Material

Aren did not read the book, for in truth there was no book, but rather he absorbs the information that poured into his mind. Upon once firmly held in his grasp the book disappeared in blue light. The data contained all the information about the various fighting methods utilized by the Araneus. The types of weapons that they used and the strategies commonly seen employed by them in previous engagements.

'It seems that humanity has faced off against the Araneus far more than I had previously imagined,' Aren mused as his mind sifted through the data.

The Araneus possessed a physiological advantage, that being their hard exoskeletons, their preternatural speed, as well as their claws and pincers. They would thus prefer to engage their opponents in melee combat where ever possible. They did possess their own form of weaponry that they used their two humanoid hands to carry with them.

Their handheld weaponry designed as it was to act as an aid to close-quarters combat lack any long-range capability. It required them to be within almost point-blank range in order to be effective. They made up for this shortcoming through their artillery, Araneus artillery, all of it heavy artillery, possessed the most extreme of range. Capable of raining down devastation for a couple of hours if one could not get close enough for it to fly over you.

The Araneus weaponry aided in their overall favored tactic of engaging the enemy in close-quarters combat. The artillery served to force their opponents to close the range and their speed allowed them to reach the enemy in the shortest amount of time. Thus the nature of their warfare, both savage and brutal in nature.

Aren smiled as he took note of this aspect. Knights training also favored the use of close-quarters combat with a variety of energy weapons available to train with, such as swords, axes, and spears. Previous engagement between knights and the Araneus had shown that knights had the held the advantage in close quarters combat, so long as they were not overwhelmed.

It was the non-transhuman elements of the military, which normally suffered devastating losses in battle. Aren only had a few compliments of marine units onboard the ship. They were mainly there to deal with any boarding actions or mutinies that might occur. Although not ideal, they could indeed serve on the planet's surface as an auxiliary force.

Knights were created after all to fight against enemies that normal soldiers could not stand up against, as such, an individual knight was quicker, stronger than an individual Araneus. The addition of the knights special armor served increase the number of opponents a single knight could fight.

Aren could not help but frown a little all the data spoke of large-scale engagements occurring in space and on the ground. While information did provide him with the material needed to understand his opponent's general tactics, his mission was of a smaller scale than that of his predecessors. He decided to leave the overall planning until such a time that he got a more detailed information.

'All of this is useful but I am far more concerned with what I will meet on the ground,' Aren thought, 'such as ground installations and shelter as well as bunker emplacements.'

He looked over the short pile of books reduced to only five in number. He selected the book he was most eager to look through. The book disappeared in blue light upon once firmly held in his grasp. Information related to the infrastructure he was likely to find on the planet began to appear.

The Araneus built hives, similar to anthills found on earth. They served as both a fortress and as a city for the species. Tall spires that rose high into the clouds, they were not only tall but also thick of width. They tended to build them on flat planes and if there were none they would proceed to flatten the planet's surface from orbit. Giving each hive a vantage point that stretched for miles and miles.

This, however, was only what was visible on the surface. The hive also stretched deep underground forming a network of tunnels that could possibly have no limit. The largest network of tunnels discovered once covered the entire surface of a planet.

The Araneus enjoyed fighting in all manner of environments seemingly equipped to deal with any potential hazard. Aren could see from this that any initial landing plan would have to factor in the unique element of theirs. It would seem that he would have reason to pick his landing spot with care and caution.

The book went on to cover the constructs typically found on Araneus worlds however they had little military value so he skimmed over it, making sure to get mainly the general idea rather than a true in-depth understanding. After all, he was going to fight them and not study them.

The next piece of information he looked at the naval side of the battles. Although Vice Admiral Elaine Vales was more than well equipped to deal with the matter, as the ship's mistress she would be the one guiding any naval combat. He nevertheless decided to browse through the data to improve his own knowledge after all if boarding actions should take place he needed to know how to prepare against the enemy.

He reached for the next book that likewise disappeared in blue light upon once firmly held in his grasp. Aren could not help but sigh after a single glance. Close combat once again, perhaps the manner of their evolution or like some speculated their design had influenced how they treated all forms of war.

The Araneus ships were all large; every one of their vessels regardless of the purpose identified to serve was large. Covered in thick armor, which like their exoskeletons was gold in color. They were nothing short of mobile fortresses, they were slow, they lacked any long-range firepower, not a single torpedo or missile tubes discovered on ships captured.

They favored two tactics, to lie in ambush right where they expect enemy ships to exit out of hyperspace, the other to bulldoze their way through enemy fire until they were close enough to engage with their massive, numerous enemy weapons or begin boarding actions. These two methods of approach were the only two ever witnessed in hundreds of naval battles.

Their ability to ambush their enemy lay in the cloaking technology that they possessed. An oddity for a race that preferred to fight up close. Their stealth technology, far in advance than anything the Federation had ever in countered. The only redeeming feature lay in that the ships had to power down for it to be truly effective, giving one the chance to escape or open fire depending on proximity to the enemy.

