Dune_ House Atreides - Brian Herbert [201]
The Lady considered fleeing the approaching ’thopters, but dismissed the idea. If these intruders were whom she feared they might be, she had no chance of escape. And if her intuition was wrong, she wouldn’t need to run.
The clustered ornithopters arrived overhead, wings fluttering and engines roaring. They set down roughly, indiscriminately, upon her planted fields, knocking her full-spectrum glowdisks out of alignment and crushing crops.
When the doors of the three ships slid open and troops emerged, she knew she was doomed.
In a dreamlike vision, she thought back to a happier time, the arrival of quite different troops. It had been in her younger days at the Imperial Court, when the headiness of being a royal courtesan had begun to fade. The Emperor had spent much time with her for a while, but after his interest waned he had moved on to other concubines. It was to be expected. She hadn’t felt snubbed, since Elrood continued to provide for her.
But then one day, after the rebellion on Ecaz had been crushed, she had watched a victory parade of Imperial fighters marching down the streets of Kaitain. The banners were so bright they made her eyes ache, the uniforms perfect and clean, the men so brave. At the head of the column, she had caught her first glimpse of her future husband, a proud warrior with broad shoulders and a broad grin. Even from a distance, his very presence had dazzled her, and she had felt her passions awaken, seeing him as the greatest among all of the returning soldiers. . . .
These soldiers arriving today on Bela Tegeuse were different, though—much more frightening in the dress gray-and-black of Sardaukar uniforms.
A Burseg troop commander stepped forward, flashing his rank insignia. With an upward chop of his hand, he signaled for his men to take up their positions.
Maintaining her pretense with only a shred of hope, the Lady strode forward to meet him, chin high. “I am Madame Lizett, the owner of this estate.” Her voice was hard as she scowled over at the destroyed crops. “Do you or your employers intend to make reparations for all the property damage your clumsiness just caused?”
“Shut your mouth!” one of the soldiers snapped, snatching up his lasgun.
Foolish, the Lady thought. I could have been wearing a shield. If so, and if he had fired, this section of Bela Tegeuse would have been obliterated in a pseudoatomic explosion.
The Burseg commander held up his hand to silence the soldier, and she recognized the planned gambit: a brash, uncontrolled soldier to intimidate her, a firm military leader showing the face of reason. Good soldier, bad soldier.
“We are here on Imperial orders,” said the Burseg. “We’re investigating the whereabouts of surviving traitors of a certain renegade House. Through the right of acquisition, we require your cooperation.”
“I am unfamiliar with the legalities,” the Lady said. “But I know nothing of renegades. I’m just a widow trying to run a modest farm here. Allow my attorneys to consult with you. I’ll be happy to cooperate in whatever manner I can, though I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.”
“We won’t be disappointed,” the brash soldier growled.
Around them, her hired workers had ceased their activities, frozen in place. The Burseg stepped forward and stood directly in front of the Lady, who did not flinch. He studied her face, frowning. She knew her holo-masked appearance did not match what the man expected to see. She stared back at him, meeting his flat gaze.
Before she understood his intention, his hand snatched her Ixian necklace and yanked it away. She felt no different, but she knew her disguise had dissolved.
“That’s more like it,” said the Burseg. “You know nothing of renegades, eh?” He laughed scornfully.
She glared at him. Sardaukar troops continued to file out of the three ’thopters, taking up positions around her. Some of them burst into her manor house, while others searched the barn, sun-silo, and other outbuildings. Did