Farima: An Afrofuturist Sci-Fi Adventure (The Homo Maximus Saga Book 1) Page 20

  They both shoot her a look. Khalil’s eyes bulge and shake with the fear of death and his face is bloody. “Natia, get out of here! This is my fight!”

  Taseti leaps onto the nearest console and launches himself at Natia like a tiger pouncing onto a gazelle. He holds his blade high above his head with both hands on the hilt as he positions himself for a death blow. Time seems to slow, allowing Natia to leap to the side, back down the ramp towards the ground. The blade comes down hard, but his swing misses by a hair. In a sudden flash, Khalil’s blade slashes through Taseti’s torso from behind. Natia looks up and can see Khalil standing on a console with his arm extended. He threw his sword directly through Taseti with deadly accuracy.

  Natia is almost relieved until she sees Taseti reach behind his back, pulling the sword from his own body. A small hole replaces the spot where the sword had been. As she watches, Natia can see the hole begin to close by itself. Until it’s closed and healed completely.

  “That’s not possible.” Natia’s jaw drops.

  “Yea, he’s been doing that all fight. I’ve had him dead-to-rights twice now.” Khalil pants from behind.

  Natia frantically presses a random button configuration on the weapon she holds and shoots at Taseti again. This time a small grenade blasts out from a separate nozzle and detonates right in front of Taseti upon impact. His body flies like a rag-doll to the opposite end of the interior and slams with a loud thud onto a back wall.

  “I hadn’t tried that yet,” Khalil says lightly.

  “Is he dead?!” Natia asks.

  “Doubted. Look, give me that gun. I need it. You still have your T-Walker. We need the Farima! Even if we kill Taseti, that airship is still outside. It’ll slowly tear through that shell or if they’re smart… they’ll aim for the command hub again as they did with me.”

  Natia looks disinterested. Until she looks in the direction of Khalil’s command hub and sees nothing but debris and smoke. That Titan-class aircraft destroyed everything. Natia couldn’t step inside the hub even if she wanted to.

  “Look, the Farima can fly. It can get up there, and Ameer doesn’t have to be inside it. You can use the A.I. in your mech to create a virtual bridge with the A.I. in the Farima. That way Ameer thinks his actions through the T-Walker, which then relays those messages to the Farima for execution.”

  “No! I made a decision. Ameer will not be used to fight a battle you instigated, Khalil! I—I will have to do it.”

  “It wasn’t built for you! It won’t respond to your commands!”

  “We’ll see about that.” Natia sits the plasma rifle on the console, turns around and sprints back down the ramp and into her T-Walker. There’s one last thing left to do, and for the first time since Acacia’s betrayal, she knows they will win.

  A doubt in her mind no more.

  Chapter 24

  The Farima

  Node One—Manay City, 2082—Isle of Khalil—Battle Arena

  As she runs into the T-Walker, Natia stops in front of Adan and Araba, who both stand to each side of Ameer. She places her hands on her hips and pants so hard, her lungs cause her chest to balloon outward.

  “Is Khalil dead?” Araba asks.

  Natia shakes her head and continues breathing heavily.

  “Damn,” Araba says with regret. “Well, what about Taseti?”

  “Dealt with, for the moment. For how long? I can’t say.” She looks down at Ameer, and her heart sits heavy in her chest. “Ameer I’m going to need to use the Farima to take out that aircraft above us. The only reason they’re not firing is because Taseti is still alive. Our time is limited, and the weapons on this mech aren’t enough. Khalil wants to use you, he wants you to believe that the only thing that matters is the end result no matter how you get there, even if it puts lives at risk. I don’t believe that and won’t subject your brain to the idea that the men flying that plane up there must be removed from the battlefield as a threat.”

  “You’re going to kill them?” Ameer asks with sadness in his voice.

  Natia hesitates and nods. “Yes, I am.” She looks at Araba and Adan; Natia grabs Adan with both of her arms and wraps him in her arms tight. Pulling back her head slightly, she grabs him by the head and pulls him close while he grabs her hips. Their lips lock together, and they share a much-needed kiss. A kiss that lasts longer than Natia had expected at first.

