Loonatics: United

Compromised System

Episode 146: He who seeks finds

-IMPORTANT- Author's note: Hi reader, I'm sorry to tell you that I made a mistake when uploading Episode 143 (Chapter 144), as I actually uploaded Episode 144 instead, which must have made you wonder a lot about the story. I ask you for a huge apology. I've already updated the chapter and rearranged the others, so I recommend you go back to Episode 143 (Chapter 144) and continue reading from there to make everything clearer, it's a very important chapter. Thanks for understanding! God bless :D

The Leviathan landed over the platform of the large toller, a rest area for space travelers. This one had taller buildings than the average tollers, with dark gray surfaces and lights of orangey tones. Tech pressed a few buttons on the console, turning off the ship's systems. "I have to register the ship. I doubt we find a better place to stay than in here, but if you want me to look for lodg…"

"Here is fine, Doc." Ace replied. "Do you think we can find answers in this place?"

"It's possible." Tech pressed a button on the console, opening the ship's door. He stood up from his chair and exited the cockpit.

Rev entered. "It won't take long for those Maniacs to heal. I'm not calling them maniacs as an insult it's because…" He got interrupted as he walked towards Ace.

"I understand, Rev." Ace said.

"Okay." Rev sat down on the pilot seat, leaning backwards and putting both hands behind his neck. "Those terrorists are way tougher than we thought, huh? But don't worry pal we always manage to kick the bad guys' tails in the end."

"I don't think we're dealing with terrorists here." Ace opined, looking at the dark buildings and the star filled sky above them through the window.

"But the lady in the video said they w…" Rev got interrupted again.

"Something was off in that video. I'm not sure what, but it just felt odd." Ace looked at Rev. "And everything we saw in Rojus were robots and ships, not a single living being."

"Maybe the robots are the terrorists." Rev said. "But there's a problem with that now that I think about it, terrorists usually kill and destroy for a cause, and we know robots don't have a cause because they're…well…soulless machines."

Ace looked away again, scratching his lower jaw while locking his gaze on the console. "Unless they're getting funded by some wealthy madman; interested in wiping out the life in that planet, for some twisted reason. But I doubt it." He shook his head. "There's something else going on in Rojus." He looked at Rev and gestured at the exit. "Come with me." He stood up from his chair.

"Hey." Rev got onto his feet as well and followed Ace. "Where are we going?"

"Outside, to see if anyone here knows something about this." Ace responded.

Ace and Rev took Slam and Randy with them. The streets of the toller were crowded, with people of almost every place in the galaxy. "This one smells better than the last one doesn't it, Ace?" Rev inquired.

"Mhm." Ace replied with not much interest. He saw a glowing orange sign on the top of a building, which said 'Food and Drinks Here' with an also glowing arrow pointing at the place below. "We'll start there."

The inside of the bar was surprisingly clean, at least that's how the dark walls made it look like. An orange light illuminated the place, which was a narrow line that traveled across all the walls. Ace approached the bar. Rev sat down on one of the benches. "Rev, this will be quick." Ace stated.

"Oh." Rev got off the bench, waiting for the bartender to attend them along with Ace, Randy and Slam.

The bartender was a chubby male squirrel, who wore a black shirt and a pair of gray pants. "Gentlemen." He greeted. "What may serve you?"

"We're just looking for information." Ace replied. "About Rojus."

The bartender stood silent for a moment. "Hm. Can you be more specific?"

"We want to know what happened there, about the terrorists." Rev said.

The bartender raised an eyebrow. "Terrorists? What terrorists?"

Ace sighed. "Do you know what's going on there? People are getting killed by… machines, high technology machines."

The squirrel took his digital notepad from his pocket. "I can give you some details. But…I have a strict 'clients only' policy, you know?"

Slam growled at him while thundering his fingers.

The bartender looked at him with no reaction at all. "I know who you are, Loonatics. There's no need for a 'good cop, bad cop' situation here. You aren't like that, are you?" He leaned towards Ace to face him more closely. "What may I serve you?"

Ace looked at him with a straight face, he sat down on one of the benches, reluctantly, same as the others. Slam broke the bench as soon as he sat on it. He stood up while grunting, expressing his discontent with the 'quality' of the benches.

"Hey, those were pretty expensive! For your information, I bough…" The bartender was interrupted.

"We'll pay for it, don't worry." Ace said. "I'll have a lemonade."

"Okay." The bartender took note.

