Today, a tiny pleasant thing happened.

When I opened a locker, I found a pin inside my shoe.

Even though there are 50 people in our class, someone chose me.

It’s proof, that there is someone who thinks about me more than about anyone else.

I want to tell everyone about that tiny happiness.

That’s why I put a pin inside everyone else’s shoes too.

—From “Shintosunni dogma” by Frederica Bernkastel

Mion walked in without a stillsuit, Satoko by her side, actually wearing one, Shion was thankful she didn’t have to wear one walking besides Satoko. The hour is costing us about 1000 solaris to stay out in the open like this. Mion thought, it was not wise to expend money like that for nothing, but Satoko had explained it, here to waste water is a sign of power. They had to make themselves appear more powerful, smugglers would not know her actual status, or the fact that Tanna was a small planet. All the smugglers cared about was the fact that Mion was a lady of the Landsraad, that she had a mentat, a swordsman, and a truthsayer at her service. They didn’t have to know that the  swordsman, the mentat and the truthsayer were all her closest friends, perhaps to anyone outside the level of closeness they had would be disconcerting, Satoko for example often spoke out of turn, or referred to Mion by her first name. This did not bother Mion in the least.

Shion was the leader of the smuggling group in Tanna. Usually the smugglers chose their leader by skill not by blood, Shion had to fight for her position, and that made her proud. Shion was a Bene Gesserit, same as her sister, even for reverend mothers it was hard to tell them apart, this because they knew the other better than anyone, their training allowed them to copy even the subtle undertones of each other’s speech. They were very different from each other though, and the positions they found themselves in were the best for them respectively. Shion knew her sister couldn’t last a day making the choices she had to make as a smuggler.

Smuggling spice though, was new for Shion. Usually House Kimiyoshi dealt with spice, it was hard to come into that market, prices were hefty, and even smugglers were Fremen, or of Fremen descent. Shion was Shintosunni, their roots even went back to the ancient smuggling families of east. Her associates still lacked fingers, a ritual they had to follow. Shion had not lost fingers, but she had to give up fingernails to reach the place she was at now.

Satoko knew smugglers thought alike, and that dealing with them would be complicated so Shion was needed for this operation. It was actually an advantage that Mion and Shion were twins, it left a clear message. They are related, House Sonozaki is powerful and so are the smugglers of Tanna. In fact this was not true, House Sonozaki were masters at making themselves feel bigger, it was a modern tactic from the days of the Corrino Empire, they had to become a guerilla house, and part of guerrilla is making your own forces seem bigger. Satoko had to be here, her and Shion were signs of power for Mion. Look smugglers! My sister handles the smuggling in Tanna, and I have a Harkonnen mentat at my own service.

Yes this would work, Satoko nodded to herself, they had set up a meeting with the smugglers of Arrakis, Mion wanted to buy a great deal of spice, she’d pay half before half after the handoff was done. If Rena and Keiichi were successful, they’d get the spice for free. Satoko had thought of this plan even before Rika mentioned it, after all it was within the possibilities, but it was extremely hard to pull off, even the smugglers had Fremen blood, they would be as dangerous as the Fremen themselves. House Furude was known to pull off miracles, Satoko wanted this to be true, one last miracle before seeking their own planet.

Shion recognized the symbol of the smugglers of Arrakis, lately they had been buying a great amount of semuta, those Fremen veterans now were experiencing the effects of the Jihad themselves. Shion did not deal with spice, but semuta was not strange to her.

A coffee place, the business of the smugglers did not involve alcohol in any regard, Satoko knew this much, and protocol was important. For them the old customs on water were not forgotten, so someone like Mion walking in without a stillsuit was a pretty good way to show they had power.

Mion ordered a glass of water for each one of them, she was glad that the traditional Sonozaki attire was fit for warm weather such as this, a light black kimono. Meanwhile Shion decided to wear a formal suit, Satoko wore the abba cloak to make it clear they were Bene Gesserit, and her stained lips showed something more, she was a mentat.

The smugglers put attention to the group right away, Mion stuck out as much as she wanted. She did not offend anyone in the room, but she made it clear that she had power. Soon one of them came close, it was clear he was not one of the important ones. Though to them they were outsiders, if they wanted to deal with the important ones, Mion had to be friendly to this one.

“We want spice” She said plainly

The man in front of Mion took her water and drank it. She hid her fear, Shion reached for her knife. He left the glass on the table “You still owe me 30 liters”

Shion intervened “Excuse you?”

