3 Arrival

As the elevator doors swung open, all movement with the command center came to halt. The denizens all stood greeted Aren with sharp salutes, left had behind their backs right fist over their hearts. He returned there salute, right fist over his heart minus the hand behind his back, as tradition dictated. The ceremony complete everyone continued on with his or her assigned tasks, the bustle he had interrupted resuming.

He saw two of his praetorian guard flanking the elevator entrance as well as the main entrance to the chamber, another four stood in a fixed position around his dais. The chamber being large enough to accommodate their presence. As he walked over to his throne, he noted that two more of his praetorians, probably stationed on the other side of the main entrance, making ten of them within earshot and easy reach of their commander.

The rest were undoubtedly guarding the other entrances to the elevator, at the strategium, the training facilities and the corridor leading to the bridge. Those not guarding the various entrances would patrol vital locations he might appear, ensuring that there would always be a group nearby. In total Aren had a praetorian guard composed of fifty knights, all members of the first squadron.

The command structure of all knightly orders existed as such; the entire order under the command of a Knight Grandmaster formed a single unit known as a legion, a legion split into two smaller units known as cohorts under the command of a Lord Commander, with there being two per legion. A cohort consisted of ten companies of two thousand knights under the command of a Knight Commander.

These companies further subdivided into ten squadrons led by a Knight Captain, and a squadron into ten squads led by a knight Lieutenant and the smallest unit being a fireteam led by a Knight Sergeant comprised of ten knights. This composed the entirety of the command structure and unit designation of a knightly order; or rather, it did before the new measures began implementation.

A Knight Commander also served the role of captain of the first squadron of his given company, hence the reason behind a quarter of the first squadron forming his praetorian guard. They differed from the rest of the company as they wore white armor with a black trim rather than the black armor with a white trim as is standard for the Shadow Seers. A color scheme that all praetorians abided by not only his own guard.

Aren, As a result of holding two roles within the company, it was a subsequent necessity that he has an assistant to lead his squadron during moments when he needed to oversee the entire company. His Adjutant and deputy Knight Lieutenant Simon Dean often performed the roles for the squadron that Aren's duty restricted him from performing.

Knight Lieutenant Simon in concordance with his unique position wore power armor of a variant design, displaying his unique rank and position. At present, he would be with the rest of Aren's Squadron at their pre-planned stationing area leading the rest of his company. Simon, even though his rank did not match that of a full squadron commander nevertheless received the same respect as that of a knight captain.

"My Lord, we are ten minutes away from translation into real space." Lieutenant Varus stated as soon as Aren took his seat.

"Understood are preparations complete."

"They are my lord. A report from the bridge, shortly before your arrival indicated all stations are at full readiness,"

"Excellent send word to the bridge, they can processed with translation once we reach the mark."

"Understood, my lord," Lieutenant Varus giving a slight bow before turning and proceeding to follow through on his instructions.

Aren had nothing else to preoccupy his time; all he could only wait and remain patient. The same went for the rest of the knights as well as the marine contingent on the ship. They would be either defending priority locations onboard the ship. A squadron of knights stationed close to the boarding torpedoes and shuttles, waited in case any boarding action needed conducting against the enemy vessel.

The Vice Admiral and her command staff on the bridge would have full control over the ship for the following duration of time. Aren had thought about calling personally but had decided against such an action. It would serve only to distract the ship's mistress, not to mention he did not wish to appear to be overstepping his remits. Time passed slowly before the announcement came over the intercom from the bridge indicating translation out of hyperspace would begin.

Translation came suddenly and abruptly the ship re-entered normal space. The transition created an odd sensation in Aren's that passed after the briefest of seconds, for the non-enhanced elements of the ship they needed a period to readjust to the change. They were all experienced, having experienced the translation in and out of hyperspace dozens of times, so the period was brief and no one threw up inside their vacuum-sealed suits.

The main screen within the command center flickered to life, displaying the surrounding space outside the ship. The Enoch system came into sharp view taking up half the screen. Spacefaring vessels could only navigate in and out of hyperspace outside of a planetary system, as they needed to escape the gravitational fields that would affect them.