  She looks into his deep brown eyes, “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while now. Better use the opportunity while I have it, right?”

  He smiles. “Yea, but we still have an aircraft to down.”

  “Well get to your stations. We’re going to give it everything we’ve got while the Farima is operational.”

  “How do we get it? The Farima?” Araba asks.

  “Our A.I. should be able to help us with that.” She looks up and speaks into the air. “Can you help us talk to the Farima’s A.I.?”

  The voice of the T-Walker’s A.I. echoes throughout the mech. “Yes, I can. Building a virtual bridge with its network now.”

  They wait.

  “I have connected. Whatever you now say, it can hear.”

  “This is Natia. Ameer is here with me. I know that you are semi-autonomous and can make your own decisions if Ameer, who you were designed to take orders from, is under threat. Well, he is in danger right now. A Titan-class KWR transport ship is hovering above us right now. We do not have the defenses to protect Ameer and cannot down it ourselves. Will you take orders from me through this T-Walker’s A.I.?”

  “It says the only way it can is after ‘First Contact’ with the intended pilot, Ameer. Then once it confirms the threat level from him, he can temporarily rescind control to you.”

  She looks down at Ameer to see if he was ok with that.

  Ameer nods and grabs her hand and holds it tight.

  “That will have to do. Headed to the Command Hub now.”

  She walks with Ameer into the hub. After sitting down in the pilot’s seat, she places Ameer on her lap and places the helmet on top of his head. The T-Walker begins building his mental profile and syncs him into the AMN.

  She sees Ameer slowly close his eyes.

  “They are now in communication Natia.” The A.I. states.

  I wonder what they’re talking about.

  Ameer opens his eyes and smiles. “He’s nice!”

  “He?” Natia raises an eyebrow as she realizes he’s referring to the Farima’s A.I.

  “Yes, I made him a ‘he’ and named him Mansa.”

  “Mansa—where did you hear that word?”

  “I—I don’t know. It’s in my head. I don’t know.” Ameer looks down sheepishly.

  “No, it’s ok. Mansa is a nice name. Did Mansa say what he was going to do?” Natia wonders.

  Ameer removes the helmet from his head and places it onto hers. “You can talk to him now.”

  Natia, connecting to the AMN again, is flustered by the exhilarating jolt in her head. The Farima mecha is linked to the network but feels different from the A.I. in the T-Walker. As she closes her eyes, she can faintly see through the Farima’s eyes underneath the Battle Arena. She feels its towering scale and its limitless energy. In the T-Walker, there is no actual connection to the mecha. Yet now, she experiences reality vicariously through the Farima. She is taken aback by how empty void she senses, replaced by pure calculation.

  “Khalil didn’t tell us it did all of this!” Natia laughs like a child no older than Ameer as her eyes stay closed. “This is amazing.”

  “I am here awaiting your command, Natia. This is Mansa. Whatever you do, just hold on to your seat because I’m quite the amazing mech.”

  “Cocky huh?” Natia says.

  “Tell me to ‘launch’ and you will see why, for yourself.”

  Natia did just that.

  In the middle of the Battle Arena, an unseen entrance unlocks and begins opening. Two large doors dozens of feet in length begin sliding apart, at first only revealing darkness within. The two small
er T-Walker’s sit situated to its south.

  The twenty-feet tall Farima blasts out from within the black abyss. Natia, despite not actually moving, presses against the chair and leans back with her mouth open. Through the eyes of the Farima, she watches as the underbelly of the KWR transport ship zooms larger and larger into view in front of her. She watches as the blue and silver mechanical arm of the Farima grabs a massive energy blade on the opposite end of its body, attached to its waist.

  “Cut it open!” Natia cheers while she watches the Farima swing the car-sized blade in a wide arc above its head. It cuts through the thick, metallic bottom exterior of the aircraft like a hot knife through butter, creating an opening.

  The Farima blasts through the bottom of the KWR transport. It enters into the main body where Natia can tell the android army was located at one point. Large pieces of metal debris fly in all directions as internal explosions rock the transport. The Farima stands almost as tall as the entire interior of the Titan-class transport itself from floor to ceiling.

