The next morning, Relovan woke up in a bed that wasn’t in the Training Building for the first time since he arrived at the compound. In fact, he was in a bed that was far superior to the one he had in his apartment, and he couldn’t even guess the thread count of the sheets. He sat up slowly and shook his head before stepping out of bed and clutching his stomach with one hand.

“Hungry.” He said to himself before looking around.

There was a Holocron sitting on the bedside table, and Relovan eyed it suspiciously. He stepped closer to it, and just like the one Juxtae left for him, this one automatically activated itself as well.

“Lawman!” Nura boomed while eating some kind of giant bird leg. “Everybody says you stink! I know you bathed using that tiny sink in the Training Room, but some of these delicate wallflowers couldn’t handle the manly smell! So take a proper fucking shower after you wake up, and then come join me for breakfast! Later!”

Relovan watched on with grim fascination as Nura’s teeth crunched through and made short work of bones so thick, he doubted even Rhee could snap them with his hands. Relovan did recoil after sniffing hits pits however, and quickly made his way over the en-suite bathroom. It took him a few minutes to figure out how the fancy shower worked, but once he got the hang of it, it was all good. His scraggly facial hair and large afro were given special attention and washed properly, and half an hour later, Relovan made his way out the bedroom he was in and strode towards the dining room. He got there to find a collection of empty plates on a second dining room table, as well as a bunch of plates with food on the table Nura and Rhee were seated at. Rhee was watching Nura eat with a look on his face that almost caused Relovan to burst out laughing. The two men noticed Relovan approaching, and Nura raised a grease covered hand.

“Lawman!” He greeted with a smile.

“Enforcer.” Rhee said with a nod.

“Chief, Rhee.” Relovan said as he nodded back. “I trust you are both well?”

“Yeah, we’re just peachy! Sit, join us, eat!”

“Don’t mind if I do, Chief.” Relovan said as he pulled a chair and sat opposite Nura.

“Lawman’s here! Bring him his food!” Nura boomed, causing Relovan to look at Rhee.

“…have you had any of this food?”

“This food? No. My empty plates were taken away with the first batch.”

“…first batch?”

“Don’t even ask, Enforcer.”

Food was wheeled in to the dining room, and an assortment of breakfast meals were placed on the table in front of him. Relovan wasted no time digging in, and he too ate like a man possessed. He wasn’t tearing into the food like it was his last meal like Nura, but he was practically inhaling it, which caused Rhee to give him a similar look he was giving the Chief. While the two men ate, talking was at a premium. Somehow, Relovan still finished his food before Nura, and he sat in his chair looking satiated and satisfied. He nodded his appreciation to those who took the plates away and soon, the three men were left alone.

“So Chief, what’s the plan now?” Relovan asked as he watched Nura continue to stuff his face. “I assume I passed the test, and thus have graduated from the First Phase.”

“You most certainly have, Lawman. How you managed to grow so much in such a short space of time really does astound me. Anyway, to answer your question, what we do now is wait for the summons. In spite of you finishing a week early, the Council will not be rushed. So I guess you have a week or so to relax and recover naturally, without receiving Essence based healing. That can have dangerous long-term effects if used frequently.”

“…so you choose to mention that after the fact, eh Chief?” Relovan asked incredulously.

“So, since you have some time to yourself, I suggest you go home, get a haircut and have a shave. You’ve recycled the same few items of clothing for nigh on six weeks, so I’m sure freshening up would do you the world of good.” Nura said, ignoring the Enforcer’s question.

“Seeing as you two are also done with the training, I myself can finally get back to Nala.” Rhee chimed in.

“You in that much of a rush to leave, are you? Been missing those twins, eh Rhee?”

“Not at all, Chief Nura. I just feel a lot better when I am there, in case the Void Lord needs me for anything. I’ve been separated from her for far too long anyway.”

“…ah, so that’s how it is.” Nura and Relovan both mumbled simultaneously.

“That’s how what is, exactly?”

“Nah, nothing.” They mumbled in unison again.

“Anyway, once the Enforcer is ready to go, I shall call DeeDee and take my leave as well.”

