v.1 Beta: Andy1997
Rated T for Science Fiction Violence and Harkonnen BS…
(Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen)
Paul deactivated his body shield, "Will it be that bad?"
"…you don't get it, do you? The grave nature of what is happening to us?" Gurney asked, leaning against the table. "For eighty years, Arrakis belonged to House Harkonnen. Eighty years of owning the spice field." He stepped over back toward Paul. He gestured with his hands, "Can you imagine the wealth?" He was up in Paul's personal space, bringing them both eye to eye. "Your eyes. I need to see it in your eyes. You've never met Harkonnnens before, I have." His face twisted to that of barely held rage. "They're not human, they're BRUTAL!"
"…." Paul said nothing.
"You have to be ready," Gurney said, grasping both sides of Paul's face and giving him an empathetic nod.
The Swordsmaster turned and left Paul alone to his thoughts…
(F)
…around the same time as another young man deactivated his body shield, breathing sharply as he felt the adrenaline run its course through him.
Feyd-Rautha wiped the blood off his kindjal short blade with the cloth handed to him by one of his attending servants just as the last of his training slaves keeled over onto his side on the ground of the palaces training hall, his bare torso lacerated by a several large slices courtesy of the young Harkonnen, joining about a dozen other unfortunate training slaves whose blood soaked into Giedi Prime's dirt.
He recognized the footsteps of his uncle's mentat as he stepped into the hall. He didn't bother to turn around to greet him; he patted his sweating face and bald scalp down, getting blood on his forehead. "Piter."
Piter de Vries cleared his throat and announced, "The Lord Baron requests your presence, Feyd."
"…." He looked over his shoulder, allowing Pieter to see the slave blood on the forehead of the master's youngest nephew, "Rabban?"
GIEDI PRIME
Homeworld of House Harkonnen
The landing shuttle descended from Giedi Prime's blackened, polluted atmosphere as the searchlights cut through the smog and guided it through into Castle Harkonnen's shuttle bay, the ceiling door pulling back to allow the shuttle to land.
In his clearly visible, simmering rage, Glossu-Rabban didn't notice the servants that prostrated and bowed their heads to him in reverence as he walked into the Baron's personal chamber. He stopped dead right in front of the chamber's automated steam bath, seeing that both the mentat and his younger brother were waiting for him. Rabban looked at both Piter and Feyd's way, just as the mentat was finishing another of his mental calculations, indicated by the way his eyes rolled into his head.
"Brother," Feyd greeted him with a nod, a ghost of a smile on his face to let him know he's aware of why he's had to return home after so many years.
The elder brother eyed the younger wearily, but said nothing. He turned his attention toward their uncle – Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, as he finished his cleansing steam bath, the steam fading to reveal the rolls upon rolls of bulging fat that was their uncle. Feyd scrunched up his nose in disgust from the sight, instead turning his gaze toward the Baron's slave-attendants, and scowled at how utterly broken they appeared. To him, slaves weren't human, especially the ones from his uncle's personal stables.
Rabban bowed his head, "Lord Baron."
The Baron exhaled loudly, "Rabban."
"The last of our ships have left Arrakis," Rabban said. His eyes were downcast, "It is done."
"Very good," the Baron Harkonnen replied.
"…." Feyd swallowed slightly when it looked like Rabban turned to leave.
Instead, Rabban turned right back to the Baron, "Uncle, how can we let this happen? How could the Emperor-" Feyd scowled as Rabban was suddenly shouting, causing the Baron's slaves to shake with fright, "TAKE… EVERYTHING WE BUILT, AND GIVE IT TO THAT DUKE?! HOW?!"
Briefly, Feyd was surprised by Rabba's outburst. Once he connected the dots, he inquired, "You weren't told?"
Finishing his tantrum, Rabban caught his breath and replied, "…what?"
"Don't be too sure it's an act of love," Piter calmly added.
Rabban looked at them in disbelief. He turned to the Baron, "What do they mean?"
The Baron turned to look over his shoulder at Rabban, rolling his eyes to glimpse at Feyd. After a few more moments. "When is a gift not a gift?" he intoned.
