Relovan set the dumbbells down and began cleaning up a touch. He did this for just over ten minutes before the sound of sirens caught his attention. This caused Relovan to stop what he was doing for just a second and look a little concerned.
“…that can’t be.”
The blaring sirens became louder with each passing second, and it took no time at all for them to reach Relovan’s building, all but confirming his suspicions. Seconds later, there was a loud thud outside Relovan’s door which caused the ground to shake a little, but then that was followed by the daintiest of knocks. The Enforcer already knew who it was that arrived, so he opened the door.
“Come on in.” He said before going back to tidying up.
It was quite the struggle for Nura to fit his massive frame in through the door once again, but he managed to do it without causing any damage to the door frame.
“They were here, weren’t they Lawman?” The Adonian asked as he finished squeezing through the door.
“How could you tell, Chief?”
“Beings of power always leave traces of themselves either when they enter a place, or they leave it. In most cases, one has to be of a certain level to be familiar to these traces. Besides, Marshals don’t even try to conceal their presence, or their power. Those of us sensitive to that kind of shit would have to be real stupid if we weren’t able to detect them.”
The two men stood in Relovan’s tiny apartment without saying a word for a bit, before Relovan looked at Nura suspiciously.
“…Chief, if both you and I were the ones to take on the Void Knights and Void Lords, wouldn’t those Marshals come to see you as well? Were you not also summonsed?”
“…no, well… no, they didn’t come to see me, Lawman.” Nura stammered somewhat as he cleared his throat. “I didn’t receive summons like you did, but I signaled my intention to accompany you to the hearings to the Council’s representatives long before they sent the Marshals.”
“So you’ll be coming with me?”
“Of course, Lawman. As the Police Chief for Blargon, it would be improper to send you off to face the Council alone – like we did the Void Knights and Lords nearly two months ago.”
“Hmph.” Relovan snorted slightly before nodding his appreciation.
Nura grinned before nodding back at Relovan. He stomped over to the Enforcer and tapped Relovan’s forehead with a large forefinger, which made a strange sheet of ethereal paper pop up in front of Relovan’s face.
“What the fu—”
“These are your summons, Lawman.” Nura said as he read what was on the paper. “Well then… you are being treated like quite the V.I.P, Lawman. They are sending the Illusive to come and get you, which means they want you to arrive with absolutely no fanfare.”
“How do you mean, Sir?”
“The SS Illusive is one of the quickest Traversers within the Council Fleet. For them to send it to pick you up means they likely fear Vox is going to try and take you out, or at least, take out his anger on you – you did try to get in his way, after all.”
“Hmph, let him try. Next time, I’ll cuff him and haul his red ass in front of the Council.”
Nura burst out laughing, while ‘patting’ Relovan’s back gently.
“You’re terribly defiant when it comes to the law, eh?”
“The law is absolute, Chief.” Relovan answered sincerely. “Anybody who disregards it is a deviant in its eyes, and at that point, they are simply walking around on borrowed time until I find and arrest them.”
There was a chilling look in Relovan’s eyes that caused the Chief to grin broadly and dismiss the summons by swatting it away like some sort of galactic bug.
“Right you are, Lawman. Anyway, I shall take my leave now – be sure to have all your shit together before we leave. Also, pack your ceremonial uniform – it’s what you have to wear when testifying.”
“Understood.” Relovan said with a nod.
“Alright, later then.”
Nura exited the apartment with even more difficulty than when he entered, and from that point, Relovan spent the next two days taking care of errands and making sure there were no loose ends. He even got another haircut from Tony, and by the time the third day came around, he was ready to go. He was dressed in his police uniform, complete with the cape and cap. He sat in his tiny lounge with his weapons holstered and his bag packed. His possessions by and large all fit in the single bag he had decided to bring with him, and he figured the Marshals were likely to teleport in and wreak havoc with his things again, so he moved most of the smaller items into his bedroom and closed the door. Sometime in the morning, he heard the Chief approaching with his usual motorcade and less than five minutes later, there was a knock. Nura invited himself in without waiting for Relovan to answer and squeezed in with some difficulty again. He looked as though he was close to smashing the entire apartment out of annoyance, but stopped himself and waved at Relovan.