Satoko remembered the face of the Fremen Rena had killed a couple of weeks ago before they left the planet. This man had the same jawline and eyes. She looked at Shion holding the handle of her knife, it would be very likely that she’d have to use it. “That water is no longer yours, he lost it to our Lady here thus it is hers to take”

The smuggler looked baffled, he turned to Mion, he saw the calmness of the Bene Gesserit in her eyes “You three are weirding witches!”

Mion smiled “Take that water as a token of friendship. You probably gave water to your dead friend, so I return that water in the form of that glass” For once someone recognizes us, Rika relied on nobody knowing who we were.

“We want no new enemies” Mion continued

The smuggler calmed down after this, the witch did not seek to take his water either. “The spice belongs to the faithful”

“Thus, we had come to the place to test the faithful” Mion replied. Rika is afraid of their emperor for a reason, it is indeed true he can be at many places at the same time. This is not a lie; I’d gladly kiss his hand if it meant everyone would remain unharmed.

“Yallah” the smuggler said “Prove it, many had claimed to be faithful to Muad’Dib”

Satoko understood right away what Mion was doing, not exactly the safest bet, but this was a better situation than what they had at the beginning. This was an awful coincidence, the band of smugglers that were harassing Mion were the same right here. They had walked right into their den.

Mion began speaking with a controlled voice, it was hardly noticeable, but it would work “You had come trying to steal my water, I come here not seeking revenge but peace and this is how you replay me?”

She stood up from her chair, Shion remained with her hand over her knife. Satoko just glared at the man, she was putting good use to those Harkonnen eyes, Fremen had lived under them for too long, this man would feel fear and rage when looking at her own eyes.

“Do you want to claim my water? Come and take it!” She spat out in a threat. The man whimpered when Mion said this, he felt his muscles freeze, it was more than enough for Shion to drive her own knife through his heart. Yet they remained still, the three Bene Gesserit witches did not come seeking war.

“Your water is your own. I thank you for your gift” Shion removed her hand from her knife. Satoko though continued looking at the man with hate.

“Now who do I have to talk to for the spice?” Said Mion

Shion looked down at the man “Your boss will love to deal with us” She was also controlling her voice, Shion knew the undertones to convince smugglers better than her sister.

After some waiting Mion got up from her chair once more and turned around to walk out, an old man hurried to meet them, he coughed to attract their attention. Mion had seen the man was ready since a while ago, they were making her wait, making her feel she was less important than the other men in the room. Satoko’s trick had worked, under the threat of leaving the man showed that they were important guests.

The old man signaled a waiter to bring a service of coffee, the young man by his side. “Hello Lady Sonozaki, I am Ahmed. You have to forgive my son. We thank you for the water, the man we lost was his best friend and cousin. Did you pay proper respect to his body?”

Mion nodded “We treated him as if he were one of our own” This is not a lie, we gave that man a proper burial, Rika herself sung the Sutras to honor that man.

Satoko’s gaze was now much calmer, still stern but she did not convey a feeling of violence. Shion served herself some coffee once it arrived. “It was a loss for us too, we lost a potential ally in that man, we didn’t know we were allies” These men are so fanatic, this is a double-edged sword we are using. Shion thought to herself.

“Our rates for spice are the same as CHOAM’s, I assume you already know that” Said Ahmed

Shion smiled “Of course, spice is precious we don’t want to offend you by expecting to lower your rates for us”

Mion spoke right afterwards, this was a trick they often used, making it seem as if they shared one mind. Bene Gesserit twins usually made use of that trick, making others believe they were two parts of a whole. “We want to buy spice from you because we do not wish others to know of how much spice we hold. Solaris are easily trackable, so we must trade on something you’d find equally valuable”

Ahmed narrowed his eyes, he did not expect a deal like this, he was ready to haggle the price of spice, not to accept a trade. “What do you have that may be of value to us? Muad’Dib already provides us with water enough to make this planet green within my lifetime” Mion remained calm, even though her mind was noticing how hostile were this men, how easily they could turn against her I must not fear, fear is the mind killer. Mion kept repeating the litany while speaking. “Protein pellets highly nutritious. We produce them at Tanna using the dried-out cicadas at each harvest cycle, it is where the name of the plane itself comes” Rika’s  plan has  to work, or we will starve and be forced to eat nothing but spice until we can get a harvest  in whatever new planet we pick.