1 Aren

Onboard the battle barge, Indomitus: within the vessel's command center, Aren Caecus Furvus Valen, Knight Commander of the order of the Shadow Seers, sat atop an obsidian throne that rested on a four stepped raised dais. He wore a simple martial garb denoting the black, red and white of his order. He felt the simple garb would put the non-transhuman members of the ship at ease rather than the sight of his massive four-meter tall hulking frame clad in battle armor. Thus far, it seemed his choice of attire worked. Newly promoted to his rank, he was both nervous and excited about his first mission since his elevation to his new rank.

Within the command center, the non-transhuman denizens took little notice of the giant figures who stood within their midst. In contrast, the rest of the crew were all normal human beings. They wore the black and red uniforms, denoting them as naval officers. Several of whom lapels and insignia displaying their ranks while a hand full proudly displayed medals earned in service to the federation. The command center served as the brain of the fleet and all information relating to the fleet inevitably ended up within this chamber.

Considered young by both his peers and contemporaries, a mere three hundred years there had been some shock at the decision made by the grandmaster of the Shadow Seers to appoint Aren Commander of a newly constituted twenty-first company as well as gifting him the battle barge Indomitus. The shook had arisen not out of a belief that he could not fulfill his duties but rather due to his age.

The Indomitus recently commissioned, had been a surprise. She and her crew had gone through a litany of tests before considered fully serviceable. Battle barges constituted a mix of transport vessels and a ship of the line. Built specifically for knights they were both the largest and mightiest vessels the navy constructed. Their long construction time ensured that there were never enough to go around hence Aren felt proud to command one.

Aren's abilities demonstrated repeatedly on several battlegrounds proved him a capable warrior however, this would be a new test for him leading a company of a thousand battle brothers as well as commanding his vessel. Those who questioned believed he had the potential to command his own company and perhaps one day ascend to the role of the grandmaster of the order. The grandmaster disagreed however and thus Aren's current station.

The federal government had ordered an increase in terms of size for all the knightly orders from their previous standard of twenty thousand to forty thousand, over the next forty years. This would see the addition of twenty new companies as well as the elevation of two new Lord Commanders with the order. Aren's company was the first unit in this new phase of expansion. The company constituted mainly of recruits with veterans from other companies selected to serve as officers.

Federal knights, genetically enhanced soldiers, and the most elite warriors that the Human Federation had at its disposal. Through a rigorous selection process, that saw every child, below the age of twelve, within the federation, screened for a unique genetic marker, and subjected to a wide range of physiological tests, that indicated they could become Federal knights. The family of those found with the potential to become a knight, where approached before ultimately deciding whether to give their child into services of the Federation.

There were inevitably those who refused to give up their children however, they were in the minority with most of the populace seeing it as one of the highest honors their family could obtain. These families are known as knight families. Honored and valued by the federation and society for the sacrifice they chose to make; they lived a far more privileged life compared to the rest of the citizenry.

Children who presented with the unique genetic marker were then put through a hellish program of genetic modification combined with a rigorous education on almost every subject available as well as combat training. The process lasted over a decade, seeing only one out of a hundred complete the process. The failures either died or found themselves inducted into other programs if the transformation proved incapable of completion. The federal storm troopers, is one such program, an elite unit of the army composed of those whose genetic modification was left incomplete.

At the end of an arduous process, a normal human being transforms into a transhuman giant, with an average height of three meters. The warriors blessed with great strength, durability, quicker reflexes as well as superior intelligence however; they had yet to become true knights. By some quirk, some individuals were possessed even greater abilities when compared to their fellow transhumans. These few known as Alphas served as the elite amongst the elite in special units or command positions. Aren himself an alpha hence his greater size of four meters in comparison to the average of three meters.

What finally completed a knight's transformation was the armor they wore. Separated into the inner and outer pieces, the inner armor grafted onto the skin, making a difficult process to wear as well as remove, directly connected to the nervous system. The outer layer connected to the inner layer in such a manner as to allow the armor to become an extension of the body rather than just a simple means of protection.

After the years of training and enhance the newly minted knight would either be selected to join a knightly or be assigned to one depending on the needs of the knightly orders. The Federation maintained thirty such orders with their size ranging between ten to fifty thousand members. This was dependent on where they ended up stationed and what duties they had to undertake.

