After gathering reports from his network of sources, Thufir Hawat had already unraveled the surprising spread of ailar usage across the Imperium, with Caladan at the nexus. And the Mentat had only just begun to turn over rocks to see what data he could find. Many more dark and hidden facts were sure to come scuttling into the light.
Leto stood with a hand on his bloody sword, turning to watch as mercenary prisoners were taken and workers rounded up. The Atreides fire crews torched the remaining fields, cutting down mature fern trees that loomed over the compound.
Duncan Idaho looked sullen after reporting the escape of Chaen Marek. Atreides searchers had scoured the newly exposed tunnels beneath the forest and found a secret exit hatch and the burn marks of jet-pod exhaust where a small escape craft had taken off.
Though deeply disappointed, Leto still felt victorious. “Marek may have slipped away, but we castrated his operations. His ailar production has been ruined, and we will dismantle the entire distribution network, destroy his black market. The man has nothing left but to lick his wounds.”
Leto was shocked to learn that a Tleilaxu had set up his operations here on Caladan. He already had many good reasons to despise the Bene Tleilax for what they’d done to his ally House Vernius, as part of Shaddam’s secret scheme to create a synthetic spice. Now a Tleilaxu had come here, genetically modified a native Caladan plant, and turned it into something more addictive, more deadly.
After seeing the scope of the barra fields, the equipment, mercenaries, and weaponry, Leto was convinced this was no simple one-man operation. Tleilaxu genetic manipulation was a complex process, not performed on a whim.
Who was financing Chaen Marek? Shaddam Corrino had commissioned the earlier Tleilaxu work on Ix, but that entire plan had disastrously failed. Was the new Tleilaxu drug lord an independent operator, or was there some larger scheme? What if the Emperor himself was involved as he had been on Ix?
“Most of the records are destroyed, my Lord,” Gurney Halleck confessed, his face flushed. With burn-reddened hands, he carried a small set of scorched documents and two shigawire spools. “It was my own damned clumsiness, a self-destruct setup. I should have noticed the trigger. This was all I could salvage. I hope Thufir can get something worthwhile from it.”
“Thufir will find anything there is to be found,” Leto said, accepting the illicit records. “We are not finished here, but we did the right thing.”
It put into perspective how little he needed to care about the insulting rejection from Duke Verdun. Hawat had already compiled a list of new candidates for Paul, and the names were waiting for him on his desk back at the castle. Leto would review them as soon as he returned, even consult with his son this time. He didn’t have to rush to marry off Paul; he just needed to dangle the possibility, play the game. Yes, he would select one of the names and send another carefully worded letter.
Without question, allying his House with House Verdun would have been a terrible mistake. Even so, the obnoxious nobleman’s implication that House Atreides was too lackluster bothered him, that Paul was not worthy. How many other Houses Major secretly thought the same? Would his son and heir be turned down again?
Previously, he had convinced himself that ruling only Caladan—his home, his world, his entire universe—was sufficient. But if Fausto Verdun and other Landsraad nobles considered Paul and House Atreides beneath their notice, was that partly Leto’s own fault? Perhaps he should work harder to play the political game, especially now with so many opportunities on the table.
Caladan was close to his heart, but in the reality of Imperial power and influence, perhaps one small planet wasn’t enough. An Atreides Duke had ruled here for twenty-six generations … did that make House Atreides appear to be stagnant? His father had once told him that contentment is the first step toward downfall.
Perhaps Leto should have demanded more, been more ambitious, grabbed possibilities for wealth and power. Hawat had advised him, and even Jessica had understood the need to look for opportunities. After Otorio, there were plenty of holdings available.…
He watched his troops finish their mopping-up operations. A lieutenant jogged up to deliver a casualty report, and Leto was sad to learn that he had lost nearly a hundred fighters, although Marek’s mercenaries had suffered far greater casualties. Still, that was more blood on the drug lord’s hands.
His thoughts kept circling back to the same question. Perhaps House Atreides did need more power, more political influence, more clout.
Leto said he was willing to do anything for Paul and the future of his House. Then he corrected his thought. Anything honorable.
* * *
BACK IN THE castle behind closed doors, with glowglobes dimmed to a warm orange light, Leto allowed himself to be a man and a lover. He let down his personal walls and opened his heart to rest in Jessica’s arms. Now that he was home safe, she made love to him with a desperation that revealed just how worried she had been.
As they lay in the spacious bed, they fit together in perfect harmony, warm skin softly touching. In the afterglow, they faced each other, Leto’s gray eyes looking into her green gems. They spoke in whispers because they did not need to be louder. He stroked a strand of bronze hair that had drifted down her cheek.
Even here, he was still the Duke, and they did not speak of trivialities. Jessica was his most important adviser, his quiet and steady confidante. He spoke to her about what he had been thinking, how he needed to seize the opportunities. “Jessica, I am … reconsidering my priorities.”
“How so?”
“I should strive to get more for House Atreides, for Paul. There are great power tides in the Imperium, and I should not feel I am above them. My heart will always remain centered on Caladan, but we can have more for ourselves and our legacy. I have been too aloof. I’ve decided to go to Kaitain and petition the Emperor for governorship over one or more of the holdings left leaderless after Otorio. I am his loyal Duke. Why should I not be the one to rule those worlds?” He lay back on the soft pillow and sighed.
He thought of Fausto Verdun, like a carrion bird swooping down over fresh carcasses, and the image made him uneasy. Leto was not such a man. But whatever strengthened House Atreides would benefit Paul.
Jessica said, “Everyone knows you are the one who raised the alarm and saved those people on Otorio. The Emperor, his wife, Count Fenring, and many others are only alive because of what you saw and reported. Make sure they don’t forget that fact.”
“Shaddam does not like to be reminded of his obligations,” Leto warned. “If I press that advantage too hard, he may resent me.” He thought about their son, and hardened his resolve. “Then again, Shaddam will resent me or not as he sees fit. He makes up the reasons he needs.” He sat up in the bed. “Other pandering nobles have been pressing him. So many worlds left without noble rulers.… I consider myself a decent man and a good leader. Would those planets not all be better off with an Atreides as their ruler? Think about the poor populations suffering under Baron Harkonnen.”
He made an angry sound deep in his throat. “House Harkonnen holds Giedi Prime as well as Lankiveil, and for eighty years, they have controlled the spice operations on Arrakis. Does a House like that deserve more holdings than House Atreides? I can get more for my family and for future generations. There may come a time in the future when our livelihood depends on it.”