He stood in the command center of the planetary capital. The Tactical display was showing what it could of the void battle happening above them. The men cheered as they saw one of the enemy troop ships and a Traitor Marine strike cruiser fall out of orbit and begin to break up in the atmosphere. Along with all the other successful torpedo strikes.
Ameon did not cheer. While certainly a boon, it was less than he would have hoped. The enemy had others including other warships capable of launching drop pod assaults and deploying Astartes gunships like Stormbird and Thunderhawks. Along with providing orbital fire support.
Hope wasn't completely gone given the planetary defense weapons were still operational and waiting until the traitors moved into their weapon envelopes.
As the battle progressed at the slow rate of warfare in the void. He thought back to how different his life was now compared to life he knew on his homeworld. A life where the most advanced weapons and armor that were commonly available was common steel segmented plate armor and unpowered steel blades that most of the galaxy considered bygone relics of Terra's ancient myths.
Of the many names and titles that he had worn throughout his life. Snow, Bastard, Lord Snow, Crow, Traitor, Lord Commander, the Black Bastard of the Wall, the White Wolf, Stark, King, Ice Dragon, Dragonwolf, Initiate, Blood Claw, Gray Hunter, Varagyr, and Jarl.
He flexed the fingers on his sword hand thought back to true family. The cousins he was raised to believe he was their bastard half-brother. The true half-brother who he thought dead and whom he barely had gotten to know and love before he died in his arms. The uncle he called Father. How his parents' love started a war. The mother he never knew. The Father he once thought was the blackest of villains, that in truth sacrificed everything to give his world the weapon to defeat the darkness that threatened it. Old Maester Ameon who never knew that his living kin was closer than he knew. Of the women he called his wives and lovers. He could still remember them, Ygritte, Val, Sansa, Margery, Daenaerys. Of the pain he caused them. The children that they were forced to raise virtually alone. The children and grandchildren he barely knew. The faces of his grandsons and their sons who died trying to join their grandsire in the ranks of the Astartes.
Thorne had been right, he would be their fighting battles forever. Though Thorne couldn't have imagined, no more than he did, that those battles would take him across the stars fighting for humanity's realms in worlds and places even the most learned maester couldn't imagine.
One of the operators manning the vox station said, "My Lord, the enemy carrack has been reported as not having disintegrated in the atmosphere".
Ameon growled, "Give me the estimated impact zone".
A tech priest attending the vox system, "As the report came from PDF station Isla, I calculate that that the traitor ship shall impact on the Eastern Continent, within 300 kilometers of the port city of Massalia. Estimated impacted area from fallout is approximately 1000 square kilometers. Estimated time to impact is 240 seconds".
Ameon grimaced. Massalia contained a lot of necessary infrastructure needed to power the void shield that protected the Planetary Defense Laser Battery. Six Lance cannons should be overkill to destroy a Carrack, perhaps one of them could be diverted to destroy the falling cruiser.
Ameon ordered, "Transmit to all forces within a 1500 kilometers radius of Massalia to take cover and brace for enemy planetstrike from heavy orbital weapons".
The Warrant Officer in charge of the vox section replied with a salute and, "It will be done, my Lord". Before turning to give the necessary orders to the relevant operators.
One of the other operators said, "My Lord, enemy warships have begun deploying drop pods and gunships over the southern continent. Two Enemy Carrack transports have positioned themselves within the weapons envelope of the Planetary Defense Batteries. Battery Commands are requesting permission to fire".
Ameon answered, "Have one of the lance guns target the falling carrack, the others target the Carrack within their weapons envelope".
A single shout came from the operator he spoke to, "Aye. my Lord ''!
While a primed planetary defense laser battery could fire after acquiring its target in a manner of seconds, part of the plan to draw in the traitors was to appear as defenseless as possible. Thus, the ancient batteries had been put into standby mode, which made them quicker to fire as compared to being powered down, but also made its heat signature almost invisible to long range auspex sweeps. The torpedo silos would be far quicker to launch.
The race to power up the laser battery and when the carrack would make planetfall seemed to last forever.
That is, before they lost.
The ship impacted hard. It hit the city of Massalia directly. Completely destroying it and causing a massive tsunami that spread from the deep water port that quickly spread out from the destroyed port.
Ameon grimaced again. This was not a good development. Massalia had been an important city for the defense of the world, hosting massive generator districts that powered the void shields of the planetary defense laser battery and several important PDF bases, vast stockpiles of resources needed for the war to come, and over a million fighting men and women of the PDF and Imperial Guard. That was not even counting every installation and settlement that would be affected from the fallout of the impact and the tsunami.
Most of the baseline humans in the command room had been stunned into silence by the impact, but Ameon, and the warriors of his varagyr he had selected to accompany him still had their wits about them.
Ameon spoke in a deep commanding voice, "Standfast, we are not lost yet. Luck does not decide the outcome of a war".
That refocused the men and women within the command center.
A vox operator called out after receiving a new report, "PDL Battery has confirmed that enemy carrack in orbit has been destroyed completely.", a pause came before she continued, "Torpedo Battery confirms that their salvo has hit the target and it was vaporized".
The news caused an eruption of cheers from the men and women in the command center. Two more carracks have been destroyed along with whatever cargo they held. While their nose had been bloodied. They had returned the favor, denying the enemy further reinforcements that could have carried over a million men and armored fighting vehicles within their holds.
The rest of the opening hour of the war was filled with reports from the various field commanders on the Southern continent, including members of his own Great Company.
As expected the traitors focused on priority targets such as vital infrastructure and bases. There they had sprung their traps once the drop pods had land. Every area suitable for a large drop pod assault was pre-sighted for artillery and surrounded by Guardsmen and PDF with heavy automatic weapons. For some of the most critical locations he deployed a Hunter pack.
In these sights the traitors died in droves even when supported by deathwind drop pods and dreadnoughts or similar sized daemon engines.
Though not all went their way. The Traitors had made several landings in areas where there was little strategic and tactical value besides being free from the heavy defenses that they had prepared. It allowed them to gain a beachhead, but beyond that Ameon couldn't see what they were planning.
One of the vox operators shouted, "My Lord, the Planetary Defense Laser Battery has a priority distress"!
Ameon replied, "Patch it through".
A voice came over the vox, panicked and stricken with fear, "We're being overrun! Enemy terminators have teleported within the command bunker! We can't hold them off! We need reinforcements"!
Ameon flexed his sword hand again as he growled in anger. With the debris cloud coming from the destroyed city, it was completely impossible for even an astartes gunship to fly to their aid, even if his Great Company was on the right continent, and any overland means of sending reinforcements would get there too late.
Ameon said, "We need to retake the battery. What mechanized assault units do we have remaining in the area? We need to secure the battery or destroy it before the traitors can use it against our own forces".
General Manderly said, "Sire, We have the 8th Battalion, 2th Mechanized Infantry Regiment, of the 1st Northman Infantry Division stationed 50 klicks from the Defense Battery. We can mobilize them to aid in the defense or retake it".
He smiled, "Aye, it seems it is time for the Winter Wolves to show the traitors the fury of the Northmen".