ANNIHILATE

The sergeant checked his scanner and saw that another squad of men were running level in
the parallel corridor. All other corridors were clear and the objective lay ahead seemingly
undefended. The hulk contained hundreds of rooms holding genestealers in cryogenic storage and it
was hard to believe that one particular set of storage pods was more important than the others.
However, the data the chapter had downloaded from the hulks computer indicated that one pod
contained a very special genestealer, a leader known as a Patriarch. 

A Patriarch was something they had only heard about from the war chronicles. A tyranid
leader, just the thought if it scared them.

All the cryogenic clusters the Terminators had seen so far looked identical, frosted crystal
cylinders full of swirling green gas. It was impossible to see what was inside them, though the
mere presence of a human watcher was enough to stimulate agitated movement within.

It was hoped that the Terminators would be able to identify which cylinder contained the
genestealer leader. No one knew what a Patriarch looked like. It might look like just an ordinary
stealer but in their imagination they saw things different. It would probably be twice the size
of any normal genestealer and education had thought them that they even possessed psycic
abilities able to control humans diverting their weapons against eachother.

Suddenly the sergeants scanner blipped a furious warning. Seconds earlier the area was clear, now
numerous blips were closing in on all sides. It seemed they had walked into a hornets nest. His
helmet display indicated they should reach their destination in under two minutes - with the
blessing of the Emperor they might just make it.

There was not enough time to investigate all the pods. No matter how much they wanted to capture
the alien leader for study, their orders were to destroy the entire contents of the target room. 
.