“Lawman.”
“Chief.”
“I take it that you’re ready?”
“Indeed I am.”
Nura looked around the apartment for a few seconds, before looking at Relovan.
“Something’s different.”
“The Marshals wreck things when they teleport, so I moved the things that could potentially get wrecked.”
“Well, they are beings of pure power, so I’m not surprised that happens.”
As Nura spoke, he noticed that Relovan’s bedroom door was slightly ajar, and he could see a bit of Relovan’s broken gun and stun baton.
“Are those the weapons you used that day?” He asked as he pointed.
“Oh, those? Yeah.” Relovan answered as he looked back at them. “They were in my locker down at the precinct, so I took them.”
“Mind if I look at them?”
Relovan stood up and went into the bedroom, before emerging with the weapons a few moments later.
“Something to drink, Chief?”
“I would like to say yes, but there isn’t all that much time left before the Marshals arrive.”
Nura took the weapons in his hands and looked at them, his attention especially focused on the baton.
“I’ve never seen this happen to a standard issue police baton before, Lawman. Even watching the surveillance footage, I couldn’t quite believe it. These things are built tough.”
“There are duds and defects everywhere, Chief.”
“True as that may be, I think it’s best if we go to the Station now – the Marshals aren’t all that far from landing, I think.”
“Landing? So they won’t be teleporting in here?’
“Not likely. They will be arriving with the SS Illusive after all, so it would only be proper for us to meet them at the Station.”
“Makes sense.” Relovan agreed as he stood up.
He grabbed his bag and gestured for the Chief to walk out first, which he did. The door was then locked and the pair made their way down to the cars in the parking lot. The drive over to the Station was two things that Relovan’s previous trip up was not – quiet and nowhere near as rushed and frantic. They were able to drive like normal people, which is precisely what they did. They didn’t even drive with the sirens blaring, and they actually stopped at the boom gate and went through one after the other – like normal people. They reached the Dock, and even drove past Nala, who was still stuck there like some kind of beached sea creature. Relovan could have sworn he heard a noise coming from the Void Walker as it saw them drive past, but he chalked that down to his imagination. The group parked at a non-refueling part of Blargon Station, which was smaller and less used than the refueling section of the Station. The two men stepped out of the car they were in, and Relovan leaned against the side of the car while waiting for the Marshals to arrive. The team of staff that had travelled with Nura started to offload his plethora of luggage from the vehicles that were part of the motorcade, and Relovan just watched as the piled the bags on top of each other.
“…what? How much stuff did you bring, Chief?”
“Enough.” Nura answered quickly as he walked around and stood next to Relovan.
“You are entering a different world now, Lawman.” He said as he looked at the Human. “The beings you are about to come into contact with are likely unlike anything you have seen before – and I say this while being aware that you were part of the Death Squad. I need you to prepare yourself mentally in whatever way you must, because the moment we step on the Illusive, we’ll be entering a different realm entirely. The second phase of the plan begins immediately after the Hearings conclude, so things will be busy.”
“Hmph.” Relovan snorted as he pushed himself away from the car and stood up straight. “Understood, Sir.”
The conversation was unable to progress any further however, as a split appeared in the darkness above the Station and the two halves separated. The split became broader and soon enough, streaks of lightning, swirling flames, gale force winds, waves and all manner of Elemental occurrences could be heard and seen happening in the Void inside the split. Multicoloured Shields lined the surface of whatever Voidcraft was coming through the split, and that was really the only way that those on the ground were able to see that there was actually something coming out from the Void. Whatever it was appeared to be particularly large, and the Shields repelled all of the Void attacks rather proficiently for around a minute or so until the entire brightly coloured ship had exited the Void and was now hovering above the Station. The vessel was massive, and its multiple thrusters changed direction, facing the ground. The split was a Void Portal, much like the ones created by the Void Walkers that arrived at the Station two months ago, and whatever cloaking system the ship had been using as it came through the portal was deactivated, revealing the SS Illusive. It was large, incredibly sleek looking – as if it had a unibody that was chiseled out of one large piece of whatever it was made from, instead of being put together and assembled. It had many a light, many a thruster of varying size, and was branded with a positively massive example of the Council Fleet insignia.
