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| Record of Current House Intelligence: 10167.7 | |||
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Taken from the black box of the crashed ornithopter "Emperor's Pride", scout vessel for the world of Aeton. Pilot: We read, command. It looks like our treaty means nothing to these beasts. No one is left alive. There are bodies of soldiers, civilians, even pets strung up for all to see. This was not a battle, it was a bloodbath. Wait, it looks like we have movement. There is still someone left alive, I'm going in. Control. It looks the only survivors are the enemy -Xandaari outpost troops. They are heavily armed with personal shields and omylord- Lasguns! Where did they get lasguns? I'm pulling out before they- (End transmission)  Excerpt from CHOAM Bulletin article, "Unexpected Acquisition by House Anaaj", 10167.7 The Office of the Amatullah, Trade Division, House Anaaj, Uruk City, Deelmun, announced today that it had quietly negotiated a notable coup, adding to its list of provinces the machine world of Richese. Unlike Planet Ix, which all too often finds itself embroiled in allegations of violations of the Butlerian strictures, the remarkable factories of Planet Richese are esteemed for their tireless efforts in both miniaturization and activated mirror technology, making this traditionally Atreidean world a unique prize for a minor House. Upon finishing her announcement at a dinner for the Commerce Guild in the Deelmun city of Nippur, Ishara Vivanica, one of House Anaaj's cadre of Trade Representatives, quipped... "We are very pleased to have worked side by side with the leadership of House Atreides to create this new agreement, and can only assume that they had grown tired of the wealth of technology and solarii that Richese generates." "Lord Xavier Xandaar: A Profile" by Conchita Louisa Xandaar Later in that year, when I was sent to the Convent on Wallach IX, I lost touch with my father, whose duties began to weigh more heavily upon him. The war with House Malkihm had been initiated and those were also the days when his intense negotiations with the Bene Gesserit were beginning. I know now his feelings towards the order, but of course can hold little of it against him. For a Xandaar Lord, the Sisterhood must have seemed suspect, especially in terms of honor and order as it was preached in the household of my childhood. In those days, the wider vision of the Bene Gesserit was lost on my father, whose grace, love, and respect, were reserved for those immediate things he could see, touch, and hear. It would take some time before the traces of The Outer World were sketched on his conscience. Intelligence Report to the Emperor Snooper Transcription, 10167.7 Agent Name: EXCISED Location: Corridor, outside the main kitchen, Anaaj Citadel, Deelmun Taranna Anaaj: "I don't wish to talk about it anymore." Unidentified: "But I don't understand... (crashing sound from kitchen, some form of glassware shattering) ... to me, they came to... (unintelligible) ... Taranna Anaaj: I've always encouraged... (unintelligible) ... but you are forgetting your place. Unidentified: If I am to one day ... (obscured by background noise) ... not my decision, perhaps not even my affair, but... (pause, preliminary investigation suggests gesture and response) Unidentified (whispering): ... but we are talking about House Atreides, ... (unintelligible) ... alliance. Taranna Anaaj (whispering): ... patience, child ... neither seem too eager, nor too complacent ... (unintelligible) ... yet more to gain from neutrality as the sides in this conflict begin too ... time or the place. Unidentified: (exhaling, frustration?) Note: As an explanation for the cursory nature of this conversation, it bears noting that this development must have been maintained under the highest security, as this is the sole mention of the event that this agent has been able to intercept. From the personal diary of Lafcadio Ludd, After level 7 encryption: Each time I return to Ghedi Prime I am reminded of my time serving the House Harkonnen. Most humans find it difficult to think that a mentat was once young, but it was so. Young, but not foolish. Foolish people are not tolerated by that house. It would do to investigate their methods of house discipline and report back to Lord Rhys about it. An increase of efficiency in the everyday house tasks would be of great benefit. At least Lord Feyd took those terribly distracting Umaat back to his island. >From the Encyclopedia of Imperial Battle 435th Edition Terrilor, 4th Battle of The short struggle for Terrilor in late 10167 is notable only in the confusion of battle orders that characterized the event. This raid by House Malkihm under Rhys Malkihm I against the limited defense forces of Xavier Xandaar the Elder required over two days of delay as Malkihm supplies were brought up from the rear. Attacking battle commanders