Chapter 31: One last stand
What is rage? What is anger but the purest form of chaos? In this blood fest, Duke Leto fought hard; at times, he was close to death, but he told himself, "One more," he repeated those words in his mind. He was tired, exhausted. He once told his father he wanted to become a pilot, and eventually, he did, but long after, the old duke died from a bull.
Despite the difference between father and son, they shared similar views, such as his never wanting to be a duke. Paul was like his father, born from a marriage between two houses, while the other was from a noble house and a Bene Gesserit. Paul felt distanced from his father at times; the possibility of his father marrying another woman from another house was there, and that is why he never concerned himself with the idea of being the next Duke of House Atreides.
With the battle around him, Leto could only think of one person.
Duke Leto saw Paul's image in his mind. A smile came to his face, but he instantly looked to his right and stabbed another Sardukar. Behind the man was Damon, who now had two blades in his hands. He pressed the ends of them together, and they became one, a double-edged sword.
Among the crowd of soldiers circling them, one stood out, Bald and hairless with a metallic jaw. Damon, not waiting for his enemy to move, waved his hand, and Harkonnen was flung towards him,
In one single move, he cut the men down, separating head from neck. There was no resistance from the shield; a blue crystalline hue came from the edge of his blade. Every time he moved the weapon, the glow would show.
The blade cut through the shield itself. You would think that cutting through so fast would cause an atomic implode, but the opposite occurred. One by one, anyone who got in his way was cut down; he became death Itself. "Rabban," he yelled. Damon was consumed by rage.
He Jumped into the fray once more beyond where Jamis was and became surrounded by the Harkonnens; he did not care for his life or death; Rabban was to die, and today was the promised day.
The Comms of Jamis's mask said, "This is Esmar. We are ready; get out there. Over." The plan was in motion. More than 250,000 thousand of the Atreides soldiers had been evacuated. In the outskirts of Arrakeen, down below the sand, were trucks.
They used this form of vehicle to bring food to the other sietches, making it challenging to find the bloodworm and his sietch. Another way they became invisible. And grew in power.
The trucks moved like snakes; when they moved, they vibrated underground around the same Frequency as worms, making the sand easier to traverse.
They even moved like worms when they were driven. In the driver's seat were Fremen men holding the steering wheel. And they were all ready to go.
Jamis looked to where Krelln was, and he was about to go to his brother to warn him that it was time to go. But at that moment, far away in the Red sietch sitting on his throne, Damon spoke to Jamis. " Go to the red sietch." Like a command was given, Jamis listened without question. Damon had used the Voice on him from such a distance, showing his prowess and knowledge of the Abilities of the Kwizats Hedrach. Jamis felt his body move without choice in the matter. Everything felt like a blur, his actions unknown even to himself.
He ran back to Gurney Halleck and the surrounding Atreides soldiers. " We need to go; it's time," Jamis said. "No, I will die with my Duke," Gurney said, defying his previous orders.
"No, Gurney, go with them. My time is now, but Paul, he will need you." Duke Leto said. Chaos surrounded them. Slowly but surely, the Atreides were losing. And their enemies were slaughtering them. Gurney looked around and saw the man under him being cut down and screaming as they died.
"Live to fight another day. This battle is lost, but Paul, your young master, lives; we need to go." Jamis said. Gurney reasoned with himself, having the mind of a tactician and a battle-hardened veteran. And the only viable option was for him to retreat and fight another day.
He looked at Duke Leto once more. "This is an order, Gurney. My last order to you; you owe me this. Protect my Paul. Leave me here with Damon." Leto said.
Gurney remembered the day he was saved from the slave pits by this very man who stood before him, a man who fed him and clothed him and gave him a place of living and worth fighting for. Gurney, understanding what his duke asked of him, nodded.
"Paul."
With tears escaping his eyes, he backed away, but his knees went weak; they had no strength. Seeing this, Jamis chopped the back of his neck, picked Gurney up, and ran into one of the hills in Arrakeen, following a small tunnel that had been dug weeks before the arrival of House Atreides. They led to the trucks.
"Go, go, go." Yelled Jamis as he placed an Unconscious Gurney in the back of the truck, and at once, the Vehicle dove into the ground, making the sand tremble.
On the battlefield, twenty Atreides soldiers surrounded their duke, their armor now blood red, and the duke looked tired. Without looking back, one of them said, " It was an Honor to fight beside you, my duke." The duke, hearing this, did not want to let his man down; he yelled, "Atreides."
They responded in kind, "Atreides, Atreides, Atreides, Atreides."
They attacked together in one last stand. They all killed one more Harkonnen before they fell. Harkonnens surrounded the Duke, and they all stabbed him, leaving their blades behind in his body.
His mouth was full of blood; his armor was also broken. He could barely stand, and dealing the last blow, the Duke was stabbed in the throat. He clutched at his throat. He turned around quickly, slitting the throat of the man who stabbed him, and he saw it was a Sardukar.
Leto fell to the ground, clutching his throat. The blades on his body dug deeper into his flesh. He looked up to the sky, which was full of fire. Harkonnen Ships were coming bridled with fire from the missiles; however, beyond that, he saw the stars and then the two moons of Arrakis.
He tried to say his last words but could not; he could only think of them. Damon, seeing this from his father's eyes, said together with him in his mind, "Here I am, here I remain."
Damon, in the far distance, had gotten to Rabban; he too was injured; a blade was stuck between his rib cage, making it difficult to breathe, the screen inside the mask said. "Critical condition." Damon Ignored all the warning signs. He continued to punch Rabban's face, and his fist was like a war hammer; when it hit down on flesh, it crushed, and Rabban's face turned to mush. There was no skull, no brain; all was gone; all that was left was blood and sand.
Rage had eaten at Damon. Forgetting his surroundings, his Training as a Mentat was not working, and he had allowed himself to be rageful. From behind, multiple soldiers came and struck their blades in him, but he continued to beat down on the blood and sand.
Rabban was long dead.
His flesh died, but his mind wandered back to the throne room. Damon saw his father's dead body lying surrounded by his loyal soldiers; a rage burned in him, and the throne room shook as he molded his hands into a fist. Karni, who stood beside the throne, dressed like a reverend mother, only stood still. Not a muscle moved.
Sorry for the delay. I am actually working on another novel based on Game of Thrones and the Son of Dune fan fic. I am creating more chapters on my Word document. I am also creating a patreon.
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