Chapter 299: Power! The Capable Shall Wield It—Or Be Devoured by It!
"My lord, I was left with no choice."
On the surface, Piter appeared remorseful and hesitant, but deep down, not a single ripple of emotion stirred within him. Betraying his old master for the sake of survival didn't mean anything to him.
"Either way, you're going to die. At least let me hand you over to Duke Leto and give myself a chance to live!"
Hearing Piter shamelessly utter such outrageous words with a clear conscience, Baron Harkonnen flew into a rage. He pointed at Piter and roared in fury:
"You damned beast! You're my Mentat! Do you really think handing me over will save your neck? Traitors like you never meet a good end!"
"Leto, that old bastard, he'll never let you go!"
Baron Harkonnen knew full well how thoroughly wicked he was—and how many enemies he had made. So he also understood that any loyal retainer of his, if captured by those enemies, would inevitably meet a miserable fate.
There was no helping it. The Harkonnen family had made too many enemies. Their countless misdeeds had always been a group effort—expecting only him to take the fall would be unrealistic.
From Leto's perspective, Baron Harkonnen figured, he'd have no choice but to exterminate the Harkonnens entirely. Only then would the matter be settled.
But Piter remained unmoved. He had made up his mind to drag the baron to the Atreides.
"So long as there's even a sliver of a chance, I won't give up."
Of course Piter understood the reasoning behind what the baron said. But this was the only course of action that offered even a shred of hope.
Opportunities had to be fought for. Even if he didn't earn Duke Leto's forgiveness, at least he tried. That was better than sitting and waiting to die.
When Baron Harkonnen saw that Piter wouldn't budge no matter what, he fell into despair and began shouting for the guards, hoping someone would come kill the treacherous snake and save him.
But in the next moment, Piter let out a chilling laugh. He turned to glance at the corpses at the end of the corridor, then looked down at his bloodstained shoes. Smiling, he said:
"Baron, you can stop yelling. It's just the two of us now."
"Your precious guards were already taken away by your dear nephew. As for the few loyal ones left behind—they're long dead. Courtesy of me."
"There's no one left to save you."
"Oh, right…"
At this, Piter grinned with a flash of malice.
"Your beloved nephew Rabban? Didn't get far before the Spacing Guild spotted him—and blasted him to smithereens."
"Not even ashes left."
It turned out that when the baron had ordered Piter to arrange for an escape ship, Piter instead had Rabban take the guards and leave. Then, using the Spacing Guild's hand, he had them all eliminated—Rabban and the entire escort.
Glossu Rabban, Baron Harkonnen's nephew, was a brutish and violent man known by many as "Beast Rabban." As head of the baron's security forces, Rabban had remained staunchly loyal despite being a constant source of trouble for the family. The baron had kept him close all the same.
So when the baron heard that even Rabban had been murdered by Piter's schemes, his hatred toward the treacherous viper became uncontrollable. He screamed, trembling with fury:
"You filth! You were plotting to betray me this whole time! Just wait—you won't have a good end either!"
But Piter remained completely unfazed. He took two slow steps back and calmly said:
"Don't be angry, my lord. Duke Leto is a merciful man—perhaps he'll let you live. You never know."
With that, Piter turned and walked toward the corridor, ignoring the baron's howls of rage behind him. Next, he would join forces with the Spacing Guild and present Baron Harkonnen to House Atreides—as a token of allegiance.
———
At that very moment, the space battlefield was littered with floating debris—shattered hulls, sparking fragments of metal—all signs that the war had finally drawn to a close.
The fleet of the Universal Megacorp still held formation, steady and unshaken in the black void of space. The combined forces of House Harkonnen and House Corrino had failed to inflict any serious damage.
The allied legions of Harkonnen and Corrino were utterly defeated. Some fled, others died, and the remaining forces were in complete disarray, incapable of mounting another attack.
Most of the scattered remnants had already chosen to flee back to their home planets, retreating to where they had come from.
In their desperation to escape, the Harkonnen and Corrino forces even fought among themselves for access to Navigators—triggering a new round of internal battles.
This infighting only hastened the complete collapse of their coalition. Everyone was in a blind panic, crashing into one another in chaos.
Once, the Harkonnen military had been one of the most formidable private forces in the Galactic Empire—second only to the Corrino royal army.
But now, they had less than ten thousand scattered, demoralized survivors. These stragglers were still at each other's throats, infighting even amidst the wreckage of war. Despair and terror gripped every Harkonnen heart in that empty battlefield.
The commanders of the Megacorp fleet were well aware of the Harkonnens' plight—but they chose not to act.
They didn't send out strike craft to finish them off, nor did they attempt to recruit any survivors. They simply stood by and watched as the Harkonnens tore themselves apart.