Upon receiving the necessary instruction and approvals, the ship then began its descent, and the one thing that Relovan noted was that despite the size and scale of the Voidcraft, it was damn near silent. Unlike the sense of occasion the Void Walkers brought with them, the SS Illusive barely made a noise or kicked up any dust – it just arrived, descended and then after some time, landed. It wasn’t completely silent, but comparatively, it’s like it didn’t even exist. Relovan and Nura watched from a distance as the ship landed and settled down. A few moments later, police vehicles zoomed past them and flew towards the Illusive. Even Station Security Officers were rushing over in their goofy looking four wheeled carts. After a number of vehicles went past them, as well as a few Security Officers that ran by on foot, things quietened down again. Relovan and Nura looked at each other in silence for a bit, before they both sensed the incoming presence of more than a few entities. Not even a second later, four Marshals landed in front of the pair and looked at them both.
“Chief Nura, Enforcer Relovan.” One of the Marshals said in a raspy voice. “We have come to escort you both to the ship – please follow me.”
One of the Marshals looked at the ridiculous amount of bags that had been piled up and a moment later, they were all engulfed by a turquoise light and rose up off the floor. The Marshals then flanked both men, and the one that had addressed them signaled for them to follow after him, which they did. They all walked in silence, and after a few minutes of walking, they reached the SS Illusive – the sight of which caught Relovan’s attention.
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“…whoa.” He muttered as they walked.
There was a large number of Marshals present, and they all formed a guard of honour of sorts to the entrance of the ship. The Illusive was vast up close, and looked far better than Relovan felt it had any right to.
“First time seeing something like this?” Nura asked.
“First time boarding one.” Relovan replied. “I’m more accustomed to rinky-dink pieces of shit like V-Fighters.”
Nura shuddered at the mere mention of V-Fighters, and then chuckled.
“Well, then this is about to be a vastly different experience. Traveling through the Void in something that doesn’t creek, or violently wobble when struck by lightning will be quite the experience. Even the Voidcraft that the police use are pieces of shit in comparison.”
“I’ll bet.” Relovan said as he examined the Illusive.
The Marshals led the two men to and through the guard of honour, with every Marshal bowing ever so slightly as the two men walked past them. There was a platform that was directly below the opening into the ship, and when the group reached it, it slowly began to rise. Relovan looked down at the Marshals, security and policemen and women on the ground. His gaze was fixed more or less on the police, and after a few seconds, he set his bag down and saluted them in what looked like slow motion. The police all looked at their fellow Enforcer, and before they even knew what they were doing, they all reciprocated the salute.
“Surely, some of the cowards you chastised are down there, Lawman.”
“No doubt.”
“Yet you’re still willing to salute them?”
“I was informed that there was one Enforcer – a young kid – who wanted to provide assistance during the whole incident. Apparently, he cried a hell of a lot when he heard my final update on the radio. This salute is for him, on the off chance that he’s down there.”
“Understood.” Nura said as he faced and looked at the police on the ground.
The Adonian too saluted them, but with his trademark grin that kind of made it look like he wanted to eat them. The police officers all held their salutes, right up to the point that the platform deposited the Chief and Relovan into the SS Illusive. Relovan’s salute suddenly dropped as he looked around. They had been immediately deposited into the passenger area of the Illusive, and it looked like the interior of a private aircraft of the highest quality.
“…Chief Nura.”
“What is it, Lawman?”
“What is this? Why are we being flown like dignitaries?”
“…your guess is as good as mine.” Nura answered as he too spent a few moments looking around.
“Please, this way.” The Marshal that had first spoken to them said.
The two men simply followed the Marshal who led them to a round table with two seats that even appeared to have been placed there specifically for them. There was a massive seat, and a more regular sized one, and the setup wouldn’t have been out of place in a high-class establishment meant for entertaining members belonging to the upper echelons of society. The rest of the Marshals teleported into the cabin, and they all moved to their designated posts within the cabin. The one who appeared to be in charge then approached Relovan.
