"They're power-blind. They think heavy armor is for space and only light stuff for the ground. Heavy weapons are brought down as needed. No sense keeping them on planet. Takes too much energy. Besides, awareness of all that heavy stuff up there has a quieting effect on captive populations."
Idaho's concepts of weaponry were devastating.
"We tend to fix our minds on what we believe we know. A projectile is a projectile even when miniaturized to contain poisons or biologicals. "
Innovations in protective equipment improved mobility. Built into uniforms where possible. And Idaho had brought back the shield with its awesome destruction when struck by a lasgun beam. Shields on suspensors hidden in what appeared to be soldiers (but were actually inflated uniforms) spread out ahead of troops. Lasgun fire at them produced clean atomics to clear large areas.
Will Junction be this easy?
Teg doubted it. Necessity enforced quick adaptation to new methods.
They could have shields on Junction in two days.
And no inhibitions about how to employ them.
Shields had dominated the Old Empire, he knew, because of that oddly important set of words called "Great Convention." Honorable people did not misuse weapons of their feudal society. If you dishonored the Convention, your peers turned against you with united violence. More than that, there had been the intangible, "Face," that some called "Pride."
Face! My position in the pack.
More important to some than life itself.
"This is costing us very little," Streggi said.
She was becoming quite the battle analyst and much too banal for Teg's liking. Streggi meant they were losing few lives but perhaps she spoke truer than she knew.
"It's difficult to think of cheap devices doing the job," Idaho had said. "But that's a powerful weapon. "
If your weapons cost only a small fraction of the energy your enemy spent, you had a potent lever that could prevail against seemingly overwhelming odds. Prolong the conflict and you wasted enemy substance. Your foe toppled because control of production and workers was lost.
"We can begin to pull out," he said turning away from the projections as his hands repeated the order. "I want casualty reports as soon as--" He broke off and turned at a sudden stir.
Murbella?
Her projection was repeated in all of the bay's fields. Her voice blared from the images: "Why are you disregarding reports from your perimeter?" She overrode his board and the projections displayed a field commander caught in mid-sentence : "... orders, I will have to deny their request."
"Repeat," Murbella said.
The field commander's sweaty features turned toward his mobile comeye. The comsystem compensated and he appeared to look directly into Teg's eyes.
"Repeating: I have self-styled refugees here asking for asylum. Their leader says he has an agreement requiring the Sisterhood to honor his request but without orders..."
"Who is he?" Teg demanded.
"He calls himself Rabbi."
Teg moved to resume control of his comboard. "I don't know of any--"
"Wait!" Murbella overrode his board.
How does she do that?
Again her voice filled the bay. "Bring him and his party to the flagship. Make it quick." She silenced the perimeter relay.
Teg was outraged but at a disadvantage. He chose one of the multiple images and glared at it. "How dare you interfere?"
"Because you don't have the proper data. The Rabbi is within his rights. Prepare to receive him with honors."
"Explain."
"No! There's no need for you to know. But it was proper for me to make this decision when I saw you were not responding."
"That commander was in a diversionary area! Not important to--"
"But the Rabbi's request has priority."
"You're as bad as Mother Superior!"
"Perhaps worse. Now hear me! Get those refugees into your flagship. And prepare to receive me."
"Absolutely not! You are to stay where you are!"
"Bashar! There's something about this request that demands a Reverend Mother's attention. He says they are in peril because they gave temporary sanctuary to the Reverend Mother Lucilla. Accept this or step down."
"Then let me get my people aboard and pull back first. We'll rendezvous when we're clear."
"Agreed. But treat those refugees with courtesy."
"Now, get off my projections. You've blinded me and that was foolish!"
"You have everything well in hand, Bashar. During this hiatus another of our ships accepted four Futars. They came asking that we take them to Handlers but I ordered them confined. Treat them with extreme caution."
The bay's projections resumed battle status. Teg once more called in his force. He was seething and it was minutes before he restored a sense of command. Did Murbella know how she undermined his authority? Or should he take this as a measure of the importance she attached to the refugees?
When the situation was secure, he turned the bay over to an aide and, riding on Streggi's shoulders, went to see these important refugees. What was so vital about them that Murbella risked interference?
They were in a troop-carrier hold, a congealed party held apart by a cautious commander.
Who knows what may be concealed among these unknowns?
The Rabbi, identifiable because he was being deferred to by the field commander, stood with a brown-robed woman at the near side of his people. He was a small, bearded man wearing a white skullcap. Cold light made him appear ancient. The woman shielded her eyes with a hand. The Rabbi was speaking and his words became audible as Teg approached.
The woman was under verbal attack!
"The prideful one will be brought low!"
Without removing her hand from its defensive position, the woman said: "I am not proud of what I carry."