Aren was not aware if, the Vice Admiral knew of this, but he made a mental note to alert her of it regardless. The battle barge had several wings of attack craft, used in space and in the upper atmosphere. The Araneus had none of their own, employing a winged variant capable of surviving the void of space and a planet's upper atmosphere. Relatively week they compensated for lack of quality with quantity, and it could be a frightening quantity.

A single report made note of a fleet once encountering a swarm of these variants in such absurd numbers that they were able to destroy two-thirds of the fleet and cripple the rest before being defeated. Aren highly doubted they would meet with such a situation on their expedition, however, if they did then they would have no choice but to flee at its sight.

The information transmitted from the probe before its destruction had indicated that only a single enemy ship in the system. A vessel categorized as a similar to a federal destroyer by the navy. A large ship certainly but not as larger as the battle barge. Its thick armor would be an annoyance however the Indomitus had enough power to deal with it from range and should the need arise from close proximity, though the battle barge risked severe damage in such a situation. Aren was therefore not too concerned regarding the space battle.

The rest of the books only contained bits and pieces that were a mix of fact and guesses about other aspects of the Araneus not pertaining to their military actions. Aren quickly skimmed through the information, before realizing he had come to the end of all the materials he had chosen to look through. He took a moment to summarise all he had learned before exiting the Arcanum believing he had obtained all that he could.

It took a moment to adjust to the feeling of his mind reintegrating with the rest of his body. It was a feeling he had felt numerous times, as such, he needed little in the way of a lengthy adjustment interval. Glancing at the time on display, he realized that they would be arriving outside the system in an hours' time, remembering the information related to how the Araneus set up ambushes he decided it would be necessary for him and his company to prepare.

The donning of the armor as well as preparing all the relevant equipment for deployment necessitated a certain amount of time before completion, especially since he wanted it all ready before they exited hyperspace. Seeing the figure of Lieutenant Varus moving from station to station monitoring the various personnel as they worked.

Upon feeling, a gaze locked on to him the lieutenant could not help but shiver ever so slightly before turning around and glancing at the figure seated upon the throne. Aren seeing that he had the lieutenant's attention signaled him to approach.

"My Lord," Varus bowed upon reaching the base of the dais.

"Notify all sections to prepare to be battle-ready once we exit hyperspace. I will call the bridge to speak with the Vice Admiral, before taking my leave of the command center to don my armor at that time you will be in temporary command until my return."

"As you will my lord," Varus replied in the affirmative even as he hid his slight surprise, there was still plenty of time before arrival making this a little strange. He wondered if the Knight Commander believed they would be facing an attack directly after exiting hyperspace, not to mention the report only indicated the enemy had only a single vessel in system.

Although he hid it well Aren still noticed his surprise, after all the enemy didn't know they were coming nor from which direction so it stood to reason that there should not be an ambush upon directly leaving hyperspace. Aren, however, decided to be cautious rather than being too confident in the information provided. Tapping the keys on the console of his armrest, he called the bridge.

A blue screen flickered into sharp relief. The hard and sharp facial features of Vice Admiral Elaine Vales appeared before Aren, knowing her personality well after several interactions. He stated his intentions for the ship to enter a battle-ready state before exiting hyperspace, sighting the Araneus fondness for ambushes. She readily agreed with his decision before issuing an alert across the entire ship.

"Brothers don your armor and prepare the necessary equipment for the ship to ship battle," Aren broadcast to the members of his company scattered throughout the ship using the interface chips ability. "Captains gather your squads, once preparations have been completed, and direct them to the designated battle stations and await further!"

Once he had received several replies, he stood up from his throne showcasing his full stature, although none of the crew noticed as they attempted to complete their assigned work in preparation for battle. They were hurried, but the room did not descend into chaos their extensive training ensured that they knew their roles and responsibilities.

The non-enhanced crew would need to don their own vacuum-sealed suits, worn in case of hull breaches to ensure their safety. Standard issue naval suits, while they offered limited protection, the suits were adequate for their designed role to perform. Once they had finalized their work, the crew would depart in a piecemeal fashion to the locker room adjacent to wear their suits over their uniforms.

With a slow measured pace, around made his way down the dais. He walked towards his personal elevator within the command center. The doors to the elevator drew open as the sensors detected his presence. When he stepped within the doors finally closed as he left the command center behind.

*****

The doors made no sound as Aren exited the elevator into his room, his true sanctum sanctorum on board his vessel. The elevator was the only means of gaining entry into his room. The elevator connected his room with the command center, the strategium, the training facilities and the corridor leading to the bridge.

Only he possessed access to the elevator. Anyone else who wished to gain entry would need to seek his permission. The elevator doors possessed biometric sensors that took in several faces of his unique personal data before determining that it was indeed Aren seeking entry. All without requiring him to input any passcode or utilize any key.

His room a Spartan affair, similar to the room at the citadel the headquarters of the Shadow Seers. The room contained a basic bed, a simple desk as well as a chair and a basic shelf containing a few books. The books on the shelf served as the only indicator that the room possessed an owner. The sparse furniture all sized in proportion to his large frame.