Only a few remaining Sardaukar continued to charge the fleet in suicidal assaults.
But these fanatical attacks were doomed to fail. The moment they got close, the Megacorp point-defense cannons took them out one by one.
In truth, these Sardaukar warriors weren't attacking because of orders. They were simply proving their loyalty and valor through death.
They were dying to make a statement.
About half an hour later, the last of the Sardaukar perished—fulfilling their wish. The final elite force of the Corrino Empire vanished into the cold, dark void.
Shortly after, the Megacorp AI reconnaissance drones spotted the Spacing Guild's Highliner above the northern hemisphere of Arrakis's moon.
The Guild navigators aboard the Highliner contacted House Atreides of their own accord, claiming they had captured Baron Harkonnen and were ready to hand him over at any time.
Though the Guild's opportunism was contemptible, Hawat—the man in charge of this space campaign—had no choice but to accept their surrender.
After all, both Duke Leto and the Megacorp Chief Executive, Li Ang , were eager to bring the war to an end.
However, aware of the Guild's potential for a last-ditch betrayal, Leto refrained from sending any high-ranking personnel aboard. Instead, he dispatched a detachment of household guards and Spartan warriors to take control of the Highliner.
Not until every Navigator, Harkonnen—including Piter and Baron Harkonnen—was in custody, did the war truly come to a close.
———
Not long after, in the corridor leading to the Highliner's central command chamber, Leto and Hawat walked side by side. Accompanying them was the Megacorp expeditionary supervisor, Song Zhaomei.
Zhaomei blinked her glowing red cybernetic eye, transmitting a real-time visual feed back to the Base Headquarters—so that Li Ang could monitor developments the moment they happened.
At that moment, Li Ang , stationed at the base, was watching a holographic screen showing Song Zhaomei's team closing in on the command chamber of the Highliner.
The outcome of this interstellar war was no surprise. The fall of the Harkonnens and the Corrino royal house marked the decisive turning point in the Dune universe. All that remained was to redistribute the spoils.
> [Song Zhaomei, keep your eyes on the situation. Keep Piter and the baron alive for now. Don't let anyone kill them.]
Using the comms system, Li Ang issued his orders to Zhaomei.
He knew full well that both Baron Harkonnen and Piter were textbook villains—irredeemable, even—but that didn't concern him.
Good and evil were just a matter of perspective. From the Harkonnen family's standpoint, all of Baron Harkonnen's cruelty had made the house stronger.
If not for the interference of the Bene Gesserit and their secret investments in Paul, the Harkonnens really might have achieved a grand revival.
But fate had not chosen them.
For Li Ang , he didn't judge people by morality. The only ones he had killed were those too stupid to follow the rules.
So whether Baron Harkonnen and Piter lived or died would depend on whether they caught on quickly enough—whether they saw the benefits of siding with the Megacorp.
"Yes, sir."
Zhaomei replied in a low voice, then continued following Leto into the command chamber.
As they walked, Hawat couldn't suppress the smile on his face.
"This war ended much faster than we expected!"
"Truly worthy of the Megacorp expeditionary fleet. The Harkonnens, the Sardaukar—they were nothing but cannon fodder. I almost feel sorry for Baron and the Padishah."
All along the corridor, Hawat heaped praise on the Megacorp's fleet, buttering up Song Zhaomei with shameless flattery. He was hoping to get a few of those warships to bolster House Atreides' own navy.
If Song Zhaomei hadn't been there, he probably would've burst out laughing.
The Atreides and Harkonnen families have long been mortal enemies. Originally, their strengths were evenly matched, but the rise of the Landsraad Council tilted the balance—boosting House Atreides' political influence above that of the Harkonnens.
To rebalance the scales, the Imperial Court granted the exclusive spice mining rights on Arrakis to House Harkonnen.
Thanks to nearly a century of spice monopoly, House Harkonnen rapidly rose to power, surpassing House Atreides in sheer might.
Faced with the Harkonnens, a tiger of a foe, House Atreides could only adopt a defensive strategy, constantly leveraging the Landsraad Council for diplomatic maneuvering.
Had it not been for the emergence of the Universal Megacorp, House Atreides might have already been crushed by a joint offensive from House Harkonnen and House Corrino.
Now, the Harkonnen army has been completely wiped out, and Rabban—once the most likely heir to the Baron's title—was killed while fleeing.
Although House Atreides' soldiers have yet to set foot on Giedi Prime, the Harkonnens are a spent force, a ghost of their former self, awaiting takeover.
"What are the other Houses saying? Are they willing to cooperate with us?"
Duke Leto remained calm and composed. He understood that this battle had little to do with House Atreides—his victory was effectively handed to him.
Hawat chuckled and replied, "Of course. Everyone loves to kick a man when he's down. With the Sardaukar gone, all the other Houses have started scrambling to carve up imperial territory."
