Chapter 292 – The Ones Who Drown Are Usually the Ones Who Can Swim
"Kneel before me!"
Holy Mother Helen stared into Rita's eyes, chanting those words in a low, insistent voice, repeating them over and over. But to her surprise, Rita remained completely unmoved.
Her expression was cold and indifferent, like she was watching a raving witch mutter some absurd incantation.
As it turned out, Rita had already discreetly activated a miniature Gellar Field generator inside her power armor, forming a shield around herself that rendered her immune to psychic control.
Seeing her commands fail, Holy Mother Helen fell into a brief moment of self-doubt.
She was, after all, the most skilled voice-controller in the entire Galactic Empire. Even if she wasn't the single most powerful, she was at least considered a grandmaster of the craft.
And yet, faced with a "completely unguarded" Rita, she couldn't even issue a single successful command!
Helen tried again, but the result was the same—her voice-control powers had no effect on Rita whatsoever.
At that moment, the atmosphere in the room turned rather awkward. Even Jessica and the other Sisterhood members looked on in confusion.
This couldn't be happening… In the Empire, there was supposedly no one who could so casually ignore the Holy Mother's voice commands and remain so calm and collected.
"Who are you people? How are you blocking voice-control?!"
Helen was starting to panic. Her abilities were considered top-tier even within the Sisterhood. Many renowned psychics had succumbed to her compulsions and mental rewrites.
But Rita stood there, completely unaffected. It was incomprehensible. Could it be true that this Megacorp really was from another universe?
Helen shook her head. She refused to believe such nonsense. If that were true, then the so-called savior of the Galactic Empire should be them!
Taking advantage of Helen's disoriented state, Rita pressed her advantage and extended another olive branch:
"Holy Mother, once again, I sincerely invite you to join Megacorp. I strongly recommend you choose cooperation."
"Otherwise, any force that becomes an enemy of the Corporation… rarely meets a good end."
Rita, never one for sugarcoating things, delivered her threat bluntly and without hesitation. Her tone was sharp and provocative, clearly irritating Helen and the Sisterhood members.
Who did this no-name upstart think she was? Daring to threaten them? Did she really think the Sisterhood's thousands of years of influence in the Empire amounted to nothing?
"Hmph. We'll see who wins in the end. With the pitiful resources Duke Leto has, how could he possibly go up against the Royal Family? Just you wait!"
Naturally, Helen dismissed Rita's recruitment pitch. The Sisterhood's ultimate plan was to control the Galactic Empire by guiding their own "Messiah" and seizing power from behind the scenes.
Why would they abandon that to join some ridiculous Megacorp, just to play researcher and develop voice-control tech for someone else?
Absolutely out of the question.
When Helen firmly rejected the offer, the Master Sergeant on Rita's side secretly asked his boss, Li Ang , through his tactical helmet comms:
"Boss, should we just take these people by force and drag them back to base?"
[No need. If they want to play, we'll play with them.]
Li Ang declined.
His main goal in arranging this meeting between Rita and Helen was to test the effectiveness of their Gellar Field generator.
Recruiting Helen was secondary—whether she joined LA Universal Megacorp or not didn't really matter. She simply wasn't important.
"It's a shame. You've missed your chance to become a department head at the Corporation. After tonight, you'll officially be a target."
Rita's expression suddenly darkened. The way she looked at the Sisterhood members resembled someone staring at the walking dead—sending chills down their spines.
They had interacted with many dangerous people before, and from the look in Rita's eyes, they could tell: this woman was no stranger to killing.
"Fine. Let's see what you've got."
Helen wasn't easily intimidated. She'd seen more than her fair share of life-and-death struggles, and now, just like Rita, she had made up her mind—Rita must die.
No matter who or what this Megacorp was, anyone who could block or interfere with voice-control had to be eradicated.
Otherwise, the Sisterhood would lose its edge—and without their signature ability, their status would plummet.
"Very well. I'll wait for you on Arrakis. Tonight, I'll let you go—for now."
Rita nodded, her tone calm but laced with warning.
She understood perfectly well that Li Ang hadn't sent her here to genuinely recruit the other side, but to provoke and intimidate Helen.
