Leto’s Citadel
The Sareer
God-Emperor Leto Atreides II, Emperor of the The Fourth Imperium, sensed Nwi Noree, the Ixian ambassador to the Citadel and his fiancée, while she was still out on the Sareer, the last desert in The Fourth Imperium. He knew the day and the hour she would arrive at his fortress, the Citadel, before the Ixians, one of few remaining Great Houses of the Landsraad, or even Nwi herself did. When she arrived on time, he did not feel the satisfaction that any one of his subjects may have felt, if they ever found themselves in his position, but he felt the deep disappointment that derived from his prescient powers and always knowing what was to come.
“Hello, Noree,” he said without even turning to look at her.
“Hello, My Lord,” she replied with a deep bow. She didn’t even sigh with resentment at his overly formal treatment of her, despite their betrothal, as she once would have. As she arose from her bow, she already saw his hand extended towards her, his head and eyes still turned away. He didn’t even have to ask her to give him the invitation the Landsraad received back in the Festival City of Onn. She simply placed it in his hand, and he brought it into his field of view, again, without changing the direction of his gaze.
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After simply seeing the header of the invitation, he didn’t even need to read the contents for he already foresaw what they contained. He didn’t bother to hand the invitation back to Hwi, merely spoke his commandments with an authority befitting the God-Emperor.
“Send Moneo and Idaho with an ample supply of Melange for trade and their diet. I would be angry if Duncan died due to withdrawals and my fish speakers had to recover the body to produce a ghola in the axlotl tanks. They will know what I want in return.”
With those parting words, Leto dismissed Hwi without a single word or gesture. The dismissal simply became an aspect of his demeanor, and she knew with every fiber of her being that there was nothing she could do or say to gain even an iota of his attention without arousing his anger. With that, she turned to leave, and Moneo Atreides, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, was in tow. When they were out of earshot of Leto, they spoke, both of them knowing full well that the God-Emperor would know ever word that was to be exchanged between them before the thoughts even crossed their mind.
“Why, hello, Ambassador Noree,” Moneo said excitedly.
“Hi, Moneo. How many times do I have to tell you to call me Hwi? I don’t call you by your title whenever we speak,” she replied.
“Well, Ambassador, I’m merely the majordomo, but you’re going to be Empress!”
At that, Hwi stopped in her tracks and turn to face Moneo. Her eyes bored into him like a lasgun, and she spoke with air suited to the Empress she would become. “Humor me.”
Just then, Duncan Idaho approached the pair, straight from a training session, no doubt, and said to Hwi, “Must I remind you that I’m in the service of House Atreides, and, as such, I’m duty and honor bound to defend Majordomo Atreides, if it comes to that…” He brandished his pulse sword playfully, but Hwi couldn’t tell if he did and said all of this with a wink and a nod or if she was just imagining it, but she knew without ever looking at his lips that he had that perpetual grin on his face. Whenever you thought the grin might fade, it only widened. Regardless, she hardly found herself unable to look away from him when he spoke. He had black, curly hair to complement his dark complexion, but the real show stopper was his heterochromia, different colored eyes, one green and one blue.
Hwi suspected she might have been staring at Duncan silently for an awkwardly long period of time when she heard Moneo’s voice break the silence. “I’d better go make sure the Shadout loads the spice onto the ornithopter before Master Idaho and I take our leave, Ambassad…Er, Hwi.”
“I’m leaving,” Duncan asked incredulously as Moneo scurried away. Hwi went to hand Duncan the invitation before realizing it was still with Leto. Still slightly flustered, she scrambled for words. “Um, yes, you and Moneo are to attend a conference hosted by East Malaysia, and you’ll be supplied with enough of the spice Melange to…negotiate and use as a dietary suppliment, of course. You’re to return with as many deciliters of water as the 'Thopter will carry and fair trade agreement for more.”
With Leto’s prescient visions, he often assumed that his subject would know what he wanted when he said things like, “They’ll know what I want in return,” because he always knew what they wanted, not that he gave it to them, but, luckily, some select few, like Hwi, actually did.
