Juxtae then looked at Relovan, who had not knelt along with the two Knights. In fact, his guard was up and his eyes scanned the room they were in, as if he was looking for an exit. The moment he felt Juxtae’s gaze on him, he met it with his own and remained silent. One of the Dees looked at him and spoke in a somewhat annoyed sounding tone.

“The Lady says that… that… oh. It appears she wishes to speak to you directly, Enforcer. She will now speak through me.”

“How?” Relovan asked, looking somewhat confused.

A blue light then enveloped Dee’s head without warning, and the light grew ever brighter until it shone out from her eyes, ears and mouth. Relovan watched the light show with his most impressive poker face. Once it calmed down, Dee spoke once more, however with a completely different sounding voice. It was a lot deeper, yet also a lot gentler, and came across as though it was trying to calm him down or soothe him.

“Enforcer.” Juxtae said as she nodded slightly. “First, let me thank you for accepting my invitation – especially considering how things went the last time we were in each other’s company.”

Relovan simply looked at the Void Lord in silence, which clearly annoyed the Dee that was not being used as a mouth piece.

“Secondly.” Juxtae continued before her subordinate could say anything. “Allow me to convey my sincerest apologies for injuring you the way I did. I was trying to help and clearly used too much strength, resulting in more harm than good. I truly am sorry.”

“You were trying to help?” Relovan asked incredulously.

“Yes, I was.” The Void Lord said with a simple nod.

“By destroying my chest?”

“…yes, well… you had single-handedly taken down a few Knights, so I thought that I had held back sufficiently so as not to hurt you further.”

Relovan just glared at the Void Lord silently for a bit, before speaking.

“Is this really the reason why you have summoned me here, Void Lord?”

“Certainly not, however I did feel the need to explain my actions to you.”

“Wha?” Dee said as she looked completely flabbergasted. Even the one under Juxtae’s control looking surprised for a second.

“I beg your pardon?” Relovan asked as he too seemed to be a little taken aback.

The notion that a Void Lord would feel the need to explain herself to a mere Enforcer, stationed on a backwater planet boggled the minds of both Dees and Relovan. Relovan looked at Juxtae with an intense gaze. Despite her mask having no eye slits of any kind, he could feel that he was looking directly into her eyes, and she returned the gaze. The pair was quiet during the stare down, but Relovan eventually nodded at the Void Lord.

“Please continue, Void Lord.”

“Very well. My pushing you aside was indeed my way of trying to help you, because the moment you ran towards him with the intention of striking him down, Vox was committed to cleaving you in two with his blade. I intervened to prevent that from happening, because if he did kill you, that would have made our lives complicated – especially considering how yours would have been the only fatality.”

“Worse still because I am Law Enforcement.” Relovan said with a slight nod.

“Precisely. I thought that if I pushed you away and engaged Vox long enough, he would forget about you and target me once more. I did not anticipate that I would almost kill you.”

“Really? I find that rather strange - I am a Human after all, and we have a reputation as being easy to kill.”

“Yes, however the things you accomplished that day, and the signs I saw from you in that brief exchange led me to believe you were…”

The Void Lord’s words tapered off there, and it seemed as though she was carefully formulating her words in her mind. After a few moments, she spoke again with a slightly tilted head.

“…powerful.”

“I had a shattered arm and was already on the verge of death, Void Lord.”

“Yes, but you still displayed… power.”

Relovan, who was looking increasingly fatigued as he stood there sniggered slightly at the irony of the situation.

“Skill, maybe. Power? Certainly not.”

Juxtae saw that Relovan was beginning to look a little ragged and waved her hand. Instantly, a strange chair like thing grew out from the floor and formed behind the Enforcer. She then signaled for him to sit down and after a moment, he did just that.

“Should you really be out of the hospital though, Enforcer?” Juxtae asked.

“I can’t stand hospitals.” Relovan answered as he looked at the woman. “They never smell how they’re supposed to.”

“How are they supposed to smell, Enforcer?”

“Like hope. Like relief. Like life.”

“And instead they smell like?”

“Death.” Relovan said in a chilling voice as he clenched his right fist rather tightly.

“Either way Enforcer, you are still unbelievably injured. That you have recovered this much in such a short space of time is nothing short of remarkable.”

