Gurney Halleck came with them, bringing his baliset, although Leto doubted there would be much opportunity for singing. In the meantime, Thufir was dispatched directly to Kaitain to present the horrific evidence of Viscount Moritani’s crime and demand Imperial justice or, if possible, Sardaukar intervention.
For as long as Leto was gone, Jessica would remain on Caladan to act in the Duke’s stead. She was torn between wanting to accompany him and remaining behind to shield their son — although Duncan had already taken the twelve-year-old and vanished before dawn. Without trying to sway the Duke, Jessica said goodbye to him at the Cala City spaceport, giving him an embrace that expressed her depths of emotion.
Leto froze for a moment, thinking of how lovely Ilesa had looked on their wedding day. But Jessica was here, and real, and warm against him. His expression nearly broke, his resolve wavered. But he could not allow that, neither in his mind nor in his heart. He was going to fight beside Armand Ecaz because of the attack on his House, the death of Ilesa, and the threat against Paul’s life.
Leto hardened himself, just as he had done after Victor’s death and the suicide of Kailea. He had no time for the weakness or hesitation of love. Wasn’t that what the Bene Gesserits always taught? Leto finally pushed Jessica away, gave her one more kiss, and then marched into the frigate beside his waiting companions. Right now he had only one focus, as sharp and as all-consuming as a singularity.
A promised marriage was different from any other trade agreement or business arrangement. His father’s mistake with Helena had been that he had viewed their marriage as nothing more than a strategic move in a large Imperial game. Paulus had never invested himself personally in it. He may have been a beloved Duke and a good father, but he’d never been much of a husband.
Leto felt a sense of relief when his ships rose from Caladan to be engulfed in the cavernous hold of the Heighliner. The giant doors closed them in, and it was done. He did not want, or need, a chance to change his mind.
He rode with the Archduke in the lead frigate of the Ecazi delegation. The man was damaged and deeply hurt, and Leto would remain at his side as friend and staunch ally against the evil they now faced.
Pale and agitated, Whitmore Bludd rode next to Gurney. The Swordmaster’s fine clothes were rumpled now, with no indication of the peacock finery he usually wore. He carried the rapier at his side, though he seemed loathe to use it.
A small amount of the ashes from Rivvy Dinari’s funeral pyre had been mixed into a polished plaz cube to be the keystone of a new monument. Archduke Ecaz had already promised to build a towering memorial to the beefy Swordmaster for his selfless bravery.
Bludd flinched as he looked at the transparent cube, in which the ashes were suspended like dark stars floating in a bright nebula. The Archduke spoke very little to him, pointedly ignoring his remaining Swordmaster. Whitmore Bludd’s name would barely be mentioned in any historical recounting of this event.
Now that Leto had time to consider the scope of the military operation under way, as well as the Guild’s transport fees, the realization of how much this full-scale war was going to cost finally began to sink in. If the mad Grumman leader had followed the rules set down for a War of Assassins, there would have been precise targets, specific victims, and no need for a gigantic armed fleet with all of its attendant support costs. “This could bankrupt me, Armand.”
The Archduke turned a gaunt face toward him. “House Ecaz will pay half of your expenses.” He blinked, and his eyelids seemed heavy. “What is the price of honor?”
Though there was nothing to see within the Heighliner’s hold, the Archduke stared out the small porthole, looking at all of the Atreides military ships there, which would soon be joined with his own warships.
WHEN THE HEIGHLINER reached Ecaz and the hold opened for the Atreides vessels to drop down as a magnificent escort for the Archduke’s frigate, a great deal of confusion tangled the communication lines from the palace below.
With a dismissive gesture toward his surviving Swordmaster, Armand said, “Bludd, inform them who we are! Tell them there is no threat.” His face looked dead, rather than gloating, as he added, “I want to look Duke Vidal in the eye and watch him squirm. He will be most surprised to see me still alive. How will he make excuses, I wonder?”
“He will claim that the evidence we bring of his treachery was falsified,” Leto said.
“He can claim whatever he likes… but I will believe only the truth.”
But Duke Vidal did not give them the chance. On the main continent, a swarm of ships scrambled from the Ecazi Palace at the appearance of the overwhelming force coming down from orbit. Hundreds of vessels flew swiftly across the sea to the Elaccan continent. A mass exodus had begun as soon as the unexpectedly large military force began its descent.
Leto could understand the panicked reaction, though. “With a military force this size, they must think we’re invading.” But weren’t the Ecazis honorable enough to defend their women and children, even if they thought they faced an overwhelming enemy force? Why were they fleeing like thieves in the night?
“I’ll set them straight.” Bludd eagerly spoke into the microphone. “Archduke Armand has returned, and he calls for an immediate war council. We bring grave news.”
“The Archduke is alive?” blurted the spaceport manager. “We were told he was assassinated, along with his daughter and much of the Atreides household!”
Armand scowled. Leto rose halfway to his feet from his passenger seat. “Who told you this? How did this information come to Ecaz?”
“Why, Duke Prad Vidal announced it. He has assumed temporary control of the planet, as acting leader.”
Armand’s face darkened with anger, and Gurney growled. “There is no way a courier could have brought that information, my Lord. We allowed no ships to leave Caladan. We are the first. No one could have spread the word.”
“He didn’t need a courier,” Leto said. “He
“He is impatient. He could not have guessed we would cut off all communication from Caladan after the massacre, or that either of us would survive. It seems he was too anxious to steal my seat of power to wait for confirmation.” Armand wrested the communication controls from Bludd and issued orders to the spaceport manager. “Have Duke Vidal arrested immediately. He has many questions to answer.”
At the main palace, Leto could see the great confusion, numerous ships still lifting off and streaking away, an entire military force in disorganized retreat. Vidal’s supporters? The small gang that supported the Elaccan governor’s bid for power could not possibly withstand the full Atreides fleet, and they knew it.
“He wanted to take over my palace, but didn’t realize he’d have to fight for it. Now he runs back to Elacca to hide behind his own fortifications — for all the good they’ll do him.” The Archduke’s expression was a barely contained thunderstorm.
“Before we can crush the Grumman threat, we will have to deal with the cockroaches under your own doormat, my Lord,” Gurney said.
The stream of frantic ships continued to evacuate from the Ecazi Palace, racing toward the coast and the open ocean. Armand clenched and unclenched his one remaining fist. “Duke Leto, have your warships destroy those vessels. That will take care of our problem.”
Leto straightened. “Armand, that would break the rules of the War of Assassins. Minimize collateral damage. Take out only the noble target. If this is not handled properly, you could begin a civil war here on Ecaz and be censured by the Landsraad.”
Armand nodded slowly as his lead frigate came in for a landing. “I cannot accept that. A civil war would delay my strike against Grumman.”
5
The Harkonnens killed my family, and I survived, even though Beast Rabban tried to hunt me down. I fought