“Excuse me Enforcer, would you like me to place your bag in a storage compartment? Unlike the Chief, you appear to be travelling light enough that I can place it somewhere in here.”
“…sure, I don’t see why not.” Relovan distractedly responded.
He was still looking at the amenities within this lavish space. The Enforcer handed the bag over and just as he did, seatbelts popped out from the sides of the chairs, making themselves available.
“Gentlemen, we are about to take off and would recommend that you fasten the seatbelts until we are at least within the Void.”
The pair required no further suggestion as they fastened their respective belts with alarming speed – especially Relovan. The Marshal simply returned to his own designated spot after putting Relovan’s bag in a storage compartment. These designated spots were demarcated with glowing white circles which had a barcode and serial number placed on a plaque that had been placed on the floor. A slight rumble within the cabin suggested that the SS Illusive, which had been on and idling the entire time, was ready to take off. The Voidcraft rose up vertically and as it did, the landing gear retracted. Everything that was happening was being felt more than it was being heard, and Relovan found himself absolutely gobsmacked by the entire experience. A holographic monitor appeared in front of either man, and it showed both of them the view from multiple cameras that were on the outside of the Illusive.
“Opening Portal – please stand by.” A robotic sounding voice announced.
Relovan watched as that slit from before opened up again, and the Void Storms that were raging within all looked like they were going to rip the SS Illusive to shreds.
“That looks crazy violent.” Relovan remarked.
“It is.” Nura replied. “But then, the more violent the storms within the Void, the shorter the route. These Top Tier vehicles are made to traverse the most violent parts of the Void like it’s nothing, after all.”
“…I’m just having flashbacks to the last time I was onboard a V-Fighter, Chief.”
“Don’t sweat it, Lawman! This will be nothing like that!”
Just as Nura said that, the Voidcraft flew directly into the Void Portal. The Illusive wasn’t moving particularly quickly as it went in, and as the nose crossed the threshold and entered, the voice spoke again.
“Activating Void Shields.”
The brightly coloured cloak covered the ship, which was just as well, as the Illusive was attacked by the combination of Void Storms. They all hit the SS Illusive at the same time, yet all that was felt within the cabin was a slight rumble. The ship started moving faster the further in to the Void it flew, and after a minute or two, the voice spoke again.
“Reaching optimal cruising speed and activating cloak. ETA to the Capital is seven Artrinomian Cycles.”
“That’s around five Earth hours.” Nura clarified.
“Yes, I am aware, Chief.” Relovan said as he looked at Nura. “That is bloody quick, though. Especially considering just how far the Coalition Capital really is.”
“Agreed.” Nura said with a grunt.
There was quiet in the SS Illusive for a while as both men got comfortable and visibly relaxed. The silence and relaxation were both broken by Relovan close to an hour into the trip as he looked at the Chief.
“Chief, I have a few questions.”
“You do? Well, ask away, Lawman.”
“First of all, on the day we met, right before things went to shit, you tossed my regulation combat armour off the Station as I was trying to put it on. I haven’t been able to think of one logical reason as to why you would do that.”
“To see what you were made of.” Nura answered with a shrug.
“Excuse me?”
“Lawman, you were faffing with that stuff for so long, you were going to be left behind if somebody didn’t do that. I mean really, would they have made any difference if you had managed to put the rest of that crap on?”
“Probably not, but protection is still protection!”
“Tell me Lawman…” Nura interrupted. “…how long have you had that problem? Being unable to wear armour, that is.”
“What makes you think I’m unable to wear armour, Chief?”
“You wouldn’t be the first person I’ve met who’s had that problem, Lawman. Just answer the question, please.”
“It’s been a while…”
“Since the Death Squad days?”
Relovan shot Nura an extremely concerned glare, but it was waved away rather dismissively by the large Adonian hand.
“The Marshals are unable to repeat what is said by those they are escorting – it is law. Much like Custodians, they were beholden to the strangest laws. We are free to speak without having to worry about our words being leaked or recorded.”
