Page 6 (2/2)

MURBELLA, REVEREND MOTHER SUPERIOR

AND GREAT HONORED MATRE

THREE YEARS AFTER

ESCAPE FROM CHAPTERHOUSE

Meh to inflict deep wounds

--The Mentat's Lament

O

n the day he died, Rakis--the planet commonly known as Dune--died with him

Dune Lost forever!

In the archives cha reviewed the desert world's final e at his left elbow, but the thirteen-year-old ignored it, descending instead into deep Mentat focus These historical records and holo-ireat fascination for him

This here and how his original body had been killed How an entire world had been endary desert planet, now no more than a charred ball

Projected above a flat table, the archival i above the lobe The im and his fellow refugees now lived--wielded firepower superior to anything the Bene Gesserit had ever employed Traditional atomics were little more than a pinprick by comparison

Those neeaponspursued a Mentat projection Hu else entirely?

In the floating i incineration waves with devices the Bene Gesserit had since named "Obliterators" The bombardment had continued until the planet was devoid of life The sandy dunes were turned to black glass; even Rakis's at cities, people and sand plankton, everything annihilated Nothing could have survived down there, not even him

Now, nearly fourteen years later and in a vastly changed universe, the gangly teenager adjusted the study chair to athe circuain

By strict definition, Teg was a clone rather than a ghola grown of cells gathered froh the latter was the wordflesh lived an old ns for the Bene Gesserit; he could not remember the last few moments of his life, but these records left little doubt

The senseless annihilation of Dune demonstrated the true ruthlessness of the Honored Matres Whores, the Sisterhood called theood reason

Nudging the intuitive finger controls, he called up the iain It felt odd to be an outside observer, knowing that he hies were recorded

Teg heard a sound at the door of the archives and saw Sheeana watching hiular, her skin brown froe The unruly umber hair flashed with streaks of copper from a childhood spent under the desert sun Her eyes were the total blue of lifelong ony that had turned her into a Reverend Mother The youngest ever to survive, Teg had been told

Sheeana's generous lips held an elusive s for a military commander to be so predictable"

"I have a greatreat deal in three hundred standard years, before I died"

When Sheeana recognized the projected record, her expression fell into a troubled es of Rakis to the point of obsession, ever since they fled into this bizarre and uncharted universe

"Any word fro to divert her attention "He was atteet us away from--"

"We know exactly where we are" Sheeana lifted her chin in an unconscious gesture she had co the leader of this group of refugees "We are lost"

Teg automatically intercepted the criticism of Duncan Idaho It had been their intent to prevent anyone--the Honored Matres, the corrupted Bene Gesserit order, or thethe ship "At least we're safe"

Sheeana did not seem convinced "Sous" Her voice trailed off, and then sh

e said, "I will leave you to your studies We are about to have anotherto discuss our situation"

He perked up "Has anything changed?"

"No, Miles And I expect the saed "The other Sisters seem to insist on it" With a quiet rustle of robes, she exited the archives chareat invisible ship

Back to Rakis Back torewound the recordings, gathering old reports and perspectives, and watched the farther backward in time

Now that his memories had been awakened, he knehat he had done up to his death He did not need these records to see how the old Bashar Teg had gotten into such a predicament on Rakis, how he himself had provoked it Back then, he and his loyal ns--had stolen a no-ship on Gammu, a planet that history had once called Giedi Pri-exterminated House Harkonnen

Years earlier, Teg had been brought in to guard the young ghola of Duncan Idaho, after eleven previous Duncan gholas had been assassinated The old Bashar succeeded in keeping the twelfth alive until adulthood and finally restored Duncan's memories, then helped him escape from Gammu When one of the Honored Matres, Murbella, tried to sexually enslave Duncan, he instead trapped her with unsuspected abilities wired into him by his Tleilaxu creators It turned out that Duncan was a living weapon specifically designed to thwart the Honored Matres No wonder the enraged whores were so desperate to find and kill him

After slaughtering hundreds of Honored Matres and theireneral had commanded such loyalty since Paul Muad'Dib, perhaps not even since the fanatical days of the Butlerian Jihad Aia, the Bashar had explained that he needed theh the task see