The Qaanol Maneuver is an ingenious planetary domination strategy first articulated by a user of the offical Nova boards called Qaanol. The player flies a Nil'kimas Manta with no weapons, only shield, speed, and armor upgrades. The Manta also has six Nil'kimas Ravens, or other powerful escorts, to do the real fighting. The pilot of the Manta simply attempts to draw fire away from his escorts in order to keep them from being destroyed.