Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven

The Duke of Ledo Atrez was leaning against the guardrail of the landing control tower of the airport outside the city of Alakane. The full moon at the beginning of the night, like a silver coin, hung high above the southern horizon. Below is the cliff under the shielding wall.Like icebergs, reflecting cold light.Appears hazy in the dust.To his left were the lights of Alacairn...yellow...white...blue. He thought that notices with his signature were posted in every major place across the planet: "Our Holy King Padisha has officially authorized me to take over this planet and end all disputes."

The formal style and tone of the notice gave him a sense of loneliness.Who would be fooled by this stupid provision?Of course it wouldn't be the Freemans, nor the families that controlled Arrakis' domestic trade... The Harkonings actually wanted to plot people. They tried to kill my son! The anger inside him was uncontrollable. He saw a car with its lights on, coming from Alakane towards the landing pad.He hoped to be the guard who picked up Paul.The delay made him anxious, although he knew that Hawat's men were taking tight precautions. They tried to kill my son! He shook his head, trying to get rid of his anger, and looked back to see his five speedboats lined up.

Prudent procrastination is better than... The lieutenant was a good man, loyal, reliable and responsive. "Our sage Padisha King..." It would be unimaginable if the inhabitants of this city had seen the private note from the king to their venerable duke... full of extreme contempt for veiled men and women: "...but what can we expect from a savage ?Their only dream is to live without order, security and family rule." At this moment, the Duke felt that his only dream was to put an end to class distinctions, and to think no more of a deadly order.He looked up, through the dust and smoke, saw the stars twinkling in the sky, and thought: Among those little stars, there is a little bit of my Kaladan... But I will never see my home again.The thought of Kaladan made him feel a sudden pain in his chest. This pain did not come from his heart, but came from Kaladan and went straight to the depths of his heart.It was hard for him to call the desolate place of Arrakis home, and he felt he might never be able to.

He thought: I must hide my feelings deeply for the sake of my son.If he wants to have his own home, it can only be on this planet.I could think of Arrakis as hell, the abyss where I was on the verge of death, but he must be inspired and inspired here, and there must be a place available. There was a burst of melancholy in his chest, first he felt sorry for himself, and then he was contemptuous and restless. For some reason, he thought of two lines of poetry that Gurney Halleck often hummed: Yes, Gurney will see a lot of falling sand here.Beyond the moonlit cliffs was the desert... barren rocks, dunes, swirling dust, uninhabited dry fields, perhaps a few Fremen.If there was anything that could offer a ray of hope to the Atrez family, it might just be these Fremen.

Provided the Harkonnen's vicious plans hadn't infiltrated the Fremen. They tried to kill my son! A sudden metallic roar shook the tower, making the railing on which the Duke leaned tremble.A curtain fell in front of him, blocking his view. The spaceship is here, and it's time to do things.He turned around and walked towards the ladder behind him, towards the large conference room, tried his best to calm himself down, straightened his expression, and prepared to welcome the person coming. They tried to kill my son! Many people were already sitting in the igloo when the duke entered.They carried their space travel bags, arguing and laughing like students returning from vacation.

"Hey, does that thing down there feel? That's gravity!" "How much gravity is there in this place? It's so light!" "A book has nine tenths of its original value." The house was full of noisy and enthusiastic voices. "Did you look carefully at the hole when you came down? What kind of spoils are there?" "The Harkonnen are all taken away!" "I just want a hot shower and a nice soft bed!" "You don't know, stupid guy? There's no water in this place. Wash your ass with sand!" "Hey, the Duke is here!"

When the people saw the Duke, they immediately fell silent. Gurney Halleck strode across the edge of the crowd.He had a bag on one shoulder and a nine-string barrys on the other.His fingers are long and his thumb is big, so he can move flexibly and play beautiful music on the strings. The Duke watched Halleck, admiring his monstrous bulk.Those glass-like eyes were fierce and alert.This was a man who had lived a wild life, acting only on his own principles.What had Paul called him? "Gurney, fierce one." Gurney's flaxen locks covered the baldness of his head; his mouth was grinning cheerfully and mockingly, and the scar seemed to be a part of his life, matching his every move.The whole person seemed casual and unrestrained.He walked up to the Duke, bowed and saluted.