The Dee who wasn’t being used looked at Juxtae with bulging eyes and her mouth agape. She just couldn’t believe that her boss was praising this broken-down Human this much. Juxtae looked right back at Dee, and Relovan looked at both women silently. It appeared as though they were speaking, but due to the way they spoke, Relovan couldn’t even begin to guess what they were saying. Whatever was being said died down quickly however, and the Void Lord looked back at Relovan.

“Enforcer.” She said as she began to float towards him. “I have something of yours that you left behind on the battlefield.”

“Something of mine that I left behind?”

“That is correct.”

The Void Lord gestured and then a long, narrow box floated in from inside some kind of lockbox. It wafted over towards both Relovan and Juxtae, who had reached the Enforcer by then. It gently landed on a small platform that Juxtae raised from the ground, much like with the seat Relovan was sitting in. Once it had landed, she looked down at Relovan who was eyeing the box. She then created another chair and down floated down into it, her eyes gaze seemingly never leaving Relovan. She then gestured with her hand for Relovan to open the box, and after a moment or two, he did just that. Inside was his stun saton, although it looked completely different. It looked burnt, and had multiple streaks all along the rod that had been melted into it. Each streak led to the plates on the baton that had popped open during the engagement with Vox, and resembled flower petals. These ‘petals’ made their way up the baton to the three-pronged trident head – which was also incredibly warped and distorted. All three prongs were black, and the entire baton – including the handle – was covered in a multitude of strange bubble-like growths. Relovan looked at the baton carefully, before looking back at the Void Lord.

“What happened to it?” He asked rather simply.

“What do you mean, Enforcer?”

“I mean how did this happen to my baton? These things are provided by the Department. The type of voltage required to do this much damage to one of these standard issue batons is far higher than anything it can produce, and I do not recall ever parrying away a lightning attack four weeks ago.”

“Yes, this is true, Enforcer.”

“Then what happened to the baton in the interim? Did Void Lord Vox do something to it? He predominantly uses flames, so…”

“He exclusively uses flames, Enforcer. You were the only one who used this baton, and I picked it up immediately after you dropped it.”

“I didn’t drop it as much as I was blasted away, Void Lord. Also, did the Regulator not do anything to it? Although why would he?”

“Nobody touched your weapon, Enforcer. You did this when you used it.” Juxtae answered, successfully masking her amusement.

“Me? How could I have done this? It didn’t seem like it malfunctioned when I was wielding it.”

“There was no malfunction, Enforcer. These batons all have a small core in which the Essence they use to fuel the lightning is stored.”

“This I know.” Relovan stated clearly. “These cores have to be recharged after a certain number of uses.”

“That is correct. Did you know however that they also have the ability to absorb Essence from those who are wielding them in the event the core depletes during an altercation. I suspect that is what happened.”

“What? That this baton drew out Essence from an external source?”

“That is correct Enforcer. The Essence it drew from this source was either too powerful for the weapon, or it’s innate properties brought about the degradation of the baton.”

“And you believe that this Essence came from me, Void Lord.”

“That is precisely what I believe. I believe that unbeknownst to you, you possess Lightning Essence so pure that it caused a weapon created for the express purpose of using Lightning Essence to break. I believe that if you were to harness this Essence and train yourself, you could become infinitely more powerful than you already are, Enforcer.”

Juxtae seemed to be getting somewhat excited as she spoke, and she even started leaning forward, getting closer to Relovan. The Enforcer however appeared unfazed by her excitement, and just waited for the Void Lord to finish speaking before leaning back in his seat. He took a deep breath, which caused him to grimace a touch and tuck his left arm in further.

“Void Lord… you say all this; however, I find it all difficult to believe. What I can believe is that I have no hidden or latent Essence powers – I have skill and ability gained through training and experience, that is all.

“Is that so?”

“It is.” Relovan stubbornly insisted. “My abilities come from hard work and untold amounts of broken bones and gallons of shed blood. There’s nothing more to it.”

“Then how do you explain the state of your weapon, Enforcer?”

“I can’t. There could be any number of reasons as to why it ended up like that. Anyway, if that is all, I shall take my leave.” Relovan announced as he stood up a little bit too quickly.

