Raven answers the first shot with a disabling strike

Raven lets the dreadnought fire first and follows a response plan prepared before the attack. Its heavy lasers can fire astern, catching the opponent before its energy screen comes up. The dreadnought's captain has tried to conserve capacitor power by firing a second salvo before raising that screen. Raven's pre-positioned nuclear interceptors destroy the approaching missiles while the ship turns to fire its gravity driver. The projectile briefly leaves normal space and reappears inside the dreadnought, bypassing its screen and armor. With the enemy drifting and losing power, Wong orders fighters to remove its turrets and then leave it. Raven resumes the mission to recover the diplomats, despite damage that has stripped armor from almost forty percent of its hull and left seventeen crew members trapped in acceleration tanks.