Modok-
Modok was a barren planet in the Ultima Segmentum. Uninhabited and possessing only an extremely thin atmosphere, it was a world where virtually nothing except Orks could survive.
Even Orks would never come to a hellhole like this, though. There was nothing here but rocks.
No, that was not quite true. There was something else.
An immense black Obelisk towered over the planet's surface. Taller than a Titan War Machine, it pierced the thin atmosphere.
And now, warships crowded the orbit of normally deserted Modok.
Black-robed members of the Black Adeptus Mechanicus had set up all manner of instruments on the surface, taking readings from the Obelisk.
Bona gazed at the enormous black Obelisk.
"A remarkable piece of Xenos craftsmanship."
The expeditionary fleet had gotten lost in the Warp yet again.
It was as though the entire fleet had plunged into a raging ocean. Even the Astropaths could no longer see the light of Terra's Astronomican. The fleet barely managed to make headway through a combination of blind guesses and calculations.
Yet the Modok system was surprisingly calm, like a massive rock standing in a river, splitting the raging currents in two and leaving a patch of relatively tranquil water.
For now, it seemed that the Modok system's tranquility was closely connected to these immense Xenos stones.
"What are these things?" Horus asked.
"I don't know."
Bona studied the Obelisks engraved with strange writing.
"These Xenos constructs are remarkable."
"They can smooth over the scars left by the raging Sea of Souls, preventing the power of the Empyrean from entering realspace."
"Just looking at them makes me uncomfortable."
Horus watched the tiny black-robed figures bustling about in the distance. At their head, Archmagos Antonia was clearly beside herself with delight, frantically collecting data.
Ever since this Archmagos had joined