Strengthening. (5)

"Correct. This is sensitive information, on a need to know basis, yada yada."

"Very well." Relovan answered as the look on his face became more serious. "So this plan you have come up with – what is it, Sir?"

"To make you stronger."

"Yes, we went over that last night – what I would like to know is how."

"Well, having watched the surveillance tapes of your encounters with the Void Knights, I have deduced a number of things about you."

"…and those things are?"

"You are a gifted individual - truly."

"Huh?" The Enforcer responded in confusion.

"You are equally gifted physically as you are intellectually, and even though we can only extract possibly 5 or 10 more percent from that body of yours, that will likely be enough to carry you into Phase Two."

"…again, how are we going to do that? Also, how many phases does this plan have?"

"Who knows?" Nura answered with a shrug. "Let's focus on the immediate phase first – I call it 'Operation Powerup'. The name itself is pretty self-explanatory, and will be achieved using a relatively simple method."

"…what exactly is this method, Chief?" Relovan asked through gritted teeth, clearly becoming annoyed.

"Combat." Nura finally answered, chuckling a bit.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Usually, Council Hearings that have to do with Void Lords occur approximately two and a half months after the incident. We have already spent four weeks on the mend, so we have a month and a half or so to level you up."

"You believe combat is the best way of doing that, Sir?"

"Absolutely. My eyes detected something quite spectacular about you, so we will have you engage in combat with somebody I know to confirm whether or not I saw correctly."

"Is this person stronger than me, Chief."

"By orders of magnitude, Lawman." Nura said with a grin.

"You sound sure about that." Relovan said as he glanced over at Nura.

"Because I am. You'll see yourself when we get there."

As if on cue, the convoy took a turn onto a small road which led to a small terminal. The automated boom gate opened on its own, and the cars were able to just drive through without having to adjust their speed.

"Where exactly are we going, Sir?" Relovan asked as he looked out of the window.

"Oh? You've never been this way before, have you Lawman?"

"I don't believe I have."

"Well the only good thing about these planets being so small and close to one another is that travel times aren't excessive. Our destination is down there."

Nura appeared to just point in a random direction, however as the cars continued down the long, winding road, a rather large looking compound which was built on a platform that was suspended between all the planets came into view. There was direct access to this compound from all of the planets as well as the Station, and it wasn't long until the road straightened out and they were actually approaching the tall gate. Considering who stayed in the house, it was a little surprising that the fence and access to the property appeared to be so… small. Clearly, Relovan's thoughts were written all over his face because Nura looked at him and laughed.

"You must be wondering why security is so lax." The Chief said as they pulled up to the gate. "Do you think anybody on these planets has the capacity to take me out?"

"There's bound to be somebody, Sir." Relovan said with a smirk.

"I wish." Nura said with a smirk of his own before Kipp rushed over and opened his door.

Relovan opened his own door and they both stepped out. The compound was a rather nice and classy collection of buildings, and after a few moments, somebody who looked like a butler of sorts appeared from inside the house.

"Welcome back, Chief." A group of men and women who appeared to be the Chief's staff said in unison.

They were all dressed in matching attire, and bowed, again in unison. The staff was made up of various races, much like the population of the Blargon Planets and they remained with their heads down until Nura acknowledged them with something of a grunt.

"Yeah, thanks." He said dismissively before looking at Relovan. "Follow me – I'll take you to the building where you will be training and you'll also be able to meet your trainer."

"Trainer?" Relovan asked.

"Yeah, we're powering you up through combat experience, remember?"

"Yes, but you have yet to mention what kind of combat, where the fighting will take place, or who it is that I will be fighting against."

"Good point, Lawman. Well, all those questions will be answered once we enter the training room. Follow me."

Chief Nura began walking, and Relovan followed. Kipp was not invited, so he remained with the rest of the staff, and after a short and silent walk, the pair reached a rather small building. It was small, but it was clear to Relovan that it had been built using some of the toughest materials currently available on the market. As they stood at the entrance to the building, Nura looked at Relovan and gestured for him to walk in. The Enforcer silently approached the understandably massive door, and the closer he got to it, the more intense the impending sense of danger grew. By the time Relovan reached the door and was standing in front of it, his usual sixth sense that had to do with danger was working overtime. His skin itched all over, all his hair was standing on edge, and he had broken out into a cold sweat. Every fibre of his being was screaming at him, telling him that the only thing that awaited him on the other side of that door was death. Relovan unknowingly swallowed a lump in this throat as he clenched his fists rather forcefully and Chief Nura, who had been standing behind the Enforcer and watching silently, smirked a tad.

"What's wrong, Lawman? The sooner you go in, the sooner we can start."

Relovan was acutely aware of the fact that the cause of the sensation he was experiencing was clearly the behemoth standing behind him.

"Hmph." Relovan snorted as he took a deep breath and reached for the door handle.

As he opened the door, the Enforcer was suddenly hit by what felt like a searing hot gust of wind that almost knocked him off balance. The heat itself felt as though it was trying to burn his very bones, however Relovan scoffed defiantly and proceeded to walk through the open door. Almost immediately after crossing the threshold though, Relovan raised his guard, ducked down as quickly as possible and evaded something. At least he felt as though he had to take evasive action, and after he did so, he planted his left foot, using it as a base and pivoted, turning around fluidly. Relovan was moving purely on instinct and squared up as if he was ready to throw a punch of his own when he suddenly realised that Nura had not moved at all and was still standing outside. In fact, the Chief was looking almost unbearably relaxed, with his hands deep in his pockets and a grin on his face. Chief Nura then laughed a touch before walking in.

"My my, what exactly were you expecting to be in here, Lawman?"

Nura asked as Relovan watched the Adonian walk through a doorway without twisting and contorting his considerable mass to fit through the opening for the first time since meeting him. The Enforcer then became quite aware of the fact that he was in a fighting stance.

"…death." Relovan answered as he slowly eased up and stood up straight.

Nura grinned at Relovan once again, however the look in his eyes was slightly different from before – it was more sinister. He then began to walk around the room, still grinning.

"Your damn near animalistic instincts never fail to astound me, Lawman. The truth is, you could very well die in this room if you don't take what we're going to do seriously."

Relovan looked at the Chief for a moment, before looking around the room again. A few moments later, the door to the training room opened and in walked somebody who Relovan was somewhat familiar with.

"Enforcer." The man said as he nodded. "Chief."

Relovan turned and looked at Rhee, the Void Knight in Juxtae's service.

"Ah, I believe you are Void Lord Juxtae's Knight?"

"Rhee is the name."

"Why are you here? Are you the one who is going to be sparring with me?"

"Me? Not at all, Enforcer. I've been called in to patch you up when you're injured."

"What? You're a Healer?"