suggested at the time that some form of supply sabotage was involved, though Rhys Malkihm, as Senior Commander of the rite, refused to place blame on other commanders or underlings. He wrote at time, "I accept the entire responsibility for supply problems. Had we been able to place the full battalion order in the field, the planet would be ours now. We shall never, however, repeat that mistake..." House Anaaj Surveillance Archive Timestamp 1422-1437, eighth day, cycle 10167.7 Location: main kitchen, Anaaj Citadel, Deelmun Byrella: But he won't eat it. Rayn: Do as I say, girl. Even a mentat must get hungry sometime... Byrella: The last three trays remain outside his chamber door, ma'am. I even went so far as to knock, but there was no answer, yet the guard assured me he remained within. Said something about the Mentat and my lady meeting earlier, and he'd not been seen since. Rayn: Who can say what a mentat does, cloistered in his rooms... thinking about something, no doubt... but I must admit I'm curious. I'd love to be a fly on that wall. Byrella: (giggling) I couldn't hurt to try again, maybe I could check the door, leave his meal within... he is a handsome fellow... peculiar, but handsome. Rayn: Careful, girl. You'll over-balance that... (crashing sounds, cursing) From the personal analytic notes of Thufir Hawat guild ambassador miraken not deelmun dirty hands neither perform implicate allies seize enemy personnel coincidence xandaar bg induction corrino visit deelmun harkonnen negotiations fenick gharis who is hajus talwar? Minutes taken from the Imperial court, Malkihm Dignitary Rayfe Haeri speaking to House Corrino representative Alden Wh'hab, other dignitaries in attendance. Rayfe Haeri: We were as shocked as you were to hear of the unpleasantness that recently occurred on the minor world of Aeton, my lord. It is but a reminder that even we minor houses must occasionally show the largesse that the Emperor compassionately shows those directly under his shadow. And with this in mind, we did step in to help quell the minor skirmish. However, we have reason to believe that there is more to this simple outburst then meets the eye. There is reason to believe that this attack was planned by another house. There are records indicating that the troop movements and the subsequent attack on Aeton civilians started off planet. The fact that the attacking troops were better armed than they had ever been before also leads us to expect that a Noble house supported them. Alden Wh'hab: These are grave accusations you make. What evidence do you have to support this? Haeri: With your permission, Lord. These transmissions (hands a package to Wh'hab) include instructions to a faction of Aeton militia to attack certain lightly guarded targets in return for an option to purchase weapons and shields. Their reasons are obviously economical, as supplying a war can be quite profitable. Fortunately one of our monitoring satellites managed to intercept the message, insuring that the offending house's deed will be brought to light. The commands originated from the world of Terrilor, an uninhabited planet under the rule of House Xandaar. It is our supposition that a group of Xandaar litigators wished to profit from this planet's political growing pains, so in order to protect their homeworld, they used a fief to transmit their commands. Unfortunately, since the signal came from Terrilor and not their homeworld, only the fief can be held responsible. Wh'hab: And why would House Corrino be concerned with the skirmishes of minor planets? Can you not take care of your own problems? Do you not think we have better things to do? Haeri: Of course, Lord, we realize that your noble house is very busy, and I did not intend to bore you much longer. Xandaar has had a history of irrational hatred of House Harkonnen and their vassals. Their recent attempt at taking my house's own charter speaks of the depths at which they will sink. Suffice to say that when Aeton called, House Malkihm responded. Wh'hab: You realize that this may constitute a state of war between your two houses? Does your lord not feel that he is overreacting? Haeri: With due respect, Lord, there is no such thing as overreacting when there is honor involved. Our emotional state is irrelevant to the actions taken. We enforce the Emperor's law. The fief of Terrilor was guilty of upsetting the peace, breaking the Emperor's law. In fact, Lord Rhys was so incensed at the attack that he took it upon himself to see justice done. Please accept this record of the recent battle that occurred on Terrilor. We feel that your military analysts may find our use of the Maula dart projector inventive, and ultimately, worthwhile. I bid you good day. "Chaos is self-organizing and the order of entropy is achieved through constant mutual interactions. Work hard enough and things WILL fall apart" From "Sayings of the Tleilaxu Masters" Banned translation | |||