The walls and floor held no decorations and no trophies or banners hung within as decoration. Aren preferred this simple approach, a viewpoint he shared with the rest of his martial brotherhood. They too spend little time decorating their personal quarters, an aspect of all knights. Aren had always wondered if this quirk were a product worked into their very genes during their augmentation process.

The only other door within the room led to his personal armory. Contained within various weapons as well as his personal armor of which he had two variants. The armory served as the area he spent most of his time in his room. There he would clean as well as perform maintenance on his weapons and armor.

Aren took ten steps before he crossed the room arriving at the steel-framed door of the armory. It required no key to open, Aren trusting as he did that no being on board the vessel could bypass the security measures in place nor dare to trespass where they should not, and with a gentle push, it swung open easily.

Aren stepped inside and greeted an all too familiar scene. Three sets of armor stood propped up against their own stand. Lining either side of the armory were various weapons all of which he was proficient in their use. Swords, axes, halberds, spears, energy rifles, plasma pistols of different design, purpose and potency all visible within the room.

In the corners of the room stood a powered down the droid. They were servant droids, each knight possessed some of their own, designed specifically to assist with the donning of his armour, a somewhat lengthy and complex process. The droids necessary as the individual, armor being grafted to them had to remain perfectly still during the process, and only the droids possessed the ability to graft the armor without flaw.

The majority of knights chose to wear the inner armor at almost all times in order to forgo the process of donning it that took some time, not to mention being a rather painful process. Aren had decided to model himself after the grandmaster who he greatly admired who wore his own inner as well as outer armor sparingly preferring to don a simple martial garb similar to what Aren currently wore.

His three sets of armor were the norm only for the company commanders and higher-ranked officers. The inner armor, as well as the outer power armor that exhibited the knightly orders heraldry and insignia, both issued to a knight upon becoming a member of the fraternity. The other piece of outer armor was both rare and special, provided to only company commanders and higher within the knightly orders.

Phase armor, its manufacturing process requiring the rarest of materials needing a lengthy treatment process. The entire manufacturing process took decades to complete before the armor reached completion. A process that was likewise heavily restricted and top secret with no outflow of information on its manufacture process.

Phase armor, as the name suggested allowed its wearer to step partway into a separate dimension for but a brief moment. The armor with an accompanying sword and rifle designed specifically to accommodate this feature. The sword and the rifle both possessed their own unique abilities that allowed perfect coordination between armor and weaponry.

The armor and its accompanying sword truly qualitatively transformed a knight, increasing their survivability and their killing efficiency. This on top of being stronger and more durable than standard power armor. The Lord Commander had lamented once to Aren, when he presented the armor, about the limited availability of the armor. Proclaiming proudly that if they had more sets of such armor that humanity had no need to fear any threat within the galaxy. A sentiment Aren agreed with whole-heartedly.

Aren had decided to forgo the usual standard armor this time to wear the phase armor. It was the first action he would be participating in since receiving the armor not to mention besides his over-caution, probably a limited engagement. Thus, he would test it out in a proper battle, having already familiarised himself with its use in the practice cages.

He stepped calmly to the center of the room, on the floor two markings existed indicating the placement of his feet, located at the exact center of the room. Finally reaching the indicated position, he stretched out his arms so they were parallel to the floor. A pulse energy traveled through his body that would render him immobile, while at the same time the droids powered on and began to walk towards him. This was a familiar process for him as it was necessary each time he needed to don his armor.

He heard the noise as the inner armor, separated into its components, brought towards were he stood so the process may begin. They would begin with the base of his neck, then up to his head, and back down onto his back, before moving on to the rest of the body. He knew having once witnessed the process performed on another.

A sudden piercing white light flashed before his eyes as pain coursed through every nerve in his body. The pain left little time for any other thoughts to preoccupy his mind, if he could scream, he would have done sore until his throat rubbed raw no longer produced any sound, not that he would ever admit as much if asked, for an unknown period of time he lived in a world surrounded by pain before it finally abated.

When finally, his surroundings returned into focus he wore the entirety of the inner armor. Covered from head to toe, his eyes also encased within their own special covering, the world tinted a unique grey color. The interface had already integrated with the armor and in the top left corner of his right eye began to display his vital functions. The time displayed indicated that there remained enough time for the wearing of phase armor before the ship exited hyperspace.

The worst part of the process had concluded, Aren spent the rest of the time familiarizing himself with the armor as the droids attached the outer phase armor. The process took less time and produced no pain as the armor need only slid in place before affixed to his body seamlessly. The unique hum of the power generator sang to life once every part settled into place. The droids stepping back into their places their duties discharged.

Noting the time Aren reached for his sword and rifle, he dithered for a minute as he fixed his sword to his side and the rifle to his back on whether or not a plasma pistol was also necessary. Making a quick decision, he grabbed one off the rack fixing it to his left side opposite his sword before stepping out of the armory. With quick steps, he stepped out of the armory a figure in gold, black-trimmed armor. The elevator doors opened as he stepped towards them, only closing once safely within, before beginning its descent down towards the command center.