The Imperium goes to Providence!

In probably one of the worst kept secrets in null sec of late, The Imperium is headed to the Providence region.

Of course, The Mittani has been talking about a punitive expedition to Providence since Fan Fest earlier this year.  There he declared The Imperium, shedding the old CFC moniker, and pledged support to Maximilian Singularity VI in his bid to unseat Empress Jamyl Sarum I, who violated the doctrine of the sacred flesh to have herself cloned.

The Mittani kisses the ring and swears his allegiance

We were going to bring the word of Maximilian Singularity to the unbelievers in Providence.

But first we had a few things to clean up.  There was an “invasion” of Fountain to repulse, and apunitive expedition to burn Delve while we Reavers set timers and made nuisances of ourselves in Querious, actually taking sovereignty there for a little while. (Leading to our heroic last stand at ED-L9T.)

Then there was the great pull back to the northeast as The Imperium, pretty much along amongst null sec entities, sought to reduce and realign its holdings, while actively recruiting to increase its numbers, in anticipation of Fozzie Sov.

And then there was Fozzie Sov itself.  We got a taste of it with Carnyx, when station services were made assailable via the Entosis Link module, and then the full on change came in with the Aegis sovereignty patch on Bastille Day this year.

After that there was experimentation with the Fozzie Sov mechanics followed by a good deal of complaining by alliances that had not done much in the way of preparation for the change, which turned into the bad behavior at the Jump Fatigue round table and Russian protests in Jita.

Shortly there after, following some discussion in the null sec community about what should change, a topic discussed by The Mittani on the Meta Show, CCP announced a set of changes to the Fozzie Sov mechanics… changes that sounded somewhat familiar.

So with the Gallatea expansion, which hits tomorrow, we will be getting the following changes:

• Reduce the base capture time of Command Nodes from 10 minutes to 4 minutes
• Defenders start with 60% control at the beginning of a capture event
• Reduce cap on total nodes per structure from 20 to 10
• Reduce spawn rate of new random nodes by ~50%.
• Replace Entosis Link mass penalty with a 4000m/s speed limit while fitted

In addition, the concept of “node decay” where nodes will eventually “heal” if the attacker fails to show up was mentioned as being on the table for a future expansion.

That was enough of a change to set The Imperium in motion to launch its first post-Fozzie Sov deployment.  The Mittani spoke to FCs, skirmish commanders, and interested parties in a live session last week, which was recorded by spies, posted on SoundCloud, and appeared over on EVE News 24 the very next day.  What, no typed transcript?

This was followed by some further prep this weekend that culminated in a State of the Goonion address by The Mittani yesterday that announced the beginning of the war in Providence.  This time the spy process was short-circuited and the SoundCloud recording was posted pretty quickly over at TMC.  Again, no summary or transcript?

Convoys south to to Providence kicked off immediately.

Imperium space to Providence

I managed to short-circuit the whole convoy process process because I had a jump clone already sitting in Amarr.  I jumped there, bought and fitted out a ship for a likely doctrine, and then flew down to Providence myself, as it is a little more than a dozen jumps from the trade hub at Amarr.  That will help keep us supplied.

The Providence region

The plan in Providence, as laid out in the various recordings, is to assign constellations to each of the alliances that make up The Imperium and allow them to set their own doctrine and tactics for the attack.  I even got myself fully back on TNT coms for this, there being no task for Reavers in this operation.

Providence – Constellations marked in different colors

This turns the operation into something of an experiment.  With no grand Imperium doctrine, Providence will become something of a Fozzie Sov laboratory where we will see what works and what does not.

It will also be the first mass assault on a region in the era of Fozzie Sov, as well as an assault on a well lived in area of null sec.  It you look at the Activity Defense Multipliers for the region, this is not empty space.

Providence Activity Defense Multipliers

ADMs run from 1 to 6, with 6 being the toughest, stretching the time it takes to hit a structure during its vulnerability period out to a full hour.  The locals are dug in about as well as you can be.  It may be the most “lived in” region in null sec space.

So this should be interesting.  We will bring numbers and the ability to hit multiple systems at once, while the defenders will have time to assemble to interrupt us.  And, of course, third parties will show up in order to join in on the fun.

Finally, in an oddly timed twist, our role play raison d’etre has been somewhat complicated.  In a battle this weekend, Drifter forces were reported as having attacked and destroyed the Avatar class titan of Empress Jamyl I, subsequently blowing up her escape her pod, killing her.

The death has been confirmed (though questions remain) and the trials of succession have been announced, though there is no clear choice currently. (A wider summary over at EN24.)

But Maximilian Singularity has been explicitly excluded from the trials, as his main claim to the throne rested on it being occupied by an illegitimate ruler.  With that issue now effectively resolved, his insurgency is effectively at an end.  In his wisdom, he has chosen a path of reconciliation and unity for the greater good of the Amarr Empire and aligned himself with House Kador and their claimant to the throne, Uriam Kador, in the trials.

Statement from Max Singularity VI

All of which would seem to have removed the primary breach between Maximilian Singularity VI and the Curatores Veritatis Alliance, the rulers in Providence who remained loyal to Jamyl I during her reign.  However, according to Maximillian Sigularity VI, Jamylites are still rife in the region and in CVA, so our expedition remains fully sanctioned:

We go to Providence to rid the last of the Jamylites not of their lives, but of their tainted commercial power base, and to teach them that one should never worship in blaspheme a human Emperor as a man-God as they did with Jamyl!

Onward to Providence!