“Just give me a few minutes to get my stuff together.” Relovan said as he stood up.

After the Enforcer disappeared down the hall, Rhee looked at Nura, remaining silent for a bit.

“What is it, Void Knight?”

“Are you done with your meal, Chief? It’s kind of difficult to speak with you while you eat.”

“Yeah yeah, I’m done. Feel free to talk.”

“Well, I didn’t get the chance to tell you last night, but I think I may have seen the true form of Enforcer Relovan’s Essence.”

“What?!” Nura roared as his head snapped in Rhee’s direction, causing the Knight to recoil a bit.

“L-Like I said, I saw him use a strange technique when you left the last time, in which he created a clone of you out of Essence. He mentioned how once having a clear image of his opponents, he was able to shadow box. Now, due to him being all instinct, he probably isn’t aware that those clones are created with his Essence, but when you returned last night and Enforcer Relovan stepped out of the room—”

“That purple haze came flowing out of the door.” Nura interrupted.

“Correct. That smoky… stuff, is the true form of his Essence.”

“…I see. When Lawman said he felt as though he had just seen me, that was because he had been sparring with those clones of me. Thank you for letting me know, Rhee – I now know what my next course of action shall be.”

“Are you willing to reveal what that might be?”

“Sure – take everything in that room and have the lab scry it thoroughly. That way, we will be able to find out what characteristic Lawman’s Essence has.”

“Seeing as Pure Essence oftentimes has characteristics that cannot be refined and processed such as the Essence that can be extracted and mined from stations such as the one here on Blargon.”

“Precisely, Void Knight, and that is why Essence Benders are not only a rarity, but are also potential World Enders. Anyway, the first thing to do is find out whether or not the Lawman’s Essence has a characteristic, and then we can move forward from there.”

Approaching footsteps alerted the two men to Relovan’s presence, and he popped into the dining room carrying his small bag and holding his hat in his other hand.

“I’m good to go.” He announced rather plainly. “Shall I call a cab, or?”

“A cab? When you’re in my house? Absolutely not! We shall escort you home, Lawman.” Nura said as he stood up.

Rhee stood up as well and walked over to Relovan with a smile on his face, before extending his hand.

“Enforcer, I can’t say that it’s been a pleasure, but…”

“I appreciate the healing that you provided, Void Knight. The company wasn’t all that bad either.”

“Really?” Rhee asked while looking a little too hopeful.

“…nah.” Relovan answered as he grabbed and firmly shook the Void Knight’s hand with a smile on his face.

Rhee looked a little hurt, but just chuckled and reciprocated the firm handshake. As the two men shook hands, the Void Knight closed his eyes. Not even half a minute later, two blue orbs appeared next to him, growing larger and brighter with each passing second, until they morphed into the shape of two people. The DeeDee twins suddenly appeared and looked around for a few seconds.

“Ah, Riri, there you are.” One of the twins stated in a jaded sounding voice.

“Yeah, there he is.”

“Is that how you greet someone after not seeing them for so long?” Rhee chastised. “Also, how many times have I asked you two not to call me that in front of other people?”

“Many, many times. But Riri is Riri. There’s no other name for you.”

The two women then immediately looked at Relovan, who was visibly trying to pull his hand away from Rhee. They looked him up and down, before smiling.

“Greetings, Enforcer.” The one said.

“You’ve gotten stronger.” The other said.

“Greetings.” Relovan said as he nodded at both women. “Come to take Riri back to the Walker?”

“We certainly have – wait, look at how much bigger his forearms have become, Dee!”

“I know… but he’s also showing signs of Healing Overdose. It’s not my place to say this Enforcer, but I think it might be better if you just let your body be and recover normally for a while.”

“One can overdose on being Healed?”

“It can happen, Enforcer – especially in those races that have a weaker physiology, such as Humans.”

“So how long would you recommend that I stay out of the Healing juice?”

“A few months at the very least.”

“Yeah, well we did we had to do, you blue cutie.” Nura said as he approached the group. “Lawman here had to level up, and we all knew the risks.”

“Actually, I didn’t know a thing…” Relovan said as he looked at Nura.