Relovan looked at Nura, and then at all of the Marshals with a suspicious look, but when he looked back at the Chief, he answered his question with a nod.
“At first it wasn’t a major thing – I was only unable to equip small items of protection, but as time went on, it got worse and by the time I received my name, I was pretty much completely unable to equip armour.”
“So you lost the ability to wear armour before you left the D.D.S?” Nura asked, sounding surprised.
“That’s correct, Chief. I left, got a name, and then joined the force. But my being unable to equip armour doesn’t mean you should throw it away at your leisure.”
“It wouldn’t have made a lick of difference, though.” Nura dismissed again. “Lawman, are you familiar with Kang-Elani?”
“The God of Justice and Lawfulness, The Watcher, The Impartial, The Fair, The Judge. One of the ‘Living Gods’ who exist in a different dimension to the one we inhabit, yes?”
“That’s correct. Do you pray to him?”
“I pray to no Deity, Chief Nura. I pray to no Deity, I put my faith in no Deity and I believe in no Deity – though I can understand how you made that connection, with me being such a firm follower of and believer in law and order, after all.”
Nura took a few moments to process the information he had just received, with his eyes growing wide.
‘…this means that the Lawman is one of them?!’ Nura thought to himself before looking at Relovan.
“Yeah, well it was the natural assumption to make, wasn’t it?” Nura asked as he quickly regained his composure. “So how did you even get the arm and leg guards on?”
“I wish I knew.” Relovan shrugged before changing the subject. “Anyway, my next question is this; how did you manage to borrow Rhee from the Void Lord?”
“It was surprisingly easy, Lawman. I told her you and I were going to train, and that I needed to borrow a Healer. When I mentioned your name, she volunteered Rhee and before he could protest all that much, she had those twins teleport him to some place they had been to which was close to the compound. They had to hide while they waited for us to pick them up.”
“Why go through such a convoluted method?” Relovan asked as Nura chuckled.
“The Void Emperor’s Regulators were on hand to play an oversight role and keep an eye of Void Lord Juxtae. If I had left with Rhee through the front door, they would have seen that and then asked a number of annoying questions. You weren’t supposed to interact with people from either Vox’s camp, or Juxtae’s camp until after the Hearings, as that could be misconstrued as them trying to get you to change your statement in return for favours and gifts.”
“As if.” Relovan snorted.
“Anyway, I dropped your name and she was more than willing to help. Any idea why?” Nura asked suggestively as his eyebrows bobbed up and down.
“None.” Relovan snorted once again.
“Are you sure, Lawman? I mean, you did wake up naked in your bed after some… ‘healing’. Was it of the Marvin Gaye, kind?”
“Who?”
“Never mind.” Nura said with a disappointed sigh. “Any more questions?”
“Yeah, just the one; what is the next phase of the plan?”
“We are still in the bowels of the first phase, Enforcer. I promise to fill you in if we manage to successfully navigate our way through the coming waves.”
A member of the flight crew, who was unmistakably a Marshal, approached the table with a cart of food, and this pretty much signaled the end of all communication between the two men. They both ate the proffered food gratefully, with Nura coming close to eating everything on the Illusive. The hours practically flew by, and regardless of how violent things were outside, the SS Illusive’s ride was smooth. As the arrival time drew ever closer, Nura stared at Relovan with unblinking eyes until the Enforcer looked back at him, clearly uncomfortable.
“Lawman.”
“Yes Chief?”
“Seeing as we are fast approaching our destination, I have something to ask.”
“Go ahead, Sir.”
“Have you ever been to the Capital?”
“No, I haven’t. There were plans for us to inva… to visit the Capital back when I was in the D.D.S, but the Squad ceased to exist before that could happen. We had started planning and everything, if I recall correctly. Why do you ask?”
“Primarily so I can—”
“Please fasten your seatbelts, gentlemen.” The Marshal asked as it appeared from nowhere. “We are about to open the Void Portal.”