"Uncle?" Feyd blinked. Suddenly, his eyes lit up with realization and he couldn't keep the smile off his face, knowing what was set in motion.
The Padishah Emperor transferred ownership of the planet Arrakis to the Atreides. Duke Leto Atreides' soaring popularity within the Landsraad. It could only mean one thing.
"The Atreides' voice is rising, and the Emperor is a jealous man."
As he heard the suspensors in his uncle's spine activate with that distinctive cracking sound, Feyd's smile faded and that cold sense of dread washed over him.
"A dangerous, jealous man."
And one that would risk plunging the entire Imperium into all-out war against the other Great Houses of the Landsraad if it meant eradicating someone as beloved as Duke Leto Atreides.
(F)
(The Baron's Plan)
"The thing must leave."
Within the Baron's conference chamber from his seat, Feyd couldn't take his eyes off the Baron's 'pet' as it ate from its bowl. Though as much as he detested that Tleilaxu abomination against nature, it could not hold a candle to the witch that was giving out commands within their own home. Had it been anyone else, it would mean their head in a heartbeat.
Alas, it was not. It just happened this particular head belonged to the Bene Gesserit.
"You can speak without fear," Piter said. "Our pet doesn't understand your language-"
"Get out."
Feyd cringed as he felt a chill go through his body as the hag used her witchcraft. Feyd watched the abomination hobble toward the doorway.
"It understands."
Feyd smirked at how slighted Piter looked. He noticed the witch was looking his way, causing him to instinctively avert his eyes, fearful that she might put a spell on him as well.
"The boy as well."
"I prefer Feyd remain where he is," the Baron replied, drawing Feyd's attention to his uncle. "He can consider this a learning experience."
"…" the Reverend Mother quietly stared at the Baron. "Activate silence."
A cone of light shone down on all four of the chamber's occupants.
"What is the Emperor's message?" the Baron inquired.
"He will strengthen your hand," the Reverend Mother answered. "With his Sardaukar army."
"S-Sardaukar?!" Feyd involuntarily blurted out. He visibly paled even more than his complexion would allow at the mention of the Warrior-Fanatics of the Padishah Emperor. His wanting the Atreides line eradicated rivaled that of his uncle, sure, but he never imagined the Emperor's Blades would be at their disposal. It says a lot about the competence of their own army if the Emperor himself has to intervene.
The Reverend Mother was visibly irritated by Feyd's interruption, "It must never be known."
"There's no satellites over Arrakis," the Baron stated. "The Atreides will die in the dark."
Otherwise, the entirety of the Landsraad would turn on the Emperor and the Harkonnen, Feyd realized.
"On that matter, Duke Leto Atreides means nothing to our order. But his wife is under our protection, and by extension her son," the Reverend Mother carried on. "Allow them the dignity of exile."
"…." wait, wife? Feyd knew she meant 'concubine.' He scowled at the witch's haughty request, then turned to the Baron to catch the way he pursed his lips and let out a sigh.
"House Harkonnen would never dream of violating the sanctity of your," the Baron said, sounding obviously rehearsed. "I give you my word, we will not harm them."
Feyd could make out from behind her veil that she looked like she didn't believe a single thing his uncle said. Without another word she turned and exited the chamber. The silence faded, and Feyd felt safe enough to open his mouth again.
"She speaks to us like that in our…your own castle?!" Feyd questioned, heatedly. He turned to the Baron, "She speaks to you like that?"
The Baron gave a tired sigh and shrugged, "Politics, Feyd."
"Why we do even need the Sardaukar?" Feyd asked. "We outnumber the Atreides at least fifty-to-one. Don't we?"
"You suggest we throw numbers at the most highly-trained swordsmen in all the Imperium?" Piter calmly said, unfazed at the intensity of Feyd's scowl directed at him. "Like wheat to a sickle?"
"…." Feyd didn't respond to that. "You don't plan on sparing Leto's bastard?"
That was something Piter needed to address. Turning to the Baron he began, "If the Duke's son lives-"
"No Atriedes will live," the Baron replied.
Piter looked visibly agitated, something Feyd couldn't miss, "My lord, you gave your word to the witch. She sees too much."
"I said I would not harm them," the Baron said. "And I shall not."
