Hunters of Dune - Brian Herbert [136]
This sacrilege would surely bring down the wrath of God. Uxtal had loathed these Honored Matres before. Now he could barely keep himself from fainting. The machines continued to milk the mindless males on the tables.
“Hurry up and take your cell scrapings,” Hellica snapped. “I don’t have all day, and neither do you. Guild Navigators aren’t as pleasant to work with as I am.”
Axlotl tanks have brought forth gholas and melange, as well as Face Dancers and Twisted Mentats. Out in the Scattering, Lost Tleilaxu genetic work was most likely responsible for creating Futars and Phibians. What other axlotl-grown creatures did they concoct in those fecund wombs? What else remains out there that is still unknown to us?
—Bene Gesserit Symposium, opening remarks by
MOTHER COMMANDER MURBELLA
I
n the two years since Gammu, one Honored Matre stronghold had fallen after another, a total of twelve smaller rebel enclaves eradicated in maneuvers that would have made even the best Swordmaster of Ginaz proud. Murbella’s Valkyries had proven themselves time and again.
Soon, the last festering wound would be cauterized. Then humanity would be ready to face the far worse challenge.
Recently, Chapterhouse had made another substantial spice payment to the weapon shops of Richese. For years, the Richesian industries had been dedicated to building armaments for the New Sisterhood, retooling their manufacturing centers and ramping up to full-scale production. Although they regularly delivered warships and weaponry, their factories were still gearing up for the majority of items the Sisters had ordered. Within a few years, the Mother Commander would have an overwhelming armada of ships to stand together and defend against the Outside Enemy. She hoped it would be soon enough.
Inside her private chambers, working through reams of administrative matters, Murbella was relieved to be interrupted by a report from Gammu. Since the original crackdown there, Janess—promoted to regimental commandant—had been in charge of the consolidation, strengthening the Sisterhood’s hold on the industries and population.
But her daughter was not among the three Valkyries who strode into her office. All three, she noted, had originally been Honored Matres. One was Kiria, the hard-edged scout who had investigated the distant Enemy-devastated planet, home of the damaged Honored Matre battleship that had come to Chapterhouse years ago. Given the opportunity, Kiria had been eager to help quash the insurgents on Gammu.
Murbella sat up straight. “Your report? Have you rooted out, killed, or converted the remaining rebel whores?”
The former Honored Matres flinched at the term, especially when used by someone who had previously been one of their own. Kiria stepped forward to speak. “The regimental commandant is not far behind us, Mother Commander, but she wanted us to report to you immediately. We have made an alarming discovery.”
The other two women nodded, as if conceding Kiria’s authority. Murbella noted one of them had a dark bruise on her neck.
Kiria turned toward the hall and barked orders to a pair of male workers standing outside. They entered carrying a heavy, lifeless form wrapped crudely in preserving sheets. Kiria tore the covering away from the head. The face was turned away, but the body had the shape and clothing of a man.
Intrigued, Murbella stood up. “What is this? Is he dead?”
“Quite dead, but it is not a man. Nor a woman.”
The Mother Commander came around from behind her cluttered desk. “What do you mean? Is it not human?”
“It is whatever it chose to be, man or woman, boy or