A Chance Encounter with the Psyker Hunters
Just as Annie was getting ready to help, something happened that surprised even her: the survivor surrounded by a group of Warp Daemons—or perhaps she was a female Warrior? Whatever she was, she clearly didn't need Annie's help at all. In just a few swift moves, she chopped the small pack of daemons into pieces. She was even fiercer than that Master Sergeant Annie had met, and even fiercer than Mulan, the foolish AI robot who'd done nothing but hunt daemons ever since her man died.
Annie figured that if more people on this planet were like her, perhaps the Warp Daemons and Chaos monsters wouldn't have had the chance to ruin Canopy Star like this.
But the place wasn't suitable for a chat, and plenty of daemons in the distance had begun gathering after hearing the commotion. To avoid getting surrounded again, the two exchanged a glance, understood each other without a word, then turned and left together, leaving behind a field of mangled daemon corpses.
After that!
Not long afterward, following her new companion's lead, Annie spent nearly half a day carefully making her way out of the dangerous area. The daemons were searching everywhere and roaring hysterically there, and had even started fighting among themselves. At last, the two reached an abandoned botanical garden in the eastern suburbs and entered a heavily guarded underground base, where many elite soldiers—both men and women—stood watch.
That's right!
As far as Annie was concerned, it was an underground base, not a shelter.
There were plenty of refugees inside, but the facilities were complete and the soldiers looked sharp. She didn't need to think too hard to realize this place was nothing like any of the ordinary—or even unusual—shelters she'd seen.
The leader's reception