lazarus. feyd rautha

chapter five: the fenrings

OPEN SPACE, SPACING
GUILD HEIGHLINER, 10,191

It was either a fortunate coincidence or the work of Gaius Helen Mohiam that her room on board the heighliner neighboured Feyd-Rautha's. Gone was the vast quarters separating them. The Spacing Guild's starship transported thousands of passengers at a time, usually army troops and equipment and charged over a fortune, but since House Harkonnen only were only transporting Feyd and a handful of his servants they joined a split commute rather than paying for the entire ship to themselves. She did not know if her own passage was paid for by the Bene Gesserit school or if it was covered by the Harkonnens as part of their alliance.

As a result of sharing the ship with other customers, they were allotted just one grand suite each. The wall to her right connecting with Feyd's own. Despite the closer proximity, she had yet to see him in the first few days of their journey. She spent time in the dining hall, making conversation with the other passengers, most from lesser houses, studying in one of the various education centres and training in her room alone.

It would take approximately two weeks to reach Kaitain. He couldn't avoid her much longer.

There was no real set time as they moved through space far from any planet or star, but there was one set on the heighliner so those on board may keep track of the hours gone by. The time was set to 22:00 standard when she left her room to take a walk about the ship. Usually she kept to a strict routine and retired to her room after dinner, but she wanted to go over her thoughts about her plans for Kaitain. She was meant get acquainted with the nobles, to build relationships and connections. In other words, to prepare a way for future Bene Gesserit work.

She kept her footsteps light, nearly inaudible, from habit. A grunt and thud sounded down the hall to the left. A small dojo reserved for more esteemed passengers.

"Stand," a husk voice spoke. She recognized it with ease.

There you are.

She crept towards the opened door, stood in a patch of shadow on one side, hiding her presence, and watched.

He was only a few feet away from his sparing partner, hands at his sides and muscles relaxed. His guard was completely down. She knew he wasn't an idiot, especially when it came to battle, so she could only surmise that it was an insult to the other man. He expressed with his body language that he needed not even the most basic precautions against him.

The man on the floor heaved, exasperated, then struck to take out Feyd-Rautha's legs. He easily dodged then kicked him in the ribs hard.

"I said stand," he repeated, patience thinning.

The opponent rose slowly. Feyd stood back, giving the man time to recover. She couldn't tell if he was actually showing him grace or just toying with him.

Harkonnen's do play with their food.

Feyd raised his hands back up in standard position, waiting for the other man to move first. After a few seconds he did. They traded blow for blow, the man slightly lagging behind. Feyd seemed to grow tired of this as he slammed his elbow into his chest, knocking the wind out of him, then launching a roundhouse kick to his face. He dropped to the floor with a shout, blood spraying from his mouth and what might be half a tooth.

"You piece of shit!" the man screamed, jumping back up. Feyd only grinned, clearly enjoying himself. He walked backwards, light on his feet as the man edged towards him, fists clutched. Another strike, easy, playful almost, but it sent the wounded man back to the floor where he seemed to spend so much of his time.

The Harkonnen began to circle him. She recalled that a great signifier for higher intelligence in animals was their capacity for sadism—hunting for sport instead of hunger. An animal who relishes in their dominance over their prey shows traits of ego. It was paradoxical; on one hand most of society associated pleasure in violence with inhumanity, and on the other hand a conscious desire for it was present in every animal they put on a pedestal closer to humanity due to their signs of higher intelligence.