Maya Chen retrieved her dog Sage from a safe house in Sector 7—risking capture to save a dying animal. This choice would define everything that followed.
The First Feast
Before she was The Chef, Maya Chen was one of the Sprawl's most decorated military commanders. Before The Feast controlled districts, there was a single night of revenge in an abandoned warehouse. This is the origin story that changed the Sprawl forever.
Event Overview
The Betrayal
General Maya Chen was a threat to corporate interests—too effective, too incorruptible. When she transitioned into politics with genuine reform ambitions, a conspiracy was set in motion.
The Frame Job
Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Hask, her second-in-command, ordered a massacre in Sector 4 that killed 4,000 civilians. He then testified that Chen had given the command.
The Consequences
- Her allies abandoned her
- Her family disowned her
- She was sentenced to public execution
She escaped the transport van en route to execution. Four guards died in her escape.
The Night
Hours After Escape
The Reckoning
She located Viktor Hask at his apartment.
She killed him.
She cooked and ate him in an abandoned warehouse.
This was not habitual cannibalism—it was a singular act of complete revenge. She literally consumed the man who destroyed her life.
The Message
Maya had already sent Viktor's bones to everyone on her list—seventeen names, everyone who knew about or enabled the Sector 4 conspiracy.
"Your table is set. I'll see you at dinner."
The Encounter with Abbas Okonkwo
Who Was Abbas Okonkwo?
- Colonel in Ironclad's Infrastructure Division
- A friend of Viktor Hask from the military academy
- On Maya Chen's "list" of seventeen names
- Father of Dr. Amara Okonkwo (then age 23, at Helix Biotech)
The Confrontation (4:12 AM)
Unlike the others on the list—who were organizing armed response—Abbas came alone to talk. Maya opened the door holding a plate.
The Offer
The bones had already been sent. The message was clear.
The Mercy
Abbas chose dialogue over violence. Sage didn't react with alarm. Maya recognized something different.
The Information
Abbas revealed the full scope—not just Viktor, but the corporate backing, the plans to "erase" her family after execution.
The Trade
In exchange for this intelligence, Maya let Abbas leave alive.
Her Final Words to Him
"Go home, Abbas. Kiss your children. Live a good life. Stay off the list..."
[pause]
"Lists can be revised."
Why She Spared Him
Dialogue Over Violence
Abbas came to talk first. Everyone else on the list was organizing armed response. The Chef rewards courage and character, even in enemies.
Value of Information
Abbas provided intelligence that expanded Maya's understanding of who really destroyed her. Valuable information is worth more than another death.
Sage's Judgment
The dog didn't react with alarm when Abbas entered. Throughout Maya's life, Sage had been an accurate judge of character.
The Children
"Kiss your children." The conspiracy planned to disappear her family. She would not become what they were.
Aftermath
The List (Completed 3 Months Later)
All seventeen names were eventually crossed off—except Abbas Okonkwo. The bones were delivered as promised. The message was received across the Sprawl.
Abbas lived. He never saw Maya Chen again. He rose in Ironclad's ranks. Years later, his daughter Amara would become The Chef's personal physician—neither knowing the other's history with the warlord who employed them both.
The Birth of The Feast
Something unexpected happened during Maya's campaign against the list: people started following her.
The hungry. The discarded. Soldiers betrayed by their corporations. They heard about the elaborate meals she prepared from her enemies. The feasts she held to celebrate each victory.
They called her The Chef.
The first group of seventeen followers found her with a story: they'd been starving in Sector 22, abandoned by the corps as "liability overflow." Someone claiming to work for The Chef had fed them.
Maya hadn't sent anyone. The movement had grown beyond her intention.
"You fed the hungry. In a Sprawl where corps let us starve, you fed the hungry."
"That's not nothing. That's everything."
The Chef's Philosophy
The events of that night established principles The Feast still operates by:
| Principle | Origin at The First Feast |
|---|---|
| The hungry will be fed | Revenge became providence as others saw what she built |
| Loyalty is earned, not demanded | Abbas's courage earned him life; Viktor's betrayal earned him death |
| Food is sacred | Her grandmother's teachings survived even this transgression |
| Pure flesh commands chrome faithful | She refused augmentation from the beginning—purity as power |
| Lists can be revised | Judgment is not permanent; character matters |
Connection to Present Day (2184)
Abbas Okonkwo
Now a Director in Ironclad's Infrastructure Division. He survived because he chose dialogue. He has never spoken publicly about the night he met The Chef. His daughter Amara doesn't know about his history with her employer.
The Feast
From seventeen followers to thousands. From one warehouse to three conquered districts. The movement that started with one woman eating her betrayer has become the Sprawl's most feared faction.
The Chef's Quest
The immortality quest everyone whispers about began that night, too. When Maya escaped execution, she prioritized Sage above her own survival. Twelve years later, she conquers territories searching for ways to save her dying dog.
The Central Truth
The First Feast was never about power.
It was about love, and revenge, and refusing to let the corporations win.