Interim. (1)

In a packed surgery room, doctors and nurses stood around a bed as doctors of various races observed and worked frantically to try and operate on whoever was in the bed.

"Doctor Zelberg, of us all, you are the most familiar with Human physiology. I could do with your input."

"Just by looking at him, I can already tell that this Human is what they would call 'fucked' on Earth." The pink skinned doctor said with a shrug of the shoulders.

This attitude wasn't all that well received, and everybody within the room shot him the dirtiest of looks, to which he just shrugged again. They then all glanced briefly towards a large window which gave whoever was in the observation room a clear view into what was going on in there. The sight of the Police Chief, who was muscled and vast beyond belief sitting with his arms crossed and his eyes locked on the operating table sent shivers down the spines of everybody bar Zelberg. They all looked back at the one on the table, and started pumping him with the most potent Healing Serums and drips, all the while trying to reconstruct his shattered bones. The Human, who was obviously Relovan, barely even resembled a live person at this point – looking more like an organ donor than a patient. The various machines monitoring his condition beeped like crazy as red lights flashed, alerting the doctors of how critical his condition was. The doctors fought for the longest time to try and keep the Enforcer alive, however it seemed as though they were fighting a losing battle. His heart rate continued to drop as the machines became more and more frantic, and the doctors themselves became more panicked. Suddenly, the Enforcer's heart stopped, and all of the panic and urgency died down. The machines all flatlined, and everybody stood in shock, not necessarily because Relovan's heart had stopped, but rather because of the Adonian Chief whose gaze they all felt on their backs. Just as things seemed to be lost, Relovan's eyes opened, he took a deep breath and he attempted to sit up. His heart had started beating once again and he looked around slowly as he tried to make sense of what was going on. The doctors and nurses all gasped in shock, while the Chief actually stood up and grinned broadly.

"Lawman!" He boomed while pressing his large hands against the glass.

As if reacting to the Chief's voice, Relovan looked towards the window and started mumbling something unintelligible. As if hearing that he wasn't making any sense, Relovan kept repeating what he was saying, getting louder each time he did. He wasn't getting any clearer however, and became more and more agitated.

"What are you all doing?!" Zelberg shouted, showing a sense of urgency for the first time. "Subdue and sedate him before his internal organs and the bones we have painstakingly rebuilt all fall out!!"

"We?! What do you mean we?!" One of the doctors boomed as she faffed about with a sedative. "You've just been watching while WE have been doing all the work!"

She jabbed the syringe into Relovan's neck and pumped all of the sedative into him. She had used the strongest sedative that they had on hand, and they all expected Relovan to fall unconscious immediately, yet if anything, he only became more agitated. In an effort to stop the Enforcer from moving and potentially killing himself, nurses and doctors alike held him down as firmly yet as gently as they could. None of it seemed to work, and Relovan's unblinking eyes suddenly started to glow deep purple.

"What is going on?!" Another of the doctors bellowed as if the others would have an answer.

The mumbling got louder and louder, and in spite of his physical condition, Relovan was displaying immense strength. Just then, the door to the operating theatre was forced open and in walked the Chief. The grin on his face was about as broad as it could get, and he powered his way towards the operating table.

"Chief!" One of the doctors protested. "You cannot just—"

"Silence." The Chief commanded, before forcing his way to Relovan's side. "What are you trying to say, Lawman?" He asked.

Relovan seemingly heard his voice again, because he began speaking even louder, yet continued not to make a lick of sense. The Chief reached down and touched the Enforcer's shoulder gently.

"Use the Voice, Lawman. You were using it freely during the incident, so use your Essence and speak through it."

Relovan continued to mumble, and it seemed that he could only recognise the Chief's voice, and not what he was actually saying. The Chief looked into Relovan's eyes and noticed that the Enforcer wasn't all there. It was as if he was seeing something completely different, and perhaps even hearing something different. Relovan raised his right hand, bending the arm at the elbow and as if sensing he was looking for someone or something, the Chief took the Enforcer's hand into his own. Suddenly, the mumbling became clear and not only could he hear what Relovan was saying, but he could also feel what emotions the Human was feeling.

"I will not perish." Relovan repeated over and over like a chant of some sort.

His determination and drive not to die on the operating table were so strong, the Chief almost recoiled at just how powerful the feelings were. Relovan began to try and sit up again as his face distorted and looked more and more determined not to die. His eyes began glowing even brighter, and this all made the Adonian smile.

"You're right, Lawman… you will not die. Now pipe down and let these people fix you."

The Chief released Relovan's hand, and brought his own to the Enforcer's forehead. He simply flicked said forehead with his index finger, and Relovan's head snapped back as if he had just received the most devastating blow he had been subjected to in his entire life. The back of his head smashed onto the table below, and he was now out cold.

"Get back to work." The large man said as he turned around and walked off.

The stunned doctors could only watch on in absolute shock as the Chief left the room. They couldn't afford to be still for long however, as they had to get back to work and ensure that the Enforcer's heart did not stop a second time.

A few more hours went by, and after close to half a day in total, they all emerged from the theatre. Relovan's surgery had been a success, and the absolutely depleted doctors all slumped against the walls in the hallway. The nurses too were equally drained, and there wasn't even any conversation between any of them. The silence was almost deafening and after those few moments taken for recovery purposes passed, the medical staff all moved on and disappeared. The Police Chief emerged from the observation room and walked into the room, dragging behind him a comically small chair before setting it down next to the bed and sitting on it. The Chief did not move from Relovan's bedside, even when a never-before seen subordinate entered the room and attempted to get him to attend some sort of meeting or briefing. This subordinate returned multiple times, yet the Chief did not move. Hours turned to days, and days eventually to weeks, with the Chief standing up for the first time when Relovan was transferred from Intensive Care to a regular hospital room due to him stabilising and no longer being in immediate danger. Sometime during the second week of Relovan's hospital stay, his eyes shot open without warning and they began to slowly look around and scan his surroundings. His vision was still murky and took a few moments to adjust, however when they fell upon the Chief sitting there grinning at him, he immediately recognised just who it was that he was looking at. He tried to speak; however, his mouth was particularly dry. Two large fingers holding a glass of water slid on front of Relovan's face, and the Enforcer eyed them in slight surprise at just how well the Chief was able to control his strength. He attempted to move his right arm, and when he found that he could, he took the glass from the Adonian and gulped the water down. He sat up and looked for more, finding a jug and filling the glass before drinking again. He did this multiple times until he was somewhat satisfied, and once he was, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes again.

"Chief."

"Lawman." The Chief said with a nod.

"This is a hospital room."

"That's right."

"I see."

There was a prolonged period of silence as the two just remained quiet in the room. The Chief looked at Relovan the entire time with an unblinking gaze which the Enforcer tried to ignore as he had his eyes closed. Things didn't quite work out as he would have liked though, because Relovan eventually opened his eyes and looked at the Adonian.

"…what?"