Feyd's eyes lit up as he caught the meaning behind his uncle's words. He had to smile; it was Machiavellian at its finest.
"But Arrakis is Arrakis. And the desert takes the week."
That familiar sound of his suspensors activating followed. Feyd watched his uncle ascend, and he had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at how theatrical the Baron tended to be.
"My desert. My Arrakis. My Dune."
(F)
(Attack on Arrakeen)
It was nighttime on Arrakis. The traitor Wellington Yueh of the Suk school kept to his end of whatever bargain he struck with his uncle. Arrakeen's communications were jammed, their shields were down, and Harkonnen troops along with the Sardaukar were tearing through the Atreides, just as his uncle said they would. And right now he and a small squad of Harkonnen soldiers made their way through the hall toward where the traitor said the duke's son was.
Slowly opening the door with his sword drawn, Feyd crept into the room and slunk over to where Paul Atriedes was sleeping, and completely out cold. His face scrunched up a bit at seeing how utterly unremarkable the heir to House Atreides looked. He glimpsed down at his sword, and contemplated simply skewering the bastard where he slept. Instead, he sheathed his sword and reached over to the side of the bed, picking up the knife.
He studied it quietly, thinking about how much fun it would have been to kill him in the arena of Giedi Prime instead of just leaving him and his witch mother in the desert for the worms. Picking up the blade's sheath, he pocketed it and he waved toward the door and pointed at Paul's still, oblivious form.
Soon enough, both he and his mother were onboard the ornithopter, three expendable Harkonnen soldiers on board, one of whom was deaf. The baron didn't want to take any chances, Feyd reasoned to himself.
"Uncle says to take them in the desert. Leave them for the worms," Feyd ordered, pointing at both the gagged witch and her offspring. "We were never here."
Feyd watched the ornithopter close its door, stepping back as it beat its wings and ascended. He noticed the flare the gunship high above dropped which lit up where he guessed was the network of caverns underneath where the surviving Atreides army would be hold up. He beheld the gunship unleashing its payload of missiles that descended where the flare landed, lighting the night sky up and burying those Atreides forever.
"…."
It was beautiful.
(F)
(Surprise Attack)
Feyd had a feeling those halfwits wouldn't have been up to the simple task of tossing the witch and her bastard out of the ornithopter into the desert, and afterward have the decency to let themselves be consumed by the desert once the aircraft was rendered inoperable. Now, he could not decide that by accompanying the Sardaukar to finish the Atreides line once and for all, it was out of a desire to impress his uncle or if it was simple fear the Baron would suspect him of being complicit in his attempted poisoning that killed Piter and he needed to get out of Arrakeen for a while.
Here he was, at some abandoned ecology station, his suspensor enabling him and his escorts to float down into the chamber. Deactivating his suspensor, he made sure to keep as far back and allow the Sardaukar to lead the way.
"…."
Feyd raised his hand when he noticed the cups half-buried in the sand, signaling his Harkonnen escorts to pause and they took a few steps back, in time for explosions of sand to overcome the Sardaukar as Fremen emerged and took the Imperial troops by surprise. Feyd spun around and was caught by surprise as more Fremen appeared around him and his bodyguards. Gripping the handle and trying not to let panic dictate his movements, he parried the strike against the first Fremen to come at him, countering with a right hook to the throat that winded him long enough for Feyd to drive his sword through his chest.
Feeling courageous now, he drew his other sword, and swallowed his fear long enough to let out a battle cry to throw himself at the Fremen that were still fighting the Sardaukar.
(F)
(Idaho's Last Stand)
Panting wildly, Feyd stumbled into the hallway and leaned against the doorway that led into the inner depths of the ecology station, Fremen and Harkonnen blood splashed all over his suit. None of it was his own, his bodyguards had all stood between him and those savage's knives. Catching his breath, he blinked when he saw the lone swordsman guarding the door that was fighting the Sardaukar, and felt a chill when he realized that it was none other than Duncan Idaho. And he seemed too preoccupied with the Emperor's Blades to notice him.