If the intimidation worked and Helen joined their side, all the better.
If not—no big loss.
The Sisterhood was unlike most other factions. Its members were numerous and scattered throughout the Empire.
Standard decapitation strikes wouldn't work on them. Their Holy Mother could always be replaced—cut one down and another would rise in her place.
After all, the title "Holy Mother" was essentially just a glorified madam with technical expertise. It wasn't exactly a rare skillset.
So killing or capturing Helen wouldn't accomplish much. It was better to let her go back, wait for her to rally the Sisterhood's core forces, and then take them all out in one sweep.
At that point, those willing to submit could be absorbed. Those who refused would be eliminated under the pretense of being cultists or whores.
It would also give them a chance to completely sever Jessica's ties to the Sisterhood and stop her from playing both sides.
On the other side, Helen—now aware that Rita had access to tech that nullified voice-control—felt a sense of urgency and dread.
For the good of the Sisterhood, she had to arrange for Rita's death, destroy House Atreides, capture Paul, and wipe Megacorp off the map—all in one stroke!
Her next move was to coordinate with House Corrino to annihilate the Atreides and their mysterious corporate backers.
Soon, Holy Mother Helen and her Sisterhood entourage boarded their ship and stormed off from Caladan.
Meanwhile, Li Ang had also gained valuable insight from this encounter, learning the extent and limitations of the Sisterhood's voice-control powers.
As long as their psychic techniques couldn't affect soldiers equipped with Gellar Field generators, there was no real reason to worry.
—
Three Days Later, in the Arakeen Palace…
The sharp, jarring sound of shattering porcelain echoed throughout the palace, accompanied by furious, thunderous roars from deep within.
Ceramic vases worth millions of solari were reduced to razor-sharp shards on the floor, smashed to bits by the raging Emperor Shaddam.
"Damn Leto! Damn House Atreides!"
The envoy, prostrated on the floor, trembled as the Emperor's enraged voice thundered from behind the curtain. Shaddam was like a maddened lion, ready to devour anyone in his path.
Were it not for the screen shielding him, the envoy wouldn't have dared to deliver such terrible news in person.
"I'll wipe them out! I'll execute every last Atreides!"
The envoy might've been safe, but the maids nearby were not so lucky. They became the Emperor's unfortunate outlets for his fury.
Flying shards of shattered porcelain slashed many of them. Despite their injuries, they stood their ground, trembling, still dutifully serving before the curtain.
Bang!
A gold ornament flew across the room, striking a maid square in the head. Blood streamed from the wound as she collapsed, unconscious. Yet no one dared to help without the Emperor's command.
The remaining maids grew even more terrified.
They had never seen Shaddam this furious before. In the past, an imperial tantrum might cost a few lives—but now it seemed like everyone in the room might be executed.
Just as despair began to set in, Holy Mother Helen strode into the chamber.
"Your Majesty, there is no need to waste your wrath on a few traitors. They are nothing but insignificant pests."
Helen pulled back the curtain, and upon seeing the kneeling, injured maids, gestured for them to be carried away and the room cleaned up.
The maids, immensely relieved, quickly set to work. Shaddam, seeing that it was Helen who had arrived, finally began to calm down.
"Holy Mother, you came at just the right time!"
He set down the gold ornament in his hand and raged at Helen, "That damned Leto actually dares oppose me!"
"Not only did he bluster about usurping the throne, he even challenged the Corrino royal house to battle on Arrakis! The old fool must have a death wish!"
Then Shaddam turned his glare on Helen:
"I command you to mobilize the Sisterhood's elite and coordinate with the royal forces to exterminate House Atreides!"
"Poison, assassination—I don't care what you use. I want every single one of them gone!"
Shaddam knew the Sisterhood under Helen's command was a force to be reckoned with. That was why he kept her close, serving as his Truthsayer.
The women of the Bene Gesserit might not excel at warfare, but when it comes to gathering intelligence and collecting evidence, they're remarkably reliable. In fact, the Empire's reign of terror would never have endured without their efforts behind the scenes.
