[Revolutionist]

No, the original plan was to have Downes link up with Nortrum, and use it as a forward operating base. That would have been the ideal outcome for Ezelcant. He says that the plan cannot possibly fail because even if they fail to capture the colony, and Downes is destroyed, they can still use that to their advantage like they did here. He essentially crafted a win-win scenario, that at best would net them a nice colony to support their war effort. At worst they'd be able to invade Earth undetected, and we all know how important the element of surprise is!