“Judging by how he looks, you all have achieved what you set out to.” The Dee that had been speaking said.

“Dee, we don’t have time – we must get back to Nala.”

“Yes, that’s right. We apologise for having to leave so abruptly, but the current situation calls for it.”

“Understood.” Relovan nodded.

“I’ll be coming for the both of you once this entire thing has passed.”

The twins shuddered a tad, before looking at Rhee. The one chopped his wrist, causing him to yelp out in pain and release Relovan’s hand, before they glowed and disappeared, teleporting out of the house. Relovan and Nura remained in the dining room, before looking at each other.

“Well then, shall we go, Lawman?”

“Ready when you are, Chief.”

After close to a half an hour, the almost unnecessarily large convoy left the Chief’s compound, and drove towards the city. Relovan and Nura were in the back, and mainly discussed what had gone on in the last five weeks, with the Chief wanting to hear details about the Enforcer’s training regime. He waved off attempts by Relovan to offer to cover the cost of repairs, and they found themselves back at Relovan’s apartment building before they knew it.

“So, while you have this time to relax Lawman, you must also stay sharp – there’s no telling when the Council’s Marshals will appear.”

“Understood.” Relovan said with a nod.

“I’ll be in touch, Lawman. Oh, and I almost forgot, but it might be a good idea for you to swing by your precinct and say hello to everybody. We’ve been using your squishy Human body needing time to heal as an excuse, but your leave has been entirely too long – particularly because you just disappeared after getting into it with the others at Ralph’s. But you really dug into them, calling them cowards and everything.”

“They are cowards Chief – the lot of them. I was visibly injured, and those idiots still refused to defend their honour.”

“Yeah, well you certainly let them know how you felt, Lawman.”

“Anyway, I shall take my leave. I’ll see you around, Chief.”

Relovan stepped out of the car, and before waiting for the door to close, he set his bag down, faced the Chief and saluted him. Nura, who was still seated, just grinned and nodded, before giving a mini salute of his own. The door slid closed almost painfully slow, but the two men held their respective salutes not only until the door was closed, but until the convoy itself drove off. Once the convoy had disappeared, only then did Relovan stand at ease. He picked up the bag and went inside, and decided to lie down for a bit before going about his business. Instead, he passed right out and slept for longer than he could have anticipated.

Relovan woke up what turned out to be two days later, and immediately realised two things – his body was fatigued, and his stomach was empty. He rolled out of bed, stumbled towards the bathroom, and showered. Upon looking at himself in the mirror, the Enforcer shook his head and sighed.

“It’s been a while since I looked like this. I guess I’ll go get that haircut and shave.”

Half an hour later, the Enforcer strode out of the front door and made his way towards the street. He had sent a text to Rahamat, the cab driver in the hopes that he was free and by the time he stepped onto the street, the cab driver was already waiting for him, standing as he leaned against his vehicle.

“Aha, Enforcer!” The cabbie greeted with a smile and a wave. “It has been so long, how have you been, Sir?”

“Teetering on the precipice of life and death, Rahamat.” Relovan answered honestly. “How about you? How are things on the First Planet? How did you get here so quickly?”

“Life on the First Planet has gone back to normal, Enforcer. The Custodians have been hard at work, and everything was rebuilt really quickly. As for me, I was actually on this planet already, so throwing my client out of the car and coming here was a trivial matter.”

Relovan looked at the cabbie with wide eyes and held in his laughter.

“Is that legal, Rahamat?”

“My cab, my laws, Enforcer.” Rahamat declared with a defiant snort. “Anyway, where shall I be taking you today?”

“Well, as you can see, I am in desperate need of some top shelf grooming, so I need to go see Tony.”

“T-TONY?!” Rahamat practically screamed.

“Yeah, you know him?” Relovan asked as he walked past Rahamat and opened the rear door.

“I-I most certainly do… but, do you seriously want to go to Tony? I mean, there are other—”

“Tony is good, thanks.”