  Not since the start of the incursions on the Isle of Manden has Natia felt the light shining so brightly from within. They are going to survive, there’s just one thing left to do.

  “Blast everything in sight,” Natia says as relief finally washes over her mind and body.

  The Farima used the arm cannons with openings the size of doors to fire heavy salvos in all directions. Explosions continue to rock the entire aircraft and are visible from the ground. Araba and Adan, with plasma rifles in hand, exit the T-Walker to look into the sky at the magnificent spectacle.

  From inside, Natia continues to close her eyes and see through the eyes of the Farima as images project into her mind. The Farima picks up on the heat signatures of two lifeforms inside the cockpit. One grabs a weapon and exits the cockpit and begins to shoot at the Farima.

  “Damn you Mandenite scum!” The pilot screams as his eyes bulge in unbelievable fear. The shots from his weak weapon bounce off the exterior of the Farima’s elongated mechanical face.

  “I will show you what scum is!” The deep, robotic voice of the Farima cries out as the pilot watches in terror.

  Natia shouts. “Whoa! I didn’t say that!” She hears a loud sound as if something is slowly charging up higher and higher.

  All of a sudden, the Farima’s silver chest plate splits open, and a hidden weapon pokes out from within. The nozzle swirls around in circles faster and faster as the sound increases in pitch. A dazzling display of red lights spins with the nozzle until the sound ends. A powerful red energy beam erupts from within the chest cavity of the Farima, blowing a gaping hole through the front of the KWR transport. The entire cockpit and front-end of the ship disintegrates and reveals the open air above the Battle Arena.

  Adan and Araba watch from the ground as the large vessel falls from the sky with a trail of smoke and fire in its wake. The Farima blasts through the roof of the ship as it continues its fiery descent. The destroyed Titan-class aircraft crashes through the top half of the Battle Arena. It slams with a violent explosion into the Atlantic Ocean on the outside.

  The Farima lands gracefully on both feet in front of the two of them. They jump up and down in celebration with their guns raised. After a minute, Natia and Ameer walk slowly down the ramp and meet the other two outside the mecha. They all embrace and share a much-needed moment.

  Like an unwanted guest, Khalil appears from beneath his own T-Walker. Taseti, defeated, is thrown to the ground. He begins crawling around on the ground on his hands and knees as Khalil kicks him.

  Unbeknownst to Khalil, Natia has asked the Farima to record and broadcast the entire event taking place. Millions of Mandenites across the AugNet are now tuned in—live. At some point during their battle, the communication system that Acacia took offline was brought back online.

  “Khalil, it’s over. He’s defeated. It’s time for him to face justice in New Manden courts. We need to know what he knows about the threat we face from the KWR.” Natia demands, knowing Khalil won’t listen. At this point, that no longer matters.

  “Justice—justice!” Khalil says with mocking contempt. “He won’t stop. Give him an opportunity and he’ll have another larger android army next time.” He looks to Ameer, then up at the towering Farima. “But we have Ameer. We have Homo Maximus!” He screams maniacally before hitting the back of Taseti’s head with the butt of his plasma rifle.

  “Stop it!” Natia yells.

  “This man has killed so many of our people today! You speak to me about justice! I’ll show you justice. I want to protect New Manden from all threats.” Khalil lifts Taseti’s own energy blade and slashes it through his neck. His body collapses to the ground as his head rolls in the opposite direction.

  “Your head doesn’t grow back does it?” Khalil laughs out loud as he looks to the others. Blood from his own scars covers his face.

  “My God you’re a sick bastard.” Araba covers her mouth.

  Ameer lowers his head and looks towards the ground.

  Adan lifts his weapon into the air and points it at Khalil. “We’re standing with this monster now, Nat?!”

  Natia walks forward calmly and—smiles. “Your flaw Khalil is your predictability. I am no longer tethered to you. I no longer care what happens to you anymore or your stupid Buhari Principles. You did this to yourself.”

