Once the clearance was given, Nico led a five-interceptor wing down to the surface. If the spies wanted to run once they caught sight of the attack vessels, she didn't want to risk that they would be more maneuverable than she was and get away before she could do anything.
With the extra four interceptors, they could make a proper containment pattern, and their weapons would have a much easier time getting a solid hit.
The Alliance had incredible vessels for their government forces, but the ones that most of the population used were not nearly as impressive, being made to a budget and often with outdated technology, thanks to millennia of peace giving them no reason to update defensive technologies beyond what was needed to handle in-flight threats like space debris.
That's the standard that Nico was hoping that this particular ship, which was shadowing their Terraforming drones, was on.
