"I survived even without you being there, so you need not apologise. What's the final thing?"
"…I wanted to convey my heartfelt appreciation for what you did to protect us." The doctor said as her voice and facial expression became somewhat more serious.
"Huh?"
"Those of us who were evacuated by the local police as well as the other Enforcers were underground during most of the ordeal. Medical practitioners like me were tasked with seeing to the wounded, and we had a young Enforcer with us, and every time you got on the radio to give those… reports I guess, the expression on his face would become more intense. For some reason, we could all hear exactly what you were saying, and the Enforcer who was with us even tried to convince his superior that you needed backup. He was shot down just before you called them cowards and went to confront the Void Lords. The entire exchange between you and Void Lord Vox was also… broadcast, and by the time you charged him, a whole bunch of us, including the young Enforcer were in tears. He wept for and saluted you for so long, I wondered if he was ever going to move again. Anyway, when I heard that you had survived and were en-route to our hospital, I wanted so badly to help save you, but I couldn't. So again, I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of all my hearts – I have no doubt that your actions not only saved the planets, but all of us as well."
Relovan listened in silence as the doctor spoke. During her monologue, a cab had conveniently arrived, and the Enforcer had waved it over behind his back with his left hand. Once she was done speaking, Relovan simply nodded and turned around before making his way over to the back of the cab where he was met by the driver. He opened the door for his customer, however before stepping into the back of the cab, Relovan placed his bag on the seat and took one step away from the vehicle. He faced the slightly confused looking doctor, established and held eye contact with her, and then stood at attention before saluting her. It was a slow and deliberate salute, and by the time the tip of his forefinger touched his forehead, the doctor had already crossed her right leg in front of her left, placed her open left hand on her chest bowed before Relovan. The two remained like that for a moment or two, before Relovan climbed into the cab. He let out a slightly tired sounding sigh as he buckled up, and soon afterwards, the driver was inside as well.
"Where to, Sir?" He asked as he looked back at Relovan.
"The Fourth Planet."
"Whoa, you're from the Fourth?"
"Correct."
"Okay then, prepare for something of a long drive then, Sir."
"Gotcha."
The cab drove off and as it went past the doctor, Relovan noticed that she was still bowing. He just looked up towards the roof liner of the cab and before long, his eyes were closed. After a while of driving in silence, Relovan looked out of the window once more to see what condition the infrastructure was in. Unsurprisingly, everything had been restored to its original condition, with the buildings and roads being good as new. The roads were filled with traffic once again and everybody continued on with their lives as if the events that happened two weeks prior were little more than a dream. The cab found itself stuck in some mild traffic, which prompted the driver to turn up the volume on the radio.
"…T Baker Productions presents Trans Foamas: We Keep It Real In da Hood. In this next instalment of the hit franchise Trans Foamas, T Baker reprises his role as the Trans Dimensional, Trans Directional, Trans Sexual shapeshifting mercenary cyborg detective Santiago Prime as he continues his search for the stolen Fall-Spark which holds the key to restoring his lost Humanity… and his lost love. This time, Santiago Prime is taking no prisoners. Trans Foamas: We Keep It Real In da Hood, in theatres this summer!"
By the time the promotional clip had finished airing, Relovan was staring directly at the center console of the cab, shaking his head slowly.
"What the…"
"Waddup, it's ya boi Quake! You have just heard the premier of the Trans Foamas, the upcoming summer blockbuster. We've got a star-studded cast in this one, with the likes of T Baker, P Cloud, Vi De'Viro, and a whole lot more. I personally am really looking forward to this film, it has a really great cast, T Baker back as Santiago Prime is something I'm really excited about, and it's just gonna be a fun ride. Anyway, it's almost time for the daily updates on the state of the planet delivered by Police Chief Nura. This big ass policeman has been holding regular press briefings to alert us to what's been going on. So, I'm being told were close to crossing over live, so let's –"
"Greetings ladies and gentlemen." Chief Nura said, as if he knew he was interrupting reporters and disk jockeys throughout the city. "Without any delay, let me get right into it. Districts A1 through to…"
As the Chief rattled off update after update, Relovan stared out of the window as if he had no interest in what was being said. His cab driver was on the opposite end of the spectrum, listening with keen interest to what was being said. When he noticed that his passenger looked as though he wasn't listening, he turned the volume down just a bit.
"Apologies if this annoys you, Sir." He said apologetically. "Shall I turn it down?"
"No need." Relovan replied without looking away from the scenery outside the car.
"Understood." The driver responded.
The pair listened to the Chief in silence for a while, and when it became apparent that this was going to drag on, the driver tried to initiate conversation again.
"I don't mean to pry, but how long were you in hospital."
"Nigh on four weeks too long."
"And how long was your stay in total?"
"Nigh on weeks." Relovan grunted.
The driver snorted as he failed at holding back a bout of laughter. He did manage to recover quickly however and continued with his questioning.
"So, you were injured four weeks ago? Does that mean you were caught up in the whole Void Lord debacle that wrecked the city?"
"You could say that." Relovan said as he finally looked towards the driver.
"You look like a military man. Were you off duty when it happened?"
"I'm a Police Enforcer, and I was decidedly on duty."
"I see. It looks like you were seriously injured – are you sure it's a good idea to be walking the streets?"
"Probably not. But hospitals make me itch, so I had to get out."
"I understand that all too well!" The driver said with something of a chortle.
There was another bout of silence between the two and as it sounded as though Chief Nura's press briefing was coming to an end, he suddenly quieted down. Close to a minute later, he spoke again.
"Well ladies and gentlemen." He said, sounding decidedly more enthused for some reason. "This brings me to the end of the briefing; however, I would like to say that I have been informed that somebody who played an INTEGRAL role in calming the situation down and stopping the Void Lords has been discharged from the hospital he was recovering in. This person faced down some of the fiercest members of either Void Lord's staff without fear, and at the cost of his physical wellbeing, he arrested them. He even directly confronted the Void Lords themselves and received near fatal wounds in the process. The news that he has recovered enough to leave the hospital can only be described as positive. No doubt he is rickety, and in all likelihood is still wrapped up in bandages and in no condition to be on his feet, but there was no stopping him, it seems. Lawman, if you're in a car or a Quantum or whatever you've chosen to take you home and are listening, I just want to say take it easy and be sure not to fall apart – I will come see you soon."