Aren had been fortunate, given the choice of which order to serve. All orders had a glorious and long tradition and as such, no bad choice existed in terms of which order to enlist with. He chose the Shadow Seers who oversaw the protection of the Western reaches, a frontier domain on the outer most edge of Federation space.

A place too far from the center of the Federations power, a constant and powerful force in the form of the Shadow Seers, needed to enforce the laws, provide protection from roving bands of pirates, and the possible threat of Xeno's invasion. Aren desired to serve and protect that had led him to join the shadow seers.

Increasing the ranks of the various knight orders was no simple process and many would die during the increase in recruitment, even more, would die in a rushed process. The Federal government surely knew this and yet knowing the cost still planned to proceed. The Federations president as well as the senate knew all of this and remained determined. Seeing in how an expansion like this required both the senate's unanimous approval as well as the president's approval.

Those in the now had already begun to speculate on the matter. Aren had heard some speculation before his promotion that a new crusade in the unknown regions of space or perhaps war with the neighboring Xeno's empires. Whatever the case may be Aren was certain even though he had not heard any news, that a general strengthening all branches of the Federations military had been undertaken.

In short, Aren became one of the twenty-four highest-ranking members in his order. He was grateful for the opportunity he had received and the grandmaster's faith in him, as such he was determined to ensure that his first mission to the world of Enoch is a success. Granted the expectation is that the mission would go smoothly. After all, chosen by one of the Lord Commanders as a means of training the newly formed unit.

Enoch, an uninhabited world slated for colonization, with several teams of colonizers already preparing to begin the colonization effort. The Enoch system composed of one habitable planet the namesake of the system. Four gas giant, with several moons orbiting them and three other planets that lacked the basic conditions to sustain life. The planet of Enoch had two moons, one a third of the size of the planet, the other a quarter of the size of the planet. Designated Enoch 1 and 2 respectively. No large asteroids or debris fields within the system that could hide any large fleets or any other nasty surprises were present in the system.

A probe, left behind by the survey unit sent to explore the system, had recently discovered a force of Araneus within the system. This had presented a slight problem for the colonization plan. With any other xeno's species, perhaps diplomacy might work or at least attempted, however, with the Araneus this option was non-viable.

An intelligent xeno's species by all estimates. They were one of the earliest intelligent life forms humanity had first come across. They were also one of the most hostile races encountered; they had refused any previous attempts at communication during previous encounters, all meetings ending in violence.

The Araneus a semi-nomadic insectoid species; with their eight legs, two of which used for movement, four ending in sword-like claws, with the last two being humanoid hands ending in claws to perform more meticulous tasks. Their entire bodies covered in a metallic golden substance seemingly organic in nature. It made their claws so hard that they could easily cut through even the toughest of materials, and their exoskeletons proved resistant to almost every weapon at humanity's disposal.

With no visible eyes, but were somehow able to find their prey and organize their attacks, through some yet undiscovered means. All of their communication done through clicks made from their mouths, which are razor-sharp metallic pincers able to tear through anything just as easily as their bladed claws.

It is here however there that the commonalities end, as the Araneus exist in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Their society remains a mystery for the most part, except for one thing that the larger the Araneus the more authority they have over their fellows. Their physiology also pointed towards a strange fact, that their race is not a product of natural evolution, but rather that they had been manufactured in some fashion. They were one of the living horrors that inhabited the galaxy.

Full-scale war often erupted when any race encountered a large number of Araneus. The Araneus ever determined to turn any war into a war of extermination. There was something evil and horrifying in the manner with which they acted, for it was not only humans who the sort to annihilate but all other sentient races and the various life forms that existed. Exploration teams had come across many ruins left by civilizations destroyed by the Araneus, hence the serious nature of the matter.

This marked the first discovery of Araneus on the borders of humanity's domain in over three decades. Little in the way of information existed on their species and research on the matter had provided close to nothing. Of their society culture no information existed, the federation only knew how the Araneus made war.

Thus the mission, to clear out the minor infestation and remove all problems that might hamper the colonization effort. To that, end the Lord Commander had issued instructions that the Indomitus was to remain in the system even after defeating the Araneus. They were to maintain a protective stance over the planet until such a time that the colonizer began to arrive and a relief force of army personnel dispatched.

