SETBACK ON NASSZONE
Mere moments ago, an Arstotzkan battlegroup entered a Trinova system on NASS and engaged the unsuspecting players, catching them off guard. The two Rockhoppers Trinova had on station immediately engaged alongside a few small civilian craft, and the ensuing battle took place over multiple systems and a large swathe of the entire galactic core of NASS.
@Thadius_Faran was the first one to engage, his ship surviving a number of Arstotzkan volleys even though he had only been trained on the updated Rockhopper platform mere moments before, before backup arrived in the form of a second Rockhopper. Over the course of the battle, an Arstotzkan Palmyra class frigate was disabled and later scrapped according to Arstotzkan officials. After temporarily repelling the first wave of Arstotzkan ships, Thadius had to log off and @The_Judge_of_Zone_0 immediately broke away from the renewed Arstotzkan blockade around Corinth to take up the helm of TTS Guardian. The Rockhopper suffered a hit to the reactor, disabling it and as such the ship was fighting at a severely reduced capacity for the remainder of the battle. The Rockhopper remained at the Trinova base to assist in shelter-in-place efforts while TTS Guardian was dispatched to engage Arstotzkan forces just outside their homebase, catching a pair of Arstotzkan frigates off guard, damaging both before the Rockhopper came under fire and the Guardian returned to Trinova-controlled space. However, the Guardian was too late. The ship arrived just as the Rockhopper was overheated, and spent the next fifteen minutes providing covering fire for the crew of the Rockhopper to escape to safety; damaging a number of Arstotzkan ships in the process despite being both outmassed and outnumbered at that point. The Arstotzkan fleet left the system soon after, GGs were exchanged, and everyone and went back to doing whatever it is they do in their free time.
After the battle, the heavily damaged Rockhopper was towed back to base and is set for scrapping tomorrow.
The attack came mere moments before a third Rockhopper blueprint with upgrades to numerous systems was about to be filled, which could have drastically shifted the tide of the battle. However, this was not the case. Trinova had only two warships at the time of the attack, and while they fought valiantly they were not enough to stop the overwhelming Arstotzkan fleet. With analysis, it appears that the lack of a jump drive inhibitor on the Rockhopper models currently deployed to NASS is responsible for the loss, as Arstotzkan pilots were able to jump between allied positions freely.
Trinova deployed:
TTS Rockhopper FFG-118D (25k mass)
TTS Guardian FFG-118D (25k mass)
Trinova civilian deployed:
Argonaut (~500 mass)
Ogre (30 mass)
Neutral/Spectators deployed:
Scout ship, unknown model- did not engage
Frigate, unknown model- did not engage
Arstotzka deployed:
ADF Palmyra class x3? (11k mass)
ADF Wolfgang class x2 (20k mass)
ADF Musaka (47k mass)
ADF Salt Shaker (10k mass)
Trinova losses:
TTS Rockhopper FFG-118D destroyed but recovered.
TTS Guardian FFG-118D sustained moderate damage and lost chaindrive.
Trinova civilian losses:
Nedral killed
Squiggles killed
Argonaut MIA, assumed destroyed.
Ogre MIA, assumed destroyed.
Arstotzka losses:
Multiple ships damaged ranging from light to moderate damage
Two Palmyras damaged enough to require disassembly
Pictures:
Early in the engagement
TTS Rockhopper halfway through the fight. While the ship looks heavily damaged, it is in fact completely functional aside from the loss of its reactor. Rockhopper-class vessels are known for their resilience and resistance to damage, and the ships' absolute refusal to die unless heavily outnumbered or outmassed.
The loss of the Rockhopper (Ship next to the shield bar being fired on by multiple Arstotzkan ships)
Towing the damaged Rockhopper back to Corinth, concluding the operation.