Elaine had opted for a course neither cautious nor bold, but somewhere in between when choosing the distance from the star system. Glancing at his Aren noted that the hyperspace engine remained on while the sublight engines propelled the ship into system. Aren nodded his head in approval the Vice Admiral was ready to enter hyperspace at a moment's notice should any trouble the ship could not handle appeared.

The Indomitus moved steadily towards the system. Its frame growing larger on the main screen of the command center. Dozens of probes launched from the ship into the system. An hour passed by before the probes began to relay information back to the ship. In the command center, Aren had direct access to the information summarized for him by the crew. He could not help but frown beneath his helmet as he read the reports. The probes indicated no signs of activity within the system.

'Perhaps the enemy is well hidden. We should give it some more time and allow the probes to make a more detailed report.' Aren thought.

Three more hours trickled by and the probes continued to report no signs of enemy activity or ships. The probes having swept the entirety of the system. Aren was about to issue an order when a call came through from the bridge. Noting whom it was he answered immediately; the face of Vice Admiral Elaine Vales appeared before him.

"My Lord," Elaine stated in greeting.

"Vice Admiral," Aren replied in a similarly formal manner, he felt certain he knew why she had called.

"There appears to be no signs of the enemy within the system and we are now getting close enough to the point where we can no longer enter hyperspace safely. How should I proceed?"

He was right it would seem she had indeed called regarding this matter. He had similarly just been about to call her to discuss this issue. They had their mission and orders however the lack of an enemy ship sighted created a slight issue. Aren deliberated for a moment before replying with an answer.

"We will proceed in system while retaining caution, our main objective is still the planet, any subsequent decisions will have to wait until after we arrive in orbit."

"Understood, I shall proceed as ordered." She stated before ending the call.

The travel time was neither long nor short. Although with no enemy ship sighted, Aren still did not give the order for a general stand-down of all quarters. As a result, the ship, as well as all onboard personnel, remained battle during the entire journey to Enoch's orbit. He knew it would tire out the non-enhanced personnel onboard however he chose to remain cautious.

Hours passed before the ship reached Enoch's orbit. The Vice Admiral circled the planet twice before anchoring the vessel. During that, time probes launched took detailed scans of the surface of the planet. The ship and her personnel waited but nothing happened. Finally, Aren issued the order for a stand-down of all quarters, much to the relief of the naval and marine personnel.

'Too peaceful, too quiet' Aren thought, 'this is far from what I expected nor I think what everyone else expected from the outset. The only thing left is to check the planet but if the Araneus have truly left as it looks like then this mission while not a failure cannot be considered a success.'

"Lieutenant Varus!"

"Yes, Lord."

"Issue a summons to all relevant personnel to meet within the strategium to plan the next phase of the operation," Aren stated as he stood

"Your will, Lord," Varus replied before issuing instructions to the relevant personnel.

'This is strange, really strange', Aren could help but think walking towards the elevator his praetorians surrounding him and moving together information. He hoped no more surprises or lack thereof awaited him on the planet's surface. The elevator doors opening at his approach, his praetorians would not be following him inside, another team waited at the strategium, the doors slid shut before the elevator began its descent.

He hoped that the round table discussion of whatever the probes saw on the surface would shed some light on the situation. Currently, the information at hand did not conform to expectations and no plan as of yet on how to proceed except merely dropping down onto the planet's surface. Aren knew the only answers available were on the ground and until he arrived on the surface, he would remain ignorant of the enemy's motives. This mission was proving more troublesome than anyone had expected.

*****

A ship as large and as powerful as the Indomitus often served as the flagship of a fleet formation. Its massive firepower and thick armor-plated hull provided safe vantage for any fleet commander and control of a ship that could affect the outcome of a naval engagement. As a result, the strategic planning center of a fleet would be the Indomitus's strategium. It was for this reason that the strategium gargantuan size.

Aren could not help but lament that due the insistence of his praetorians and the speed at which he had called this meeting, he missed his opportunity to walk down the beautifully decorated passageway leading towards the strategium. He had walked its length but a handful of times.

