//Hive Ship Mia, in high orbit above the colony world of Limia// Prelate Veicc shifted from one foot to the other, as he gazed into the holo display that hovered just above a table in his darkened quarters, a map of the planet below them turned lazily on its axis. To most the planet of Limia would be worthless, vast wastes stretching out across its surface, massive dust storms ravaging whatever had not already succumbed to the pale beige. To most it would seem as none could live here, but it was here that his people made homes, in the lost, forgotten and dead places of the galaxy. Veicc stayed that way for a good while simply watching the display of the planet turn, musing on this and that, that was until a soft chirping broke his concentration. Dismissing the Planetary Display, the Prelate pulled up a console in its place. The light of the room slowly brightened to normal levels, leaving Veicc with a slight twinge of annoyance. Sensing this, his Ventri began to stir, but kept their place, all but one tat clambered out and into the air, the high pitched humming of its wings filling the air as it launched itself into a tight orbit around the Prelate. A chuckle emanated from Veicc as he laid his hand on the holo plate for bio-metric verification, he had always found a form of solace in these small creatures. The pad beeped as the chirping stopped as the four emitters on the corners of the table angled themselves to produce a new image. The form that was rendered was that of Exarch Seri, a recent addition to the Exarch council, but as of late a good addition, she had proved her worth many times over as a calculated risk taker as well as a logical thinker. As her form finished materializing, she bowed quickly "Prelate, I hope I am not interrupting anything." Veicc held out his hand, the Ventri that had been flying around landing in his upturned palm "Nothing of import Exarch, nothing of import. At least nothing that cannot be put aside. And please be at ease, your making me tense just watching you through the com." Relaxing visibly the Exarch took a deep breath before continuing "Im sorry this could not wait until you got back to Sele, but the other Exarchs, as well as I, thought it was better if you were informed now. We have received word from a few scouts in the Outer Territories. It seems that a few scouts have been detected moving through the relays, as of right now we are confidant that they are unaware to our knowing of them, as they are continuing on a predictable path." This got Veicc's full attention, even the Ventri perked up as if it was interested. "Scouts? What race and where from? and where are they going?" Clearing her throat Seri began to answer the questions "We are not quite sure what sire they hail from, there technology is... new. They also seem to avoid using the pathways, however if they continue along their present course they will reach Miris in less than two weeks." Veicc's face hardened, scouts or no Miris was more than a simple outer territory outpost, it housed a decent population and had potential to grow, even in the Outer territories. "Task a few scouts to tail these new interlopers, they are to remain undetected and simply observe, any breach of this and they will answer to me personally. I want to see what our inquisitive friends will do, in the mean time summon the other Exarchs, I want at least a quarter of them in system by the time I arrive. Also contact the closest Outer Fleet and place it on standby." Seri bowed once more "It will be done as you instruct Prelate. Wisdom guide you." "and may knowledge light your path Exarch." With that he cut the transmission, and turned toward his door. As he strode towards it, the small ventri clambered back up his arm and back into its hibernation place where it settled, unphased by the brisk pace. As the door silently slid open the Prelate was flanked by two large armored figures that had been waiting outside the door, each wore an ornate variation of the Hive Guard Armor, and carried with them a wickedly sharp glaive. Their faces were covered by featureless porcelain white masks, only the black holes for the eyes broke their surface. Continuing on, now flanked by his guards Prelate Veicc moved towards the bridge, he wanted to make this order personally. ------ The Mia broke orbit within the hour, its own guards flanking it, the battleships "Relentless Intent" and "Dauntless Will". The three moved towards the relay, and from there to Sele. ------- Summery: The Karilac have begun quietly watching their relays, and following any scouts that enter their space. The entire Dominion has been quietly moved to an alert status as a Nur'xal scout nears one of their outer colonies, and the Exarchs have been summoned to the homeworld, for what however remains to be seen.