That was a bad idea though, as his entire body was immediately wracked with debilitating pain. The pain was radiating from his chest and left arm, but somehow, he felt it across his entire body. Relovan’s knees buckled as he tried to remain standing, however the pain was such that it took all of Relovan’s focus not to drop down. Moments after he managed to stay on his feet, Relovan felt two hands gently cup his cheeks and then he was made to look up. As he did so, all he saw was blue, heard something that sounded like words, however before he knew what was happening, everything went black.

Relovan eventually found himself waking up after an untold amount of time. His eyes shot open, and after taking a second or two to adjust, started darting around, trying to take in his surroundings. He quickly found that he was not only in his own apartment, but even in his bed. He sat up with almost entirely too much speed, however much to his surprise, Relovan neither felt dizzy nor fatigued. The blanket that slid off of his body revealed both his state of undress, and bandages that had not been there when he was last awake. They were wrapped around his torso and left arm, and there was an oddly sweet smell that wafted up from the bandages.

‘What the….?’ Relovan thought to himself as he examined his physical state.

He jumped out of bed and began going through a series of stretches to test for stiffness and pain. After confirming a distinct lack of pain coming from his body during the light exercises, Relovan suddenly spread his legs and bent his knees slightly, before assuming a fighting stance. He started throwing a series of left jabs as he continued with the test and soon enough, was shadow boxing right there in his bedroom. He was predominantly using his left arm, throwing jabs, left hooks, and by the time he actually stopped, Relovan had worked up the lightest of sweats, and held the pose for a bit, before letting out a deep breath and standing up straight.

“No pain.” He mumbled as he looked at his arm again.

He turned around and something on his bedside table caught his attention. It was an unfamiliar object and as he approached the table, he recognised it. It was a Holocron, and had a gentle blue light that pulsed every few seconds. Once he was a certain distance from the table, the light glowed rather brightly, and after beeping a few times, a life-sized holographic image of Juxtae appeared in front of Relovan.

“Enforcer Relovan, if the Holocron has been activated, that means you are conscious. First, allow me to apologise for having DeeDee enter your apartment without your consent – I would have preferred to have you recover inside Nala, however with the current state of things, it would have been risky to keep you onboard for much longer. We were not quite able to confirm just how much we were able to help you recover, so please take it easy until you have had a physical checkup. We also weren’t able to discuss even half of the things I had hoped to talk to you about, however I believe the opportunity to see each other again will arise. We can continue our discussion then. Farewell, Enforcer.”

The Holocron beeped a few times once more, before the image of Juxtae disappeared. Relovan stood in silence as he looked at the now deactivated Holocron.

“…she practically said nothing after speaking so much.” Relovan scoffed as he walked out of his bedroom.

He stopped in his tracks and stared at the gym equipment that was assembled in the small lounge. The gaze frequently switched between the gym and his torso as if the Enforcer was agonizing over whether or not to work out. The agonizing was rather short lived though, as minutes later, Relovan was kitted out in his training gear. It was of a high quality, yet well worn, hinting at frequent and intensive use. Unlike the DeeDee twins, Relovan easily used the equipment as he eased into it.

“Keep it simple.” He said to himself. “Take it easy.”

Those words may as well have been spoken in an ancient language that Relovan couldn’t understand as he was soon pushing himself to the point where his clothes were drenched, and there were multiple puddles of sweat on the floor. The Enforcer had no idea just how long he had been working out; however, he was forcibly pulled from the training session as his Communicator started vibrating.

“PICK UP THE PHONE! I AM CALLING!!” The phone boomed in Chief Nura’s voice, prompting Relovan to shudder a bit.

“What the fuck?!” Relovan boomed as his phone continued to ring in that fashion.

After a brief search, and confirmation that it really was the Chief calling, Relovan answered the phone so emphatically, he almost cracked the small screen on the outside of the phone. Instead of saying anything though, Relovan just breathed heavily into the phone.

“Lawman!” Nura said in cheerful sounding voice. “You finally answered! Where you asleep or something?”

“I was… out. More importantly, when did you change my ringtone… Sir?”

“Oh, I made that a custom alert for when I call you! I recorded it while you were ‘out’. Cool, huh?”

“…why is it so loud, Sir?”

“So you can hear it.” The Chief responded matter-of-factly. “Anyway, I didn’t call to discuss the tone – I’ll be coming over to your apartment to see you later! I’ll bring food! Until then!”

“Wait, Chief.”

