The Calm Before The Storm. (5)

The sense of occasion these two landings brought was off the charts, with the lightning streaks and the flames having followed the two Void Walkers all the way down. The Portals then began to close, and by the time they were completely sealed, the two Walkers were both settled. The violent gusts of wind that threatened to launch the Police into the air had also died down, and with a wail and a snarl, slits appeared on the underbellies of both vessels. Light shone down from both, and moments later, the Void Lords descended from their respective Walkers. From the brightly shimmering invertebrate, a tall, slender figure that appeared to be female floated down, flanked by two similarly built, but shorter figures. She was wearing a dress that had an extremely long tail, the sleeves were also excessively long, with cuffs to large and long, her hands could not be seen. There was some sort of mask on her head, with an extremely long ponytail protruding from the top. The mask had absolutely no detail on it, no eye holes, nothing. While the two people that accompanied this woman landed on the ground deftly, she floated centimeters above ground.

On the other platform, a large, muscled figure didn't so much descend from his Void Walker as he dropped down. Easily the same size of the Police Chief, he landed on the platform with a thud that sounded so heavy, it was any wonder how the entire platform itself didn't break off. He stood with his hands behind his back, an extremely heavy looking breastplate and greaves, while his arms were completely bare, except for gloves on his hands. His head was bald, and the scowl on his face hinted at him having quite the sour disposition. Moments after he landed, two more muscled figured dropped down onto the platform, although they weren't nearly as big as the Void Lord.

When both he and his slender, female counterpart landed on the platform, Essence shockwaves pulsed out from their feet that threatened to blow everybody else away once again. The purity and sheer power of their respective Essence was almost too much for these regular Police Enforcers to handle, and this was something the Chief recognised and quickly moved to try and maintain some form of control over the situation.

"Void Lords Juxtae and Vox, it is a pleasure. Allow us to welcome you to Blargon 5."

The Chief said this as he saluted the two beings, and as if it had been rehearsed before the arrival of the Void Lords, the Police all saluted them at the same time.

"The Lady greets you, Chief." One of Juxtae's aides stated.

"She seeks to refuel Nala with Storm Essence of the highest quality. She trusts that will be possible." The other said.

"Yes, of course it will. The attendants will see to all that." The Chief responded.

"Oi." Void Lord Vox growled. "Am I being ignored here?"

"Not at all, Void Lord." The Captain reassured while looking towards the angry looking man. "The attendants will see to the refueling of your Walker as well. Am I correct to assume it uses Flame Essence?"

Vox just derisively snorted his confirmation of the answer, before looking around, as if trying to find some place to go to.

"The Lady asks what the protocol is in this situation."

"She's asking who refuels first." Vox boomed as he rolled his eyes. "We all know it is going to be me, so let's get started already. I have places to be."

"The Lady says you cannot just assume that will be order of proceedings."

"Silence, worm." Vox snapped. "Even in the rankings of Void Lords, I am superior to her. Therefore, I get to go first here."

"Sorry to interrupt, however that really has no bearing here." The Chief said as he stood with his feet together and his arms crossed beneath his cape. "This is Neutral Coalition Territory, which means we follow the laws set out in the Neutral Zone section of the Constitution."

"Excuse me?" Vox said as he eyed the Chief dangerously.

"You heard me, Void Lord. The staff at this Fuel Station operate on a first come, first served policy. He or she who arrives first, is served first."

"The Lady says that sounds fair to her."

"So who arrived first then?! Just confirm it was me so we can get this over with!!" Vox snarled.

"From what I could tell Void Lords, both of your Walkers touched down on the platform at the exact same time. Nobody arrived first."

"As if I'll believe that! This whore and I did not arrive at the same time. You're in this together, aren't you? To undermine me?"

"The Lady says that you are being paranoid, Void Lord Vox." One of the women stated.

"She also says that your inferiority complex is beginning to show itself." The other said.

This prompted Vox and his own henchmen to become openly aggressive, turning to face the other trio for the first time.

"Excuse me Void Lords, but need I remind you that fighting between Void Lords is prohibited in Neutral Zones? I suggest that we clear this all up by going to the control room and viewing the surveillance footage of your arrivals. If you two really did arrive at the exact same time as I believe you did, then the staff shall refuel your vessels at the same time."

The Chief was speaking to these two beings as though he was communicating with equals, and many of the Enforcers were shocked at just how little he seemed to be affected not only by their actual strength, but their social standing. The Void Lords looked at him and nodded, prompting him to grin and suggest that they follow him with a small gesture. They did just that, and the group walked off, leaving the Police standing in their formation, staring at the Void Walkers. Once the Void Lords disappeared into the main building, the collective sigh of relief was immense. Some had barely been able to breathe whilst in the presence of the Void Lords, others were sweating profusely, others were just able to keep themselves from vomiting, and some just managed to stay standing.

"O-Oh Great Mumbaa, thank you for helping me through that!" Biggum said. He was thanking the Deity he worshipped, and next to him, Relovan was still faffing about with the armour.

"How am I supposed to get these on?" He asked as he looked towards Toto.

Toto, as well as the rest of his fellows were unable to speak. They had been overwhelmed by the sheer presence of the Void Lords and were still trying to regain their composure. Relovan, who had been splitting his focus between getting his gear on and the arrival of some of the most powerful beings in the Coalition, was surprisingly unaffected by it all. He had put on reinforced forearm bracers and knee-high greaves over his uniform. There was a wave of chatter amongst the individual columns, which was just filled with confessions of fear, and revelations of how Vox was even more intimidating than the Chief. Relovan looked at Captain Biggum and the rest before sighing and leaving the gear alone for a bit.

"Captain, it seems things are under control for the moment. That giant Chief was able to speak with both Void Lords and we haven't seen anything out here to suggest that things are going badly in there."

"This… this is true." Biggum said with a nod as he looked at the tall Human. "That brute of a Chief looks like he's able to stand his ground against those monsters. As long as he is able to maintain things, we might make it out of here alive."

"Those two could probably destroy all of the planets here without breaking a sweat." Toto added, finally snapping out of his funk. "I hope that brash and blunt Adonian can keep things civil and diplomatic."

"Even if he can't, we—"

"Yes yes, we heard you in there." Biggum snapped. "You drew his attention onto you, and now if you don't live up to his expectations, you'll bring us all down with you."

"Bring you down? Captain, we're at the back of the formation. How much lower can we go?"

The other Police Enforcers in the column seemed to take offense to what Relovan had said, however they appeared to have the common sense not to start bickering in front of the Void Walkers of those they are meant to be keeping in line. Captain Biggum clearly seemed to be lacking in the common sense department however, as he snorted and squeaked in clear discontent. Just as he was about to take it further, the Chief emerged from the main building, with both Void Lords and a number of Station attendants in tow.