When the Sandwoms cry VI

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.

When the Sandworms cry V

What is it that I seek?

Perhaps it is a knight from a far away land.

What is it that I seek?

Perhaps it is a shore that will save me from this eternal swamp.

There is only one thing that I seek.

What I would obtain will either be the kishi (shore), or shiki (my death).

—From “Time wasting prayers” by Frederica Bernkastel

Rena let the flap of her stillsuit free and took a sip of the spice coffee. Keiichi on the other side of the table had asked for a glass of spice beer, it was sweet. Satoko believed spice could break down to sugars, after fermentation it would become alcohol, a simple reaction that needed no grain, a beer so to say but not a proper one. No wonder it hit so hard, Keiichi was barely beginning one pint and he was feeling the effects of it. His beer was way cheaper than the coffee Rena was holding, in such a planet substances that made you lose water were not coveted, coffee was one of them as well, but less than coffee. Water, plain water was the most expensive item.

“I heard it was more expensive in the old imperium” Rena said, she smiled and sipped her coffee “Life for the locals was very hard”

Keiichi looked at his beer, he was regretting drinking it already. They were supposed to be the reconnaissance to find when and where would a spice freighter leave, and board it eventually. This was proving a lot harder than it seemed, Fremen trusted nobody. Rena had the advantage of speaking without an accent, but her face, her skin color and water fatness showed how she was an off-worlder. Even if she was wearing a Fremen Stillsuit.

Keiichi was feeling great discomfort on many areas, he could feel the blisters already forming. He shuffled, Rena got close to him and began tightening his stillsuit, the pain subsided. Of course, Rena would know how to wear one, she collected them, so many Fremen had tried to personally kill Lady Mion, the infidel Shintosunni who said her own priestess was a god. Many died for less than that, Mion would had died already if she was not a Bene Gesserit, and of course if she didn’t have Rena as her bodyguard, and Keiichi as her husband.

An old man playing tawla looked at the off-worlders sitting at his back and mumbled “Do not even try it” he resumed his game.

Rena looked at the man, he had allowed himself to go fat, but through his stillsuit she could see a shadow of musculature. His eyes were aggressive, but they lacked the blue within blue tint of the Fremen. His companion had the blue within blue eyes, but the stillsuit was not Fremen, it was Fremen-made but did not belong to a Fremen.

Rena began communicating with Keiichi by blinking in binary “Sardaukar, companion is local but not Fremen”

Keiichi looked at their reflection using his glass “He looks old, but not a lot”

“We just want to go to the main temple and pay our respects to Muad’Dib” Rena said with a wide smile, she sipped her coffee.

The man turned around to face Rena “Using stolen Fremen stillsuits? You have a sword hidden under that jubba. Your lord is armed too. Whatever you are up to will angry the Fremen, just don’t”

Rena looked at the companion of the Sardaukar, he did not act surprised, they were probably speaking about them earlier, but he didn’t feel as if their actions were heresy.

“Takes one to know one good sir” Rena toasted to Keiichi. Of course, a Sardaukar playing for money, he sticks out as much as we do.

“What is your name swordsmaster?” Said the old man, he sipped his spice beer.

“My name? Hau! Only if you tell me yours Sardaukar” Rena rested her face on her hands.

“Ooishi Ghym” He said “Now your turn”

Cloud, his name is so contrary to a Fremen name, a normal person with the name of a venerated phenomenon. She thought to herself, this man already knew enough she could simply say her name “Rena Ryuuguu”

The man with Ooishi turned his face to look at her. Rena felt a chill on her spine, she should have lied about her name, Tanna was already a planet of Heretics and the only reason their leader remained alive was because of her bodyguard.

He then scratched his chin “Rena, do you know a Duncan Idaho? I heard he killed 20 Sardaukar without breaking a sweat. Ooishi here says that it is all legend”

“Not personally… But I did hear of him and it wouldn’t be surprising if he could have killed 20 Sardaukar, though he probably died after pulling off such a feat” Rena felt the fear wash away. We are just one planet more of heretics, that is good.

Ooishi laughed loudly “What a good joke you say girl!”

Keiichi now slightly drunk patted Rena on the back “If you want to call him out I have no issue”

Ooishi stopped laughing, his friend was now the one laughing. There was terror in Ooishi, Sardaukar were good soldiers, but even they knew that swordsmen of Ginaz could potentially harm them, much more swordsmasters. Ooishi did not know Rena was a master, if he knew that he wouldn’t even make fun of her school. On top of that he was old, he was slow.

Rena sighed “Do not bring me into challenges I do not wish for sire. He is an old Sardaukar in Arrakis. I am sure he survived the battle of Arrakeen, isn’t that proof enough of his strength?”

Ooishi puffed his chest “I misjudged you Ryuuguu. You recognize a good soldier when you see one!”

“Perhaps we could use some of your advice for our business?” Rena said calmly. Yes, now he will help us. He is a little afraid of me, that will help us.

Ooishi laughed again “Anything for my new friends, come at our table to play!” yes those two were not seeking trouble, he thought, they can be good allies.

Keiichi looked at Rena, his heart skipped a beat, Ooishi had realized in a few seconds that Rena would have killed Ooishi if he had asked. He wouldn’t of course, but even to an outsider it was obvious the type of relationship they held. Maybe in another world they would had been a couple, the feelings were still there. It didn’t mean he did not love Mion, that love was the reason he had never broken his bows. The Faufreluches would not allow Rena to climb up like that, perhaps if she had followed her mother’s desires that would had been the case, climbing up the ladder before seeking love.

