At 19:00 EVE on May 26, 2019, there was a flurry of activity within PanFam controlled staging systems.
Almost 300 pilots in Pandemic Horde stager system of BWF-ZZ. 350 pilots from Pandemic Legion and Northern Coalition Dot in SH1-6P. A further 380 pilots from PL and NCDot in P3X-TN. The numbers were still climbing slowly for each. There was also more than 100 Horde pilots in the NPC system of 1DH-SX in The Imperium homeland of Delve. The reason for all of this sudden activity from PanFam – a move op.
PanFam, for reasons as yet not completely clear, had decided to consolidate their power into a single system. That system would be SH1-6P in the region of Tribute.
There are some hints as to why this has happened. The biggest one comes from Killah Bee, a Campaign Commander for PanFam. Killah Bee had stated that PanFam intended to use hit and run tactics against The Imperium forces currently invading Tribute. PanFam would strike at targets of opportunity, and retreat before a significant defense could be formed by The Imperium.
With this move there are a few questions that arise. Have the PanFam renters in the East been left to fend for themselves? Will Triumvirate and SLYCE be covering the PanFam rental empire, as payment to PanFam for the couch they have been offered?
Probably the most interesting question is, will PanFam use this as a chance to develop new talent or will it only serve to enlarge their main FC’s egos? A key difference between The Imperium and PanFam is that The Imperium are happy to take risks. We saw this in the successful deployments last year, especially in the battles of UALX-3 and X47L-Q. Those were fights that The Imperium won convincingly, and a plethora of talent had the chance to prove themselves. PanFam, however, seemed to rely on the same old names, using the same old tried and tested tactics. Unfortunately for PanFam, the meta had changed to such a degree it was no longer possible to just stomp out the threat posed by The Imperium.
No matter who the PanFam key players will be, or the tactics employed, The Imperium now has to contend with a very real risk of capital escalation in conjunction with hit and run tactics. Only time will tell if they will be up to the task. Additionally, PanFam also have a far better route to evacuate to lowsec should the need arise. This move-op, ahead of a large chunk of Infrastructure Hub timers scheduled for Australian timezones on May 27, could prove tricky to manage indeed.
