Bab 32: Chapter 23-Free at Last!
Chapter 23
LADY JESSICA
Jessica sat in the sietch and watched as the Fremen treated their injured, and in the absence of Leto Gurney and Paul discussed the condition of their troops, their distribution and treatment.
Yet despite it all, the Fremen had been silent, hesitant, and worried throughout the night. It was only when she noticed dawn approaching that she felt the air shift in the sietch until a message came. The whole was filled with screams and shouts of joy, while others prostrated themselves in prayer.
"What happened?" she asked, one of the Fremen girls guiding her and the other woman who had been evacuated from the city, and she saw her eyes flow.
"We have won," she added, and she realized the cause of the tensions all over the night.
"For the first time in a thousand years, we are free to walk on the sand dunes of Arrakis," she added, and she saw them rejoicing.
Yet she doubted that this was a simple enough victory. The Harkonnens had attacked with their full might, and, add to that, the Saradukar forces. For the Fremen to claim victory, they would have to have routed such an enormous force, and that was not an easy task.
"How is the Duke's condition?" Thufir questioned as he walked to her side, and the question immediately sombered her mood as she shook her head.
"They are still treating him. His injuries were quite severe, but they are hopeful," she answered and the loyal Mentat nodded.
"What do you make of this?" she asked, pointing towards the celebration.
"This victory," he asked, and she nodded.
"It all seems very well planned, my lady. Each and everything had been meticulously planned, and for the first time in my life, I find myself helpless as we dance around in the palm of this Inzal Kazab," he added, his pride obviously wounded by how he had been outplayed and outmaneuvered.
"Now, I only hope that it was wise of us to form an alliance with them because though they may have won over control of Arrakis, I am afraid they will not find it easy to maintain it. With this, they have turned the whole of the Landsraad into their enemy," he said, and she nodded.
Though she knew that Inzal had plans for that, plans to usurp the very throne that had now all the swords of the Imperium pointed towards him. And that she had a rather vital part left to play in that all.
"How is Paul?" she asked, looking towards her son, who was leading the men with Gurney and Duncan in the absence of Leto, keeping them calm, as they found themselves in these strange circumstances.
Yet the men listened to him, respected him, and followed his orders, and as she watched him shout orders, she felt proud of him, proud that her boy had grown up into such a fine leader.
"The young Duke seems to have come into his own, him and Duncan have kept the men in line. We could not have asked for much more of the young lad. He has done admirably, my lady," Thufir answered.
And then she saw the cheer, which had lessened, become defending suddenly as a few Fremen walked through the sietch, she recognised their faces. This was the girl who had been with Inzal when they had evacuated, Shishakli she remembered her name, and on her side was Inzal walking forward fist raised in the air as Fremen congratulated him left and right.
And on first glance, he seemed fine, yet only because of her Bebe Gesserit training could she tell the sheer exhaustion he was in, how the young female seemed to be supporting him as he walked through the crowd, and how the heavy stench of killing permeated from him.
"Today, I declare Arrakis as ours," he shouted as he stood in the center of the Hall.
"Today we are FREEEEE!" and the whole sietch shook from the roar that followed.
"But the war is not over yet. Right now, everyone in the Imperium has set their eyes on us, their swords ready to put all of us to death, to claim the riches of Spice for themselves. But to them, I say enough! This is our planet! OURS! AND YOU SHALL EXPLOIT US NO MORE!" he roused the spirit as he pointed towards herself.
"Our allies of House Atreides have helped us reach this point. Outsiders, they maybe, but they are friends, allies who joined us and our cause when none ever had. And for that they are our brothers, and a Fremen cares for his brother as he does for himself. The months ahead will be hard and challenging, but in the end, we shall prevail! Together as ONE!" he said, and she could feel the gazes of hundreds of Fremen focused on her.
"For Freedom!" and with that, he walked away, his steps stumbling as he walked deep into the caverns.
"Lady Jessica," she turned around and found herself face to face with the girl Shishakli.
"I believe you have something that was entrusted to you by the Duke," she asked, and she nodded as she reached into the pocket.
"What happened to him?" she asked, handing him the drive she had received from Leto.
"To Inzal?" she elaborated and saw the girl's lips thin, her face morphed into one filled with worry and pain, reminding her much of herself.