The call was ended before Relovan could say much else, and he just stood with the Cosmo pressed against his ear, looking equal parts annoyed and dumbfounded. The workout was well and truly over, and Relovan began to clean up a bit and wiped down his gym equipment as well as the floor. Just as he finished doing that, Relovan felt slight vibrations through the floor, causing him to look at the front door with a suspicious look on his face.

“No… it can’t be. He just called saying he’d be here later.”

The vibrations became more and more pronounced until there was a knock on the door.

“Lawman, open up.” Nura said in his resounding voice.

The knock sounded like somebody was trying to destroy the door with a battering ram, and when Relovan opened the door, he saw the Chief standing somewhat hunched over with his hand raised. It appeared as though he had been knocking with his forefinger, and there was even a slight indentation on the door.

“Whoa, look at you.” Nura remarked as he squeezed his way into the small apartment without waiting to be invited. He actually had to turn his body sideways to fit through the comparatively tiny doorway, and after Relovan actually moved to accommodate the Adonian, Nura successfully managed to enter. He stood at the door and just analysed Relovan’s studio apartment. Without saying anything, he walked to the island in the kitchen area and set the food parcels down.

“Nice place.” Nura said as he turned to face Relovan.

“…Chief, just how long has it been since you called me?”

“About twenty Earth minutes.” Nura said as he walked into the lounge and looked at the gym equipment. “Judging by how these are still slightly warm, and you’re still drenched, I’d say you were working out until recently. Was that really a good idea, Lawman?”

“It would have been a terrible idea if I hadn’t received treatment, Chief. Anyway, where exactly were you when you called?”

“Somewhere close by.” Nura said with a shrug before picking up the barbell which had been set to close to maximum weight with one hand. “Not bad.”

“Chief, you called me as I was knee deep in a workout. I have yet to even shower, so I would like to shower and get changed. Before I do, can I offer you something to drink?”

“No no, I’m good.” The Chief said with a dismissive wave. “Go ahead and shower – I’ll be here.”

Relovan was somewhat irked by how Nura was clearly avoiding answering questions relating to how close he was when he called, however he just let it go and took a shower. Due to the fact that there was no longer any pain shooting through his body when he moved, Relovan was able to shower and get changed relatively quickly. When he rejoined the Chief, he found the massive man standing in front of the bookshelf, perusing his library. He also noticed that the food had been served in the kitchen, and that there were various kinds of liquor set as well.

“When did all this happen?” Relovan asked.

“While you were in the shower. Anyway, colour me impressed, Lawman. The sheer volume of Constitutions in this library of yours is nothing short of phenomenal.”

“It makes things easier to be as intimately acquainted with as many Laws of as many territories within the Coalition’s borders, as well as beyond said borders.”

“Easier to do what, exactly?” The Chief asked as he looked at Relovan.

“To enforce the law.” Relovan answered as he took a deep breath. “Forgive me for being direct, but I doubt that you came here to look at my books, Chief.”

“No, I didn’t, Lawman – I actually came here to discuss your future, and just how ‘long term’ you wish for that future to be.”

Chief Nura said this as he turned around and looked at Relovan, gesturing for him to take a seat before sitting down on a chair that the Enforcer had never seen before. Once both men were seated, the Chief began to speak without any warning.

“So let us discuss the immediate future first, Lawman. Considering how well versed you are with Coalition Laws, I’m sure you already know that there will be a Council Hearing in which they will decide what the repercussions the Void Lords will face will be. I’m sure you have also guessed that both you and I will be summonsed to appear at the Hearing, although it won’t just be as responding Officers.”

“I assume we will also be summoned to appear as Witnesses.” Relovan said in a rather deadpan sounding voice as he crossed one leg over the other.

This caught Nura somewhat off guard, however he just nodded and continued speaking.

“That’s right, Lawman. This means that until you have attended the Hearing to present your version of things, you are essentially untouchable.”

“Untouchable? How do you mean, Sir?”

“Quite simply, you have drawn the ire of Vox. Even if you were unsuccessful in your attempt to subdue him through force, you still tried to do it. Not only that, it seems as though Void Lord Juxtae is somewhat receptive towards you, and for some reason, anybody she’s partial towards even slightly ends up having to watch their backs.”

