User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Chapter 442: The Law of Space, Review./@comment-1153699-20150629150307/@comment-24546844-20150629162434

That's the point, they're not supposed to be able to defeat the empire as they are now. It's been stated a couple of times that they stand no chance. That why they're sneaking in to get Makarov back, so they can at least have a plan when fighting becomes inevitable.

Wow I though the symbol was just because Mashima thought it would be a cool addition to her name. It does make sense I guess.