"I thought sure we'd have done more damage than that, hoped at least," said Taylor.
Nobody responded, so he continued.
"If the Purge ships and their nukes couldn't finish this thing, how'd you know these three nukes will do it?"
"I don't," replied Jafar.
"Well that's bloody great," Jones said, smiling.
Taylor was starting to understand why Silva had been so jovial as they set off. Like Jones, he had reverted to light heartedness in order to save himself fromthe soul destroying fear any sane person would feel if confronted with their mission. Yet he was the only one who volunteered to go, and that pleased Taylor greatly. Several of them were looking to Jafar after his rather ambiguous and vague answer to the most important question of their lives. He could see they were awaiting an answer.
"Do you think I have ever destroyed something like the K'til before? Just because I have stepped foot aboard it, does not mean I can guarantee a way to destroy it."
"He's right," insisted Taylor. "This isn't just our best chance. It's our only chance."
"Pretty close now. I'm gonna have to use some power to slow us down, or we'll wipe out," said Eddie.
"Then we have to assume any enemy with visual contact will know immediately that something is going on," replied Taylor.
"I'll do my best, but someone's gonna see it."
They continued to drift into the hole that had been blasted in the great enemy ship. It was like travelling along a vast canyon but with twisted and wrecked metalwork all around. They were closing quickly now on the furthest point to where the damage penetrated into the K'til.
"What's that there?" Taylor asked Eddie.
There was a glimmer of movement up ahead and sparks of light on a large exposed room where one wall and the roof had been blasted away. The floors above and below were also exposed as if looking in at a cutaway diagram of the vessel.
"If I had to guess, I'd say a repair crew."
"All right, head right for 'em. Use as little power as you can."
"What have you got in mind?"
"If we put down anywhere round here, there's a good chance they'll see us anyway. I want to hit them first, and try and minimise any chance of them passing on our arrival."
"Okay, so how'd you want to play this?"
Put down just enough power to save any damage, and let us drift into the floor above them. Make it look like this is another wreck of space debris."
"Hell there's enough of it around. This might just work."
"When we hit the deck, you must both stick with us. Leave the doors to the Stallion open, and make it look like it really is an empty wreck. I don't want any Mechs stumbling upon two pilots waiting with the engines running."
"You really think we're gonna make it back off this thing?"
"Hell, yeah, I'm too young to die," Taylor replied lightly.
Rains could not help but laugh.
"Well, all right. I can bring our speed down with bow thrusters alone. That shouldn't draw any more attention than us barrelling in like a piece of junk."
Eddie turned off the last console lights. They were in complete blackout now as they floated into the mouth of the enemy vessel.
"You know if this thing hadn't come to destroy our planet, I might actually be genuinely impressed," whispered Eddie.
"Yeah, well save your genuinely impressed expression for when we blow it sky high," replied Taylor.
"So you expecting us to fight too?" asked Perez.
"If you have to, yes. Rains here proved himself more than capable last time the shit hit the fan and he was left with a gun in his hands. We're few, and they are many, so I need every fighter I can get."
"Been a long time since I had to shoot anything."
"Not for long it won't be, Eddie."
"This is it, no turning back now."
Taylor turned back to Jones' and his platoon and whispered.
"We're faking a crash landing and coming down right over what looks like a repair crew. I want us out the door and taking them down immediately."
He turned back just in time to see them pass over the enemy position and smash down onto the floor of the next level. They slid along the metal floor, causing sparks to spray up either side of them before grinding to a halt. It was just enough to make it look like their craft was a wreck, but controlled enough to cause no more than superficial damage.
"Let's go," whispered Taylor.
Jones was first to the door and heaved the large slider aside but forgot the lack of power. The ramp dropped like a brick and smashed down onto the floor. He cringed but relaxed as he realised it was probably no louder than the bull in a china shop landing that Eddie had just strived for. The platoon was frozen and waiting for a response to the noise, but it did not come. Jones turned, pointing for them to move. He was the first one down the ramp and rushed to the ragged edge of the floor that was exposed to space itself.
As they reached the edge, they ground to a halt and looked down realising the drop onto the other decks and space itself. The low gravity of the space before them would present no danger should they fall, but it did not stop Jones' from feeling unsettled. It was like looking over the edge of a skyscraper. Despite being a Parachute regiment officer, he had still never fully gotten over his discomfort with heights.
Taylor reached the edge beside him and looked down to see one of the Mech workers lifting a weapon to the slightly mesmerised Captain. Taylor quickly fired two carefully aimed shots, hitting the creature square in the chest. It wore an armoured suit that the Reitech rounds punctured through and exited out the other side of the alien's body. The creature fell back and floated off the ship into space. Any other time, Taylor would fear the body being discovered, but this day it would be just another corpse among the thousands of others in space.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something move, but before he could respond, Jones' weapon fired, and two others joined him. Two more of the creatures were instantly killed without getting a shot off. Jafar reached them and looked at the repair work being undertaken.
"Those crews work in threes, so there should be no others in sight."
"Good, then let's move. You lead the way."
He turned to see the three nukes were already in tow. With the low gravity and power of the Reitech suitsjust two men could carry each. Jafar led the way forward, but Taylor turned back to Jones and could see he was every bit as concerned for the operation as he was.
"Only way is forward, old chap."
"Yeah, Jones, that's what I'm afraid of. Come on, let's see this through."
The two of them led the platoon on with Jafar on point. He led them back past Rains’ Stallion and through the blast damaged room until they were into the core of the ship. On their route, they past several dead aliens, but there was little sign of any other movement.
"Where is everyone, Jafar?" whispered Taylor.
"There will be roving patrols, but the impact must have killed many. Most of those aboard will be busy fixing the breaches.”
"So they're forming a perimeter all around this blast site. How are we supposed to get in?" asked Jones.
"Through one of Demiran's many access tunnels. There are secret passageways throughout all of his personal ships that only he and his personal guard know how to recognise."
"Sounds like he doesn't have a whole lot of trust for his own people?" replied Jones.
"No, there are many who would not hesitate to kill the Lord if they were ever given the opportunity. Surely this is not an unfamiliar concept to humans?"