alerts

	As he watched the feeds from his sensor and communication systems, a new alert popped up on one.  He opened it with an eyeblink and read it over, and it gave him a feeling like a stone dropping through his stomach.

	Of course, Lerica noticed.  She was a mighty psyker, and his colleague of many years.  She didn’t say a word, she just tilted her silver-haired head up, raised one eyebrow, and waited.

	Domack turned.  “High Inquisitrix?”

	“Yes, Watch Commander?”

	Domack bowed his head.  “Watch Stations Discus and Bunker are reporting daemonic incursions,” he said darkly.  “Watch Point Earthquake has gone quiet, potentially destroyed.”

	Lerica nodded slowly.  “Noted, Watch Commander…” her voice trailed off.  Domack tilted his head back as Lerica’s eyes suddenly widened.

	“Inquisitrix?” Domack prompted.

	Lerica stood.  Alarms began shrieking at the sensorium stations as she did.  “Watch Commander, please train your auguries and spectral analysis equipment at arc two zero two by twelve,” she said, staring at the holofield of the system on the other side of the room.  She said so in the tone she usually sued while passing judgment on people caught smuggling Necron weapons.  Domack turned to his holo screens and began tapping keys, while the alarms magnified.  He spotted the issue at the same time as the sensor operators.

	A Techpriest at one of the auguries suddenly spun on his heel and stared up at Domack.  “Watch Commander!  We are detecting spacial displacements on the order of one THOUSAND contacts!  Distance, two light seconds!”

	Domack slowly straightened up.  “Please repeat magnitude.”

	“One thousand contacts and rising, sir!”  the Techpriest said.  His voice was artificial and still wavering.  Lerica slowly walked up beside her Watch Commander.

	“We may have a problem, Domack,” she said calmly.  A bead of sweat worked down her cheek over her psybernetic skin graft as she said it.  It was the most emotion Domack had ever seen her display outside the Chamber of the Vigil.