Relovan simply climbed in the back of the cab and fastened his seatbelt. Rahamat swallowed a lump in his throat and got inside, before getting inside as well. They drove off and the cabbie was dead silent. Relovan wasn’t sure if it was because he remembered his passenger preferred silence, or if the silence was due to the visible unease that Rahamat was feeling. Tony’s Barbershop was also on the Fourth Planet, which meant that the drive itself was not a long one. Much to Relovan’s relief, the radio was not switched on, and he just looked out the window, watching the city. The car entered a dodgy looking part of the city, which in an already dodgy setting was quite impressive, and then pulled up to a building. The store front was littered with firearms that were poking out from every available space. Almost excessively thick metal plates had been stuck to the walls, and signs of combat were visible all around and on the building. Rahamat parked the car tentatively, and Relovan stepped out once the vehicle had come to a complete stop.

“Have you ever been in here, Rahamat?”

“I think the question here is, have YOU ever been in there, Enforcer.” Rahamat asked as he broke into a cold sweat and swallowed a lump in his throat.

“Of course I have – why else would I insist on coming here?”

Relovan then began to walk towards the front door and stopped to look back at Rahamat.

“What are you doing? Come inside – you’ll be a lot safer in there than you will be out here.”

“You can’t be serious…”

“You’ll be inside with an officer of the law, Rahamat. What could be safer than that?”

The pair walked up to the front door, and Relovan pushed it open. Rahamat had to cover his mouth with his hands to stop himself from shouting. Inside the barber shop was a collection of tall, large and muscular men from all corners of the Void. From the insect-like people from the Mpukane Systems, to the two-headed, brown skinned brutes from the Ma’Zamba’Né, and more. All of them had hands that were entirely too large to wield the tiny grooming utensils that the shop used, yet there they all were. The uniform that the barbers wore was what made them famous throughout the Blargon Planets – they all wore white wife beater vests, purple spandex tights, something called a ‘tutu’ – a garment worn by female ballet dancers on Earth – which had swan necks and heads protruding from the crotch, and then steel spike tipped heavy boots that looked like they could crack a floor while simultaneously impaling a person’s face. Their massive hands, which one could be forgiven for expecting to be calloused and rough, were almost unbearably smooth and soft, with manicured digits glistening in the light. Bright pink lipstick and eye shadow stood out on their surprisingly poorly done faces, and bits of makeup could clearly be seen hanging off their facial hair.

“You have a customer, Tony!” One of the barbers with the most gravitas ever heard boomed.

“Somebody is here for ME?” An equally loud and gruff voice responded.

Tony walked out from the back, and Rahamat had to pinch his cheeks to keep from passing out. While Tony wasn’t quite as tall or as vast as Nura, he did have four whole arms, with each arm being insanely muscular. A set of arms was crossed over his abdomen, while the other hung loose by his sides, and the moment he saw Relovan, his brow furrowed.

“I’ve been wondering just where you were for the past few months, thinking that you had either been transferred off-world, or killed in the Void Lord fight… yet here you pop up, bigger than before and looking like a homeless person! I don’t know if I should be happy or heartbroken!!”

Tony then started to run towards Relovan, unfurling and unleashing all four arms in the process. Rahamat, who was sure his heart was about to explode, looked towards Relovan wondering when the Enforcer was going to run away or at least scream so he could do the same. Relovan just calmly stood there and watched as the swan head bobbed around as Tony charged him. The giant man reached Relovan and suddenly broke down and fell to his knees. The ground shook a little bit and Relovan looked at Rahamat and sighed.

“Here it comes.”

Tony then looked up with tears streaming down his cheeks, shaking his head while looking at Relovan.

“How could you let yourself go like this?!”

“It wasn’t something I planned on doing, Tone… I just got busy. Anyway, I need the usual trim.”

Relovan just dismissed the Barber’s tears and feelings, walking to the chair that only Tony’s clients sat in, and sat down. The other men all aimed their gazes at Relovan, giving him aggressive glares, but Tony just calmed them down with a single wave of a massive hand and stood up. He dusted off his knees the tutu, then walked over to his client and draped the large tutu over his head, covering the Enforcer’s shoulders and torso.

‘…why a tutu?’ Rahamat thought to himself.

