Ultima Segmentum
Sotha
Only when countless Imperial fleets were misled by the pillar of light rising from Sotha did they truly realize they had fallen into a trap.
That light came from the Pharos.
The structure predated humanity by countless ages. Built by an ancient race long since lost to the dust of time, it served a purpose similar to the Astronomican, yet did not depend on the Emperor's psychic energy to function.
It stood atop Sotha's highest peak, tracing a path through the stars with almost arrogant clarity.
It should have been a beacon on the Imperium's frontier in the Ultima Segmentum, a light kindled for lost fleets, offering hope to ships crossing the warp storms.
Yet ever since the Iron Hands Legion had seized it, the beacon no longer served the Imperium.
It had become a fishing line dangling in the darkness, a flame luring moths to their deaths, a graveyard reserved for Loyalist Space Marines and Imperial fleets.
The Imperial fleets fortunate enough to escape the storm of rebellion had endured countless engagements and pursuits. With battered hulls and exhausted crews, they struggled through the turbulence of the warp.
When they finally picked up the Pharos's powerful signal, they believed it marked a safe harbor ahead, still under Imperial control. They believed the Emperor's grace still watched over them.
They corrected their courses, fired their engines, and sailed toward that light, burning the last of their fuel like drowning men grasping at driftwood.
One ship after another emerged from the warp into orbit around Sotha.
No supply stations or welcoming signals awaited them, only deathly silence and a wall of steel stretching across the Sea of Stars.
The Iron Hands Legion Fleet, already lying in wait, immediately unleashed its full firepower on prey that had yet to