Late yesterday evening at 10pm EVE standard time, a fleet of what have been described as ‘Marauders’ were reported to have been probing defences across the Providence and Catch regions.
Military analysts have described the actions against pod pilots as ‘more in line with probing techniques rather than that of true acts of piracy’, Marauder attacks have been reported throughout the regions and a number of industrial ships have not reported in from their transport routes. The main sightings of these Marauders have been at both the R3-K7K and HED-GP star systems. These encounters have been described as more of a form of ‘hit and run’ than a sustained attack, with reports of a number of light causalities on both sides.
The identity of the Marauding forces remains a mystery, save for a confirmed membership of a number of training institutions throughout the major nations in the Galaxy. The reported bulk of the force has been identified as that of the Minmatar bloodlines, a matter that has not sat well with the already inflammatory nature of the relationship between two powers.
The technologically advanced nature of Marauder vessels and weaponry has been highlighted as uncharacteristic when considering the majority of their corporate peers, a matter that leads away from the conclusion of an amateur attempt at piracy.
Further evaluation of used strategy has lead to a rather unsettling link with that of unknown pirate forces several months previously, with an utilisation of light strike methods and complete communication silence whilst on tactical manoeuvres. A link between these two sets of incidents can not be ruled out.