“Hmph.” Relovan snorted with a hint of annoyance. “I couldn’t care less about that man’s ire. He broke the law, and if I am required to elaborate further in front of the Council, I will. Void Lord Juxtae isn’t exempt from this either.”

“That segues wonderfully to my next point – the reason why you are safe while waiting for the Hearing to take place is because Council Agents know as Marshals have been dispatched to keep an eye not only Vox, but on Juxtae as well.” Nura said with a slight grin.

“To what end?”

“To ensure that the Void Lords neither try to take you out, nor attempt get on your good side and convince you to abstain from honouring the summons. Think of it as surveillance from both the Council, as well as the Emperor to ensure that the situation doesn’t become worse.”

Relovan looked at Chief Nura in silence, before suddenly looking as though he realised something. The look on his face didn’t last all that long, and his expression went back to being neutral.

“So if I were to guess, what you’re saying is that I am essentially safe until I give my testimony, and then chances are, the Void Lord is going to come after me?”

“Something like that.” Nura said with a bit of a smirk. “You might be wondering if Vox would really come after you for something so superficial, but trust me, he has obliterated scores of people for far less. The sense of entitlement he feels due to his status is almost unbelievable.”

“Being a Void Lord does make one virtually invulnerable after all.” Relovan answered with a shrug. “That said, the laws used to keep Void Lords under a certain level of control being broken can lead to extremely severe consequences.”

“This is true, however there has to be a reason strong enough to compel the Council to pursue those consequences.”

“And I assume you’re saying that my death would not be a compelling enough catalyst to set any form of repercussion into action?”

“Unfortunately not, Lawman; you are just too weak – both socially and physically.” Nura answered looking entirely too serious. “The way things currently are, Vox could wait until the Hearings are over with, and then destroy you without having to worry about facing any real consequences. This is honestly the reason why I’m here, Lawman – because I have a solution for you.”

“A solution?”

“That’s right – a way to strengthen you.”

“In what way, Sir? Physically or socially?” Relovan asked.

“Both.” Nura said with a grin on his face. “To be completely honest, you are already terribly impressive, Lawman. Having seen the surveillance footage of you dealing with the Knights, it is plain to see that you are a cut above. There is a term banded about amongst Humans called Superhuman, and I have absolutely no doubt that your capabilities are of such a level. Your physical prowess, ability to sense danger and adjust in the heat of the moment, your willpower and composure, all of these have surpassed those of the Human race. You are a well and truly a Superhuman, Lawman.”

“…but?” Relovan asked as he inhaled deeply.

“But this assessment is only impressive when compared against other Humans. While I doubt there are many Humans who could use your gym equipment at the same weight as you, there are countless Non-Human races that can, with relative ease as well. You are fast approaching the limits of the physical strength you can squeeze out from that body of yours. Don’t despair though, as I have a plan to increase your strength exponentially!”

“Exponentially you say?” Relovan asked, sounding about as suspicious as a person could.

“That’s right.” The Chief replied with a series of nods. “The biggest problem you face right now Lawman, is that you’re squishy – too squishy. For the level of threat you face here on Blargon, your strength is more than adequate. But whether you like it or not, you have just been pulled into a world where at your current level of strength, if you got caught by the wrong being on the wrong day, you could be killed by a sneeze.”

Relovan looked at Chief Nura with a brief, yet intense glare. This was met with rapturous laughter from Nura.

“Yes, that’s it Lawman! That statement irked you so much you dared to glare at me, your superior in rank and strength. I like that. Listen, if you want to have a hope of surviving long enough to obtain the strength to defend yourself, we first have to do something about your ability to take hits.”

“Taking hits? You want me to take hits, Sir?”

“Actually, that’s the last thing I want – but you are not quite quick enough to avoid attacks of a certain level, so we are going to have to push your Human capabilities to their absolute limits and beyond.”

“To what end, Sir?” Relovan simply asked.

“Honestly? We need to get your body to the point where at the very least, I’m confident you won’t be destroyed before we even set things in motion. I’m still hammering out the finer details of the plan, but I’m confident in having it done by tomorrow. That said, there’s something I am curious about, Lawman.”

“My physical condition?”

The Chief answered with the simplest and slowest of nods, before reaching for a drink.

“To put it simply Chief, I was healed by Void Lord Juxtae or her Walker – I can’t be sure. I only remember losing consciousness in her chambers before waking up in my own bed, practically naked.”

