Okay, so I was looking at the Dark Avatar preview on IGN, and something they said in there made me stop....
"[...] each race in Dark Avatar will get their own special ability. Humans, for instance, will be super-diplomats (meaning they're good at diplomacy), and the Arceans get the ability to strike first in battles they instigate."
Now, stop me if I'm just a little senile, but don't you already strike first in a battle you start??

Is this to say that the Arceans get a free shot at the start, a la pre 1.2, and any ships destroyed in the opening salvo don't get to shoot back?