Night had fallen on Arrakeen, but it was not a peaceful night. The desert wind carried spice particles that shimmered faintly in the air, as if the planet itself sensed the blood about to be spilled.
In the silent halls of the Atreides Palace, Dr. Wellington Yueh walked slowly, his white robes billowing with every movement. His hands trembled slightly, though his face remained a mask of serenity. The diamond tattoo on his forehead—a symbol of a supposedly impossible-to-break conditioning—seemed to mock him with every reflection on the metallic walls.
He stopped in front of a door. On the other side, Duke Leto rested, oblivious to the fate that was already sealed.
Yueh rested his forehead against the cold surface of the closed door. His mind was a whirlwind of guilt, pain... and resignation.
"Forgive me..." he whispered, barely audible.
He remembered the face of his wife, Wanna, the images Baron Harkonnen had implanted in his mind: the promise to free her if he betrayed the Atreides.
But deep down, Yueh knew the truth. Wanna was already dead.
He clenched his fists and activated the door panel. He entered silently.
Duke Leto was lying back, his face serene even in sleep. Yueh approached, expertly extracting a small dart laced with sedative. With surgical precision, he inserted it into Leto's neck.
The Duke's eyes flew open, but the poison was already coursing through his veins. He tried to move, but his body didn't respond.
"Yueh..." he murmured, his voice heavy.
The doctor held his lord's gaze, and for a moment, the mask fell away. His eyes showed the pain of one who betrays the one he respects most.
"There is no choice, my lord..." Yueh whispered, tears beginning to pool. "But I swear you will not die in vain."
As Leto fell unconscious, Yueh placed something between his teeth: a small capsule of poison gas, designed for a single purpose.
"When you stand before the Baron... kill him. Even if I cannot save you... you can avenge us both."
He bowed, closing the Duke's eyes.
"Forgiveness..."
Hours Later — The Assault
The night sky of Arrakeen lit up with flashes of red as the Harkonnen forces descended upon the city. The Baron's elite troops, reinforced by the fearsome disguised Sardaukar, moved like an unstoppable shadow.
Inside the palace, explosions echoed through the corridors as Atreides guards fell one after another, overwhelmed by the ambush.
In his room, Paul woke with a start, alerted by the crash. Jessica was already on her feet, her Bene Gesserit instincts activated.
"We're under attack!" Paul said, hastily dressing.
The door was kicked down before they could react. Yueh entered, sweating and his eyes filled with despair.
"Quickly! There's no time to explain."
Jessica looked at him with immediate distrust.
"What have you done?"
But Yueh didn't respond. Instead, he activated a device that paralyzed them both with a sonic shock. Paul and Jessica's bodies fell to the floor, unable to move.
"I'm sorry," he murmured as he wrapped them in special blankets. "But at least... I'll give you a chance."
He ordered the motionless bodies to be taken to a Harkonnen vehicle, with secret instructions. He wouldn't hand them over directly. He had another plan.
The Duke's Jail
When Leto awoke, he was naked on a metal chair, his arms and legs bound with thick straps. The air was cold, almost unbearable after days in the Arrakis heat.
In front of him, in the dimness lit by floating lanterns, a burly silhouette moved with a throaty laugh.
"Ah... my dear Duke Leto." Baron Vladimir Harkonnen's voice was like oil spilled on stone. "What a shame to see you like this. Although... I always knew you'd end up at my feet."
Leto tried to speak, but the sedative still weighed heavily on his tongue.
The Baron floated toward him in his restraints, regarding him with a mixture of mockery and satisfaction.
"You wonder how it happened?" The Baron snapped his fingers. "The good Doctor Yueh. Ah, those Suk! So reliable... until you find their weak spot."
Leto gritted his teeth. He felt the poison capsule in his mouth, just as Yueh had instructed. He knew this was his only chance.
The Baron leaned closer, confident, relishing the moment.
"Any last words, Duke?" he laughed.
Leto gathered his strength, activating the capsule with a light squeeze.
An invisible cloud of poison gas burst from his mouth in a deadly breath.
But the Baron reacted with unexpected speed, retreating thanks to his suspenders, while one of his officers—Mentat Piter De Vries—wasn't so lucky. He fell to the ground, suffocating within seconds.
The Baron let out a grotesque laugh.
"Oh, Leto! Always so noble... yet so predictable."
The Duke felt the life drain from him, his vision blurring as the Baron disappeared into the shadows, his laughter echoing like an infernal sound.
His last thought was for Paul... and Jessica.
"Let them live... let them endure..."
And then, darkness.
The Desert — Paul and Jessica
Hours later, in the middle of the desert, the Harkonnen vehicle where Paul and Jessica had been imprisoned was abandoned, following the secret orders Yueh left before she died.
Paul regained mobility first, using his training to free himself from the restraints. He helped his mother, who awoke with a look of questions... and suppressed fury.
"Yueh..." Jessica whispered, understanding betrayal and attempted redemption in one.
Paul opened the vehicle's hatch, and they were both momentarily blinded by the scorching desert sun.
Before them, there were only endless dunes and a merciless sky.
"We're alive... but we're in the lion's den," Paul said, scanning the horizon.
Jessica took a deep breath, adjusting her robes.
"Then we'll have to learn to walk among wolves."
In the distance, the subtle sound of sandworms rumbled beneath the surface, reminding them that Arrakis offered no second chances.
House Atreides had fallen.
But their lineage... was only just beginning to transform.