by ISD Caiden S'or
Etherium Reach, New Eden - In the early morning hours, the climax of days of fighting ended in the loss of NL6V-7 for RAZOR Alliance [-RZR-] to Black Legion. Alliance. [MEN.]
As the system's Infrastructure Hub [I-HUB] came out of its final reinforcement timer on the eleventh of August, MEN. forces were bridged in to NL6V-7. A corporate CEO within MEN. who asked not to be named, said that an early intel miscue reported that no -RZR- capital ships were staged to defend. Thinking to capitalize on an apparent opportunity to attack unchallenged, MEN. dreads and sub-caps started taking down the the I-HUB when the reinforcement timer was up. Only then did they realize that the scout was looking at the wrong system. As the scout was burning to the -RZR- staging system, the -RZR- response fleet appeared on the field.
"We brought in some dreads once the ihub became vulnerable, and immediately got couterdropped by the razor dread fleet, so the triage carriers went into triage and tried to stem losses", the CEO explains, "we were losing, so Elo [Knight] ordered all balls to the wall, and to drop everything on them."
It was at that point that the MEN. supercarriers and titans entered the fight, unquestionably turning the tide. At one point, a -RZR- dictor tackled a titan, however it appears that the MEN. Maelstrom fleet had little trouble dispatching the tackling interdictors.
In a conversation with Elo Knight, he gives us some insight to Black Legion.'s strategy: "Win."
And win they did. Final kill totals show that Black Legion. killed 170 RAZOR ships, with only 48 losses. 58 Dreadnoughts in total were destroyed in the engagement along with 6 carriers. Deadliest ships on the field were the Maelstroms fielded by MEN., as the battleships killed 112 enemy ships including some 80 -RZR- Megathrons.
As of Aug 14, Black Legion. has claimed this NL6V-L, with their intentions for the system in question. While they have been known to ransom systems back to their original holder, it is generally regarded as unlikely that this could be the first steps to an invasion into Tribute. A source within the CFC adds this perspective on Black Legion's track record, "Their aim is not to gain and hold sov[ereignty], merely to be an annoyance to show the bloc players that they're somebody".
In answer to why the CFC did not come to -RZR-'s aid in keeping the system to begin with, he adds, "-RZR- does not always ask for assistance." By accounts, RAZOR felt that they could handle the threat, and the CFC let them.
Members of RAZOR Alliance could not be reached for comment.
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