Although Jaxson was discouraged by the defeat, he looked at the larger picture. “Because if we let Duke Leto have free rein like a wild horse, he will be ours in the long run.”
“In the long run, we will not survive if we have no supplies, equipment, or product. How will you fund our rebellion without ailar? We greatly expanded our market for the Caladan drug, and the Emperor’s spice surtax inadvertently drove more customers to us. But if we have no more ferns…”
“The Noble Commonwealth has other financial resources,” Jaxson said. “And the cargo you brought will tide us over. I have a tight-knit network of addicted users. I will inform them of our losses and increase the price accordingly, but not so much that they go back to using melange.” His brow furrowed. “But I am displeased with the number of deaths reported among users. Far more than you estimated. What was your mistake with the new strain? Our customers are afraid to use the stuff.”
“You instructed me to use Tleilaxu methods to alter the barra ferns and thus increase the potency of the ailar. It succeeded admirably well, far beyond expectations.”
“And many people died because the drug was too powerful.”
The Tleilaxu scoffed. “They were poorly informed, and we were unable to institute a thorough enough analysis. The drug concentration in the new ferns is potent, but varies greatly. Despite all the resources you gave me, sophisticated equipment was difficult to come by in the deep wilderness. Caladan is not Tleilax, nor Ix.”
Jaxson remained dubious. “Once word gets around, users will be afraid of ailar.”
Marek shook his head. “But the euphoria is so much more intense, they will risk it. The new barra ferns obviously still need genetic adjustment to modulate the potency. Too many shipments went out with extraordinary potency, which we discovered only after the string of fatalities. We can fix that.” He smiled. “And the extremely powerful strain is an advantage, since we can generate far more ailar with the same amount of ferns, if we process it properly!”
The two men stepped aside as workers moved cartons of sealed ailar onto the frigate. Jaxson intercepted one of the boxes, opening the lid to find tightly packed brown curls of product. A rich smell wafted up, loamy with an undertone of peat and smoke. He had never tried ailar himself—the thought nauseated him—but he did not need to understand the vices of human beings in order to profit from them.
And Jaxson used that profit to partially fund his operations in a widespread and ever more powerful rebellion against the Corrino Imperium. He smirked. “That is why I sent out specific feelers to recruit discontented Tleilaxu. I knew we were natural allies.”
The gray-faced man scowled. “If only more of my people understood the opportunity offered by the Noble Commonwealth. Right now, in the corrupt Imperium, we are reviled, not given the same rights and privileges as noble houses. Your cause may be more vital to my people than to any other planet in the Imperium, and our indoctrinated followers support us with their lives. No member of the Bene Tleilax has a seat in the Landsraad, nor do we have a Directorship in CHOAM. You promised that would change.”
“It will change, as soon as our movement is victorious. And I promise you will not have to wait another century or two, as my mother would prefer.” Jaxson looked down at the lush globe of Caladan. They had orbited over the wide seas and now came upon another landmass. “We need a continued supply of ailar. You need to reestablish your operations from scratch, but Duke Leto will be much more wary now. Lay down subsidiary barra fields on the Eastern and Southern Continents. Triple your production.”
“We will face more primitive conditions over there,” Marek said. “That makes it more difficult to get reliable workers and ship the product once it’s packaged.”
“I prefer to see the advantages,” Jaxson said, his tone cocky. “Under more primitive conditions, you will have an easier time covering your operations. You can increase production, but keep a lower profile. Your mistake was that you let too much of the drug trickle into Caladan society. Duke Leto Atreides is very protective of his people. He would turn a blind eye to a thousand wealthy nobles addicted on countless planets in the Imperium, but if one of his peasants dies by accident, then you spark his vengeful anger. Be more careful next time.”
Marek thrust gray fingers into the organic mass inside the open box, stirring the dried plant matter. “The original Caladan barra fern was an extraordinary specimen, but my alterations have made it vastly more suited to our uses. Unfortunately, we still have not been able to make the species thrive off of Caladan.”
“Then you can make do here, on this planet.” Jaxson looked at all the boxes being loaded into his customized frigate. “After you expand your growth operations on the other continents, our movement will once again be flush with solaris. The Noble Commonwealth will continue its work.”
“And all will benefit,” said the Tleilaxu man. “Our worlds will eventually be independent. The Bene Tleilax can make their own choices, perform their own work, and make their own profits.” He hissed. “We will no longer be downtrodden scapegoats treated with disrespect at every turn!”
“Wealth is something you must earn, Chaen Marek,” warned Jaxson. “And so is respect.”
When the workers finished transferring the packaged ailar, Jaxson realized it would be the last full load for some time. He had already stashed substantial funds in a secret war-chest account in the Guild Bank, but his allies would have to be more frugal.
Nevertheless, because they spoke the truth and told the downtrodden planets what they needed to hear, the rebellion would continue to resonate.
In the worst-case scenario, Jaxson could always go back to his mother. Despite her words of public condemnation, he was confident Malina would come around and give him the financial resources to assure the victory of their shared cause, even if they differed in approach. He could make her see.
Chaen Marek looked as if he wanted to stay with Jaxson Aru, perhaps to fly off to the luxury and security of the Silver Needle on Kaitain or some other CHOAM complex, but Jaxson was firm. “Go back down to Caladan. You have work to do.”
Petulant, Marek slipped back through the connected hulls to his camouflaged cargo ship, and Jaxson returned to his stateroom. The frigate would ride in a secret berth aboard the Guild Heighliner to his next destination, his sister Jalma’s private holding on Pliesse. She was still consolidating her rule there since quietly disposing of her decrepit husband.
Jaxson smiled. He would convert his sister as well.
Yes, they all had work to do.
Supreme, death-defying challenges are never merely physical. They are mental as well, and the more severe the challenge, the more thought processes are required to overcome the obstacle and survive.
—DUKE LETO ATREIDES
The crashing seas seemed peaceful compared to the tension that filled Castle Caladan, the coldness between his mother and father. Paul didn’t understand it, but something felt truly broken there.
In the morning air, the young man scrambled over rocks at the base of the cliff beneath the main lookout, then cut his way through a protective wire barricade meant to keep daredevils out. Squeezing through the opening, he picked a route over the treacherous, mossy rocks. He needed to focus his impatient energy on a challenge he could defeat.