"We request cooperation with the Fremen in desert navigation and guidance, we promise that as long as the Fremen truly cooperate, we will arm you with our manufactured Still suits." Duke Leto said.

  "Other rulers made promises too. What makes House Atreides different?" Stilgar bluntly asked yet Leto doesn't flinch.

  “House Atreides keeps its word. If we promise something, we deliver it, as long as we provide mass-produced stillsuits. You, the Fremen, will work together with us," Duke Leto replied straightforwardly.

  Stilgar was silent for a moment, his mind racing. He glanced at his own stillsuit, it was old, the effects of time clearly visible on it. His eyes glanced at Duke Leto for a moment.

  He thought back to the people within the sietches, a lot of them lacking proper stillsuits, limiting their survivability and freedom in the harsh climates of Arrakis.

  Even the ones that they had currently were aging, with many frequently being damaged, the supply was a lot, but it could not keep up with the demand throughout the Sietches.

  "We want to see 10 stillsuits and production lines in action for them," Stilgar said as he gestured toward Duncan’s stillsuit, before turning around and walking towards the door.

  'In another life, this man would kneel to Paul. Would call him Muad'dib. Would follow him into a war that burns half the universe.'

  Jack looked at Stilgar and felt something uncomfortable settle in his chest.

  He didn't want to see that version of this man.

  'With me here, that version of the future shall never come to pass...' Jack resolved his will.

  "I don't like him," Gurney growled.

  "Our plan bears fruit," Thufir said.

  "We don't have much time Thufir" Duke Leto said seriously,

  ...

  Inside the locker room, Gurney handed Jack something covered with a cloth, it was a paracompass. “Compass needles don’t work on Arrakis,” Duncan said. “The moons mess with the magnetics. This little machine fixes that.”

  "How do the Fremen make these?" Jack curiously asked.

  "I don't know how, but I know they make some really impressive things like the stillsuits and sand compacters," Duncan said as he reached back and grabbed the sand compactor and showed it to Gurney, Jack and the group of soldiers that were around watching.

  "You seem to really admire them," Jack said.

  "Yes, they are fierce but loyal, they are attuned to the desert, they are part of it, the desert is part of them, you till you see it, it's beautiful out there." Duncan patted Jack's back and said with a soft smile.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  ...

  "It's sunrise, temperature today is gonna reach 140 degrees. We are currently at 90", one of the workers informed another worker as they stood by a refinery plant, behind them, a spice harvester attached to a carryall was lifted off into the sky in preparations for being the first spice harvester to be activated under House Atreides.

  The carryall’s massive clamps lifted the harvester off the ground and began to move through the sky towards a spice field.

  Back in Arrakeen.

  Under some shade, Duke Leto, Jack, Gurney, and soldiers wearing stillsuits exited the palace and walked toward a woman wearing a rugged robe similar to Stilgar's, who was standing in front of a lineup of ornithopters behind her.

  "You're the Imperial Ecologist," Jack said, "Thank you for the stillsuits," he said glancing at his own body.

  "They are Fremen made, the best," She said, her gaze staying a moment too long on Jack.

  "With your permission allow me to check the integrity of yo--" She said as she stepped closer to Leto, but Gurney and the soldiers around did not allow her to get too close, immediately drawing their weapons and pinning it against her throat.

  "It's alright... it's alright," Leto said with a calm smile as he tapped Gurney's arm, instructing him to lower his weapon.

  Gurney hesitated for a moment but quickly retracted his weapon, and the soldiers around followed Gurney.

  "Dr. Kynes, we are in your hands."

  She stepped forward placing her hands on Leto's shoulder, adjusting the suit as she explained the functionalities of a stillsuit.

  "Even this early in the morning, you wouldn't survive two hours in this heat, it cools the body and filters lost water, ensuring hydration at all times," she said as she adjusted the seals around his boots.

  Moving to check Gurney's suit she said, "Inside the mask, you will find a tube allowing you to drink the recycled water."

  Stepping in front of Leto she said, "If your suit works well, you will not lose more than a thimble of water every day."

  She adjusted Jack's suit before they stepped onto the ornithopter.

  Three ornithopters flew through the vast landscape of dunes, the ornithopter in comparison to the vastness seemed like a mere bug flying through the sky.

  "Dust cloud," Gurney said as he pointed towards the large amounts of dust in the distance.

  Jack watched the dust plume crawling across the horizon.

  Still far.

  Still enough time.

  'Alright… it’s time.'

  Jack thought to himself as he let out a pained scream and clutched his head.

  His teeth were tightly gritted, and his eyes tightly shut.

  "Paul, are you okay!" Gurney immediately asked as he moved forward and grabbed Jack's shoulder with concern.

  "th... the worm... It's coming, north!" Jack squeezed out through gasps of air.

  "Paul, what's going on?" Leto asked as panic tinged his tone. He wanted to turn around but he was too busy controlling the ornithopter.

  "Father, the worm is coming for it from the north," Jack pointed towards the distant dust cloud.

  Leto nodded as he quickly climbed to a higher altitude.

  "Young Paul, if a worm was approaching, the spotter would let us know," Dr. Kynes said with creased brows.

  "Call the carryall," Gurney told Dr. Kynes who was a little out of it. She felt uncomfortable, but after deliberating over it for just a moment, she tapped her speaker.

  "Calling Crawler, Delta Ajax niner," she spoke calmly.

  "Who calls Delta Ajax niner? Over," a voice on the end came through. "They seem pretty calm," Gurney muttered.

  "Unlisted flight, Imperium business," Kynes responded to the voice.

  "I think I see something," Leto said as he pointed in a direction.

  Dr. Kynes immediately put on the binoculars she had on a sling around her shoulder and zoomed in on the direction Leto had pointed to.

  "I see, it, it is quite a big one, you have very good eyes," Dr. Kynes said as she activated her speaker.

  "Towards North, almost 12km away", "Copy" The voice came through the other end.

  In the distance, the spotter moved and confirmed the approaching the harvester,

  "Confirmed, Worm is on intercept position to harvestor, contact estimate is 9 minutes, Over," the responder on the other end said before ending communications.