Once the vanguard attempted to enter Nuceria's gravitational range, large numbers of staff officers and cogitators in the rear command center began analyzing the battlefield situation in unison.
All collected data was sent back to the cogitator center for processing and analysis, then forwarded to the staff headquarters to support the strategists' decisions.
War was never an isolated affair. The XIII Legion was accustomed to fighting under conditions of information dominance.
The Ultramarines possessed a highly mature and institutionalized doctrine of war: gather intelligence, analyze and calculate, then launch comprehensive, targeted attacks.
This was both their weakness and their greatest strength.
Once the gunships entered Nuceria's atmosphere and transmitted their signals back, the staff officers confirmed the feasibility of an airborne assault.
Then, faster orbital drop pods detached from the warships one after another. They plunged through the atmosphere at tremendous speed, engulfed in flames from atmospheric friction.
From the surface of Nuceria, the magnificent sight would have resembled a meteor shower descending from space.
After landing, the orbital drop pods would serve as forward cover on the battlefield, as well as new teleportation beacons, guiding and preparing the way for the teleportation of support forces in the rear.
It was not just the Space Marines. The XIII Legion's powerful mortal auxilia and heavy vehicles descended alongside them. Their practiced infantry-armor coordination had long since become second nature, and the battle-hardened Ultramar Auxilia was their staunchest support.
The Adeptus Mechanicus Knight houses were loaded aboard transport ships. Even the largest ground units, the Titan engines, stood ready, prepared to descend at any moment.
Servo-skulls scanned the planet for life signs. The results came as no surprise: every human and every other living creature on the entire planet had already been slaughtered.
The cities had been burned to ruins, the natural