Tony quickly got work, with all four hands holding some kind of hair grooming tool. The hands then all became a blur, as the sniffling giant went to work, cutting Relovan’s hair as well as shaving his raggedy beard. The other barbers all stood with their hands clasped together, looking awestruck as they watched the proprietor of the Barbershop go to work. The sheer reverence on their faces as they watched Relovan get his cut made chills run down Rahamat’s spine, and he watched as Relovan sat with his eyes closed – as if he was enduring the cut. The intermittent sniffles and sobs were loud enough to drown out the buzzing clippers, however much to Relovan’s relief, the speed of the hands meant that the entire thing was over in under ten minutes. Rahamat swore he could see smoke rising from Relovan’s head, but it was all done. Beard was gone, balm was applied, hair was faded and lined up, shampooed and smelling good. The tutu was removed with a flourish, and as Tony fell to his knees again, all of the barbers started cheering and clapping. Tony continued to sob, and Relovan quickly stood up and cleared his throat.

“Thank you, Tony.” He said while conspicuously sliding away from both Tony and his chair.

He then looked at Rahamat with a look that clearly indicated that it was time to leave, but he found that the cabbie was trapped under the arm of a weeping barber.

“The artistry!” One boomed.

“The level of skill! The subtlety of touch!” Another wailed.

The hulks were all incredibly emotional, and Rahamat was at a loss as to how to proceed. He looked around to try and find a gap to slink through and escape, but saw Relovan standing before him. The Enforcer grabbed the cabbie’s shirt and yoinked him with such force, it as any wonder how the shirt didn’t completely rip. What did happen however, was that he was freed, and within a matter of moments, both men exited the establishment and made their way towards the cab. Rahamat practically flew into the car, while Relovan simply got in, and before he could even fasten his seatbelt, the cab was on the move. The next location hadn’t even been asked about, and it too a few minutes for Rahamat to calm down enough to actually speak.

“T-That… that… was not what I was expecting, Enforcer!”

“What exactly were you expecting?”

“Death! Torture! Maiming! The rumours I had heard about that place… every time you came across somebody who had been there, they would refuse to talk about it…”

“I’ll admit, it is a little jarring the first time you go there, but… you get used to it.”

“No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no, how do you get used to that?! I still don’t know what actually happened!”

“I went in and got a haircut while surrounded by a bunch of passionate barbers.” Relovan stated matter-of-factly.

“Yes, but… why were they crying? Why did Tony cry? Fall to his knees?”

“He’s just being dramatic, is all.”

“Just how did you manage to remain calm the entire time, and then leave without paying?! I heard that Tony only cuts the hair of an exclusive few, and that he charges such a high price per cut, that even those on the list can only afford a haircut once a year!”

“…bullshit.” Relovan said with a roll of the eyes. “The club is exclusive because Tony considers himself an artiste as he likes to say, and only cuts the hair of those he considers worthy to be works of art. He’s a pain in the ass, sure, but his skills are legit. Regarding the whole payment thing, Tony saw me as I responded to an incident in his neighbourhood, approached me and asked if he could cut my hair. I thought it was a weird come on, so I turned him down, but the guys I had just arrested explained who Tony was, and after he revealed the haircut would be free, I agreed to it.”

“…how long have you been going there?”

“The incident occurred in my first week of being posted here, so… anyway, the next stop is the Fourteenth.”

“T-The Fourteenth Precinct, Sir?”

“That’s right. It’s been a long time since my colleagues last saw me, so I guess it’s only proper to go say hello.”

“Roger.”

Rahamat nodded before turning the radio on, which drew an inaudible groan from Relovan. The trip to the police precinct was uneventful, and the men once again did not speak. Instead, the volume of the radio was gradually increased. By the time the cab reached the precinct, Relovan looked like he was tired of life, and was ready for it all to end.

“Why is it that the major contribution Earth hip-hop has made to the galactic community is spreading this mumble garbage to all corners of the Void?” Relovan asked as he stepped out of the car.

Rahamat was too busy jamming to answer the question, so the Enforcer simply slid his cap on and took a deep breath. He felt naked when he wasn’t wearing his hat, and he then looked through the window.