"Do you have sandwiches or something like that?" Rev asked.

"We have burritos." The squirrel replied.

"Oh, okay I'll have one of those." Rev confirmed.

Slam growled, saying he'd have seven of those.

"Uhm, me too." Randy said. "Only one, though. Not seven."

"Alright." The bartender finished taking note. "Give me a moment." He smiled at them and then headed to the kitchen behind.

Ace sighed and covered his face with a hand. "Incredible."

"Information always comes at a cost, I guess." Rev opined.

Tech put his hand on a recognition pad that was over a large table. The pad emitted a beep and turned green. "Done." The man at the other side of the table smiled at Tech. He was a polar bear, who wore a gray overall, black pants and a long sleeved T-shirt of the same color.

"Thank you." Tech replied, also with a light smirk. "So, twenty four hours starting from now, right?"

"Yep." The man expressed. "We can clean it up and give it maintenance if you wish."

"Thanks, we´re good." Tech replied.

Duck was laying on his bed, glaring at the ceiling. He heard someone knocking his door. "Duck." Tech said. "How you feeling?"

"Good." Duck replied coldly

"May I come in? I have to check you, man. It's gonna be quick." Tech expressed.

Duck sighed, straightening and adopting a sitting position at the edge of his bed. "Okay."

Tech entered the room and approached Duck, holding a rugged case. He sat down next to him and opened the case. "Alright, let's see your pulse."

Akinyi was sitting at the edge of Edison's bed, holding his hand. Edison smiled at her while squeezing her hand gently. "You should take a rest, I'll be fine here."

"I'm not tired, baby. And I want to be here with you." Akinyi stroked his cheek gently. "Unless you don't want me here."

"Oh no, no I love your company." Edison stroked her arm.

Lexi entered the room, holding a large tray with four sandwiches. "You guys hungry?"

"You bet." Vale got onto his feet while groaning a bit.

"Hey, don't push yourself." Lexi said.

"It's fine, it doesn't hurt that much anymore." Vale took a sandwich. "Thanks." He smirked at her and then gave a bite to his sandwich.

"My pleasure." Lexi approached Edison and Akinyi, the latter took two sandwiches and handed one to her boyfriend.

Lexi took a bite of hers as she rested her back against the wall. "You two make a cute couple."

Akinyi chuckled while blushing a bit. "Thanks, girl. You and Ace are cute as heck together as well. I wonder why you haven't gotten married yet."

Lexi chuckled. "Well, he hasn't proposed to me yet." She blushed.

"But, I mean have you two talked about it?" Akinyi inquired.

"Many times." Lexi replied then sighed with love and hope. "Someday." She continued eating her sandwich.

Slam, Randy and Rev were eating their burritos while listening to the bartender. Ace took occasional sips from his lemonade. "This company, Plus Systems, had worked with Rojus' government for centuries, they were trusted by everyone." The bartender explained. "That trust made them choose Plus' CEO as their president! Things began to go downhill from there, as many had forecasted."

"What happened?" Ace asked.

"Poverty, crime, pollution." The squirrel responded. "Standard issues, I guess."

"And what about the killer machines you haven't told us ab..?" Rev got interrupted.

"I'm heading there, pal, patience." The bartender shook his head. "As I was saying, things were bad, so the CEO had the brilliant idea of putting his AI in charge."

Ace raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"An artificial intelligence ruling an entire planet? That's ridiculous." Rev opined.

"Well, it happened. Surprisingly, things began to get better as months passed, this AI was making better decisions than his maker." The bartender said. "But one day, the AI malfunctioned, and it began to make terrible decisions, way worse than its predecessor. It locked Rojus' people down, putting them dozens of absurd restrictions, surveiling them twenty four-seven. They lost their rights in their own home. The AI began to build an army to keep the citizens controlled, killing anyone who dared to defy its government. It built ships, tanks, bombs, all sorts of destructive technology. And then, well, it just decided to kill every living being in the planet. Just like that."

Ace was astonished, just as the others. "And…why hasn't anyone done anything to stop it?"

The bartender shrugged. "I guess no one cares."

"We do." Randy said.

"How do you know all of this?" Ace said.

The bartender got silent for a long moment. "My son spent a couple of years there, he was making a reportage, about the whole situation. He was very careful, stealthy. But the AI found out eventually, all of his research, his essays, videos, pics, all of that. And well…you know." He shook his head while glancing down with sadness.