"Nor of the powers this knowledge may bring you?"
With knee pressure, Teg ordered Streggi to stop them about ten paces away. His commander glanced at Teg but stayed in position, ready to act defensively if this should prove to be a diversion.
Good man.
The woman bent her head even lower and pressed her hand against her eyes when she spoke. "Are we not offered knowledge that we might use it in holy service?"
"Daughter!" The Rabbi held himself stiffly erect. "Whatever we may learn that we may better serve, it never can be a great thing. All we call knowledge, were it to encompass everything a humble heart could hold, all of that would be no more than one seed in the furrows."
Teg felt reluctant to interfere. What an archaic way of speaking. This pair fascinated him. The other refugees listened to the exchange with rapt attention. Only Teg's field commander appeared aloof, keeping his attention on the strangers and giving an occasional hand-signal to aides.
The woman kept her head respectfully lowered and the shielding hand in place but she still defended herself. "Even a seed lost in the furrows may bring forth life."
The Rabbi's lips tightened into a grim line, then: "Without water and care, which is to say, without the blessing and the word, there is no life."
A great sigh shook the woman's shoulders but she held herself in that oddly submissive position when she responded: "Rabbi, I hear and obey. Still, I must honor this knowledge that has been thrust upon me because it contains the very admonition you have just voiced."
The Rabbi placed a hand on her shoulder. "Then convey it to those who want it and may no evil enter where you go."
Silence told Teg the argument had ended. He urged Streggi forward. Before she could move, Murbella strode past and nodded to the Rabbi while keeping her gaze on the woman.
"In the name of the Bene Gesserit and our debt to you, I welcome you and give you sanctuary," Murbella said.
The brown-robed woman lowered her hand and Teg saw contact lenses glittering in the palm. She lifted her head then and there were gasps all around. The woman's eyes were the total blue of spice addiction but they also held t
hat inner force marking one who had survived the Agony.
Murbella made instant identification. A wild Reverend Mother! Not since Dune's Fremen days had one of these been known.
The woman curtsied to Murbella. "I am called Rebecca. And I am filled with joy to be with you. The Rabbi thinks I am a silly goose but I have a golden egg for I carry Lampadas: seven million six hundred twenty-two thousand and fourteen Reverend Mothers and they are rightfully yours."
Answers are a perilous grip on the universe. They can appear sensible yet explain nothing.
--The Zensunni Whip
As the wait for their promised escort lengthened, Odrade became first angry and then amused. Finally, she began following lobby robos, interfering with their movements. Most were small and none appeared humanoid.
Functional. Hallmark of Ixian servos. Busy, busy, busy little accompaniments to a sojourn at Junction or its equivalent anywhere.
They were so commonplace that few people noticed them. Since they were not capable of dealing with deliberate interference, they subsided into motionless humming.
"Honored Matres have little or no sense of humor." I know, Murbella. I know. But do they get my message?
Dortujla obviously did. She came out of her funk and watched these antics with a wide grin. Tam looked disapproving but tolerant. Suipol was delighted. Odrade had to restrain her from helping to immobilize the devices.
Let me do the antagonizing, child. I know what is in store for me.
When she was sure she had made her point, Odrade took a position under one of the chandeliers.
"Attend me, Tam," she said.
Tamalane obediently placed herself in front of Odrade with an attentive expression.
"Have you noticed, Tam, that modern lobbies tend to be quite small?"
Tamalane spared a glance for her surroundings.
"Lobbies once were large," Odrade said. "To provide a prestigious feeling of space for the powerful, and impressing others with your importance, of course."
Tamalane caught the spirit of Odrade's playlet and said: "These days you're important if you travel at all."
Odrade looked at the immobilized robos scattered across the lobby floor. Some hummed and jittered. Others waited quietly for someone or some thing to restore order.
The autoreceptionist, a phallic tube of black plaz with a single glittering comeye, came out from behind its cage and picked its way through the stalled robos to confront Odrade.
"Much too humid today." It had a soupy feminine voice. "Don't know what Weather is thinking of."
Odrade spoke past it to Tamalane. "Why do they have to program these mechanicals to simulate friendly humans?"
"It's obscene," Tamalane agreed. She forcibly shouldered the autoreceptionist aside and it swiveled to study the source of this intrusion but made no other move.
Odrade was suddenly aware she had touched on the force that had powered the Butlerian Jihad--mob motivation.
My own prejudice!
She studied the mechanical confronting them. Was it waiting for instructions or must she address the thing directly?
Four more robos entered the lobby and Odrade recognized her party's luggage piled on them.
All of our things carefully inspected, I'm sure. Search where you will. We carry no hint of our legions.
The four scurried along the edge of the room and found their passage blocked by the ones rendered motionless. The luggage robos stopped and waited for this unique state of affairs to be sorted out. Odrade smiled at them. "There go the signs of the transient concealing our secret selves."
