Emperor Shaddam strode into the waiting chamber. “I want the report of my Sardaukar strike on the planet Dross. Colonel Bashar Kolona?”
Fenring sprang to his feet. Without missing a beat, the Sardaukar officer saluted crisply.
The Emperor noticed Fenring. “Oh, Hasimir!” His voice hardened. “Are you here to deliver good news about the pirate operations on Arrakis?”
Fenring grinned. “Ahhhh, yes, I am, Sire. You will be pleased.”
Chamberlain Ridondo dithered in the waiting chamber. “It was a matter of protocol, Sire, as to which man would speak to you first.”
Shaddam paid no attention to him. He turned expectantly to the Sardaukar officer. “And your report? Is it good news you bring me about the operation? Is House Verdun eradicated, as ordered?”
Fenring was surprised and listened closely.
“Yes, Sire. I bear the news you want to hear.” Kolona relaxed his salute. “A complete success. The family eradicated … just like other noble houses in the past.”
Fenring observed the officer’s mannerisms, and the man did not act victorious. The Emperor seemed not to notice.
“Then it is a day filled with good news! I shall see both of you at the same time.” Shaddam turned. “Follow me. Chamberlain, send refreshments to my private contemplation chamber. Tea, and those local pastries I like. And Tikal champagne, so that we may celebrate.” He paused. “Bring the tray yourself. Don’t entrust it to a servant. This is a highly confidential meeting.”
The chamberlain hurried off, and the other two men accompanied Shaddam into his private chamber. Taking the proffered seats, Fenring and the colonel bashar each removed items from their packages. Kolona took out printed documents and image sets; the Count produced a shigawire spool. It felt as if they were in competition.
While Shaddam waited, the two men cleared the area to display their information. The Emperor folded his arms over the thick brocade on his formal tunic. “Shall we choose randomly which report comes first? Or should I have you fight for it?”
Fenring looked at the Sardaukar, assessing. Kolona was taller and more muscular. They regarded each other quizzically, then moved a little apart. Fenring didn’t believe the Emperor’s taunt, but Shaddam could be capricious. Nevertheless, he did not want to waste time or attention.
Fenring glanced at the unsettled Sardaukar and activated his own holo projector. After a moment’s hesitation, Kolona brought out his images and projected them as well, so that the reports were side by side. In tandem, the Emperor’s chamber was filled with video displays of explosions, fire, a massive air and ground assault from uniformed Sardaukar, a young woman falling to her death from a rampart. Fenring’s images showed a woman staked on the sand, struggling as a giant sandworm surged in to swallow her in a magnificent display of primal power.
Emperor Shaddam seemed equally satisfied with what he saw. Apparently, he already knew some details of the colonel bashar’s mission, but he turned to the Count. “And who is this woman in the desert? I hope she was guilty of something.”
“A criminal being executed, Sire. You tasked me to track down the source of the missing spice from Arrakis, the pirates who somehow managed to slip melange past our observers. This doomed woman, Rulla Tuek, was behind those operations. She hid that secret operation even from her husband, who represents our … ahhhh, sanctioned group of smugglers with whom I work.”
The Sardaukar officer studied the desert images, but avoided looking at the violence and destruction still playing in his own report. Fenring observed him, wondered why he seemed so unsettled by his own successful mission.
Shaddam leaned closer, watched a replay of the sandworm images. “And how do I know this poor woman is not just a sacrificial lamb? Someone given up so that we would stop searching for the real culprit?” He rubbed his fingertips on the bridge of his nose. “Oh! Is she pregnant?”
“Yes, Sire. She is the wife of Esmar Tuek, an influential smuggler leader, and she is indeed pregnant.” He drew a deep breath, making certain he could present the information in the most convincing manner possible. He was glad the Truthsayer Mohiam had not joined them. “Tuek gave up his own wife in order to prove his compliance with our instructions. And the child.” Fenring didn’t add any other details. “She is not a mere throwaway sacrifice to distract us, Sire. Tuek is obviously sincere in his contrition, and I require this man for my own work on Arrakis, hmmm? The fact that he was willing to make such a painful decision, to relinquish someone so dear to him, proves it is not a sham.”
When Shaddam’s penetrating gaze continued, Fenring added, “I, ahhhhhh, witnessed the execution myself. Tuek was profoundly shaken by it. From now on, he will be firmly under our thumb.”
Fenring still did not know the real connection between spice smugglers on Arrakis and a possible secondary group of pirates and other black markets. Given time, perhaps Grix Dardik would figure it out … once Fenring got back to Arrakis and without the Emperor so frantic for an answer.
Shaddam watched in silence for a long moment, viewing alternately the sandworm attack and the Sardaukar assault on Duke Verdun’s city. His face brightened with good cheer. “We shall have breakfast together tomorrow, Hasimir, to discuss this further. Bring your lovely wife.”
“I will join you as well.” Empress Aricatha entered the office, glided up to Shaddam’s side, and turned to look at the horrific images. The Emperor did not stop her, and together, they watched the loops again. Aricatha seemed disturbed at first, but her eyes glittered with fascination.
The Emperor rose. “Count Fenring and Colonel Bashar Kolona, you have both done superb work. I expected no less.”
Both men bowed slightly, in unison. Then, looking at the Sardaukar officer, the Emperor frowned. “You do not seem pleased, Colonel Bashar.”
Kolona remained rigid for a moment, then confessed, “To be perfectly honest, I … questioned certain aspects of the mission, Sire. But I completed the objective, as ordered.”
Shaddam stared at him long and hard, as if searching for some sign of disloyalty, some measure of opposition to his orders.
For his own sake, Kolona added, “I understand it was necessary. May I be dismissed, Sire?”
“Yes, Colonel Bashar. Take a day of furlough.” He seemed happy and magnanimous.
Fenring promised himself he would reward Margot later for getting the damned Truthsayer out of the way.
Shaddam said, “We will continue to investigate this Noble Commonwealth conspiracy. Soon, I expect to have more work for you and all your troops. There will be even more Landsraad seats to fill after I have cleaned house.”
There are casualties beyond number on the battlefields of the human heart.
—The Songs of Gurney Halleck
Before leaving for Kaitain, focused on his ambitious new purpose, Duke Leto Atreides met with his most important advisers. He’d already had his servants pack a variety of fine clothing for his trip to the Imperial capital: jeweled belts, formal capes, tunics, trousers, and boots, all in green and black, all bearing the Atreides hawk crest.
His purpose now was different from when he had gone to Otorio. His primary focus was to draw attention to himself in the Landsraad, like the other nobles always did, and finally claim the political power that was his right. By necessity, he would show himself as a different Leto from this day forward, although his heart and honor would remain the same.