DUNE-A False Haderach (OC X Shishakli) (OC x Alia)

49

Chapter 49

ALIA ATREIDES

The attack on Inzal had shaken all of Arrakis. It was the first great effective offensive by the rebellion, and was the kind of attack that had the ability to turn the very tides of this war. The war which had been but a distant occurrence, for most of the people on Arrakis had now come to their shores, and though the fighting was not as prevalent as one would think the planet had indeed become a battleground, with the rebellion forces occupying the poles of the planet, location where the Fremen and Saradukar had trouble navigating to because of the bad terrain.

The major cities themselves were fine. Both Arrakeen and Carthag had shields of their own, which had been employed soon after the attack, and were safe from any major offensive. Yet the people were both enraged and anxious about the attack.

The anxiety could be felt in the throne room, as she stood by the massive throne as everyone mumbled and whispered around, nervously.

"Do they have so little faith in their armies?" her own Warmaster, who had just arrived alongside a small unit of legionnaires, added from the side as she shook her head.

"It's not their armies they doubt," she replied. For say what you will, as soon as their logistical issues were solved and a proper chain of command was established, there was little doubt in her mind that the Saraukar and the Ajniha would not decimate the enemy.

And yet, with Count Fendring dead, and now their very Emperor's disposition brought into question by an assassination attempt orchestrated by one of their own, there was no chain of command, and everyone here was suspicious of the other.

However, she doubted that this disorder would be allowed to last for much longer.

And as the door to the throne room opened, the whole room stilled as they saw just who had entered the Hall. The only person capable of replacing Inzal, the person who had stood by his side the longest and was his greatest ally and companion.

The Empress—Shishakli Tabr Corrino.

She dressed in the traditional dress of an empress and was flanked on the sides by both the Ajniha and the Sarakukar. As she entered the throne room, everyone bowed in respect as she walked past them all and towards the throne.

And yet, this time, she did not sit down on the Empress's throne. No, she sat down on Inzal's throne.

"Arise," she said, and the whisper spread all over the hall as everyone rose up.

"Your grace where is the Emperor?" questioned one of the visiting noble lords, and the whole room became quiet at the sheer disrespect.

"You dare question the Empress. Who are you to hector the Moon of the Empire?" rose a Fremen, this one she knew as Jamis, one of Inzal's chosen generals and a high-ranking leader of the Ajniha.

"I am Lord Thrus Gabineri of Itol, and we are leal lords of the Imperium," the man roared forth.

"We made our oaths to the Emperor Inzal Kazab Corrino, the man who gave you all your freedom, and yet your people betrayed him, stuck a knife through his back. I sore my oaths to him, to All Seer," the man roared as he pointed towards, and the allegations were brutal, yet true.

It was well known that only Fremen had been alongside Inzal in the final rights of the Hasimir Fenring when the great explosion rocked the city and the whole planet. Every person on the planet, young or old, had learned of the attack, for in the skies the shields protecting them were brought down for the first time in a decade.

"I see," Ducan added, seeing the divide and the distrust for himself.

"And now, as the Emperor remains vanished, this Fremen woman sits on his throne thinking she can command us all," the lord roared, and she saw the Fremen reach for his blade.