If we shoot down someone's shippings, they will send their man'o'wars looking for us. Our ships are employing cloaking technology, and the hideouts are - well, hidden, but with enough luck and effort they can still be discovered, especially those which are used to launch interceptions. Our enemies are likely to fail and make idiots of themselves anyway, but if they don't, expect them to arrive numerous and armed to the teeth. On the bright side, if we kick their asses, their policy is to cover the failure up and they won't return anytime soon. A Crackdown is performed by ships like Sentries, Fighters, Gunships and Cruisers. If any of them manages to get within about 100 miles from our hideout, expect a landing ship coming fast at it very soon. There are 5 variants of these ships, and some will break easily through any feasible AA defenses, but once the enemy gets boots on the ground, the advantage is ours. The enemy will only be able to deploy in Hangars and the Access Lift.