Inquisitor Stella poured over the information displayed in front of her. Her contacts had pulled through. It would take a miracle for her to survive the day, were it not for a small red light that blinked on her datapad.

***Encrypted communications***

///Requisition Status – Inquisitor Stella. Your requisition of a Smiting Squad has been accepted by Brother-captain Brüther – Happy Hunting, Ordo Malleus///

It took a week, but when they arrived, they were a glorious sight to behold. Hulking Terminators in silver armour, the deck shaking with every step. Many of the crew had gathered to see their arrival, including the Rogue Trader herself. She shared a glance with Stella – Pride. A cardinal sin, but one that was well earned for this particular requisition.

The leader of the terminators greeted the welcome-committee. The young man welcoming them pointed at the Inquisitor. Stella held her chin high as the terminators clanked over to her.

“Inquisitor Stella. I am Brother-captain Brüther, and these are my four battle brothers. I hear there are daemonic dangers of the chaotic variety in this sector?” The terminator said through the helmet vox-speaker.

“Welcome aboard, Brother-captain. I have great respect for the Grey Knights and I’m pleased you arrived with expediency. We will be working with Lord Captain Emberlyn Driftwood on our next mission. A warp storm is hitting Planetoid XV-59-Delta within the next few days – a key strategic location for offloading unstable munitions. We are to complete the mission before we are noticed by any of the xeno ships which have been sighted in the area,” Stella said. “Enjoy your stay.”

“Wait, Inquisitor.” Brother-captain Brüther said. “Are you THE Stella? As in Stella the Tyrant Slayer?”

Savage memories of her fighting tyranid monstrosities five times her size surfaced. True fear of the great-devourer. The hivemind, the growls, the teeth, the claws, the winged-tyrant.

“Yes.”

Brother-captain Brüther nodded with respect. “I was there when the system was evacuated. We heard the tales of your monster slaying. They said you stayed on the planet until the very end. We thought you had perished in the swarm.”

Stella swallowed, pushing down the memories of the swarm and her miraculous escape. “Yes, I lived. I managed to fight my way to an experimental transport shuttle called the SUPERLOOP which evaded the Tyranid hive fleet by looping around the orbital ring.”

“Most impressive,” Brother-captain Brüther responded. “Is the SUPERLOOP among the assets on Planetoid XV-59-Delta?”

“Parts of it, yes. Now, as you can see, I have a valuable alliance with the Rogue Trader. You’ll be with me personally moving forward, so rest up and get acquainted with the Illustrious Vexation. As I said, enjoy your stay, the Lord Captain’s dinner parties are most-delightful.”

Finally, Stella thought. Some high-ranking warriors who actually respect me.