Nura and Relovan both looked at the Marshal, and then at each other, before fastening their seatbelts. In spite of the warning, the Portal was opened without much of a fuss, and the Illusive flew out of said Portal. The sight that greeted Relovan caused him to stare at the holographic screen first, before unfastening his seatbelt, moving to a window and staring directly out of it. Nura looked towards the Marshal and nodded at him.
“Panoramic View, please.”
The Marshal bowed deeply and pressed his hand against the cabin wall. The entire interior then appeared to become transparent, giving the occupants within a complete 360-degree view of the Illusive’s surroundings. Relovan took a few moments to spin and look around, taking in the incredible sight. There were hundreds, if not thousands of Voidcraft of all shapes and sizes that were docked, and the Enforcer almost instinctively reached for his weapons.
“They aren’t here to attack or invade, Lawman!” Nura boomed as he cackled. “They are all waiting in line to receive permission to enter the Capital and land.”
“…fuck me… wait, did you just say ALL of them are waiting for permission? Just how long are we going to be here?”
“Oh, seeing as the SS Illusive belongs to the Council Fleet, we won’t be waiting at all. We will announce our presence, and then fly right in.”
“…that’s kind of rough for these guys, isn’t it?”
“You fuckin’ said it.” Nura said as he stood up and stood next to Relovan. “Some of these poor fools have likely been here for months.”
As Nura said that, the ship started to move, flying past all of the waiting ships and making its way towards the Capital. Relovan was left stunned as they flew past what felt like a never-ending stream of ships, and he looked at Nura with wide eyes.
“Surely, people have died while waiting to enter the Capital.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that really turned out to be the case, Lawman.” Nura said with a laugh. “Anyway, about the Capital, what you’re about to see is something incredibly special that most people don’t even know about.”
As if on cue, the SS Illusive powered past a number of ships, and the Capital of the Coalition came into view. A massive planet, which was surrounded by so many Voidcraft waiting to land, it looked like it was surrounded by multiple rings. The multitude of tall buildings and skyscrapers were clearly visibly from where the Illusive was, and it almost looked like the buildings were sticking out a little too much. In fact, Relovan could even make out a number of vehicles, and that alone was a bit of a shock.
“I know that the City is a multi-level city, but still… for the highest level to practically be out in the Space between the Planet and the Void is crazy.”
“Yes, that would be true if it really was this really was a planet.” Nura said with a smirk before looking at Relovan. “This planet is actually the largest and first ever recorded Void Walker – Gaia.”
“…excuse me?!”
“You heard me, Lawman. Gaia is the name of the Capital, as well as the name of the Walker. We are currently in the Third Millennium of the Coalition, and the First Council found her here. There were signs of many civilisations having been built upon her surface prior to the Coalition.”
“Wait, wait, wait, wait… that giant planet is a Void Walker?! How it fed? Is it still alive?! If Gaia is a Walker, doesn’t that mean it is sentient? How is it still here? How are we allowed to just build on—”
“Slow down, Lawman. You could probably answer all of your own questions if you just gave it a bit of thought. Gaia is sentient, which means she has allowed us to build and live on her. She is a Void Walker, so she obviously survives on Essence, provided by Coalition owned Mining Stations such as Blargon 5. She is still here because either, she has chosen to stay here, or because nobody has been able to form any sort of contract with Gaia and gain access to her control room.”
Relovan, who was still about as surprised as he had ever been, looked at Nura while shaking his head slowly.
“This is crazy… just how many people know this information?”
“A very, very select number – of which you are now included.”
“Yeah, me and all these Marshals, Chief.” Relovan whispered.
“Oh please, they already know. Where do you think these ones actually come from?”
“…huh?”
“I’m saying that the Marshals – every single one – are… produced by Gaia. I don’t know if produced is the correct term, but they, much like all the Custodians, come from within Gaia. We don’t know how they’re made, who or what they are, but Gaia produces them.”
“…wait, what? Custodians and Marshals are made?!” Relovan asked, his voice a little squeaky.
“They sure are… isn’t that right, Marshal?”
“That is correct, Chief. We come from within Mother Gaia.”
