There's a lot there he could ask about there, but the words 'preemptive strike' stand out as the most important piece. While it would be kinder and no doubt safer not to pry, that isn't what's going to happen now that Psi has mentioned it. Childermass straightens up at those, away from the previously lazy lean he'd been in.

"Preemptive strike? Against what?"

It isn't even his turn to ask another question yet, but damn the game if that's what the supervisor meeting had been all about.