Decorated with rich tapestry, artwork and banners. The long passage afforded one a look at some of the ornate pieces found in the federation. It was the only place on board the ship, aside from an individual's living quarters that had any form of decoration. The rest of the vessel remained both plain and bare, symbolic of simple military life.

Aren stepped out of the elevator doors into the strategium. Currently, it was unoccupied save for six of his praetorians. He could not but help marvel at the hall's size every time he entered, wondering if he would one day get a glimpse of it when fully occupied.

Towering marble pillars occupied the circular hall, the space between the pillars and the wall formed an outer ring occupied by terraced seats for those of insufficient rank to occupy. The ceiling a dome-like construct upon which a projection of the stellar map of the federation was visible. The center of the hall, occupied by a large holo projection of the planet, several high backed chairs sat in a semi-circular ring. The arrangement of the seats had no particular order, only that those of an increased size be designated for an individual of a much larger frame. Aren's own seat located directly opposite the door, far larger and more ornate than any other chair within the hall.

Aren expected a certain amount of time to pass before the relevant officers could make their way to the strategium, giving enough time to look over the real-time feed of the Enoch's surface via the holo-projection. Noting the geographical features and landmarks of the planet, most importantly mountainous and plains areas however what he saw or rather did not see greatly shocked him. Fortunately, his helmed head, full covered, obscured his facial features least his praetorian's bear witness to his shocked expression.

Giving the map one last glance he moved to his throne in the head position. Aren would wait for the others to arrive first, it would be first to hear their determinations before proceeding within any sort of plan. He had the basic outline of one formed but with more or rather different points of view could a concise strategy be introduced. Silence hovered over the chamber that remained unbroken since entering the strategium.

The gathering, limited to the senior-most officers on board the ship at Aren's request, would include his Adjutant Knight Lieutenant Simon dean, Vice Admiral Elaine Vales, her deputy Rear Admiral Turin Ale, the leader of the marine contingent onboard Colonel Andrew Summers and the nine knight captains, thirteen individuals in total.

The nine knight Captains began to trickle into the strategium; they gave a nod in greeting before they would invariably begin examining the map. The strategium, a place where formalities between senior officers and their juniors oftentimes ignored hence the lack of a formal salute. After they examined the map, they would each find their seats, awaiting the rest to arrive.

The captain of the second squadron James Erik arrived first, his duty station a short distance from the strategium. On his heels, the captains of the tenth, fifth, eighth, third, fourth, ninth, sixth and finally the seventh entered the strategium, the stance of their duty stations determining the order of arrival. After delivering their greetings, they sat in quiet contemplation awaiting the last group of people to arrive. His Adjutant arrived subsequently ensuring all the representatives of the Company were present and like his superiors who preceded him in time of arrival, he likewise analyzed the projection before finding his own seat.

The wait did not last long as Colonel Summers arrived, proceeding to offer greetings everyone seated he too began to go over the map. A frown appeared on his face that grew deeper the longer he analyzed the holo-projection. Finally, with a shake of his head and with a wry smile he too took his own seat.

The last to arrive the two admirals noticed that everyone else had already arrived. Aren motioned, with his hand, for them to analyze the holo-projection before the meeting began. He wanted everyone to be on the same page least the discussion be interrupted by constant questions.

As the two analyzed the projection rotating and zooming in on the picture. Aren noted how they along with the colonel were the only two individuals who were unarmoured their facial features visible. Clearly, they had taken the time to change out of their spacesuits and into their uniforms before arriving, thus explaining why they were the last to arrive.

Aren did not mind them taking their time, after all, the battle-ready state had been relieved and currently, there was no emergency, finally, no time schedule for the commencement of the meeting had been given. The two quickly concluded their examination before finding their seats around the holo-projection. Aren glanced around to ensure all were present before he began.

"As all of you have had a glance at the real-time feed of the planet's surface, I am sure that you have noticed that we have a slight problem on our hands."

"A slight problem," Knight Captain Aidan of the third squadron chuckled in reply, the rest of the room following suit with their own chuckles.

"Yes a slight problem," Aren continued his own as well as everyone else's chuckles dying down, "the enemy it would appear has disappeared. Now then how should we proceed?"