  Natia looks back and nods to the Farima, which uses its eyes to project out AR images onto the ground below. Millions of people on the AugNet now stand across the Battle Arena. The various colors of the wardrobes from the seven Nodes stand and watch. Some with sadness and tears in their eyes—other with disgrace and anger.

  The Node Director’s on the Worker’s Council all step forward from the AR images one-by-one. They look down at the body of Taseti.

  “Well, you did it this time Khalil. This is an effing mess.” One of them says.

  Khalil’s face widens in shock. “You do this to me, Natia! You betray me like this!?”

  “It’s over, Khalil. With what you’ve done, the people I’ve lost because of you—it’s taking everything within me not to knock your head off.” Natia says as Ameer comes up behind her and grabs her hand. “I figured, exposing the truth that you’ve hidden from New Manden, for you, is worse than death.”

  Khalil screams. “You don’t know what you’ve started! I’m bigger than New Manden! I helped to build this society!” He points wildly at the AR images of members of The Collective who stand in shock at what they’re witnessing. “I can take it away!”

  Councilman Olina, a long-time public critic of Khalil’s steps forward. “We hereby vote to not only remove you from all leadership positions within the ECIC. But we move to blacklist all of your crypto accounts. We move to ban you from participating in all activities in New Manden until you’re tried and brought to justice. It gives me great pleasure to say that. Illegal weapons that violate the Treaty of Charlotte. Murder. I’m sure we will find more crimes once this private island is fully investigated.”

  All of a sudden, dozens of Manden-class aircraft from New Manden appear overheard. A legion of C.O.M.M. soldiers leap from the small planes and begin landing all over the island.

  Councilwoman Adams walks over to Natia in AR form. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you, Natia. I’m being told our men are finding survivors around the island. A small group was hiding inside a storage room in the Medibay. They’re telling me one has on a white jacket.”

  “That’s Michael! Is he alright?” Natia’s voice peaks.

  “Yes. I’m being told he’s injured but none of them have life-threatening wounds.”

  Natia watches as the C.O.M.M. soldiers surround Khalil, who attempts to leap at Natia. They grab him and begin dragging him away, kicking and screaming. “This isn’t over! Give me my Farima back! It’s mine! I built it, not you!”

  “I am sorry, Khalil. The only people I take orders from are Ameer, and Natia.” The voice of the Farima booms from nearly two dozen feet in the air.


  Councilwoman Adams looks up at the Farima. “About that thing.”

  “Its name is Mansa.” Natia chuckles and shrugs. “I know it’s not… well… it’s tricky.”

  The rest of the Worker’s Council come over and look up at the massive mecha as others within New Manden point up in amazement, some in fear.

  “For now, I don’t think anyone has the power to take that mech—Mansa, away from you.” Councilman Olina states as he looks down at Ameer. “Or the boy. So this is what Project Maximus was all about, huh.”

  “Khalil thought he could create an army. He instead created the source of his own demise.” Natia says. “Whatever the people of New Manden choose, I will make my case to The Collective at the next Great Forum. If the KWR comes back, we may not want to be without the Farima.”

  Councilman Olina sighs heavily. “I’m inclined to agree.”

  Chapter 25

  Our Guardian Comes Home

  Node One—Manay City, 2082—Isle of Manden—Office

  With weeks of preparation behind her, Natia is finally prepared to appear before The Collective on the Isle of Manden. She’s as confident as she’s ever been. A survivor of a KWR attack. Despite the official denials of the New American States that Taseti was a lone wolf. She watches a news broadcast in her dressing room as she waits for Justice Samuels. The NAS plutarchy is stating that Taseti is nothing more than a “disgruntled scientist with an ax to grind against Khalil Buhari.”

  “Liars.” Natia shakes her head. Still angry at the NAS and the KWR.

  Only half of that is true, Taseti wasn’t simply disgruntled. He was on a mission to destroy New Manden, and Natia knows she has to find a way to prove it. Determined as she is, Natia vows to build a new team. Araba is with Adan and Ameer at home, still attempting to crack into Khalil’s data-file. She knows she has at least two allies, but before building a new team she must regain public trust.