“Naked?”

“Yeah, practically. She left me a message stating that they couldn’t keep me onboard for longer because of the current situation. I guess after hearing that she’s being watched, I shouldn’t be too surprised.”

“How did they transport you to and from the Walker?” Nura asked, suddenly perking up.

“Teleportation, Sir.” Relovan responded as he reached for something on the table. “Those two… attendants of hers came here and teleported me into the Void Walker, so I can only assume they did the same to bring me back.”

“I see… interesting.” Nura said more to himself than anybody else.

The rest of the evening was spent making light conversation, and in spite of Relovan trying to coax more details about the Chief’s plan out of him, he got nothing but distracted sounding small talk. It didn’t take all that long for the Chief to excuse himself and actually leave, with Kipp coming in after receiving a signal of sorts. He not only took the chair that the Chief had been seated on, he even took the lion’s share of the food and drinks. The small assistant moved with such speed and efficiency, he almost looked like a blur. In no time at all, everything was cleared up and after giving Relovan a nod, Kipp disappeared, with Nura following after him.

“Get your rest, Lawman.” Nura said without stopping or looking back at the Enforcer. “I’ll be back tomorrow to explain the plan to you in detail, and depending on how well my next meeting goes, we might even start.”

The Chief squeezed out through the door with some difficulty once more, and just like that, he was gone. Relovan stood there in silence at first, looking around at the mostly empty table and then into his bedroom in the direction of his bedside table.

“…what do these people think another man’s house is?”

Despite being somewhat annoyed and dissatisfied with the meeting, Relovan ate the food that was there and went to bed shortly afterwards. Meanwhile, back on the Dock, Void Lord Juxtae’s Walker, which was surrounded by not only guards dispatched by the Council, but palisades as well, was being approached by a rather small police convoy. It arrived rather quickly, and as an armed guard approached the main vehicle with the intention of finding out just who was coming to pay Juxtae a visit, the door opened automatically and Nura stepped out. The entire vehicle actually rose by a good few inches as he did this, and the approaching guard stopped in his tracks. He looked up at the giant Adonian and swallowed a lump in his throat as an opportune gust of wind caused his cape to flutter.

“Ch-Chief Nura… how may we help you?”

“I am here to see the Void Lord.”

“May I ask what—”

“I have something to discuss with her regarding what happened that day.”

“Y-Yes, well to be honest, the curfew instituted by the Council is in effect, and—”

“I am going in – it is up to you whether or not this is a painful exercise or not.”

The Chief’s eyes glowed a deep shade of amber, and there wasn’t even a hint of facetiousness or jest in said eyes. The guard wasted no time in stepping aside, and even saluted the massive man. Nura just started walking and soon enough, he walked through the makeshift gate where there were a few more guards stationed.

“Alert the Void Lord of my presence if you don’t mind. Oh, and I would appreciate it if my vehicle was allowed to park inside.”

Chief Nura didn’t wait for the guards to respond, and just powered his way into the camp of sorts. The presence of not only the Void Walker, but the guards meant that refueling activities were severely neutered – with only a handful of pumps working, as well as a small amount of space being available. During the early days of Nala’s ‘beaching’, the local press had been camped at the Dock, hoping to get a glimpse of Juxtae or a comment from her. Instead, they got Council dispatched guards and chased away, so they had been complaining about all the space that the Void Walker was taking up, as well as the encampment set up around it. All this meant that in the end, it was rather simple for Nura to not only approach the Void Lord, but possibly see her. As the Chief made his way towards Nala, he suddenly felt multiple gazes on him, which gave him pause only for a second before continuing his approach. The Adonian stopped just as he was about to reach the Void Walker’s ‘belly’, and much like it did that day, it opened and the DeeDee twins descended from the opening.

“Police Chief Nura.” One of the twins said as they both bowed.

“Word was sent of your intention to meet with the Lady.” The other said. “May we ask to what end this meeting has been requested.”

“…there is someone the Void Lord and I have to discuss.” Nura answered.

“…someone?”

“Correct.”

There was a momentary period of silence before the two women stood up straight.

“Please follow us.” They said in tandem as a set of steps lowered from the Walker.

This brought a toothy grin to the Chief’s face as he nodded while waiting for the steps finish extending.