Gaia. (3)

"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."