“With that much cargo, we’ll have to take an unshielded 'Thopter, and, even then, we’ll have to stop in Coocoostan to refuel. It’ll give me time to send an RSVP. I’d take a Carryall if I didn’t think it’d be be like flying a cargo plane among a fleet of private jets,” Duncan conjectured.
“You know Moneo is quite the little planner,” Hwi reminded him. “He’s probably already waiting for you in an unshielded 'Thopter loaded down with cargo. Shaitan below! He’s probably even stashed some maula pistols in the smuggler’s hold!”
“You’re probably right. Majordomo Atreides is a very able administrator so I’d better be going.” It was usually Duncan that longed for Hwi to return when she left the Citadel for Onn, but, this time, it was her turn to yearn for his return to The Fourth Imperium from East Malaysia.
Aboard The Ornithopter…
“The preflight checklist is already complete, Master Idaho,” Moneo informed Duncan as he came aboard.
“Thank you, Majordomo. I’ll take the controls from here.” Duncan got behind the controls of the 'Thopter and waited for the Shadout and the rest of the household staff to vacate the landing pad before gaining altitude. Piloting a 'Thopter away from the Citadel added an extra layer of difficulty to piloting one away from any other location in The Fourth Imperium. The vibrations from the vehicle infuriated the God-Emperor, and the pad was already shaking by the time the 'Thopter cleared it, which didn’t leave much time for a pilot to idle on the pad. By the time Duncan and Moneo were flying over the Citadel’s high walls, they were positively quaking.
Moneo could see Hwi’s airvan gliding across the Sareer as Duncan had them streaking by in the 'Thopter, and they were over the Forbidden Forest that flanked the Sareer before they knew it. D Wolves, genetically engineered hunters and the guardians of the Sareer, were visible from the air, and Duncan even considered giving the stick to Moneo and manning a lasgun to clear a path for Hwi. However, you never know when you would the D Wolf you hit is going to be the one that kills a rebel intending to assassinate God-Emperor. Any number of the subjects that crossed the bridge that acted as the main route of egress between Onn and the Forbidden Forest could be rebels, and Duncan, as the God-Emperor’s right hand man, always had to be vigilant. Although it was easy to keep your eyes open when flying over the festival city, Onn.
Railtaxis darted along the streets, and Duncan had to weave in, out and around zeppelins as they lumbered across the sky. Ancient architectural wonders dotted the city, like the old Landsraad building that was filled by august body before so many Houses Major and Minor were disbanded by God-Emperor Leto. Now the building held the Imperial Court, as well. Duncan even pointed out the Ginaz School, his alma mater, to Moneo as they flew by. Unfortunately, the once bustling marketplaces that were renowned throughout The Fourth Imperium for selling both water and spice were suffering severe supply side shortages, which only heightened the demand…And the price.
On the outskirts of the city was the remains of the mountain that acted as a wall to shield The Fourth Imperium from invasion back in the days when Onn was known as Arakeen and the Citadel was nothing but blueprints on an imperial architect’s drawing board, blueprints that would require so many raw materials and natural resources that the blasting, hollowing, and stripping of the mountain practically left it a mole hill.
“Exiting The Fourth Imperium’s airspace,” Duncan announced as the 'Thopter cleared the mountain range.
“Huh?” Moneo roused in the co-pilot seat next to Duncan.
“I said we’re exiting the Imperium’s airspace.”
“Ah. Wake me when we get to Smigsachenweiz. My daughter, Siona, is stationed just north of the border there,” Moneo mumbled before drifting back to sleep.
Duncan settled in for the long and apparently lonely flight from The Fourth Imperium to Coocoostan. He flew over the unclaimed territories that separated the Imperium from its southern neighbors, but, when he reached Smigsachenweiz, he looked over at Moneo sleeping soundly. He didn’t have the heart to wake him so he just radioed in his flight path and continued on. Shortly before the Coocoostan border, Moneo finally awoke.
“Have we made it to Smigsachenweiz yet,” he asked groggily.
Duncun widened his grin and answered, “Made it? You almost missed it!”
It was then that Duncan requested clearance to land in Coocoobad, Coocoostan’s capital city, and, after receiving clearance, they made their final approach and touched down.