“You don’t have to wait for me, Rahamat – from here, I can walk back.”

“Are you sure, Enforcer?” Rahamat asked as he turned the music down.

“Absolutely. In fact, how much were you supposed to get from the person you ejected from the car earlier? I’ll cover that fare at the very least.”

“No no, it’s alright, Enforcer. I tossed him out by the ladies over at the Pleasure Palace – he’s probably still busy! Let me go and fetch him, Enforcer.”

Relovan looked at Rahamat before bursting out laughing and nodding a few times.

“Here’s hoping he isn’t a dried-out husk by the time you find him.”

“Here’s hoping. Call me if you need me.”

Rahamat then drove off and left Relovan standing outside the precinct. Relovan walked in to the premises and strode his way towards the building. He walked through the front door so quietly, that nobody even stopped what they were doing to look at him. Relovan just navigated his way through the building until he reached a flight of stairs which he ascended slowly. Once he was on the next floor, an untold number of eyes all set their gazes on him, and he already knew what was about to happen.

“It’s true! That really was Relovan who Titaka’Kaiket saw walking through the entrance!” Someone declared.

“Holy shit!”

“He’s still alive!”

“Somebody call the Captain!”

A number of Officers and Enforcers all flocked and crowded around Relovan, who just looked at them all and awkwardly nodded at them.

“Dude, nobody knew where you were, or if you were even alive. Everybody heard about the encounter you had with those other guys who went to the First Planet with you, and how you went at them.” One Officer began rambling, without Relovan even asking for any details.

“Yeah, calling them cowards and shit.”

“We thought they all got together, took you out and then the Chief was just covering for them.”

“We were told to not even look for or ask about you, that you were still in recovery and due to your ‘squishy Human body’, the healing process was going to be longer than we expected.”

Captain Biggum was the last one to speak, and the rest of them all shut their mouths. His hooves clacked on the floor tiles, and he was flanked by Toto and another assistant that Relovan didn’t quite recognize.

“Captain.” Relovan said with a nod.

“Fuckin’ hell Relovan, it’s good to see you. We’ve been deflecting and dodging questions that we had absolutely no idea how to answer since that damn incident. But before all that, as your Captain, I just want to say job well done. While we were all cowering in the presence of those other-worldly monsters, you took the fight to them and enforced the law, as your Rank states you should. You hear almost daily how you are ‘only Human’, yet you showed all of us what it means to truly be brave.”

The Hhagu Captain saluted Relovan, and the Enforcer stood at attention, and saluted his pig-like superior. Toto and the other assistant immediately followed the Captain’s lead, and even though it took some time, the remaining Officers and Enforcers all saluted Relovan as well. Despite the majority the salutes having been made through gritted teeth due to Relovan’s lack of popularity amongst most of his colleagues, that didn’t make them any less genuine. The men and women all stood in silence for felt like the longest time, before Relovan lowered his hand and nodded his appreciation.

“The Law does not see race, creed, strength or weakness, Captain. It is often very simple, and very binary – you are either operating within its confines, or you aren’t. When you are within those confines, no matter how you bend or manipulate it, you are still in the right. It doesn’t matter who or what you are, the moment you step even an inch over the line, then you are a delinquent and must be brought to justice. Those who called themselves Enforcers cowered behind the victims while hoping that somebody else would take care of the problem. Fucking cowards, the lot of them.”

Relovan virtually spat on the floor as he called them all cowards. The others just looked at him, with a large portion of them shaking their heads.

“That rigid stance of yours earned you a lot of enemies, Relovan.”

“Yeah, and? I stood before those enemies in a space which allows members of the police who have issues with one another to work through those issues without facing repercussions. I offered them the chance to make things right. They chose to do nothing. So whether facing near omnipotent super beings, or a single, injured Human, cowards remain cowards.”

An awkward and uncomfortable silence descended upon the police men and women, and with the exception of a few who nodded and smiled, most of them looked somewhat guilty.

“So what’s next?” Toto asked.

“Well, I am anticipating receiving a summons from the Council. Void Lords have their own disciplinary processes after all, so I will be required to appear before the Council and present my recollection of the events that happened that day.”

