Navigators of Dune

After two weeks, Hana Elkora and her salvage team at the mothballed thinking-machine fleet managed to reactivate the FTL engines of twenty-five of the forty vessels. Meanwhile, Elkora had directed a skeleton crew to fly the robot ships back to Denali, one by one, where the rest of the repairs and refurbishment were completed. Kolhar had already delivered shipments of Holtzman engines immediately after Draigo sent his request, and the foldspace engines would be installed while the ships orbited the research planet.

Elkora had ejected thousands of deactivated robots that cluttered the decks of the reclaimed ships—“taking out the garbage,” as she called it—while hundreds more were found and removed during the final operations at Denali, and all the robots were simply dumped near the laboratory domes, where they would be left to rust in the corrosive atmosphere, just like the old cymek walkers. The Mentat was proud of his progress and felt eager to report to Directeur Venport.

And then Draigo learned what had happened at Kolhar.

* * *

USING A SMALL spacefolder, Norma Cenva quietly delivered Cioba to Salusa Secundus. With her perfect mastery of coordinates, the Navigator woman deposited her passenger in a secluded meadow on the outskirts of Zimia. Cioba could see the magnificent buildings of the capital city a short distance away, and a gravel footpath just ahead led her to a groundcar road and the Imperial Palace. The walk took her an hour.

Crowds moved toward the Palace like iron filings toward a magnet. Dressed in the robes of a nondescript Sister, Cioba made her way with a clear sense of purpose until a trio of Imperial guards stopped her from entering the main archway, demanding to know her identity.

“I am Sister Cioba, and I have business with the Emperor’s Truthsayer. Surely you recognize my robes?” Although Mother Superior Valya had refused to use her own influence to resolve the dispute, Cioba hoped that Fielle would help arrange for a brief conversation with Emperor Roderick. The Sisterhood owed her that, at least.

It took Cioba most of the day to navigate the labyrinth of the city-sized Palace among thousands of functionaries. At sunset, after contacting several other Sisters for guidance, she finally located Fielle in the echoing south hall. The large-statured Truthsayer greeted her with a cautious smile. “You take an enormous risk by coming here. After your husband threatened Salusa, the Emperor certainly has no great love for him.”

Fielle must know that this was not a social call. Trying to suppress her agitation, Cioba said in a crisp voice, “I had to come here. The Butlerians have committed unforgivable crimes against humanity. No matter how the Emperor feels about my husband, he must be made to see who the real enemy is. Please help by arranging for me to speak with him, just briefly. I need him to listen to me.”

The Truthsayer frowned, sensing her urgency as well as the truth in her words. “I suggest an indirect but more effective route. I might be able to arrange for you to speak with Haditha.”

The Emperor’s wife came within the hour, curious but wary. Fielle led her to a sitting room where Cioba waited. Seeing her, Haditha became tense and guarded, but Cioba preferred it to the vengeful anger that would have come from Roderick. This might be her only chance.

The two women looked at each other in silence while the Truthsayer stood as an intermediary, neither interfering nor helping. “I shouldn’t be talking with you,” Haditha said. “Roderick has declared your husband a fugitive from Imperial justice. Josef Venport assassinated his brother.”

Cioba gave a slight nod. “And your husband has done everything in his power to destroy us and bankrupt Venport Holdings. We can’t always excuse the actions of the men we love. When two such forces collide, the collateral damage ripples throughout the Imperium. Far better if they were just to talk, don’t you think?”

Haditha remained stiff. “Why should Roderick listen to him? Why should he trust anything your husband has to say?”

“Because Josef is not your greatest problem.” Cioba didn’t hesitate, driving home the most important point. “The Butlerians have used forbidden atomics! They brought on a holocaust that utterly destroyed Kolhar. Do not be blind to the true enemy of civilization.”

Haditha reeled, astounded by the news. Watching her, Cioba immediately realized that the Empress had had no prior knowledge of the Butlerian plan. Although it was possible that Roderick had kept his collusion a secret from his wife, Cioba didn’t think so. She had always believed that Manford acted on his own and did exactly as he pleased.

On one side, the Imperial Truthsayer nodded to Haditha, affirming the truth of what Cioba had just said.