Hearing. (3)

There was no answer as Relovan simply looked at the other Council members before continuing to speak.

"If the Void Lord has indeed severed his ties with the Council by making that declaration and thus relinquished his status as a Void Lord, would that not mean Vox is to face whatever consequences that may come his way as a regular member of society? Because he said this while the skirmish was still an ongoing thing, and—"

"Silence, Human!" Void Lord Vox boomed from his booth as flames burst out from both his eyes and his mouth. "How dare you?! I relinquished nothing! I heed the voice of Da-Xa, and you are not qualified to even breathe the same air as me, you—"

"VOX!" Ya'Guul roared, but it didn't help.

The Void Lord went on a tirade, threatening to end the Enforcer right then and there, and it took a lot more persuasion from the Councilman and some encroaching from more than a few Marshals for the giant Void Lord to finally end his rant. The flames continued to pulse from his eyes even after quieting down, and Relovan, who had just looked at the Void Lord in silence the entire time, turned to face the Council and Adjudicator again.

"Can somebody who is no longer a Void Lord really threaten an Officer of the Law like that, in Union House, in front of the Council within its Chamber and receive no punishment at all?"

"What was that?!" Vox bellowed.

"ENOUGH!" Ya'Guul himself roared as he looked towards Vox.

"Enforcer Relovan." A Council member towards the far left said. "I am Councilwoman Tameria."

"Councilwoman." Relovan greeted with a slight nod.

"I just have a single question for you – what would you have us do?"

"I don't think I am qualified to answer that question, Councilwoman. I was summoned here to give my testimony and answer questions on said testimony – nothing more. Please, do what you—"

"Pardon the interruption, but as his superior and his Police Chief, I feel like I actually am qualified to answer the question." Nura said as he raised his hand from within his booth.

"Chief Nura." The Adjudicator said as it looked towards the Adonian.

"May I answer in your stead, Lawman?"

"Absolutely, Sir."

"I'll allow it." Tameria nodded.

"Quite simply, I believe a number of things must be done by you, Council members. First of all, I would like to state my intention of having Enforcer Relovan take part in the test to become a member of the A.A.A."

"The… Admiral's Autonomous Assembly?" One of the Council members remarked.

"The one and only, Councilman Tiya." Nura said with a nod.

"…and when would you have him take part in the examination, Acting Chief?"

"In a little over a year from now, Councilwoman."

"How convenient!" Tiya snorted.

"That does come across as convenient, Acting Chief – especially considering how your own… situation, will reach its own conclusion in a little over a year from now."

"It isn't really a coincidental thing, as I would have him join my unit should he pass the test. The outcome would be by design, not coincidence."

"Very well… and what else would you have us do?"

"Promote and commend the shit out of that man." Nura stated bullishly. "I'm talking medals, street names, statues alongside those of the First Council, billboards—"

"Acting Chief!" The Adjudicator interrupted with a sigh, which resulted in the Chief stopping and chuckling a tad.

"I may have gone overboard there, but this man is overqualified for the rank he currently holds. Even if we overlook what happened at Blargon 5, I'm sure you all have already heard about what happened just yesterday, with Princess Nkanyezi and the attempt at kidnapping her."

"…we have." Another Council member confirmed.

"I'm not sure if you all are going to get the chance to look at the footage, but the Lawman here protected the Princess impeccably, and apprehended the one behind the entire thing. This man is overqualified, and he needs to be promoted."

"Alright, Acting Chief. What else?"

"Finally, and most importantly, I request in the strongest terms that a restraining order of some kind be placed on Void Lord Vox, preventing him from coming near the Enforcer. That man is a gem, and if molded and shaped properly, he could become one of the most important figures within the Coalition. We cannot afford to have his life and his light snuffed out by the whim of a powerful yet volatile being. Even based on what we witnessed not five minutes ago, I am absolutely certain that the Enforcer's life is in danger, and that the moment this Commission has completed its work and made its ruling, the Void Lord will end Lawman's existence before we even leave Gaia. I don't how to properly articulate just how strongly I feel about this stipulation, but I would even be willing to initiate Protocol A-F4 if that's what it would take for you all to at least consider this."

The Chamber fell silent once again, and the Council members all spent an uncomfortable amount of time looking at Relovan. In fact, he could feel their gazes piercing his flesh and attempting to invade or at least, catch a glimpse of his soul – and he was powerless to stop them. They weren't even there in person, yet their power was nigh on unfathomable to Relovan. It felt as though he was being scryed for entirely too long, however once he felt the prodding gazes leave him, the Enforcer breathed a very animated sigh of relief.

"Adjudicator – we shall adjourn to deliberate on this matter. Nobody is to leave."

"Understood, Councilwoman." The adjudicator said with a bow, before tapping the gavel again and facing those in the Chamber. "You heard the Councilwoman; we will be taking a break. Please, make your way to your waiting rooms – you shall be called upon once the proceedings resume."

And with that, everybody was dismissed and they were all led back to the waiting rooms by the Marshals that had escorted them to the Chamber in the first place. Relovan, who was sitting silently, suddenly heard a knock on the door to his room, and it wasn't long before Chief Nura sneaked in.

"Yo, Lawman!" He greeted as he raised his hand.

"Chief? What are you doing here? Is this even allowed?"

"Quiet Lawman, I'm already here, so those questions are all pointless. Anyway, how did it feel to be in the Chamber, faced with and surrounded by all those monsters?"

"Honestly… it was a little daunting – I'd be lying if I said otherwise."

"I bet… and with Vox's rant and everything, it must have been a bit of a shock."

"Hmph, that one is not even a cause for concern – it's that Councilman Ya'Guul. It's almost as if he's in the Void Lord's corner."

"It's not like that, that's how it is. They're from the same planet, after all."

"That makes sense… but Chief Nura, I feel as though there is some stuff I need to be filled in on."

"I agree Lawman; however, I will have to keep it brief. I'm sure you've heard by now that I am only an Acting Police Chief. Some things happened, and I was demoted and sent to some backwater planet in the furthest recesses of Coalition Territory. I decided to keep my head down, do my job and just wait for the punishment period to come to an end."

"So you will be promoted back to your original rank of Admiral, I assume?"

"My rank was far higher than that, Lawman – I'll just be clawing my way back to the top step by step.

"…and you intend to take me with you?"

"…something like that. But first, we need to win this shit and have those old bastards grant the protection order or whatever the fuck it is, and then we can work on having become less squishy than you currently are."

"How will we do that?"

"You will partake in a series of events that will increase your power – physical and societal – starting with an Adonian ceremony that takes place when our young come of age. But I will explain that more once—"

A knock on the door cut short the Chief's and Enforcer's conversation, and this time, a Marshal popped its head in.

"Enforcer, Acting Chief, the Hearing has reconvened and is ready to pass down their verdict."