"The battle last night was much more brutal than we imagined, the victory and freedom we enjoy today, it came at a cost, and he chose to bear the most of it himself," she added and she nodded.
"How many more days till we can remove the Harkonnens from the city?" Thufir asked, and she saw the girl frown.
"I believe you are mistaken, Mr. Hawat. There are no more Harkonnen in the city, or even the Saradukar for that matter," and the implication of those words dawned on him as Thufir's eyes widened.
"You cannot mean to tell me..."
"All of the Harkonnens and the Saradukar were slain in the night. The city is ours."
0000
EMPEROR SHADDAM CORRINO IV
"How could this happen?" he asked as he paced in his solar, with his closest confidante and aide, Hasimir Fenring, standing there alongside him.
"This is not just a momentary plan. No, this was a very elaborate plan, one that must have taken at least a year to set up," Shaddam roared at his friend, who nodded.
"Indeed, the shield, the atomics, the recording. It was all prepared in advance. There is something much grander at play here, something that we are missing," Hasimir added.
"But WHAT!" Shaddam roared. It had been nearly a month since the debacle at Arrakis and the whole of Imperium was on edge. The desert planet had been cut off from the outside, and without the primary source of the melange, everyone was growing nervous. The already precious mixture had become even more pricey with no sign of a breakthrough in sight.
"Perhaps the Harkonnens betrayed us and leaked our plan," he added, his mistrust of those damned pests showing, and Hasimir nodded.
"It could be a possibility, but the notion of the Harkonnens and the Atreides joining hands is highly improbable. I personally believe that this is the work of a third entity," Hasimir's answers had him frowning.
"Who?" he asked, ready to tear that person apart limb by limb if he had to.
"The 'Kazaab'," Hasimir answered, and it took him a few seconds to remember the reference.
"The one who was killing the Harkonnen, the 'Harkonnen butcher'?" he asked, and Hasimir nodded.
"We initially thought him to be an agent of the Atreides, but despite years of monitoring, we found no evidence of it, yet we continued to believe that," he added as he brought up a picture of the man in question.
"But what if we were wrong? What if he was not an Atreides operative? What if he was what he claimed to be?" Hasimir added.
"A Fremen freedom fighter," he gasped as he realized their gigantic mistake.
"Indeed, the Atreides alone do not have enough strength to push back against the force with which they were attacked. The Harkonnens alone would have been enough, given the advantage they had because of the element of surprise. Add to that the legions of Saradukar, the Atreides should have been decimated within hours," Hasimir added.
And it was true, and this very thing had perplexed him much. To this day, they had failed to receive any information from the men they had sent down with the Harkonnens, Saradukar men, whose presence down there could bring an end to his rule as Emperor and turn the whole of the Imperium against House Corrino.
"The only force capable of facing the Saradukar on somewhat equal footing are..."
"The Fremen," he finished as Hasimir nodded.
"And we are aware that the Baron's estimate regarding their true numbers was too off, that in reality, the number of Fremen living on Arrakis is into the millions rather than the thousands the Baron thought it to be," he added.
And this was much more dangerous. Much more dangerous for him, for if it was indeed a plan of the Fremen, then they would have done such a thing for only one reason.
Spice, and without Spice, he could not rule.
"You do remember the assurances I had to make when I took the throne from my father, assurances that the supply of Spice would remain undisturbed. If I fail in them, House Corrino will be eaten alive by the Guild and the smaller Houses," he said to Hasimir.
"The guild grows restless already. They tried to send in some ships, but all of them were shot down, and a few that did get in lost contact immediately. Any satellite sent into the orbit around the planet is shot down as well. Such a thing is unprecedented," Hasimir added making him frown.
"How?"
"Because space travel is not so easy. Targeting ships, and satellites with such accuracy, as is being done, is only possible in one scenario," Hasimir added.
"If the guild itself was involved," he guessed, and Hasimir nodded.
"Indeed. I have already spread rumors about this as pushback against the guild. Many Houses will believe all this is a ploy for them to curry more power. This buys us some time," Hasimir added.
"And what of our own attempts at establishing communication?" he asked, and Hasimir was hesitant to answer.
"What?"
"An answer came in the night," Hasimir answered.
"They have asked for Princess Irulan to be sent as the Crown's representative."
0000
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