Commander of Dune

Chapter 12

Lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from Evil
~ Jesus Christ – Founder of the First Golden Path

It was obvious that the Empress was not in a mood to be played with.  Alexi took a chance.  “M’Lady, with your permission, I go in search of Lord Dax.”

“You do that.” Arista growled.

Alexi left the rest of the Cabinet and went to find out what had happened to Dax.

~*~*~*~*~

The plaza was packed to capacity and then some.  There was not room enough for an extra sand trout; much less more people.  Still they came.

All were invited - this was not an event the natives of Giedi Prime could miss.  They HAD to be there.  The day had been declared a holiday and all were expected to attend the unveiling, Noble and Slave alike.  No excuse was acceptable save that of death – your own.  The invitation had been a mere formality. 

Vlad sat above the crowd, resplendent in the robes of his rank; the Baron Harkonen was a proud man.  After eight years of unceasing work finally the statue of his ancestor and namesake Vladimir Harkonnen would be unveiled.

The labour of love on Vlad’s part had become a burden to his sons.  Al Samoud and Samir were not enamored of their ancestry as their farther was.  They secretly referred to the “The Tower of Strength” as “Give Me Strength.”  The secret title had been too artful to remain the province of the two brothers.  Some how by the time of the unveiling the population had adopted the unofficial title, strangely Vlad didn’t know about the “new” designation.  This was the only occasion that the Harkonnen sons and their subjects agreed on anything – Vlad was never to know of the new name.

Positioned in an advantageous point, the statue of the Baron could keep an eye on all, and so the plaza was packed with humans all waiting the unveiling of the colossus.  Six hours of speeches later, all vaulting the Baron, the statue was exposed for the world to see.

There it stood…

Made from bonded white carrara marble with a black marble base, imported from the family mines at Hagal. The master sculptor D'Auvergne had created a masterful depiction of a biblical Vladimir Harkonnen contemplating his battle with House Atreides. Stoic against impossible odds and faithful to his beliefs it was a masterful representation of the essence of civic virtue. He had molded the hard stone as though it were putty; creating a combination of smooth adoration combined with openly active and dynamic contours. The muscles and the tendons were developed only to the point where they could be interpreted, as the perfect instrument for the strong Harkonnen will. The portrait was youthful with an outstretched foot that led the eye in a perfect line all the way up to his disheveled hair.

Truly romantic.

Nobel women sighed and the crowd clapped, but the true reaction came from the usual source.  “Dad… I thought that the old Baron was fat?”  The child demanded. His father clamped his hand over the curious mouth, quickly looked around to see if the comment had been heard and then. “Are you insane?!” The father demanded as he bundled the child away from the throng.

“Sorry.” The child apologized.  The man made no comment but just dragged the child away through a crowd that screamed its approval.  Then they all went home thinking: “Give Me Strength.”

Vlad was happy.  The population had made sure of that.

~*~*~*~*~

Alexi was still searching for the missing heir.  Amasso spied her. 

“Finished already?” He was surprised, having decided not to return to the desert until the meeting, he was still debating if to attend Cabinet and here it was over already?

“Dax never arrived and The Empress is furious.” She was worried. “When did you return?  Does Lord Dax know that you are back, Sir?”

Amasso grimaced.  Arista on the warpath was an event to avoid.  “Got back this morning...  No one knows – but I remembered the meeting.” 

“Well as I said there is no meeting today.” She responded to his scowl. “... and I see that the elevators are stuck again.”

“One more time.” Amasso replied.

~*~*~*~*~

It was late.

Dwanna walked into the compound, unchallenged, as there was no one to confront her.  She snorted in disgust, so much for security on a planet that housed House Corrino.

She headed for the desert exhibit and stared.  Impressive, she thought, massive too, a true attempt at reconstructing the desert of Arakkis.

She stopped for a moment to read the plaque. 

Prince Rammen Corrino officially unveiled this plaque, declaring ‘Rakkis World open.
On a miniature scale ‘Rakkis World is an accurate representation of the desert planet Arakkis, also known as Dune
The museum replicates the flora, fauna and environmental conditions of Dune
and is the largest artificial desert in the known Universe
occupying approximately ten percent of Salusa Secundus.
WELCOME!

Dwanna contemplated the desert.  A thought occurred, This exhibit is huge shouldn't there be at least some barrier to prevent the public wandering in on their own and dying?

She approached the edge of the desert.  She spotted the shimmer – there was a force field.   It made sense, or else all and sundry would be wandering in and getting lost not to mention that no gate fees would be possible.

She studied the pulse of the shield. Every shield had a frequency and a cycle rate, add to that the law of physics that allowed a slow moving projectile to penetrate, she would have no problem in gaining entrance – it was all in the timing.

The problem of entry solved she turned to the mission. She checked her pack.  Once in she needed to get in deep and set up a search pattern.  She hadn’t realized that the desert was so large, that meant the hunt would take a little longer than anticipated, but it could not be helped she needed to confirm her findings no matter what they were.

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