The Provist Manhunt Summary

How it started

A little over two weeks ago, Provists hijacked several capital ships from the Caldari Navy. Among the stolen ships were several Phoenix dreadnoughts, multiple Chimera carriers and even a Wyvern supercarrier.
This theft was made possible by the exiled former officers of the 37th squadron, who betrayed the state after their trial ended!

While a reaction was expected to the theft, none realised how far the Caldari Navy wanted to go to apprehend these criminals.
In an unprecedented move, the Caldari Navy placed major PLEX bounties on all the exiled officers who have joined this theft!
While the bounties are certainly excessive, they do serve as a statement: "Cross the Caldari Navy and you shall find no rest, no place to hide, for capsuleers will hunt you down to the edge of the universe if they have to, just to claim the prize on your heads!"

In response to this, the Provists intended to die as a martyr for their cause, to give their life for what they believed to be "The True Caldari Way"

And the Hunt is on!

And so it starts, for a whole week, Capsuleers would hunt the treacherous Provist commanders of the 37th squadron, who had joined the Dragonaurs.
In exchange for this task for the Caldari Navy, they would be handsomely rewarded for their efforts. But as this hunt is fuelled by greed, it was expected that the eggers would compete among themselves for the prizes, and this expectation turned reality!

Below you'll find the list of the Manhunts and a short summary, also included is a quote highlighting something special in a particular manhunt;


Provist Tovas Tagahaiken engaged in Akkio!

The first Manhunt was in lowsec and immediately showed how much manpower some capsuleer organisations would field, just to kill their competitors and claim the prize for their own. This hunt turned to be a total domination for Pandemic Legion, who eliminated all others on the field before downing the Carrier and it's escort.

Memorable Quote: "The Dragonaurs suffered the ultimate humiliation as they were nothing but mere playthings for the powerful nullsec capsuleer organisation Pandemic Legion."

Explanation: PL just played with them, keeping them alive till they had total dominance and were assured maximum payout of the PLEX-bounty when they turned their guns against the Dragonaurs.


Dragonaur Tsatei Uppas meets his end at Samanuni

As this hunt happened in highsec, Concord kept watch, preventing an escalation of aggression among capsuleers.
In a joined effort, the capsuleers downed the stolen carrier in mere moments, making this the shortest encounter of the whole Manhunt.

Memorable Quote: "A few brave Provist supporters tried to help the carrier by repping it.... but they flashed twice, once yellow, to mark them suspect, and the second flash was their ship exploding in a blaze of targeted fire..."

Explanation: This refers to how fast Provist supporters were killed, the moment a capsuleer decided to help a Provist, he died.


Provists Uehuma Inikas and Arano Kokkara fall at Okagaiken

Once more in lowsec, Pandemic Legion mobilised their forces, in order to dominate the field again. Initially, it seemed to work, only to see their dominance challenged at the end. As the stolen capital ships were being demolished by PL, Gorgon fleet jumped in to lay claim on the killing bounties, along with other brave capsuleers!
The plan succeeded, and PL lost out on a few PLEX bounties.

Memorable Quote: "Lucas Raholan and his friends dived in, targeted the escape-pod and subsequently killed him in name of the Amarr Empire, screaming AMARR VICTOR! over the local comms as they ended the Dragonaur commanders life."

Explanation: Lucas Raholan was part of a small but brave Amarr fleet, who used the chaos created by the Gorgon fleet to lay claim on a part of the PLEX bounties, showing even a small taskforce had a chance on claiming them!

Dragonaurs Saara Humo and Tuohmirasen Oittakko slain at Mastakomon

This hunt occurred in highsec, and thereby saw less chaos as Concord kept a watchful eye. This battle saw the two hostile Chimeras repping each other. This meant that the initial capsuleer fleet couldn't break them, untill the slower heavy hitters had arrived. Once that happened, they died fast.

Memorable Quote: "Detonate the Nuke! Level the place! Miss the target!"

Explanation: This refers to the smartbombing Apocalypse who arrived at the scene after one of the chimeras was destroyed, leaving his commander in an escape-pod. In an attempt to claim this prize, a capsuleer tried to smartbomb the area, to no avail. Despite massive collateral damage (dozens of ships destroyed & pods lost) he missed his intended target, only mere moments ago destroyed by another capsuleer.


Provists Ina Okonada and Aikabinen Unijila defeated at Torrinos

Once more in highsec, but this time, the Provist had changed battle-doctrine. Sitting in their stolen dreadnoughts, they went after the expensive heavy hitting ships this time, instead of the weaker, softer ships.
This proved successful, as several high value ships were destroyed before their ultimate demise.

Memorable Quote: "Quality above Quantity"

Explanation: This refers to the Provist successful change of battle-doctrine, as they no longer went for killing many cheap ships, but rather went for the removal of fewer, but much more expensive capsuleer ships.


Provist Taskforce succeeds at Taisy!

This was a return to lowsec and Pandemic Legion control. However, this time, their control was constantly challenged by others! In an unforeseen move, PL decided to defend the stolen carriers till their unknown objective was completed, allowing a Provist victory!

Memorable Quote: "Chaos!"

Explanation: The constant challenging of PL dominance by a wide variety of fleets, who each in turn didn't always like each other. This resulted in chaotically 3-way and even a messy 4 way battle at times! A true chaotic fight!


Dragonaur capital fleet defeated at Usi!

This was it, the full might of the former 37th squadron commanders against a massive capsuleer fleet! In a formidable fight, the capsuleers eventually triumphed as they organized themselves and coordinated their attacks on single capital ships.

Memorable Quote: "The Final Showdown"

Explanation: this refers to the all-out deployment of the Dragonaur force, deploying every capital they had, including their Wyvern supercarrier in an effort to defeat the capsuleers head-on in battle.

The aftermath

So what was the result of this manhunt? Outside a bunch of even wealthier capsuleers?

First: Caldari Navy redeemed itself, a long time bastion of Provist power. Thought this hunt, and the large prize they set on the culprits, they displayed that the Navy would penalize traitors of the State severely, including Provists. None would be safe from the Navy or it's wrath, should they act against the State best interest.

Second: The Provist power, and in extension to that, Dragonaur power has been broken. They're now branded as criminals & terrorist, acting against the State. Those who would support them, would face equally harsh measures.

Third: If you want capsuleers to be somewhat reliable, play on their motivation of greed. For a big sum of isk, they'll execute your commands, throwing in substantial assets in order to claim the prize. This however has to be seen in light of how expensive capsuleer life is. They fly & own entire starships and employ their crew, running structures in space and doing industry or security tasks. This all costs substantial isk, so when someone offers a big lump of it, it's no wonder many would go after it, to fund their expensive lifestyle.

Addition, the official news report on the distribution of the bounty across the capsuleer community:
Caldari Navy distributes bounties for destruction of Provists
From this report we know that the slain Capital ship commanders had no clone-contract and are permanently dead!
The consequences for Pandemic Legion's assistance to the Provists still hangs in the balance, due to their erratic behaviour during this manhunt. The Caldary Navy is looking into options of possible penalties along with Concord. Should any future news arise about the decision, we shall inform you as soon as possible!