35 Descen

"Send the stealth scouters to gather information and inform all other vessels to be standby." Leo commanded. Leo stopped his fleet to prevent escalating the fears in the civilization on the planetoid that this is an invasion and avoid an unnecessary war.

Leo sent out the scouters in a unique formation to maximize the information collected on this unknown planet. The scouters are arranged such that they would be able to prevent complete annihilation and ensure transmission of all information collected about the threats present on the planetoid. To find information on the entity or civilization present on this planet which caused the destruction of the earlier scouter, which sent the information about pyrine, was their main objective. Based on that information the next action would be taken, whether to approach diplomatically or attack them. Aons have now changed drastically from their early days, where they were brutal in their approach, and now took a diplomatic approach based on the sentience level of the residents.

These stealth scouters are a standard model of Aons for recon and don't create any disturbance in the space while travelling and emit very low energy signature which makes them best for resource exploration. So the civilization or creatures present on this resource rich planetoid should have advanced technological prowess or should have very acute senses to be able to find the previous scouter and destroy it.

"Sir the scouters are approaching the planetoid." A subordinate of Leo who is also an Aon notified Leo of their progress. "We are yet to be detected and there is no response from the surface. If we continue at this rate we'll enter the atmosphere of the planet."

"Don't enter the atmosphere and try to map the surface as much as possible. Try to find the wreckage of the first scouter." Leo commanded his men.

The scouters did not face any threat as they approached near to the atmosphere on the planetoid but they did not enter the atmosphere and started orbiting the planetoid. They started mapping the surface of the planetoid using just cameras to prevent being detected due to use of other techniques which might give their location away but they can only achieve so much using just a camera. Although the camera is very powerful but it cannot penetrate the surface and the atmosphere is not clear and filled with dust clouds. The scouters only had a clear view to the surface at few positions and they can't make much information out of it.

These scouters are remote controlled and are continuing orbiting the planetoid while Leo was busy communicating with the Aon council and explaining the current situation. Although Leo has discretionary powers to take decisions but after his previous actions he had been ordered to report all his decisions before implementing them to prevent an unnecessary massacre.

In one his previous mission Leo had taken the decision to wipe out a primitive hostile race as they were not cooperating with him in resource extraction. Although the civilization was primitive it was no doubt they were a sentient race which were not a threat to Aons so the actions taken by taken by Leo were excessive. The information about this incident leaked and it led to a widespread agitation in other civilizations about especially the alliance about breach of contract by Aons to not use force to steal resources. It was only settled after a long series of diplomatic meetings. This is one the reasons for Leo being sent to explore the fringes of Aonverse as normally such missions are given to lower ranked Aons and Admirals are mostly given the task of security.

After the Aons signed the peace treaty with the Dragons and started trading with other civilizations they had to maintain their reputation and such actions by Leo were not acceptable without a valid reason.

After receiving the information sent by Leo the council allowed for him to initiate contact and inform the council with the details real time. The council was also interests in the civilization which was able to amass such large amounts of pyrine. Normally pyrine is not found in such large quantity as they are unstable and disperse with time. The situation in front of them was a first for Aons and they are interested to find how it was achieved. Although Aons have their own methods to create pyrine but it is not economical and they can use other substitutes for energy.

The council already made a few speculation on the origin of the planetoid and what it is it but they don't have sufficient information to say with certainty.

"How long till the mapping is complete?" After Leo received the permission from Aon council he asked his subordinates for information on the progress. Although Leo can look it up himself but he has to go through large amount of information to take decisions and to increase the efficiency the Aons below him compile the data and send it to him. In a battle every fraction of time counts and it has become a habit by this point to do things in this way to be ready at all times.

"Sir at the current rate we would need at least a few weeks to completely map the surface." (A/N: I'm using Earth terms for time but they have a different system) the Aon under him responsible for handling the scouters replied.

Leo was not satisfied with the answer, "By how much can you increase the speed of the survey by deploying more scouters? Can we use other methods to finish it?"

"Sir by using other equipment we can finish the survey at the fastest pace but we would we exposed. Increasing the scouters is not going to give better results as the problem is due to the harsh climate on the planetoid which is hindering our line of sight."

Although Neo knew these he expected his subordinate to come up with a solution so he was disappointed in them. "You claim to be an expert in the field so come up with some solution. Send a few scouters into the atmosphere and make a slow descent to the surface."