Commander Requim Holinstar slammed his fist against the control panel, shattering the glass and sending the Atmospheric Pressure gauge into a wild erratic spin. Alarms shrieked and echoed off the metal walls while a recorded voice instructed everyone on board to evacuate immediately. A moment later the large main screen in front of him flashed on and an elegantly dressed woman appeared on it.
"Empress Tilliana," Requim began, then cleared his throat, "My fleet has been annihilated. My cities destroyed. We are a defeated people." He paused, the next words lodged in his throat as he watched the smoke begin to seep onto the Bridge. He guessed it was coming from the Engine Room below, which explained why his ship had lost all maneuverability. Why he could only drift helplessly in space.
Tilliana stared back at him without emotion. Waiting.
A few moments passed, then Requim continued in a tight formal voice. "I, Commander Requim Holinstar, ruler of the planet Torian and its seven moons, hereby concede all property rights and claims within the Graphita Solar System to you, Empress Tilliana." He paused to wipe sweat from his brow, then continued, "My only request is that you have mercy on those that followed me to war. Their only crime was to defend their home planet and attempt to remain a sovereign people."
The woman on the screen furrowed her brow and pushed her Triggerman aside so she could take his place at the ship's primary gun. "You dare to ask for mercy after launching an unprovoked and brutal attack on my home planet and my innocent subjects? Your memory must be failing you Requim if you believe this war to be my doing. It was you who attacked my people first. It was you who used me for the sole purpose of conquering my home and my subjects. It was you who chose to take everything by way of war, even though you could have received it all peacefully by way of marriage. Tell me Requim, am I so repulsive that you would rather have thousands perish instead of simply offering your hand to me in marriage?"
Requim again wiped the sweat from his brow, this time leaving a smear of blood across his forehead from the cut that had opened on his knuckles. His tone hardened, "Of course not my lady, As I've professed to you a hundred times since our courtship began months ago, your beauty has no equal in this galaxy or in any of the infinite galaxies beyond. But it wasn't I who discarded our romance and chose war over peace. It is at your feet that many thousand innocent bodies lay."
Tilliana adjusted the large gun so that the pulsing crosshairs aimed directly at the Bridge of Requim's ship. "Oh Requim, you exploited my sincere love. You seduced me for power. Not only did you take advantage of my feelings by allowing me to believe you felt the same as me, you convinced me that this feud between our people had finally been resolved." She gave a slight smirk. "Well, in a sense I guess the feud has finally ended." She caressed the trigger with a thin index finger, "Just with much more bloodshed that I could ever have dreamed."
"That's ridiculous Tilliana, You are the deceiver and would-be assassin. I saw the message you accidentally sent to me, though you obviously meant to send it to your chief military advisor." A pause. Then, jaw clenched, he continued. "And on the night I intended to propose to you! I loved you. I wanted nothing more than to love you for eternity and to finally put the violent history of our people behind us; to unite through our love what centuries of war and politics failed to accomplish. But your love was false and treacherous. I may have fired the first shot, but only after discovering your true motives!"
Tilliana unconsciously tapped the trigger. "What message Requim?"
Requim pulled out his mobile communicator and read the message that he'd been saving for weeks:
"March 4th; Commander Remirad, I'm confident tonight will be the night I take Requim's head at the pier. Once that has been done, I want to act quickly before anything can go wrong and upset our plans. Organize the troops for an immediate deployment to planet Torianas of the Graphita system. We'll leave on my command.
Tilliana pulled out her mobile communicator with the hand that wasn't pre-occupied with the trigger and searched back through the last few weeks of messages until she found the one to which Requim was referring. As she read it she sighed and allowed her tensed shoulders to slouch a little as the anger drained from her face and was quickly replaced with dark sorrow. "Oh poor foolish Requim." She began, then looked away, her gaze falling on the rare Trestinion Rose wilting next to a photograph of a smiling couple; A couple so happy that their faces looked as though they could barely contain the joy that swelled inside each of them. It was difficult to believe that the tall handsome man gently stroking her hair in the photograph was the same man that now pleaded for mercy. A low sob and she turned back to face Requim, his sweat stained uniform and matted hair making him nearly unrecognizable to the image in the photograph. "Oh Requim, it is true I did not intend that message for you. I sent it to you by mistake but, my god Requim, that wasn't how it should have read. I thought you were going to ask me to marry you that night."
Requim's eyes moved between two monitors; one displaying millions of pieces of space debri that had moments ago been his great fighting fleet, and the other his once beloved Tilliana. If three weeks ago he would have tried to guess what today would be like he would have pictured a handsome couple joyously romping around the beautiful moons of Tempina. He would not have pictured himself helplessly adrift in a busted ship as Tilliana, the only woman he'd ever loved, locked in on him with an M520X Hull-Breaker missile."
Tilliana allowed another sob to escape "I meant to write that I would take your hand tonight--not your head. I wanted everything ready for the ceremony on Torianas so we could get married right away. I wanted to send the Royal Ceremonial Troops to ready the Great Hall and grounds. Requim, Commander Remirad is not even a military man, he's simply commander of social events: government weddings, funerals, and diplomatic parties. If you'd just have looked at his SocialLink profile you'd have realized that. Oh Requim, why did you act so hastily? I wish you'd have trusted my intentions."
Requim stared blankly back at Tilliana, searching for something to say as he watched her fingers slowly tighten around the trigger. One more bloody swipe of sweat from his brow and then he said the only thing he could think to say, "Tilliana, will you marry me?"
Tears welling, Tilliana again veered her eyes from Requim's, but this time they settled onto another monitor. That monitor displayed a city reduced to rubble. The great buildings that had once nearly reached the clouds were now replaced by deep jagged craters. The pristine tree-lined streets were now riddled with shattered stone and twisted metal. Thick black smoke billowed from every corner of the city below. Her city.
Requim moved closer to the screen. "Sweet Tilliana, I still love you."
Tilliana turned back to face Requim's pleading eyes.
"And I still love you Requim." she whispered.
Her tears traced silently down her narrow cheekbones.
She pulled the trigger.
