Commander of Dune

Chapter 36

If it jams ... force it!

If it breaks, it needed replacing.

Lowery's Law

The first order of the day had been to secure the spice production. That done the next on the agenda was to subjugate the population.

The Harkonnens were masters at subjugation.

Vlad unleashed his sons Al Samoud and Samir onto an unsuspecting population. It wasn't long before they were being compared to the Beast Rabban.

~*~*~*~*~

The natives of Caladan were hunting the Tleilaxu like game, while the Imams issued an order to the Budislamic – return the cultural heritage of the planet or be refused at prayers.

The artifacts were returned.

The guerilla warfare being waged against the Tleilaxu Armed Forces was swinging the momentum in favour of the Caladans. The Tleilaxu had been trained for an all out encounter. This was not part of their operating procedure. Of course efforts were made to adjust to the new tactic but the locals were in a desperate battle for freedom, while the Tleilaxu were attempting to maintain a regime.

The motivations were different enough to be a deciding factor in the war.

~*~*~*~*~

Alexi, the history connoisseur, had described an ancient race of warrior women called Amazons, to him. Trained in the arts of war, they were fearless and expert warriors, on horseback or as foot soldiers. Of late his mother reminded him of these women.

Arista had thrown herself into the war with grim fury. The formerly beautiful woman withered, dwindling to a shadow of her former self, and still she drove herself on. She was finally killed when Harkonnen forces overran the small battle headquarters where she was directing the Fremen strategy.

The new Emperor was delighted and claimed it as a great victory against the usurper of Harkonnen legacy and the murder of his son.

In the space of three months House Atreides had been reduced to one - Dax. He was the lone member left to lead the Fremen.

The Fremen grieved and redoubled their efforts to destroy the invaders and paused only on the day when his mother's water was placed into the commune. That dealt with, Dax stepped out into the desert. A worm instantly appeared.

"Shai-Hulud! The pain! What am I to do? Guerrilla warfare can only go so far!" He was in turmoil " ...if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."

The earth shook; so much so that Dax fell to his knees. The Sietch half a kilometer away came tumbling out and bore witness to the awesome scene. There was Dax in the middle of an increasing presence of Sand Worm after Sand Worm after Sand Worm. Worms are highly territorial creatures; only once before had they ever gathered and that had been for Maud'Dib.

Some one whispered "Maud'Dib"

Another picked up the call "Maud'Dib"

Soon the desert trembled under the mantra "Maud'Dib! Maud'Dib! Maud'Dib!" With the chant ricocheting off the desert dunes Dax drank in the sight of the worms around him.

Finally the Worms left, but one stayed behind with him. From now on it would always be so. Like a bodyguard; Dax would always be under the watchful eye of the Great Worms of Arakkis.

~*~*~*~*~

A Secret Report within the Spacing Guild

Four Players have come to our attention.

1 – The Bene Gesserit: responsible for the split between the Great Houses of Harkonnen and Corrino.

2 – The House Harkonnen: author of the report: Transplanetorial Threats from the Planet Arakkis: Crying Wolf or Crying Havoc? Under the leadership of House Atredies now widely suspected to be a work of fiction; also suspected to be the instigator behind the death of Lord Rammen Corrino.

3 – The Tleilaxu: as a result of the sanctions against them by Vlad Harkonnen for their lack of ratification of his request for immunity from the ICJ, there are indications that their ability to produce a synthetic spice shall be unleashed. This product is untested. There are implications – Scientific, Economic as well as Sociological.

4 – The Lord Dax Atreides: It has been three months since the "Liberation of Dune" and still the Harkonnens cannot produce The Thinking Machines. It is suggested that the present guerilla activities taking place are on the instructions of Lord Dax. Projections are that this will escalate.

It is too quiet.

The spice is in jeopardy.

~*~*~*~*~

"I don't understand it!" Dax confessed to Alexi.

"What?"

"Why I am the one."

"The one." She didn't understand.

"Amasso and I were twins, so why me and not him? I understand that the worms will obey me. But it still does not explain why me."

"You don't know?" She was surprised.

"You know?"

"Even your mother did." Alexi replied.

"Alexi!" He was getting irritated.

"You are the genetic reincarnation of Paul Maud'Dib."

"Genetic reincarnation." He took a deep breath. "... and how is it that you know and I don't?"

"Ce que vous ne savez pas est plus grand que vous." She replied.

He made a face at her, and then said, "That explains much. I must think on this."

"While you think on that – maybe Shai-Hulud will give you a name for our baby?" she left him to his thoughts.

Two seconds later it registered "Baby?"

~*~*~*~*~

Some time during the Liberation of Dune War, the Bene Gesserit completed the evacuation of Caladan.

The population of Wallach IX had now increased significantly.

~*~*~*~*~

PUBLIC DECLARATION

WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT ANY NON-HARKONNEN FOUND WITH A WEAPON IN THEIR POSSESSION REGARDLESS OF REASON WILL BE SHOT ON SIGHT.

SIGNED

EMPEROR OF THE KNOWN UNIVERSE.

VLADIMIR HARKONNEN IV

~*~*~*~*~

The stench of rotting Melange permeated the holding bay. The Spacing Guild had just delivered the contraband.

Reverend Mother Di'ix who had been placed in charge of the arrival gagged. She had not expected such and so had not adjusted her biorhythms. She made the correction and approached the cage.

She stared transfixed at all that remained of the majestic beast. The Sand Worm kidnapped with such precision from Arakkis had not survived the trip. It had died and decomposed in transit.

She walked away. There were two things to be done. One was to dispose of the evidence and the other was to inform the Mother Superior that the fortune they had just spent on the enterprise had been for naught.