"Gurney," said the Duke. "Your Excellency," he said, pointing to the room with Barrys, "this is the last group. I meant to come with the first group, but..." "There's some Harkonnen you want to deal with," said the Duke. "Come with me, Gurney, and we'll talk somewhere." "Your Majesty, Your Excellency." They went to a water machine, and the people in the big house were noisy again.Halleck put down his bag, but still held his nine-string barrys. "How many people can you give to Hawat?" the Duke asked. "Is there any trouble with Safie, sir?"

"He's only lost two of his main forces, and his vanguard has made welcome progress against the Harkonnen defense. If we can move faster, we can gain greater security and gain our living space .As much as you can provide, he needs, the kind of man who won't back down in hand-to-hand combat." "I could give him three hundred of my best warriors," Halleck said. "Where should I send them?" "Go to the gate. Hawat has one of his men there to meet him." "Shall I arrange it right away?" "Wait a minute, there's one more thing. Field crews will control the spaceship here until dawn. The Gilder H-class spaceship that sent us here will have new business, and the spaceship will be traded with a cargo ship that holds the Spice of Decline. connect."

"Is it our spice, sir?" "Yes. But the spaceship will also take away some spice miners, who are from the old dynasty. They are leaving due to the change of rulers, and have been approved by the emergency judge. They are valuable miners, Gurney. About There are eight hundred people. Before the spaceship leaves, you have to find a way to convince some of the workers to stay and work with us." "What is the strongest reason?" "I want them to cooperate willingly, Gurney. We need the skills and experience of those people. Their departure shows that they are not part of the Harkonnen camp. You have to convince some people to stay and work for us before the spaceship leaves. Hawat thinks that one of them might be a potential enemy, and that assassinations are everywhere."

"Hawat has discovered many dangerous shadows, Your Excellency." "But there were things he didn't see, too. I think the Harkonnens are really imaginative, to have spies among these people doing field work." "Very likely. Where are these people?" "It's down there in the reception room. I suggest you go down and play them a tune or two to calm their nerves before you apply the pressure. You can promise power and high salaries to those who are capable, and they can get a bihak 20% higher wages during Ningxia.” "Is that all? I know that the Harkoning people are paid by the piece. These people have a lot of money after completing the contract in their pockets, thinking of a pleasant journey... 20% promise may not be too much for them temptation." Leido said impatiently: "Then use your imagination and use flexibility in special circumstances. But you must remember that wealth is not a bottomless pit. As long as possible, do not exceed 20%. We especially need miners, weathermen, sand elephants personnel...anyone with experience with desert changes." "Understood, sir. 'They will come facing the fury, their faces are as calm as the east wind, gather their divine power, and conquer the wind and sand.'" "It's contagious," the duke said, "give your job to a lieutenant, give him a brief account of water discipline, and put these guys to bed. The people at the landing pad will take care of them. Don't forget to give Ha Watt sent more people." "Three hundred of the best warriors," he asked, picking up his travel bag, "where will I report to you when I'm done?" "Up here, I have a conference room. There will be an operations conference. I want to arrange a new planetary sweep, using armor first." Halleck was about to turn to leave when he noticed Leido's strange eyes and asked, "What kind of trouble do you expect? I think the emergency judge is still here." "There will be open and covert fighting," replied the duke, "and there will be much bloodshed before we can stand our ground." "The water you take out of the river is going to be blood on dry land," Halleck said. The Duke sighed: "Go and come back, Gurney." "Yes, sir," he laughed, and Scar twitched, "Look, I am a wild donkey in the desert, moving forward without hesitation." Gurney turned and strode to the center of the room, issued an order, and then walked through the crowd leave. Leido shook his head as he looked at Gu Ni's back.Halleck is astounding, uplifting...a head full of songs, quotes and flowery words...and a ruthless killer when it comes to the Harkonnen. At the entrance to the Alakan take-off and landing field, there are a few words roughly carved: Moyadi.It seems to be carved with a very simple tool, and it appears repeatedly in several places.He had seen those words on his first night in Arrakis.Now he was being sent to the Duke's headquarters to attend the first general council of war called by his father.Those inscriptions are an indictment to those who left Arrakis.But there were unfathomable implications for the boy who had just escaped death.