The enemy fleet was made up of 13 large Saitan destroyers with their strange squid shape and another twenty ships with a strange star shape comparable to the Allied frigates. Although they were smaller ships than battleships, the first long-distance shot of the powerful plasma lasers demonstrated the danger they posed; the Helena Station's energy barrier barely withstood the impact.
However, the response in the form of magnetic sling missiles and the space station's powerful ion cannons and lasers were surprising to enemy commanders. They did not expect the use of the slow missiles; they could easily avoid them; however, instead of powerful detonations, what occurred was magnetic interference in their systems.
The missiles disabled much of the defense barriers, forcing the ships to move out of the paths of the lasers and cannons to avoid damage. The mobility of those spaceships was astonishing.