Chapter Text
"Are you sure it's safe for him to go alone?" asked Gurney Halleck. There was a sense of urgency in his voice.
"He will not be alone, Gurney", assured Duke Leto. "Duncan will be with him."
"But would it not be better to have a team? The place is going to be packed with people, my lord", Gurney insisted.
"It would draw too much attention. If there is trouble, Duncan will handle it."
"Respectfully, sir, I can't say I agree with this", Gurney grunted.
"You don't have to agree with it. Just follow your orders", said Leto. "Paul will be fine. He isn't defenseless on his own either, remember? You've taught him well."
Gurney still didn't like the idea of sending young Paul to a party packed with a bunch of scheming politicians. Especially without a proper escort. Not drawing attention was irrelevant. He had a bad feeling about this.
The jet was ready to depart.
Paul Atreides stood on the platform with his hands behind his back. His hair was slicked back, and he was dressed in his formal black clothes. The collar of his shirt had silver stripes.
Duncan Idaho was going with him on this mission.
Well, it wasn't much of a mission. It was a party.
Paul wasn't a big fan of parties. He didn't like standing around with a drink in his hand, making small talk with old wealthy men.
Still, it was a part of his duties as a duke's son. House Atreides had to maintain good relations with those old wealthy men. When his father was busy, that responsibility fell to him.
Speaking of his father, the man had requested that Paul go to this event without his usual escort. The Duke thought it would draw too much attention.
Paul didn't really mind. He didn't like being surrounded by a dozen soldiers anyways.
He was still glad he had Duncan with him. It wasn't unusual for some of the old men to have ill intentions.
The first attempt on his life was made when he was 12.
An assassin with a shotgun.
Paul didn't remember much of it.
The bullet found it's mark in his left shoulder. The scar was mostly faded, but it was still there.
Approaching footsteps broke his trance. He recognized the rhythm.
It was Duncan.
"Ready?" asked the man.
Paul nodded.
Duncan patted him on his shoulder, noticing how tense he was.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, it's just another party", muttered Paul.
The ramp of the jet thumped as the pair stepped onto it.
Duncan made his way to the pilot seat.
Paul stopped and looked around awkwardly. He'd never sat in the very front, but it would be weird to sit in the back with just the two them on the ship.
He strapped himself into the seat next to Duncan and ripped the headset off the wall.
The journey went smoothly.
Paul noticed how much better the view was from the front. You couldn't see much out of the small side windows. The pilots on the other hand, had a great view since they had to know where they were going.
The jet landed on a metal platform.
Multiple smaller and bigger ships surrounded them, all different designs.
The hum of the engines died down.
Duncan took off his headset, and Paul followed.
Clicking their seatbelts off, they got up in unison.
Paul flickered around with the fabric of his shirt, trying to make it look presentable. Sitting for three hours had wrinkled it a little.
The ramp began to open.
Paul pushed a few strands of hair out of his face and straightened up.
No doubt someone would be waiting to greet them the second they stepped outside.
Walking down, Duncan stayed a respectful couple meters behind him.
As expected, a man and a woman were standing beside the platform.
The man was bald.
His wife, Paul assumed, was dressed in the longest gown he had ever seen. It was shiny and purple, and the hem brushed the ground behind her.
The man was smiling, but his wife wore a stoic expression. She reminded Paul of the Bene Gesserit.
"Welcome to Nunna", greeted the man, bowing his head respectfully.
Paul mirrored the greeting. "Thank you for the invitation", he said calmly. "Again, I'm sorry my father couldn't make it. He had other business to attend to."
"We understand", said the man, still smiling. "We are glad you could make it in his place, my lord."
Paul forced a practiced smile on his face.
"Please, join us inside", said the man. "The party is about to begin!"
He seemed quite excited.
Paul could feel that something was wrong.
Something was going to go wrong here.
He knew it.