Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - Legends of Dune 1.5- Whi

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When the armored Jihad warship arrived, the population of Giedi Prime expected news of a great

victory against the evil thinking machines. But with only a glance at the battle-scarred vessel,

young Vergyl Tantor could tell that the defense of Peridot Colony had not gone at all as planned.

On the crowded fringe of Giedi City Spaceport, Vergyl rushed forward, pressing against the

soldiers stuck there as ground troops, like himself: wide-eyed green recruits or veterans too old

to be sent into battle against Omnius's combat robots. His heart hammered like an industrial

piston in his chest.

He prayed that his adoptive brother, Xavier Harkonnen, was all right.

The damaged battleship heaved itself into the docking circle like a dying sea beast beached on a

reef. The big engines hissed and groaned as they cooled from the hot descent through the

atmosphere.

Vergyl stared at the blackened scars on the hull plates and tried to imagine the kinetic weapons

and high-energy projectiles that combat robots had inflicted upon the brave jihadi defenders.

If only he had been out there himself, Vergyl could have helped in the fight. But Xavier—the

commander of the battle group—always seemed to fight against his brother's eagerness with nearly

as much persistence as he fought against the machine enemy.

When the landing systems finished locking down, dozens of egress hatches opened on the lower hull.

Middle-ranking Jihad commanders emerged, bellowing for assistance. All medically qualified

personnel were called in from the city; others were shuttled from across the continents of Giedi

Prime to help the wounded soldiers and rescued colonists.

Triage and assessment stations were set up on the spaceport grounds. Official military personnel

were tended first, since they had pledged their lives to fight in the great struggle ignited by

Serena Butler. Their crimson-and-green uniforms were stained and badly patched; they'd obviously

had no chance to repair them during the many weeks of transit from Peridot Colony. Mercenary

soldiers received second-priority treatment, along with the refugees from the colony.

Vergyl rushed in with the other ground-based soldiers to help, his large brown eyes flicking back

and forth in search of answers. He needed to find someone who could tell him what had happened to

Segundo Harkonnen. Worry scratched at Vergyl's mind while he worked. Perhaps everything was all

right . . . but what if his big brother had been killed in a heroic rally? Or what if he was

injured, yet remained aboard the battered ship, refusing to accept help for himself until all of

his personnel were tended to? Both of those scenarios would have fit Xavier's personality.

For hours, Vergyl refused to slow down, unable to fully grasp what these jihadi fighters had been

through. Sweating and exhausted, he worked himself into a trancelike stupor, following orders,

helping one after another of the wounded, burned, and despairing refugees.

He heard muttered conversations that told of the onslaught that had wiped out the small colony.

When the thinking machines had attempted to absorb the settlement into the Synchronized Worlds,

the Army of the Jihad had sent its defenders there.

Peridot Colony had been but a skirmish, however, like so many others in the dozen years since

Serena Butler had originally rallied all humans to fight in her cause, after the thinking machines

murdered her young son, Manion. Xavier's son.

The ebb and flow of the Jihad had caused a great deal of damage to both sides, but neither

fighting force had gained a clear upper hand. And though the thinking machines continued to build

fresh combat robots, lost human lives could never be replaced. Serena gave passionate speeches to

recruit new soldiers for her holy war. So many fighters had died that the Jihad no longer publicly

revealed the cost. The struggle was everything.

Following the Honru Massacre seven years earlier, Vergyl had insisted on joining the Army of the

Jihad himself. He considered it his duty as a human being, even without his connection to Xavier

and the martyred child, Manion. At their estate on Salusa Secundus, his parents had tried to make

the young man wait, since he was barely seventeen, but Vergyl would hear none of it.

Returning to Salusa after a difficult skirmish, Xavier had surprised their parents by offering a

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Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - Legends of Dune 1.5- Whi

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