The Truthsayer spoke up. “I should point out, Empress Haditha, that having such a meeting here on Salusa would be problematic for a different reason. Directeur Venport would be seen, and word would get back to the Butlerians that the Emperor met with him. We dare not risk that.”
Cioba could see that the Emperor’s wife understood the logic of the argument, but a commotion occurred at the doorway before she could reply. Imperial guards escorted a flushed Roderick Corrino into the small sitting room.
The Emperor strode in and turned his gaze on Cioba like a weapon locking on a target. “I can hold you hostage and order Directeur Venport to surrender. How much does he value you? I would be curious to see.”
Haditha spoke up. “Listen to what she has to say, Roderick.”
“Her husband is a traitor and a murderer.” The Emperor’s face darkened. “He threatens the Imperium. He threatens me—”
Haditha cut him off. “The Butlerians used atomics, Roderick. They destroyed Kolhar.”
Unexpectedly, the air shifted in the room, and the crystalline glowglobes flickered and dimmed. Norma Cenva’s tank appeared on the open floor so suddenly that everyone staggered backward.
Norma’s otherworldly voice came through the speakerpatch. “Emperor Roderick Corrino, you captured one of my Navigators. You tested him and interrogated him. Now Dobrec is dead. He gave up his will to live.”
The accusation hung for a moment, and Roderick struggled to respond.
Norma continued, “Now Butlerian atomics have incinerated all Navigator facilities on Kolhar.” She drifted in the tank with an accusatory stare and attitude. “Stability must be restored. Commerce must return. We need a constant supply of spice from Arrakis.”
Her large face pressed against the viewing port. “Emperor Roderick Corrino, I personally guarantee your safety if you travel to Arrakis to meet with my great-grandson, as he asks.” Her voice grew louder, booming. “This crisis must be resolved.”
Roderick shuddered visibly at the sight of the Navigator woman staring at him, and Cioba added quietly, “Please meet with my husband, Sire. It will change the course of the Imperium, will save the Imperium.”
The Emperor grudgingly listened as Cioba and Haditha explained the request for a secret détente session over Arrakis. When they were finished, he exchanged a deeply communicative look with his wife, and Haditha gave the smallest of nods.
Roderick glanced at Norma’s tank, then said to Cioba, “I do not trust Josef Venport after what he has done, but Norma Cenva … is something else entirely. It is still a gamble, but I will go.”
63
Is there no end to the impetuous nature of the young, you ask? Ah, but if their brash actions ceased, civilization would lose a vital resource. The secret is to harness that energy for good purposes.
As Willem Atreides recovered from his injuries, he learned to his dismay that Vor had abandoned him on Chusuk. Bringing Tula Harkonnen to justice was supposed to have been their joint mission!
During his weeks of recuperation in a luxurious guest house at the Royal Bach Palais, the young man was restless even with the constant attentions of Princess Harmona and her excellent staff. He was impatient to be on the move again, to rejoin Vorian. He could not let his ancestor do everything himself.
Harmona obviously wanted him to stay. He longed for a normal life and a beautiful companion, thinking of her caring, charming personality as much as her physical beauty. She was everything he could have asked for, and more … but first he had a job to do. For Orry.
A paunchy male servant brought a tray of food for him and left it on a table in the sitting area. Willem thanked the man, though he didn’t feel much like eating. Feeling edgy, like a caged animal, he paced around the main room.
He and Vor had almost caught Tula Harkonnen, but now Vorian was pursuing her alone, without Willem. She killed Orry! I will not be left behind! He’d spoken of this to anyone in the palais who would listen, but Harmona’s personal physician was just as firm in requiring him to remain here, so that he could heal. Well, he had healed enough by now. Even with his undeniable feelings toward Harmona, he could not continue day after day in this velvet-lined prison. He might have forced the issue and left anytime he wished, but he had no resources of his own, and no ship that would let him follow Vorian Atreides.
He had only a written note from him, instructing him to remain safe on Chusuk until he received further word. Safe! His brother was dead and the murderer was still on the loose. “I intend to draw out the Harkonnens,” Vor had written.
Each day became more difficult than the previous one. Harmona was aware of his growing frustration, and they discussed his concerns. Each night he went to bed with troubling thoughts whirling through his mind, and lay awake for hours. In the mornings, he felt weary, with nothing resolved.
But he did enjoy his time with the princess, and Harmona was almost, almost enough to make him forget. Yet there were too many unresolved issues for him to drag her into his uncertain life. He had to ensure that Tula Harkonnen paid the price she owed.
But apparently Vor had mentioned going to Corrin, luring them there, facing his enemies, and keeping Willem safe … a plan that did not require Willem’s participation. Not if he had anything to say about it!
After knocking lightly, Harmona entered, wearing a maroon dress embroidered with the silver treble-clef crest of House Bach. Yet before she could even greet him, he stood and announced his decision in a firm tone. “I’m going to Corrin. That’s where Vorian went, and I can’t let him finish this without me.”
She looked at him with concern, but not surprise. “You’re not in peak condition yet. You should remain under a doctor’s care for a few more weeks.”
“I have been under his care for too long as far as I’m concerned, and now I am recovered enough. I’ll try to be careful, but I won’t let my injuries slow me down if I see Tula Harkonnen. As an Atreides, I have no choice after what she did.”
“I know.” Harmona nodded sadly. “House Bach can provide the funding you need, and I’ll make the arrangements to send you to Corrin.” She sighed. “I just hope and pray you will come back to me.”
BEFORE LEAVING SALUSA, Vor had liquidated another secret account to purchase a small spaceworthy ship, an antique from the Jihad era. He felt right at home in the vessel, and it reminded him of his beloved old craft, the Dream Voyager, enough that he mentally christened this one the New Voyager. The name was strictly for his own amusement, not marked on the hull or anywhere else; he kept the ship inconspicuous and managed to fly away with it unregistered, thanks to a large bribe. It was money well spent.
Despite its age, the craft was well maintained, and he was familiar with its inner workings. The New Voyager did not have Holtzman engines, but used a familiar workhorse FTL drive. If he’d been in a particular hurry, he could have bought passage aboard a larger EsconTran foldspace carrier. But the delay served his purposes. He had told his operatives to wait for two weeks before spreading the rumor in the Imperial Court that he’d gone to Corrin. By that time he would have arrived, and his preparations would be complete.
Pain echoed in his heart as he arrived at Corrin again. In his long lifetime he had lived so many years on so many worlds, experiencing loves and families and losses, but Corrin — the heart of the former Synchronized Empire — was where he had spent much of his youth, as a human with special privileges granted by his thinking-machine masters. Much later, Vorian Atreides had led the human forces back to destroy the place. Corrin was also where Abulurd Harkonnen had betrayed the Army of Humanity during the crucial moments at the Bridge of Hrethgir. That disgrace, that cowardice, had been the spark of the Atreides-Harkonnen feud.