Feyd smirked. Upon seeing an opening, he charged Idaho as he slammed a Sardaukar onto the ground. The sound of his scream sounded like music as he drove his sword through his heart. Feyd was smiling maniacally now, euphoric that it was his sword that felled Duncan Idaho.
"Atreides filth," Feyd hissed. "You-"
Feeling Idado's hand suddenly on the back of his head wiped the smile off his face, followed by him smacking his hand off the hilt of his sword before punching him in the face and slamming his head into his knee. This knocked him to the ground, but his shields still held. More Sardaukar stepped into the hall, one of them carrying a portable lasgun. Feyd groaned painfully, scowling murderously at Idaho and refused to break eye contact even after he was smacked to the ground and left seemingly dead.
Dusting himself off, he picked up his sword and pointed it at Idaho's still form as he stepped past him and kept behind the Sardaukar that operated the lasgun as it cut away at the door into the room Atreides and his witch mother had barricaded themselves in. Fools, they honestly thought the Sardaukar wouldn't risk using a lasgun on the off-chance one of them still had a shield? They underestimated how fanatic the Emperor's blades truly were.
"RAAARGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Feyd nearly jumped out of skin when Idaho let out a battle cry. With a look of panic on his pale face, he grabbed the Sardaukar closest to him by his shoulders, turning the surprised swordsman to face Idaho, his blade cutting him down and giving Feyd a window to duck to the side. Shaking with fright, Feyd hugged the wall, his eyes wide with disbelief as he watched a man stabbed through the heart continue to fight on, as if he were a demon. He felt his blade slip from his hands as he watched in terrified disbelief as he watched Idaho fight on like a cornered, rabid, undead dog.
With Idaho's shield malfunctioning, the Sardaukar managed to pierce through a few more times with him barely managing to land a few strikes of his own, his body succumbing to his wounds quickly enough and he toppled over to the ground for the last time. Despite that, even after the Atreides swordmaster finally fell, Feyd remained rooted in place with his back against the wall, as if scared that he would get back up again. This did not escape the Sardaukar's notice, and he gasped at how they looked at him with disgust, as if he were something that belonged underneath their boots, which if Feyd was honest with himself was exactly how he felt at that moment.
If his uncle heard about this. It felt like his heart had sunk into his stomach when he heard one of them mutter, "Coward."
"…." Feyd glared back. Realization dawned on him, "Kynes."
The Sardaukar paused…
(F)
(Shai-Hulud)
Liet-Kynes could see the worm sign as it was drawn to the thumper she stuck into the sand, quickly drawing and extending her hooks as she held her position on top of the dune, arms spread wide. She slowly breathed in and out as the worm got closer, calming herself. She had done this over a dozen times, but now the stakes were higher than they had ever been.
And Chani was about to be drawn into it.
Her breath became stuck in her throat when she felt steel against her back.
"Uncle didn't forget about you," she heard someone snarl into her ear in Giedi. "Traitor."
Pulling his blade out of her back causing the water in Kyne's suit to splash on him, she cried out in pain as Feyd let her tumble down the sand dunes and come to an undignified stop at the bottom. The Sardaukar accompanying him ventured down to her, to deal the finishing blow. He watched as they approached her, swords in hand. It was then that he noticed the thumper some feet away.
He panicked once more.
"Kynes. You have betrayed the Emperor."
"I serve only one master," Liet-Kynes rasped. "His name is Shai-Hulud."
It felt like mere instinct that he was already running before the tremors were felt. His uncle had forced him to read enough filmbooks of Arrakis, worms and thumpers to know what was happening next. The sounds of the worm emerging to swallow the planetologist and those Sardaukar assaulted his eardrums, the resulting concussions knocking him face first into the sand.
Wiping the sand from his face, Feyd continued to just sit there alone, breathing harshly as he tried to calm himself from yet another close brush with death.
Death. That was what this Arrakis was.
This damned planet.
(F)
(Epilogue)
Standing beside Rabban outside the door, Feyd stuck his finger in his ear and flicked the sand away, not bothered by the sounds of Atreides being 'interrogated' in the rooms they passed by on their way to where the Baron was recuperating.