In a worst-case scenario. If the matter were to escalate and the Araneus were in truth preparing for something much larger such as the annexation of the system or preparing the planet as a springboard for an invasion. Aren's orders were to uncover as much information as possible before returning immediately to report the situation.

Aren had no objection to the mission parameters. As a result, he had readily agreed to his orders. The battle would help to iron out any problems in the new unit, in terms of efficiency and capability. While the protracted stay would help strengthen the ties between the members of the company, something the Lord Commander hoped to achieve through this mission.

One matter that did cause him some discomfort was the urgency surrounding the initial phase. The assault and subsequent destruction of the Araneus, as it needed handling with the utmost speed. The company nor the ship had been equipped for prolonged engagement but a short stint within the system. Fortunately, he had the authority to withdraw should his present force prove insufficient. The Shadow Seers would return in much larger numbers when they became available.

Currently, the ship was in transit through hyperspace to Enoch. The estimated length of time between the Citadel and Enoch being 32 hours. He had spent the intervening time in planning sessions with the senior officers of his company before heading to the practice cages located in the bowels of the ship. After working in some shooting practice as well as his swordsmanship, he had cleaned up before arriving in the command center.

Only two hours remained before the expected arrival. Seated as he was at the heart of the command center, everything seemed to be going well. Everyone performed his or her duties methodically and efficiently, he was quite proud of his crew's diligent and concise work ethic. The mistress of the ship Vice Admiral Elaine Vales had performed remarkably in the time she had at her disposal. She oversaw the vessel from her sanctum, on the bridge. The bridge oversaw the smooth sailing of the ship. However, the command center served as the tactical hub of all forces on board.

Aren, as well as his company, had only had a few months to get used to her. Currently, everyone was still in the initial phase of figuring out how to fit in on board the mighty vessel and was thus glad at how well things were operating. Seeing that his direct input was unneeded, he decided to enter the Arcanum, to see if there was any additional material contained within that could prove beneficial to the mission.

Within every knight, a biological interface chip exists grafted to his brain. The chip serves three main purposes, the first being it gifts the knight an ability similar to that of telepathy. Allowing knights to communicate with one another at a much faster and safer method without the need for communication devices. Although they still had those to communicate through standard communication devices with those, not of their fraternity.

An individual with a high enough authority, such as the company captains, commanders, lord commanders, and the Grandmaster, could also institute a simulacrum of a hive mind utilizing the chip. This method sparingly used as it had detrimental side effects on the knights involved. It had proved an invaluable tool allowing commanders real-time control over the movements of their subordinates

The second ability only manifested itself when paired with his armor. It presented real-time information on the damage his armor had taken, whether minor or critical. It also displayed his health status, conveying to him the various injuries he sustained. It allowed for smoother integration between the mind and the armor worn.

The third its ability to allow one to access the Arcanum. A repository of knowledge for all knights containing an assortment of information including the personal experiences of other knights. A virtual library containing an assortment of knowledge, even that deemed too dangerous for the wider public.

The chip is known as the BIC, however, it was not some form of artificial intelligence nor could it perform any computational tasks. The chip served, amongst the knights, as an invaluable aid that helped separate knights from other genetically enhanced warriors. On many an occasion it had provided invaluable assistance to Aren and he hoped it would do so now through the Arcanum.

It took but a second to enter the Arcanum. The transition of his mind almost imperceptible to the rest of the crew, his unblinking eyes the only oddity visible. In an instant, he appeared as though seated at a small table within a library. Aren knew from experience that this was how the Arcanum presented itself within his mind. In conversation with other knights, he knew that it could appear in a manner that was most readily acceptable to their minds.

Aren already familiar with the use of the Arcanum glanced down on the table. The information he had decided to enquire had appeared as a stack several of several books. It was all the detailed information collected on the species up until the present moment in time. The entirety of the

Aren needed to know what he might encounter on the planet as well as in the surrounding system so he selected from the pile a book detailing the Federation's previous encounters with the Araneus. They had been in the system for a certain period and thus likely to introduce certain installations in space as well as on the planet. Opening the book, he began to read remaining mindful of the time.

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