Bab 33: Assainsation attempt.
The fate of Paul Atreides and his mother was unknown to the enemy who had Orchestrated their deaths. Of course, Reverand's Mother, Gaius Helen Mohiam, stood next to the emperor on his throne; down below was a Sardukar who had a bag to the side of him.
They were in the house of the lion, the house of Corrino, the padishah emperor's home; the man who stood on the throne was a cousin to the late Duke Leto. News of his cousin's death had hurt him deeply; he loved the duke-like son, and when he heard of his death, he raged and roared, throwing things everywhere. He blamed the Bene Gesserit for his death; indeed, their planning caused the demise of Leto Atreides.
Who really controlled the known Universe? Was it the great Houses or the Bene Gesserit, a sisterhood that had spent millennia perfecting the gene to Get the Kwizats Hedrach? It was said that, initially, their goal was noble, but in time, it became twisted that they sought power, and in doing so, some of them fell into their own desires and greed that they sought to control the Kwizats Hedrach.
Though their aim would be Futile, how can you control a being that knows all? How can you control a being that is absolutely free? From his perspective, everything you have done is a repetition; you are playing a role, which your genes were made to do. He is a god, and you are a mortal.
In the halls where the emperor stood, the reverend mother stood beside him, while his daughter Princess Irlun Corrino, stood to the other side.
With the death of the Atreides, she knew what was coming. This was not the first time her father had Used the Harkonnens to do his dirty work. He saw in Baron Vladimir that which he did not see in Leto: cruelty. To rule a universe, you needed to be feared.
Not love, because with love comes enemies who would stab you in the back, but with fear. They all stand before you, but they kneel and bow and kiss your boots to earn your favor. They think they bide time, but you are waiting to see how long they would take to break and attack.
You could hear boots in the halls. At first, it was from far away, and as time passed, it became closer and closer. One by one, it became more than one boot; it became a legion. The Sardukar had entered the throne room. And they looked up to their god with praise. While the reverend mother did not make a face, inside, she felt disgusted. Many emperors had an ambition of being seen as gods.
The emperor stood up and walked down the marbled steps at once. To the side of the hall were flags that bared the symbol of their house, the lion in all its glory; there was silence. Only his steps could be heard.
"Speak." He commanded. "My emperor, Duke Leto Atreides, is dead; it was said that his son and concubine, Lady Jessica, died too."
"It was said, said." The emperor repeated
he did not like loose ends and a lack of information. And he was not sure of their demise. "how did my cousin die? Hopefully, he was not poisoned and defiled." the emperor said.
"No, emperor, the Duke Leto Atreides fought till the end." Said the Sardukar with his head down; they never dared to look their god in the eyes; it was a sign of respect and love and fear; little did they know they had been brainwashed to do his bidding with a simple command word, he could have the men slit his own throat.
The emperor was pleased. Leto was always a fighter. He turned around, and as his eyes crossed the crowd, he glanced at a small black metallic box leaking with blood. "You, what is in that?" he asked—pointing at the box in the middle.
"My emperor, when we attacked, it was not just the Atreides who were in the city but bloodworm." The emperor showed a hint of surprise, but inside, his mind was screaming.
Bloodworm had been a thorn at his side, a man of intelligence that does not fall short of a mentat. He was known as the most dangerous man in the Arrakis and possibly the galaxy; he did not know how, but Blood Worm had climbed through the ranks and bought multiple shares of COAM company, the company he created.
He even Weaseled himself in the Guild, the fucking space guild. The emperor may have been said to be powerful, but the ones truly in power owned the corporations, like the Harkonnens, who were not royalty but were close in power with them.
"Blood worm." He thought.
"That is impossible; he wouldn't do it; he wouldn't risk himself like that, all these years of playing the game, and now he shows his face; why now? What is so important about the Atreides that he would risk it: space travel. No, no, something more; he has space travel; he can leave Arrakis if he wishes; his puppets, the Tuek family, made sure of that.
Something doesn't feel right. He would not do this." said the emperor.
"show me, show me." The emperor said.
Something was amiss. The Sardukar was handed the box from down the line, and he opened it. In it was a head, its hair covered most of the face, and it was cold to touch. It was frozen,
"Move the fucking hair. Damn you." Fear appeared on the Sardukars face; however, he complied, pushing the hair back, and saw the face of a young Leto.
The emperor remembered a time long past when he would chase the young Leto around his home's garden. Leto was ten then, and he was twenty. He had tried many times to have a son, but the Bene Gesserit would not give him one.
" You dare bring me a clone, an unfinished one at that. This looks nothing like the Leto, I know; I should kill you right now. Bring me my blade." He roared. A guard to the side began to walk, unsheathing his blade to hand to the Emperor.
"My emperor, this is not Duke Leto Atreides; this is Bloodworm. We also matched his DNA with Duke Leto to confirm this. In doing so, we learned that Blood Worm's identity is Damon of House Atreides, a boy thought long lost. We took every precaution to ensure the information was correct. "
The emperor was now truly surprised; blood worm was truly dead, and his head was in his halls, a stump.
The one enemy that could challenge him other than Count Fenring. Princess Irlun, who was in the back, looked at the head from the side of the throne and observed the cheek side. There was a small bump; you had to pay close attention to it to know it was there. Using her mind and calculation, this could be only one thing. She reached to her side for her shield,
Her heartbeat ran faster and faster, her blood turned cold, they had played into Bloodworm's hands; this was an assisnation. And the Sardukar brought the tool to get the job done.
" Father," she yelled. The emperor looked back to his daughter Saw her frightened face, " Ssssshhh eeeeeiiii lllddd." He reached for his hip, and as he was turning on his shield, the mouth of the head opened, like a mechanism, and spread out poison; the Reverand mother ran from the throne to the red door beside it and closed it.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone