Editing Space Hulk (section)

== Background ==
In ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'', the term "space hulk" is used to refer to any massive derelict space ship that drifts through the vacuum of the galaxy without apparent direction. Since the hulks often exit and re-enter the Warp seemingly at random, searching or travelling within them is dangerous in the extreme, however the Imperium often takes the risk of exploring these hulks for valuable millennia-old technology and artifacts. Space hulks may house more than just Genestealers; other threats aboard can include human followers of the dark gods of Chaos, nightmarish Warp Daemons, and [[Ork (Warhammer 40,000)|Orks]] who use space hulks as their "standard" method of interstellar travel. The only realistic means of stopping such threats to the Imperium is to send boarding parties to clear out these infested hulks, as they are often so huge that they can easily shrug off all but the heaviest naval firepower while having their own atmosphere and gravity.  

[[Genestealers]] were described in an entry of the "Aliens and monsters" section of the first edition of ''Warhammer 40,000'' (the "WH40K - Rogue Trader" manual). However Genestealers were redesigned for ''Space Hulk'', being influenced by the xenomorphs depicted in the ''[[Alien (franchise)|Alien]]'' franchise. The expanded and rewritten game lore cast Genestealers as a sub-species and shock troops of the all-consuming Tyranids alien race, and of particular note is that Genestealers infiltrate/infect the local populace of target planets to cause civil unrest in advance of an invasion of their Tyranid Hive Fleet.

Space Marine Terminators are described in game lore as first company veterans in each Space Marine Chapter, having earned the right to don the sacred Terminator Armor, making them more powerful and resilient but slower than regular Marines, so Terminators are normally used in close quarter battle environments. Space Marine Terminators were originally only used in Space Hulk-type scenarios, but rules were added in White Dwarf magazine and subsequent releases of ''Warhammer 40,000'' for the inclusion of Terminators as a small/elite part of a Marine army on the open battlefield. <ref>UK ''White Dwarf'' WD112 04/1989</ref>

Besides a space hulk, similar skirmishes between Space Marine Terminators and Genestealers can also be set in other environments.