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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
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Before the coming of the [[Imperium]], the Pale Stars were host to a number of [[Xenos]] and "devolved" [[Human]] cultures. In [[M30]], the [[Great Crusade]]'s [[771st Expedition Fleet]] (which included [[Raven Guard]] elements) charted the region and massacred the Xenos and human inhabitants of several of its worlds.{{Fn|3b}} Not long after this initial wave of conquest and genocide, the [[13th Expedition Fleet]] of [[Primarch]] [[Angron]] also passed through the area, causing even more destruction. The Pale Stars' survivors would consequently maintain a deep fear for any [[Space Marines]].{{Fn|3b}} On a few worlds of the Pale Stars, the pre-Imperial cultures would able to persist until at least [[M31]], with [[Sidaiva]], [[Dissolution]], and [[Optera IV]] being notable cases.{{Fn|3a}}{{Fn|3b}}
By the start of the [[Horus Heresy]], the Pale Stars had not yet been elevated to [[Sector]] status. However, the Imperium had begun to set up some administration, centered on [[Phargos Rex]] as the main world,{{Fn|3b}} while being in the proccess of purging the region's last Xenos and other resistance holdouts.{{Fn|3a}} Any kind of order was shattered with the Heresy's outbreak, however, as the Pale Stars were [[Pale Stars campaign (Horus Heresy)|ravaged by Loyalists, Traitors, and third-party factions ]] alike. The main loss of this campaign was the Pale Stars' main world, Phargos Rex, which became consumed by a [[Warp Storm]].{{Fn|3c}} During the late stages of the Horus Heresy, [[Emperor's Children]] forces fleeing the destruction of their [[Homeworld]] of [[Chemos]] took up residence in the Pale Stars, forcing the [[Salamanders]] to [[Scouring of the Pale Stars|respond]].{{Fn|2}}
In the following millenia, the Pale Stars remained a important source of resources for the wider [[Maelstrom Zone]].{{Fn|1d}} However, the region remained sparsely populated, relatively isolated, and constantly beset by corsairs and Xenos.{{Fn|1b}} Many previously Imperial-dominated worlds{{Fn|3a}} of the Pale Stars were lost by [[M41]].{{Fn|1b}} In the [[Badab War]] of 901-912.M41, the Pale Stars once more became a major battleground, and suffered terribly as loyalists and secessionists fought over their resources. In a brutal series of raids and conquests by the [[Minotaurs]], circa 20% of the Pale Stars' human population was massacred.{{Fn|1c}} By 907/908.M41, the region was largely under loyalist control, through human and Xenos corsairs had also increased their activity.{{Fn|1d}}
