August 6: The War Begins
June Ting, executor of Of Sound Mind (SOUND) published City States: Casus Belli that contained within it a declaration of war. June Ting stated in the article that unless the HERO coalition gained content, it would soon become largely inactive, and thus a war was needed with Provibloc to prevent this from occurring. In her article, she states 3 Casus Bellis: Manifest Destiny, Provibloc breaking an agreement signed between the 2 entities, and revenge for SOUNDs eviction from Providence a year earlier. The 1st Casus Belli is certainly justifiable as Provibloc’s only claim to the northern Catch pipe is equally as vague and fictional. The 2nd Casus Belli was disproven when a copy of the agreement leaked, showing that it was HERO who broke the agreement and not Provibloc. The 3rd Casus Belli, while certainly justifiable and the reason for many wars in New Eden in the past, may have been unjust as SOUND were allowed to remove all assets before their eviction.
August 7–10: The First Battle for UL-7I8
Only a few hours after the declaration of war, HERO began SBU’ing the system of UL-7I8 in an attempt to get a large fight out of Provibloc. HERO brought 130 with Provibloc bringing 100 + 30 Russian allies. Provibloc and RUS did not work together in the fight and so, despite outgunning HERO, they lost the battle quite horrifically. Fast forward a few days and the final timer comes out for UL-7I8. HERO and Provibloc formed up for the timer however a Northern Coalition. (NCdot) Proteus fleet ultimately decided the outcome of the battle by first decimating the RUS fleet and then destroying the HERO fleet. Provibloc faced little opposition after NCdot’s interference and ground down the SBUs until they got bombed off field. HERO decided not to erect another set of SBUs and so Provibloc maintained control over the system.
August 14: The First Battle for 7MD-SI
Provibloc, who formed up a 80 man Harbinger fleet, called upon RUS for help in defending 7MD-SI against the HERO invaders who numbered around 140 Moas/Eagles. RUS/Provibloc were able to kill off an SBU before the HERO fleet had a chance to grind down the IHUB, saving the system temporarily. HERO erected new SBUs forcing Provibloc to return to the system with drone battleships and battlecruisers. Provibloc set up a defensive position on the IHUB and cyno’d in Triage carriers in an attempt to save the system however the HERO fleet, combined with reinforcements from The Unthinkables (INK), managed to crush Provibloc’s forces thus winning the system for HERO.
August 20–21: The Second Battle for UL-7I8
For the initial fight, HERO managed to muster 300 pilots – 100 more than their opponents. Provibloc came in a largely kitchen-sink fleet with Goku-bomber and Ishtar support. HERO came in a Moa/Eagle doctrine while both sides called upon allies in the form of RUS and INK respectively. The fight was a crushing defeat for Provibloc. The next fight (the final timer) for the system saw Provibloc only manage to rally 50 pilots into a fleet. RUS came to the aid of Provibloc, dedicating 110 pilots to the battle including capital support. Pandemic Legion (PL) came to kill the Russian dreads however a DDoS attack hit just as the dreads began to die. Upon logging back in, HERO won the field and claimed the system for themselves shortly after.
August 26–28: The First Battle for S25C-K
Both Provibloc and HERO formed up their standard doctrines, however Provibloc did not receive support off of RUS, while HERO did receive support from their allies, INK. Provibloc did find unlikely allies in PL, who managed to hold the field up until they left due to a lack of surviving logistic ships. The fight was another overwhelming defeat for Provibloc, with the death toll weighing in at 30b ISK for Provibloc and PL. For the final timer, Provibloc only managed to form 85 pilots which, when combined with help from PL and RUS, still did not lead to them having the numerical advantage over HERO and INK. The fight was another disaster for team Provi/Rus/PL who lost 15b ISK worth and control of S25C-K shortly after the fight ended.