Rena of course, she was loyal to Mion even more than to Keiichi, it was the secret of their strength, that closeness they had to each other, what allowed these three houses to challenge the Guild and even think about stealing from the Empire. This connection was clear to Ooishi, he would not understand the full extent of it, but the threat from Keiichi did not make Rena flinch, he saw how she changed her position slightly, even though she had remained relaxed her hand was near her sword. It was then when he could see the pummel, the engraving, this was not a simple swordsman but a swordsmaster.

Ooishi was not a normal Sardaukar, even before Arrakis had toughened him he always survived things that others did not. Salusa Secundus to him was not a hell but paradise, a world in which he could easily thrive. When he came to Arrakis he learned how easy he had it, and thus made it his mission to improve himself, without Shaddam IV he would sell his services to anyone, and he made a name for himself that way. The Sardaukar who fought like a Fremen, the Sardaukar who was chewed up by the planet and came back asking for more. He knew how good swordsmasters were, and Arrakis had taught him not to pick fights with allies, the planet is the enemy, the locals, the Emperor himself, you do not waste allies. Why worry, if that man can pay for her services, then he can cover mine as well.

When the sandworms cry I

Please do not deplore yourself.

Even if the world does not forgive you, I will forgive you.

Please do not deplore yourself.

Even if you do not forgive the world, I will forgive you.

So please tell me.

What will it take for you, to forgive me?

—From “The Shintosunni Sutras Book I” by Frederica Bernkastel

Satoko sipped her Sapho juice with great care, she had tried to keep her lips clean from the stains, but they always showed, with her great care at least Satoko could make it seem as if she was wearing lipstick. Before her there were different filmbooks regarding the Zensunni religion and the Fremen, the history of House Atreides, and of course the propaganda that now flooded the empire.

Satoko had been serving House Furude for less than 2 years, but she was as trusted as any other older servant. A young teen in fact, though she was already a fully formed Mentat of the Bene Gesserit. Born from Lady Fenring, the child of the now dead Feyd Rautha, Satoko had those Harkonnen eyes and lips, typical of the family. She was given at birth to the sisterhood, and at an early age she showed great signs of intelligence, so she was sent to Lampadas to be raised and trained to become a proper Mentat.

As soon as she was fully trained Abulurd Rabban bought her, the last branch of the Harkonnen bloodline had to survive at all costs. His plan was to wait for Satoko to grow of age so that she could sire a son, train him as a mentat and let him rebuild the House Harkonnen from the ground.

The only person who took issue with this was Lady Rika Furude, the high Priestess and Earl of Oyashiro. She waged a war of assassins against house Harkonnen to retrieve Satoko before she could be forced to do anything. House Furude was a minor, small and poor house, but they had the backing of House Sonozaki, a house minor but their smuggling business gave them a lot of riches and influence.

In the end they were victorious, Satoko was now in service of Rika, and for them it was as good as it could get, even with the Jihad still a looming threat in a Shintosunni planet like their own. House Furude could be called a house minor, albeit it was hardly part of the Faufreluches, long ago they held great influence, though in these current times House Furude was composed only of Rika and lately, Satoko. The war of assassins against House Harkonnen was mainly led by the Sonozaki.

Neither of the Houses had any CHOAM holdings, out of the three houses in planet Tanna only House Kimiyoshi had a small number of shares in CHOAM. House Furude’s main income was voluntary donations made by the people of Tanna, which were mostly in species since money was often used to buy farming equipment. Rika had the Furude shrine, a temple back from the days of glory, which also worked as her living quarters. Nobody would expect for such a House, a House of the Landsraad in name only to have a Mentat, but Satoko was there, and her skill could not be doubted.

A year ago, Rika arrived with a rather small child, barely a teen, purple hair and eyes. Rika had begun training her, this day it was Satoko’s turn to overlook the little girl’s exercises. Satoko stopped looking at her filmbook and raised her hand to call the girl’s attention. “Not like that Hanyuu, you must be relaxed until the time to strike. Start over”

“Hau hau!!! It is so hard, to be relaxed but awaiting?!” Hanyuu slumped onto the floor, her muscles were screaming from the training.

Satoko looked at her, it had been hours since Rika had left, and training in these conditions would begin to harm Hanyuu more than helping her Yes perhaps she should take a break… No, we should take a break. I had been working too much lately. Satoko sat up “I’ll go get some tea. You can take a break”

Hanyuu slowly neared Satoko’s working area and began reading the filmbooks, Arrakis the capital of the Imperium, the holy war that began from said planet, the billions of lives lost to the Jihad. Planet after planet cleansed and converted, Hanyuu felt an instinctive disgust for the bloodshed, and out of reflex she dropped the filmbook on the ground and began trampling on it, the sight of it, the idea of blood itself made Hanyuu feel uneasy, something in her body rejected the very concept of violence, she stopped until Satoko pulled her in an embrace.

Satoko did not understand how primal Hanyuu’s reaction had been, she began to cry, she felt sorry for making a mess of Satoko’s working place, but she was not punished.

Satoko did not know what made Hanyuu do it, but she knew what could had been, she had lived in such stress lately. The threat of the Jihad had not gone away for planets like Tanna, a small population who would rather die than to betray their priestess Rika in favor of Emperor Muad’Dib and St. Alia of the Knife. What have you done to this child Rika, bringing her to a world like this? I was already dead, but this child still had hope.