Mentats of Dune

Chapter 78 (When I gaze up into the night sky)

Making his way across the small Caladan spaceport, Vorian Atreides hardly noticed anyone around him, did not hear the noise of conversation or the engines outside as the occasional shuttle arrived and departed. It was early evening, and he was alone after a long day of last-minute preparations.

Tragedy seemed to follow him like a shadow. He had to leave beautiful Caladan, again.

Vor felt scarred inside, as if he had been broken and improperly healed. A dark fear lingered in his heart — not for himself, but for everyone in his extended family. Any member of his bloodline was in danger, because the Harkonnens blamed him for the fall of Abulurd decades ago, and Griffin’s death on Arrakis only last year. They would seek vengeance on any Atreides they could find.

Tula Harkonnen had vanished, but records showed that a small cruiser had been stolen from the Caladan spaceport right after Orry’s murder, and after she had attacked Vor in his room at the inn. He didn’t know where the murderous Harkonnen girl was going, but Tula had slipped away, leaving a trail of blood that someday he might be able to follow.

She’d left a bloody message of vendetta, and Vor had sent an urgent warning to anyone who claimed Atreides lineage on Caladan. Yet he could not stay there and risk them further, so he made it known that he was leaving. He would go back to Kepler, despite the Emperor’s proscription — a promise that had been forced on Vor out of Salvador’s pique. But Vor would risk Imperial ire to protect his dispersed family. Maybe they were in danger, too.

He didn’t know how many of his descendants he could locate. Back during the early years of the Jihad, when he was a young officer traveling from star system to star system, he’d had lovers on many different planets. Vor sent an urgent message to the banking representative on Kolhar who had helped him arrange discreet financial transactions over the years, including the recent infusion of wealth to Lankiveil. The bank had contacts across the Imperium, and Vor ordered a detailed research report on all possible Atreides descendants.

We will never forget, Tula Harkonnen had written. And then she had disappeared from Caladan.

Did all of House Harkonnen seek the vendetta? How far had the poison spread? Griffin had come after Vor, too. While working with Vergyl Harkonnen on Lankiveil, Vor had been invited into his home, shared his food. But even though he had secretly rescued the family from financial ruin, they would not embrace him if they ever learned who he was. Believing that Vorian Atreides had harmed innocents in their family, they would take revenge on innocents in his extended family.

Xavier Harkonnen had been Vor’s sworn enemy before Serena Butler’s Jihad, then became his closest friend after Vor switched sides. Decades later, Xavier’s grandson Abulurd had been like a son to Vorian, his military protégé, until the young man’s cowardly disgrace. Even though Vor had saved Abulurd from execution, sending him into exile instead, the Harkonnens did not consider that a favor.

Generations later, Griffin Harkonnen hunted Vor down, intending to kill him. Now his sister Tula expanded the bloodshed, murdering Atreides descendants who had never even met Vor until recently. With Shander and Orry dead, Willem was the next likely target — and now Willem had sworn vengeance against the Harkonnen murderers. Vorian foresaw a spiraling cycle of bloodshed and retaliation. When would it ever end?

In the spaceport building, he watched through a large viewing window as his designated shuttle set down in a pool of light and prepared to release its passengers. He had spent hours with a distraught Willem, confessing the chain of events that had led to the murders. What had seemed like distant and esoteric family history was now painfully relevant.

When Vor offered to remain on Caladan, to help stand guard over Willem and other Atreides cousins, the young man resented the suggestion. “If Harkonnens come to Caladan, I will kill them myself … but if you leave here, maybe they’ll hunt you instead. So go far away, and I’ll keep myself safe.”

It felt like a crushing weight on Vorian’s shoulders. Willem, too, blamed him.

And so Vor had booked passage on the next outbound spacefolder, wherever it was headed. At the first opportunity he would transfer to another route and make his way to Kepler, warn his family there. After that … he didn’t know where he would go, but it couldn’t be anywhere that would expose his family to additional attention.

Now, in the reflection of the spaceport’s plaz window, he saw a tall, thin figure approach from behind. Vor didn’t need to turn in order to recognize him; he felt his pulse speed up as he wondered what Willem was doing here. “You shouldn’t have come here.” Vor looked sidelong at him. “I told you it isn’t safe to be seen with me.”

Willem looked ready to argue. “I’ve decided to go with you. I’m strong, I can fly ships, I can fight. I can help you find the Harkonnens.” He held up a ticket for Vor to see.

“I’m not hunting Harkonnens. I’m going to warn the rest of my family, who are your distant cousins. I don’t need my”—stress blocked Vor’s mind for a moment, and finally he finished the calculations—“great-great-great-grandson with me, looking for vengeance. There are things I need to do, quickly and efficiently.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Willem said, “For years I served in the Air Patrol, so I know how to handle myself in a crisis. I can be cool, and I am not out for blood. But with Orry dead, and Uncle Shander … and my parents, there’s not much left for me on Caladan. I can stay behind, alone, and be reminded every day. Or I can go with you.”

Vor met the young man’s urgent gaze, saw a hint of Leronica there, from across the generations. And he saw a bit of himself, too. Something in Willem’s demeanor reminded him of his own cocky determination when he’d been a young officer, the confidence and certainty in his own abilities.

Vorian Atreides had come to Caladan to regain a grounding in his life, to find his family and reestablish a long-lost connection. That connection was not about a place, but about the bonds of blood. “I’ll let you convince me, then,” he said with a small smile. “But I won’t have a loose cannon at my side seeking revenge.”

Willem’s eyes shone with gratitude. The shuttle up to the spacefolder was ready to be boarded. “I’m levelheaded. But if a Harkonnen tries to kill me or you, I’ll kill them first.”

Vor said, “I can accept that.” Together, they boarded the shuttle.