“Are you not afraid of being attacked or even killed by the Void Lords?” An Officer asked.

“He already tried to kill me once before – and came dangerously close. But I’m still alive, so I don’t find myself being overly afraid of him. That said, because this has become a Council thing, I am under their protection until the end of the Trial, so at the very least, my life and my safety are guaranteed for the next few weeks.”

The questions continued to pour in, and Relovan felt as though he was taking part in a question and answer segment of a press conference. He was answering articulately, but it didn’t take long until the questions began to get on his nerves – mostly because they were becoming redundant.

“By the way Captain, any idea what happened to my equipment?” Relovan asked, clearly changing the subject.

“Okay, well Void Lord Juxtae had one of her people return both your baton and your gun. What the in foink happened up there?”

“Void Knights are strong. I took down five Void Knights, and was on the verge of death afterwards.”

“…doesn’t that just illustrate how scary Chief Nura is?” Biggum asked.

“Yeah, I heard he took down the other Void Knights while Relovan here was busy with his Void Knights.” One of the others said with a thinly veiled sneer.

“Yeah. That guy is crazy strong.” Relovan said as he rubbed his jaw without realising it.

“Anyway, your new gun and baton are in your locker, along with the old, ruined ones.”

“Understood. Thank you, Captain.”

Relovan made his way towards his locker, with those who had surrounded him splitting and making way. The locker had a biometric scanner on it, and once Relovan unlocked and opened it, he not only saw the new and old weapons, but a new uniform to replace the one that had been destroyed. There were no pictures, no personal touches, not even a hint of customisation – just a boring locker. In fact, even his desk was like this. Once he had collected his equipment, Relovan made his way to said desk and looked it over. Being an Enforcer, he was mostly on the ground, but even then, his desk was woefully barren. That didn’t bother him at all though, and the lack of attachment that he felt towards the place and the people meant that he wasn’t even inclined to alert anybody when he decided to leave. He just took his stuff and tried to exit the building. He was stopped by a few Officers, but after saying his forced goodbyes to those who cared, he left the precinct and began the walk home.

Everything was exactly the same as it was the last time he walked the streets of the Fourth Planet, complete with the annoying hooting and aggressive driving of the Quantum, the sounds and smells, everything. The Enforcer was sure to take a route that avoided K’Tax and his chittering partner, and by midafternoon, he was ascending the stairs to his apartment with some groceries he had stopped to pick up on the way back. Over the course of the next week or so, Relovan spent his time training, eating, reading and sleeping. Things were rather slow as he waited for the Marshals to arrive, yet during a workout, as Relovan was holding two dumbbells while completing a lunge and with absolutely no warning, five white orbs of light appeared and surrounded him. The orbs swiftly turned into five broad and tall figures who were dressed in coats that were almost cartoonishly large, with large tails and massive lapels. The parts of their bodies that were exposed were wrapped in bandages with glowing markings, and they wore rather tall top hats. They teleported into the room with such force, they produced violent gusts of wind that sent things flying in all directions. Whether due to their weight or the teleport, their feet dug into the floor below, and they all they looked at Relovan. This all started as the Enforcer was mid lunge, and when it ended, he had just stood up to his full height. Despite it all happening in an instant, time seemed to slow down for Relovan, and he looked around at these large strangers who beamed themselves into his apartment.

“What the—”

“Enforcer Relovan, in the name of the Council, you are hereby summoned to appear at the Z0-N-D0 Commission, for the Blargon Hearing. You are to present the facts pertaining to the incident as you remember them. The SS Illusive will come to fetch you in exactly three days – be sure to have all your affairs in order before it arrives.”

The Marshal closest to the Enforcer tossed something that hit Relovan on the forehead. He didn’t even attempt to evade whatever it was, and Relovan, who was still holding the weights watched as the strange Marshals glowed again and teleported out of his apartment with just as much of a commotion as they had teleported in with. The Enforcer stood perfectly still and he looked around at the damage they had caused simply by arriving, and then leaving.

“Those guys… I wonder if I can bill the Council for this shit.”