Noticing the shift in mood, Reverend Mother Helen smiled faintly. With a sway of her hips, she took a seat beside Emperor Shaddam and spoke in a sultry tone:
"My Emperor, that's precisely why I'm here."
Ever since her failed attempt to reason with Jessica, Helen had come to a sobering realization: the Bene Gesserit's carefully planted agent within House Atreides was now completely out of control.
Losing both Jessica and Paul overnight dealt a devastating blow to the breeding program the Bene Gesserit had meticulously orchestrated for decades. Now, it was on the brink of collapse.
One must understand: a single breeding project could take two or three generations of preparation, and the odds of producing a viable candidate were incredibly slim. Even producing one promising child in a century was a rare success.
They had only just begun to see a glimmer of hope in Paul. If they abandoned him now, they'd have no choice but to wait another twenty years to launch a new round of selective breeding.
Helen could not—and would not—allow that to happen. She had come to Arrakis to cooperate with the Imperial forces in completely annihilating House Atreides and shattering Jessica's delusional aspirations.
While Helen and Emperor Shaddam were conspiring over their next move, far away on Caladan, Paul was deep in conversation with his father, Duke Leto.
———
Caladan, Atreides Estate
In the family's council chamber, Paul, fresh from a fencing session, approached Duke Leto with enthusiasm and said:
"Father, I'd like to join Duncan on the reconnaissance mission to Arrakis. I've studied the Fremen language—I can communicate with the locals."
The Duncan he referred to was none other than Duncan Idaho, the Atreides family's swordmaster and Paul's personal instructor in combat.
With the entire family now openly defying the Emperor, Paul was brimming with energy and purpose.
But Duke Leto didn't even pause to consider the request before firmly refusing.
"No. You'll go to Arrakis with us when the time comes. Let the subordinates handle the early scouting."
Leto had just declared his defiance of Emperor Shaddam. Arrakis was now a powder keg, a battlefield where war could erupt at any moment.
Sending Paul into a reconnaissance unit under those circumstances would be no different from sending his own son to die.
But faced with such a firm rejection, Paul's rebellious streak flared up. "I've been through harsh training my entire life—swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, firearms.
What's the point of all that if I never get to test my skills in a real battlefield?"
Seeing the stubborn, defiant glint in his son's eyes, Leto simply patted Paul on the shoulder and explained patiently:
"Paul, you are the future of House Atreides. That's why you must stay close to me."
Still unwilling to accept that, Paul retorted, "I'm not some pampered noble who's afraid of death. Didn't Grandfather enjoy bullfighting back in his day?"
"You're absolutely right," Leto replied calmly. "And you also know how he ended up."
He didn't need to say more.
Everyone in House Atreides knew how the old Duke died—gored through the abdomen by a bull in the ring. A grim, almost laughable death with his guts spilling out in front of a cheering crowd.
"Drownings don't happen to those who can't swim—they happen to those who can. Those who seek out battle often end up losing their heads."
Leto's words silenced Paul. He had to admit, his father had a point.
"When we reach Arrakis, the dangers will be far beyond anything we've faced before. As the leaders of this house, our first priority must be survival—only then can we command the battlefield."
Leto had subjected Paul to such intense training not so he could charge into battle like a foot soldier, but so he could survive and lead.
A leader's true worth isn't shown by how many enemies he kills with his own hands, but by how effectively he thinks—how few lives he needs to sacrifice to win.
This time, Arrakis would become the epicenter of a three-way clash: House Atreides, the Corrino Empire, and House Harkonnen. War was inevitable.
At a moment like this, if the leaders fell, the blow to morale among the troops would be catastrophic.
"But we have the full backing of the Universal Megacorp. There's no need to worry about the war itself. All we have to do is make sure we survive."
Since the subject had already come up, Leto decided to lay all his cards on the table and show Paul the ace they were holding.
He didn't want the boy to start overthinking and pull some reckless stunt that would only make things worse.
After all, in too many tragic stories, it's either the father who dooms the son, or the son who drags down the father—a promising start ruined by a simple lack of communication.
Leto would not allow such a cliché to play out in his own life.
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