"Good," affirmed Turog. "What about the shield generators?"

Another Minotaur stepped forward and said: "Commander, getting the shield generators online will take a little more time, and even then, they will be unstable for the most part," he replied, looking down.

"What?" shouted Turog.

"But we are replacing the main generator with the spare one and making changes to the secondary one so they should be able to give us more shielding power for a brief moment, Sire," the Minotaur quickly replied, seeing a hint of anger forming on Turog's face.

"Good. A job well done. Tell me more: How much shielding power can we expect, and how long will it last?"

"Yes, Sire. It's like this..." and the Minotaur began to explain.

Meanwhile, deep within the Minotaur battle line, at its core, lay an enormously big ship, second only to the super-large structure of the Star Fortress.

The ship, whose forward profile resembled the head of a bull, had the class name 'Taurus Prime' inscribed below. Flanking it were six similarly large ships, though slightly smaller, identified as Dreadnought-class battleships based on the armaments visible on their boxy hulls.

One of these flanking Dreadnoughts was positioned in front, two were on the left, two on the right, and one in the back.

At every moment, all seven ships were launching a variety of attacks that were heading toward the vanguard of the First Fleet. Some attacks were pure energy-based—heavy ion cannons, plasma bursts, turbo-lasers, and so on—while others were pure missile-based attack .

And it wasn't only they who were firing; hundreds of ships and even the enormous Star Fortress were doing the same thing.

However, they were also receiving a barrage of attacks that managed to pass through the three layers of shields created by the thousands of ships in front, landing on the shields of these seven enormously big ships. These attacks caused ripples on their shields, and some even managed to push the ships back a few meters. No major damage was being done, however, as only a few attacks were landing, and those that did had their power lessened by the ships' integrated defensive systems.

In this high-intensity warfare, Minotaur commanders—at least those still involved in the battle—failed to notice a subtle change: the intensity of the attacks was lessening, though only by a very small margin. Furthermore, the incoming fire was now focusing on specific areas, deliberately targeting the weaker, more visible Hangar Bay sections of the ship's design.

One of the main Hangar Bays of the Taurus Prime was currently almost void; only a few fighter jets and transport ships remained, guarded by a handful of Minotaurs in the enormous space. The Hangar Bay was massive, capable of carrying anywhere from a few tens to a hundred fighter jets.

Only a few Minotaurs stood there, equipped with laser guns and light armor, guarding the doorway leading inside the ship. They discussed among themselves what would happen; they, too, were shaken despite standing on the pinnacle of their clan's ship technology.

"Hey, what do you think? Is there any chance we'll make it through this?" one Minotaur asked.

"Can't say from the looks of it," said another, looking at the empty Hangar Bay.

"Yeah, things are becoming increasingly worse for us. Look at those fighter jets that left 10 to 20 minutes ago; none of them have returned for rearmament. They've likely met their end," said a third guard.

"Not only that, but from what I've heard, the front line has suffered catastrophic damage, and gaps are beginning to show. Our fellows are dying at a rate we can't even count," he said, shaking with fear.

"What you speak of is true. I, too, heard from one of the Captains that 30 to 40 percent of our ships are down, and another 30 to 40 percent are severely damaged. Only a few are left fully functional."

While they were chatting deeply with each other, they never once considered the possibility that the enemy could infiltrate them, let alone penetrate the core of one of their most powerful ships.

There, silently, a corvette in stealth mode passed through the force-field containment barrier and landed behind the cover of a slightly bigger troop-carrying ship standing in the Hangar Bay.

A few seconds before touchdown.

Inside the corvette, approximately 130 to 150 elite Space Marines stood, donned in exoskeletons made of an unknown yet very strong, dark-colored mineral, covering their whole bodies for protection. The suits were powered by a super-miniature Tier One Arcane Fusion Power Reactor, which energized many highly demanding systems. Stealth was one of these, along with various other defensive and offensive modules.

At the center of these 130 to 150 Marines stood Captain David, who would be leading this operation.

"Our main priority is to take over this Hangar Bay both quickly and silently, ensuring the Minotaurs don't get a whiff of our presence yet."

"Squad Alpha will take point and neutralize any Minotaur within the Hangar Bay," he said, looking at the group of fifty Space Marines, then focusing on their leading Lieutenant, who nodded. David nodded back.

"Beta Squad will take charge of neutralizing any systems that could give away our presence. Protect the system specialist and let him do his work. Got it?" he asked, looking at their leading Lieutenant, who nodded in affirmation.

"Gamma Squad, you will take the final charge: ensure all remaining ships and equipment meet their end. Deploy the explosives, time them, and let them detonate when the time is right."

"I want all this completed within five minutes and no longer than that. Do you all understand?"

"Yes, Captain, we do," the others replied in unison.

"Good. Be prepared; we are touching down in the Hangar Bay in a few seconds. I will tolerate no mistakes."

They all nodded and settled in, waiting for the Corvette to dock in the hangar bay before they could begin their tasks. The assignments themselves were simple—any one of them could handle them alone—but what really weighed on their minds was the test ahead.