“Are you sure you should be freely answering his questions like that, Marshal?” Relovan asked as he looked towards it. “While I may not be clued up on the rules and laws that govern you and your kind, I have just been told that information regarding Gaia is privileged. If you have broken any rule by answering the question, I will bring you in… you too, Chief.”
Relovan had seemingly put his surprise to one side, and was solely concerned with upholding the law. This prompted Nura to throw his head back and laugh heartily, before looking at the Marshal and nodding.
“Enforcer, I am free to answer any questions the Chief may have, because he has all the necessary privileges and permissions due to his standing within the Coalition. Due to him having deemed you to be qualified enough to receive information about Mother Gaia, we are duty bound to answer his questions in your presence, regardless of how privileged the information is.”
Relovan, who had been stunned to silence, slowly shifted his gaze from the Marshal over to the Chief, who just grinned at him.
“…just who are you, Chief Nura.”
“Me? I’m simply a Police Chief, Lawman.” Nura said with a shrug, before looking back at Gaia. “So, the Custodians are the keepers of all major Coalition cities and territories, right? They clear rubble, garbage, and pretty much keep the areas they are assigned to clean. The Marshals are direct agents of the Council, sent when there is Council related business to be done. Yet, there is so little known about them, it is something that has bothered every iteration of the Council since the Coalition was founded. The Custodians don’t speak at all, while the Marshals… in fact, it might be better for you to see this yourself. Marshal, tell me about Gaia.”
“Unfortunately Chief, I am not authorised to reveal anything about Mother Gaia’s Inner Sanctum.”
“…that’s how all of them answer any question related to Gaia’s interior.”
“I see… so the only way of getting any answers would be to form a contract with the Walker.”
“Exactly.” Nura said with a nod.
“…this is all quite a shock, Chief.”
“I’ll bet. But considering what I told you earlier, you need to be armed with information, Lawman. I figure you are smart enough to make sensible decisions when armed with the correct info.”
Relovan looked at Nura, and nodded before looking back at Gaia. The SS Illusive suddenly increased its speed and began its approach. The Marshal asked Relovan and Nura to be seated and buckle up. The Panoramic view was also deactivated, and they began the descent.
“One of the perks of traveling via the Council – no permission required from Traffic Control.” Nura said with a grin.
The SS Illusive continued with the descent, which took just under ten minutes. They approached the massive Void Station, which was a technical and architectural marvel. There was no time to really look it over and appreciate it though, as the Illusive flew right past the commercial part and made its way over to the military landing port. Once it’s designated landing platform was reached, the Voidcraft landed with little to no fuss, simply plopping down onto the platform. The Marshals inside the Illusive stepped away from their designated spots and teleported out of the ship, and the one that had been communicating with Relovan and Nura brought the Enforcer his bag. They stepped onto the same platform that raised them into the cabin, and it lowered them down onto the ground. The guard of honour was once again present, and Relovan paid extra attention to how the Marshals reacted to Nura walking past them. He had no idea just who the Chief was, but one thing he was sure of was that this giant had his fair share of mysteries. The Chief and the Enforcer were led to a Terminal and while Relovan reached into his pocket to retrieve his documentation, Nura simply shook his head and raised his badge, presenting it to somebody sitting in a booth. No words were exchanged, and the security gate was unlocked and opened. Both men walked through the open gate and Relovan quietly removed his hand from his pocket and took in his surroundings. The four Marshals that had been flanking them until they reached the Terminal suddenly reappeared, although they were one member light. After quite a long walk which included them walking through a few more gates, the group exited the large building to find a convoy of vehicles waiting for them. The Chief’s considerable luggage was being evenly distributed amongst the cars, and Relovan looked at the Adonian.
“Were all these vehicles going to be here even if you didn’t bring all of those bags, Chief?”
“Absolutely.”
“I see… well, you certainly don’t travel light.”
“I have no need to.” Nura scoffed as he started moving towards the vehicle which had the missing Marshal standing next to it.
He stepped into the vehicle, and Relovan followed suit after which the door was closed. The Marshals all got into the cars and the convoy set off.