The Innkeeper



In the entire Milky Way galaxy, all robots from the SCS empire had their remote connection disrupted for exactly 12 minutes. The seemingly small duration of time resulted in incalculable financial and strategic losses for the SCS empire, not only changing the flow of countless battles, but resulting in them losing various opportunities.

Earth alone was able to completely change the flow of ongoing battles within those 12 minutes. Even if the robots regained their ability to connect remotely, it did not matter for almost every robot they had deployed on earth and been destroyed within that period. Although that would not, in any way, change the final outcome of the war, it had bought humans some valuable time.

Marlo's prestige was reaching an all-time high in this period. Unlike the council, who were leading from the back, King Marlo had made his presence known and felt on the battlefield. Without him, countless lives would have been lost, and their resistance would have been short-lived. Moreover, though the amount of time where the electronics came back online left much to be desired, it was enough to transmit news of King Marlo fighting off the alien invaders far and wide.

As if that was not enough, news of his son spread as well! Apparently, Rafael too had made an appearance, though on different battlefields. Not only that, despite lacking the kind of strength his father wielded, his battle awareness and apparent penchant for excellent strategy had actually resulted in more survivors than the battlefield where his own father was! Though the troops under his command had killed fewer robots than Marlo prior to the disconnect, his battle was considered a greater success!

The time for such change was not now, but the seed of an idea had been planted in the minds of a few people. Much in the way Mars had gained success and prosperity under the control of the Morrison family, perhaps Earth could achieve similar results under King Marlo.

It was also during this time that the resilience of humans began to show. Orders passed swiftly, and many soldiers and civilians were given proper direction.

At the same time, a group of teenagers from Norway had immediately publicized that they had discovered how the aliens were able to block their technology and provided as many details as they could in those few minutes. A high priority mission was issued immediately to the one the most elite squads available to the council to bring those teenagers to the Midnight Inn at the earliest!

The council was also able to finally reach out to Fernanda. They communicated their suspicions brought forth by Marlo about how the man named Jeffery might be responsible for the invasion, and asked for immediate reinforcements and assistance. The result of the meeting was unknown, but the council members who had attended the meeting were left extremely demoralized.

By the time the 12 minute time period elapsed, and all technology on earth was shut down once again, many things had been set into motion. Even once the time period elapsed, the robots did not continue to retaliate immediately. A much needed lull had appeared in the invasion.

*****

Regional Command Ship 447

A number of emergency meetings were taking place to decide how to best deal with the various losses they suffered on numerous battlefronts. They had to figure out a way to mitigate the impending disaster before they could even begin to consider recouping all they had lost.

The normal robots they built might not be such an issue to replace, but as they grew stronger, the resources to build them became rarer.

As far as races go, sentient artificial intelligence was not the strangest out there, but they were undeniably unique. They came into existence when an A.I. was made with sufficient computational ability, intelligence, or one of a few other requirements, to give birth to a soul within their original 'body'.

Their origins did not make them completely emotionless and logical, as many earthlings assumed they would be like, but they usually did have set SOPs (standard operating procedures).

But unlike other races, who had their souls linked to their bodies, all the A.I. race ever needed was another body with sufficient computational capability. As such, they formed a unique cultivation method as well. They would strengthen their souls, which was easier said than done for their race, but mostly they would successively improve their 'bodies'.

Naturally, to do as such they had to continuously gain an immense amount of knowledge and information, making them the most technologically advanced race. Even the Henali outsourced their technological needs to them.

Yet despite all the information they had, one of their most senior members in the Origin realm was completely stumped. According to the information provided by the A.I. who had managed to enter the Inn, even if it was a short visit, the signals for an operational Henali portal were detected.

But the A.I. who operated the Henali portals itself was completely unable to trace any operating portal inside any zone that might be the Midnight Inn. How was that possible? The portal, despite its name, was actually one of the A.I. Yet even the portal itself was unaware that it was being used inside the Inn!

The Midnight Inn was aptly named. It truly represented the horror and fear brought about by the darkness of midnight.

*****

In the Midnight Inn, a few key members of the council were having a meeting with a representative of the Jotun empire. Originally, they had approached them with the hopes of negotiating an agreement prior to the Midnight Inn aiding them by opening up the battlefields on earth.

Instead, they received something else.

"The SCS empire is not one the Jotun empire can fight against, at least openly. Moreover, their laws, while seemingly completely insane, are recognized intergalactically. They have complete legal justification for invading your planet. I'm sorry to say this, but there's absolutely no chance of you holding onto your planet. Moreover, even those who escape as refugees to the Inn will need to relocate to planets not connected to the Henali portal to escape their pursuit. The only way to avoid their pursuit is to stay completely off the grid.

"If you think we are lying to you, feel free to reach out to others as well. But you will only be able to recruit the help of individuals and small groups and organizations who are unaware of the SCS to begin with."

The council representatives who had come to the meeting were left speechless. They didn't know how they could respond. They had literally been told that there was no hope.

"But there is also one more group you can get into contact with who can help you against the SCS," the empire representative said, leaning forward. "In fact, it's the only group who has open and constant conflict with the SCS. Due to their perpetual hatred, they are the best candidates to fulfill the role of 'the enemy of my enemy'."

With the faintest hope lightning up in their bitter hearts, the councilmen looked at the representative, waiting for an answer.

"Have you heard of deities? Despite what their religions state, they are not all powerful creators of the universe. But they are powerful nonetheless, and their grudge against the SCS is one that can never be resolved. If you are truly desperate, you can reach an agreement with them. But be warned, the only thing that this will achieve is to turn your planet into an eternal battlefield."

With no better solution, and a heart unwilling to give up on earth, the representatives asked to meet with the deities. Preferably as soon as possible.

While the mass evacuation was one of the topics the council had actually considered, the battle had not yet progressed to the level where they would give up on their planet. Moreover, when given the option, it had been discovered that most people did not want to leave their planet behind. Even if it meant an inevitable demise, the earthlings were not reconciled to giving up the planet just like that.

Elsewhere at the Inn, a pair of mother and daughter, bearing the surname Joel, walked out of a hot tub room. Although they had decided to use their MP sparingly, that was only before they arrived at the Inn.

Once inside, Vera was able to see her future within the Inn clearly, and she knew that for at least a short time, her troubles would likely be over. All she had to do was wait at a certain location for a guy named Lex and talk to him a bit about prophecy and explain it to him. In exchange, he would make her rich! Or at least, pay her a handsome amount of MP.

In another corner of the Inn, Jotun suddenly received a guest who delivered an epistle to him, before leaving. As soon as he read it, his face warped into an ugly grimace.

"Call my brothers," Jotun said to his wife, who had been standing aside. "There's a situation."