The aliens wipe out the human vulture fleet, and Helena kills all of the aliens aboard the warship. Meanwhile, Ves is eating popcorn watching the massacre, waiting for their cue to swoop in for the spoils!
Wow... Ves is ruthless! Or whoever came up with that specific step in the plan is. Letting the aliens think the fleet "destroyed a Phase Whale artifact" is absolutely gonna manipulate them exactly how the GSA wants.