Concealing and secret.
Words to annoy the watchers.
Come on, Tam! You know the ploy. Confuse that enormous content of unconsciousness, arouse feelings of guilt they will be incapable of recognizing. Give them the jitters the way I did with the robos. Make them wary. What are the real powers of these Bene Gesserit witches?
Tamalane took her cue. Transients and secret selves. She explained for the comeyes in tones one used with children. "What do you carry when you leave your nest? Are you one who tries to pack it all? Or do you prune to necessities?"
What would the watchers classify as necessities? Tools of hygiene and washable or replaceable clothing? Weapons? They sought those in our luggage. But Reverend Mothers tend not to carry visible weapons.
"What an ugly place this is," Dortujla said, joining Tamalane in front of Odrade and picking up on the drama. "You would almost think it deliberate."
Ahhh, you nasty watchers. Observe Dortujla. Remember her? Why has she returned when she must know what you might do to her? Food for Futars? See how little that concerns her?
"A transition point, Dortujla," Odrade said. "Most people would never want this as their destination. An inconvenience, and the small discomforts serve only to remind you of that."
"A wayside stop, and it will never be much more unless they completely rebuild," Dortujla said.
Would they hear? Odrade aimed a look of utter composure at the selected comeye.
This is ugliness that betrays intent. It says to us: "We will provide something for the stomach, a bed, a place to evacuate bladder and bowels, a place to conduct the little maintenance rituals flesh requires, but you will be gone quickly because all we really want is the energy you leave behind. "
The autoreceptionist backed around Tamalane and Dortujla, once more trying to make contact with Odrade.
"You will send us to our quarters immediately!" Odrade said, glaring into the cyclopean eye.
"Dear me! We've been inconsiderate."
Where had they found that syrupy voice? Repulsive. But Odrade was on her way out of the lobby in less than a minute, luggage on its robos ahead of them, Suipol close behind, Tamalane and Dortujla following.
There was an air of neglect to one wing clearly visible as they passed it. Did that mean Junction's traffic had declined? Interesting. Shutters had been sealed along an entire corridor. Hiding something? In the resulting gloom she detected dust on floor and ledges with only a few tracks of maintenance mechs. Concealment of what lay outside those windows? Unlikely. This had been closed off for some time.
She detected a pattern in what was being maintained. Very little traffic. Honored Matre effect. Who dared move around much when it felt safer to dig in and pray you would not be noticed by dangerous prowlers? Access lanes to elite private quarters were being kept up. Only the best was being maintained at its best.
When Gammu's refugees arrive, there will be room.
In the lobby, a robo had handed Suipol a guide pulser. "To find your way later." Round blue ball with a yellow arrow floating in it to point your chosen way. "Rings a tiny bell when you arrive."
The pulser's tiny bell rang.
And where have we arrived?
Another place where their hosts had provided "every luxury" while keeping it repellent. Rooms with soft yellow floors, pale mauve walls, white ceilings. No chairdogs. Be thankful for that even though the absence spoke of economics rather than care for a guest's preferences. Chairdogs required sustenance and expensive staff. She saw furnishings with permaflox fabrics. And behind the fabrics she felt plastic resilience. Everything done in the other colors of the rooms.
The bed was a small shock. Someone had taken the request for a hard mat too literally. Flat surface of black plaz without cushion. No bedding.
Suipol, seeing this, started to object but Odrade silenced her. Despite Bene Gesserit resources, comfort sometimes fell by the wayside. Get the job done! That was their first order. If Mother Superior had to sleep occasionally on a hard surface without covers, this could be passed off in the name of duty. Besides, the Bene Gesserit had ways of adjusting to such inconsequentials. Odrade steeled herself to discomfort, aware that if she objected she might find another deliberate insult.
Let them add this to all of that unconscious content and worry about it.
Her summons came while she was inspecting the rest of their quarters, displaying minimal c
oncern and open amusement. A voice piped through ceiling vents intruded as Odrade and her companions emerged into the common sitting room: "Return to the lobby where you will meet your escort to Great Honored Matre."
"I will go alone," Odrade said, silencing objections.
A green-robed Honored Matre waited on a fragile chair where the corridor entered the lobby. She had a face built up like a castle wall--stone laid on stone. Mouth a watergate through which she inhaled some liquid via a transparent straw. Flow of purple up the straw. Sugar odor in the liquid. The eyes were weapons peeking over ramparts. Nose: a slope down which eyes dispatched their hatred. Chin: weak. Not necessary, that chin. An afterthought. Something left over from earlier construction. You could see the infant in it. And hair: artificially darkened to muddy brown. Unimportant. Eyes, nose, and mouth, those were important.