"I could've taken them," Feyd stated. "The whore and her bastard-"
"They would've killed you," Rabban replied, not looking at him as he stared at the door, waiting to be let in. "You were lucky against Idaho." He glared, "Uncle will tell you the same thing."
"…." Feyd just scowled at his brother.
They were let into the chamber, greeted by the sounds of otherworldly music played by one of the Baron's slaves that melded with the screams outside the doors as they closed behind them, leaving them to stand before the thermae filled with what they recognized to be a healing solution developed by the Ix. The Baron's other slave was pouring more into the tub, looking up to see the brothers staring at him with contempt for his very existence.
"His healing isn't complete," the slave meekly stated in Giedi.
Rabban glaringly gestured for the slave to step away, leaving both him and Feyd standing in front of the thermae. The brothers stared at the black solution uncomfortably, as if one was waiting for the other to open his mouth and address the stricken Baron and reap whatever consequences were to come from disturbing him. Feyd was feeling the bravest he's ever been.
"It was…the planetologist that was sheltering them, Lord Baron," Feyd began. "We tracked them to an abandoned ecological station. The Fremen were there, so was Idaho." He couldn't keep a smile off his face, ignoring Rabban's indignant scowl as he continued, "The Sardaukar killed the Fremen. I killed Idaho and I left the traitor Kynes to the worms." He stopped smiling. "The witch and her son escaped in an ornithopter."
He paused and turned to Rabban. He saw how nervous his brother looked before he picked up after Feyd, "We chased them…into a Coriolis storm. Winds at eight hundred kilometers an hour." He paused when he noticed bubbles rising from the healing solution. "Nothing survives such a storm. They're dead. It's a certainty."
The Baron emerged from the solution, exhaling solution from his mouth and nose. For a second Feyd thought he was staring at a water mammal. "So, it's done, finally." He turned to his younger nephew, "Feyd, send word to Giedi Prime to begin selling our spice reserves. But slowly. We don't want the price to fall." Feyd nodded, swallowing lightly. The Baron looked at the two of them hard, "You both have no idea how much it cost me to bring such a force to bear here."
Feyd could only imagine. It would be a miracle if there was anything left in the coffers back home, the Spacing Guild demanded so much to transport nearly their entire army to Arrakis. Not even their lucrative contracts with CHOAM would be able to fill them back up quickly enough.
The Baron appeared to read Feyd's mind, "Now I only have one requirement: Income." He turned to Rabban, "So squeeze, Rabban. Squeeze hard."
"…." turning to Rabban, Feyd's smirk looked particularly mean spirited at seeing that Rabban was handed back the governorship of Arrakis. He was looking forward to seeing how the Beast would be able to salvage the spice mining operations from the absolute scorched earth they had unleashed upon Araakeen, and how long it would take to draw uncle's ire.
And once Rabban was finally out of the way, that would be one more step toward his own eventual ascendancy to Baron of Giedi Prime.
"Yes, uncle," Rabban replied. "And the Fremen?"
Ah, yes. There were bound to be more of that desert vermin, all ready for the slaughter.
"Kill them all," the Baron causally ordered as he sank back into the black solution.
A/N: I think the only thing I disliked about Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Dune was how the Harkonnen was depicted. It felt like the director thought people wouldn't be able to tell if they were the bad guy unless he made them look like pale bald dudes that look like the Borg; wherein I thought though they would have looked better as normal looking guys in uniforms.
Things I liked best about Dune: I thought Timothée Chalamet and Oscar Isaac were perfectly cast as Paul and Leto Atreides and the shield combat was awesome to watch. I'm looking forward to watching Part II when it's finally released.
I was a bit disappointed and perplexed that we didn't get to see Feyd in Part One. I was inspired by those scenes featuring him in both David Lynch's film and the 2000 miniseries (played by Sting and Matt Keeslar respectively) that slightly expanded his role outside the novel, I thought Villeneuve would've taken similar creative liberties as well. I figured I just write this small adaptation of scenes where he would have been suited for, though I avoided scenes where he would have just stolen focus away from more central characters.
So, first upload for the year. Would have done it sooner, but Covid happened and I was out for a while and with no motivation to write. Hopefully this year will be a better one and I'll be able to update regularly.
Hope you enjoyed reading.