Chereads / SON OF DUNE / Chapter 8 - check mate.

Chapter 8 - check mate.

When morning arrived, the Baron received news that multiple caches of spice had exploded, dealing a significant blow to the Harkonnens. However, that was not the only event of the night.

The children of the Fremen had all been taken in the middle of the night. 

" Find them, find them; I want them before me by tonight; kill them all, kill all the Fremen." Barron was angry; he threw things everywhere, and he killed children left and right. What confused The Barron was how The Fremen had gotten into the shield. Unfortunately, that is a thing he would never find out. Nonetheless, multiple cashes of spice were stolen, and some were left to burn. 

This blow had affected many people in Arrakis; the consequence of the action of the Exiled was everyone now hated Fremen with a passion. The Barron said to round up the children and kill them in front of their mothers and fathers. He wanted to punish the people for this attack.

One hour later, news returned to the Barron. There were no children in Arrakeen, " Lord Barron," one of the Guards said as he entered the room. There was only a black pool filled with mud and water, a mud-healing pool. 

Bubbles of air rose to the bath's surface, and the Guard continued, " All the children in Arrakeen are gone, m'lord Baron. They say the one called Blood Worm came and took the children by force.

It was a falsehood; the Fremen residents of Arrakeen were instructed to speak these words upon meeting the exiled. 'Bloodworm' had no desire to be adored or regarded as a savior. Arrakis rightfully belonged to him, and he would rather destroy it than allow another force to invade his homeland. Despite this, he was not a cruel man; when he conducted dealings with people, he did so fairly, much like his biological father, Duke Leto.

Baron rose from the mud pool and showed his nakedness to the guards; he rose with the help of the device at the back of his neck. 

" Begin to sell our reserves to make the other house not draw their fangs,' Baron said. "Get it done now and find this blood worm; I want him and the Fremen to learn that action has consequences." 

My lord Baron, there is an urgent matter that I need to bring to your attention. Earlier today, a significant number of our crawlers were stolen, and we have been unable to locate them. It appears that the guards around them failed to report the incident. We must not underestimate the Blood Worm, our opponent in this matter.

The Baron did not react; he looked at the guard before him like he was staring at a Buffon. Behind the guard walked a man with skin as pale as milk. His head was shaven clean, and he did not have eyebrows. 

Rabban had walked in and had a scent of malice, filled with anger. 

" ahh Rabban," the Baron said, finding comfort in his nephew, the Beast they called him. "Kill this one. He speaks too much; he speaks as if he orders me." At once, Rabban grabbed his blade and pierced the man's throat.

The guard fell to the ground, clutching at his throat, his eyes turned red, watching life slip away from his eyes; this brought a sense of relief to the Baron. 

Rabban, filled with anger, shouted at his uncle, "How could we let this happen? All the spice is gone. I must find this Blood worm and make him suffer." As he spoke, saliva flew from his mouth, his eyes were bloodshot and a vein was visibly throbbing on his forehead.

The Barron spoke slowly to control the situation; he knew of Rabbans' savage ways. The man was more beast than human. Such was the Harkonnen way. 

"This blood worm is nothing to us; he has cost us spice, but he will suffer; all the Fremen will suffer. Bring them beyond the shield, line them up, and show the Fremen demons what happens when they mess with our spice production." 

Rabban nodded at his uncle as he went back down into the mud pool, sinking into it. 

Rabban walked out with a sense of easiness; his hunger for death was satiated when he learned of his uncle's plan. ' A good plan,' he thought to himself. 

Hours later, Fremen woman and man were lined up beyond the shield. They begged for mercy; they knew what was coming; they would be killed in the desert of Arrakis, and their water would not be returned to their tribe. 

Doctor Kynes was the planetologist on Arrakis. His primary focus was to find a way to cultivate plants on a large scale, and he had made some progress in this area. However, he also had another responsibility as the emperor's observer on Arrakis. Despite being the target of the Harkonnens' watchful eyes, he was still untouchable for the time being.

His blue eyes saw as his Fremen brother and sister were lined up, and his stomach churned with disgust. 

He tried to walk away but was blocked by Harkonnen guards. He looked to his right at Rabban, who simply nodded, allowing him to walk away. Even Rabban was not stupid enough to think he would not report this to the emperor. 

"BE QUIET FREMEN SCUM," yelled Rabban, and at once, the line of firemen became quiet as they were kneeling on the hot sand; it burnt their skin, and as time passed, the pain became more intense. 

Raban raised his arm, and the guard came into position to slice the throats of thousands of Fremen. Three thousand Fremen will be killed in one day, to be exact. 

He was about to pull down his arm, but in the distance, a lone figure walked the desert of Arrakis, his robe flying to the left and his red eyes shining from where he stood. 

The guards behind Rabban raised their Lasguns, a deadly weapon that could penetrate any physical material. Their optics aimed for the man, but as they laid their mark on him, the optics became static; nothing was visible.

Their Lasguns were not working, and as they all stood ready for a fight, an army of red Fremen appeared behind them in their red still suits. The other Fremen from seitches of the north watched this happening.

A war was being declared, and the Harkonnens had just played into the enemy's hands.