The 'skirmish' lasted for a while.
Even if the Goliath Hive did not make a serious commitment, the mutated voribugs still threw a formidable quantity of cannon fodder at the defenses.
Every defensive platform had to fire their weapons and expend resources in order to repel the invasion.
From a strategic perspective, the difference it made was fairly limited, but so long as the Goliath Hive kept up the pressure, systems would break down sooner or later.
Most machines were never meant to be used at such a high intensity. Every part and component possessed a life span, and this attribute rapidly diminished during active use.
Proper servicing, maintenance and repairs could bring back some of the life span that was lost, but that required valuable time where the assets became unavailable for a time.
The defenders of the Philaster Crestia System could not afford to put too much of its assets in reserve.
