our loyal capsule pilots, who responded swiftly and bravely to the threat at hand. The Federation prides itself on having heroes like these within our ranks."