The Maelstrom was an extraordinarily complex place.
The ceaseless Warp storms were what had made it this way.
Countless distorted sights unfolded across this expanse of stars.
And Huron Blackheart and his Red Corsairs lurked amid that starfield, as though concealed within its warped backdrop.
Chaotic Warp energy, combined with natural storms and all manner of supernatural phenomena, made ships entering this region extremely prone to losing their bearings.
As the combined fleet gradually approached the Maelstrom, the Navigators began collapsing to the floor, clutching their heads.
Distorted Warp imagery surrounded them, and malicious whispers constantly echoed in the ears of these psychically sensitive Navigators.
All manner of horrifying images seared themselves into their minds.
Even with the protection of their Gellar Fields, the Navigators wanted nothing more than to flee the region.
Hiss!
A thick beam suddenly shot from one of the Strike Cruisers at the very front. The searing beam tore through the void, passing barely a few dozen meters from the prow of an Ultramarines Strike Cruiser.
"What happened?!"
The instant the high-energy beam skimmed past, alarms blared throughout the ship.
The Ultramarines soon spotted an enormous shadowy mass emerging from the void beside their prow before drifting away into the distance.
It was a massive boulder, fully one-third the size of an Imperial Strike Cruiser, with a large, dark-red scar where the plasma beam had melted its surface.
Yet the Imperial Fleet had completely failed to detect this enormous object directly in its path.
"Why is this happening? There was nothing in the optical view! Damn it, have those Navigators still not recovered?"
Complaints rang out across the bridge.
Calgar and Jaghatai, farther back, also noticed what had happened and immediately ordered the fleet to heighten its vigilance.
Colliding with a gigantic rock in space would