She looked straight into his eyes.
“Your majesty, I am called by many names. Thing is not one of them. I go by the
name of Sean Chaide.” She knew it was a daring move. Her goal was to save or
put off for as long as possible any invasion of her home. She had volunteered.
The Sultan declared, “After this
meeting you will be terminated. You are aware of that. You are not to be
allowed to live. You are not human.”
“I am sentient, I can procreate…”
“You are dangerous. But before I
carry out the task of ridding your home of the fools and apostates who created
you, I would like to display the tools by which I will make this happen.”
“If you mean your war machine, I
have heard much of it. Yes please do. I am intrigued, not so much of the how
but why you feel you must do this.”
“I am gathering the forces from all
over the system. This will be a holy war against the infidel, Earth…” He
hesitated not knowing why and then said, “I think a better execution is forcing
you to witness the planets destruction before I terminate you. Yes that is a
fitting punishment.”
“As you wish.” She was calm and
seeming unmoved by his threats.
He was confused by her demeanor.
Normally those subject to death would be at his feet begging for life. She on
the other hand seemed not to care. “You are rather calm,” he said.
“What am I supposed to do? I knew this was a possibility. I volunteered
to meet you. I, we supposed that I might be able to understand your motives
and…”
“Change my mind.” He laughed.
“Fools, you are all fools.”
“Maybe so but aren’t we all based
from the same stock. Isn’t Earth the home, the springboard from which all this
arose?”
“Once it could be said so, but now?
Now your planet is an orbiting ruin. The one thing that protects you is the
garbage surrounding your planet as armor. And the fact, that until your
creation, I was willing to ignore your pitiful orb. But you and those like you
are an abomination that must be destroyed.”
“Why are you so fearful of us? We
are not war like, though we will defend ourselves to the death. You must be aware
of that?”
“What pitiful resistance can you
muster again my armada?”
She didn’t answer.
“You see, I will prevail.” He
looked at her and stared. There was something about her he…
“Your majesty, might I offer a
respite in this verbal sparing, and as a condemned prisoner ask for a last
meal?”
“I said I would keep you alive
until after the destruction of your home.”
“Yes you did. Might I suggest that
we put that aside for a bit?” She had moved closer to him. He knew she was
unarmed. He stood his ground. Sean was exactly his height. She looked directly
at him. “Let me suggest a little something else then. I know you’re one for the
best foods and I, like yourself, suffer from the desire to have a taste of the
best before I die.”
He smiled at the thought. “Go on.”
“What say you that we both choose a
recipe, the best of whatever we may have had. You have the best chefs in the
world. What say you that we choose, and present each other with that?”
No one had ever approached him with
a challenge or contest such as this, and on her death bed no less. He had
nothing to loose. He waited a few seconds, impulse was always his manner. “Yes,
we will do that. What do you have in mind?”
“Oh no. You misunderstand. It will
be a secret, a surprise. Mine will be for you and yours for me.”
He looked at her even more amazed.
“What if your choice is beyond all I have ever consumed, what then?”
“If it is not, I will terminate
myself right there and then. But if it is beyond anything you have ever had, I
will tell you how it was made, where the ingredients originated, the proper
wines to mix, and then we do it again. What say you to that?”
“You’re serious?”
“I do not kid around with my life.”
“I agree.”
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