"They didn't even wait for our invitation—each House has brought its own troops to help us attack Imperial and Harkonnen positions."
All thanks to the Padishah Emperor and the Baron's inhuman ways, the two of them made enemies everywhere. A villain of that magnitude might have gone unchallenged when strong, but the moment he showed weakness, everyone pounced—settling scores, exacting revenge.
Especially against House Corrino, who had long oppressed the other noble families!
"Excellent. Saves us the trouble of purging the Imperial Court ourselves."
Leto nodded, then stepped into a heavily guarded chamber—inside was the Baron, tightly bound and restrained.
"Your Grace,"
A guard stepped forward and saluted. "We've conducted a full-body search on Baron Harkonnen. He's not carrying any weapons. You can proceed with the interrogation."
Leto nodded and waved for the guard to wait outside.
Since the Baron had already been thoroughly searched, it meant that every part of his body—from teeth to rectum—had been examined. Unless he had mastered Voice Control, the Baron was no longer a threat.
But Song Zhaomei carried a device that nullified Voice Control entirely, rendering such powers useless in her presence. Leto had no concerns about the Baron escaping via such means.
With that, Leto and Song Zhaomei entered the room and stood face-to-face with the Baron.
"Baron. Bet you didn't expect we'd meet here, did you? You look fatter than ever. Aren't you worried your greed will be the death of you?"
Duke Leto locked eyes with the Baron, watching the quivering, pale flab of his body. A faint, mocking smile played on his lips.
"Hah. The victor writes the history books. If I'd won, they'd be calling me bold and visionary. Since I lost, I'm just your 'greedy villain.'"
The Baron dismissed Leto's jabs with ease. He raised his head and met his opponent's gaze. At this point, he had come to terms with his fate.
"That fleet outside—where did it come from? I don't believe the Spacing Guild helped you build warships like that. And there's no way you developed them yourselves."
After going over everything in his mind, the Baron realized he hadn't made any mistakes—except overlooking the opponent's fleet.
He simply couldn't fathom how House Atreides managed to build such a powerful fleet under the eyes of both the Imperial Court and House Harkonnen. It defied all logic.
"We didn't build those ships ourselves."
Leto didn't hide the truth. He offered the Baron an honest answer—and revealed the existence of the Universal Megacorp.
From the Megacorp arrival, to Executive Li Ang 's plan to crown himself Emperor and elevate House Atreides, Leto laid it all bare.
Hearing Leto's outlandish tale—and looking at Song Zhaomei beside him—the Baron's mind went numb.
A mighty civilization from another universe…!
"That's impossible."
The Baron's head spun. A schemer like him thrived on calculations, on controlling every variable. His worst fear was an uncontrollable factor.
It was like a battlefield where two armies were locked in fierce combat, and suddenly a meteor storm descended—smashing one side to bits while the other reaped the benefits.
If outcomes were dictated by cosmic chance, what use was strategy to men like him?
"I'm already a dead man. What's the point of telling me such nonsense?"
The Baron clearly didn't believe a word of it. These were stories meant to trick children. Just hearing the beginning was enough to make him want to laugh.
To him, this was an insult to his intelligence.
Seeing that the Baron didn't believe him, Leto simply smiled and said, "If you don't believe me, then tell me—who else in the Galactic Empire could have built a fleet like that?"
The moment he said that, the Baron fell silent.
Indeed. Unless a superior civilization lent a hand, there was no way House Atreides could've constructed that fleet with its limited resources.
The truth was hard to accept—but it was the only explanation that fit the facts.
"So we didn't lose to House Atreides… We lost to the Universal Megacorp . A super-civilization spanning multiple universes…!"
The Baron slumped in his chair, looking like he had aged decades in an instant. His expression was full of sorrow and defeat, drained of all will.
"I don't understand… Why would the Megacorp choose House Atreides? Why not the Corrino dynasty—or House Harkonnen?"
As he spoke, the Baron turned to Song Zhaomei, hoping to find an answer from her.
After all, if they were all just pawns of this Megacorp, why should House Atreides be the favored one? His House Harkonnen could've pledged loyalty just as well!
But Song Zhaomei said nothing. She turned to Leto, indicating he should be the one to respond.
And Leto, calm and forthright, replied, "Because House Atreides is more valuable. I'm the head of the Landsraad Council. Most noble Houses follow my lead."
"You Harkonnens, on the other hand, are infamous for your cruelty and greed. Most Houses would love nothing more than to see you all wiped out."
"If it were me making the call, I'd choose House Atreides too. It's easier to govern the Empire that way—and much easier to unify it."
Leto had a crystal-clear understanding of his role. He knew he was just a dog to the Megacorp—but he also knew that being their dog came with greater rewards than being Emperor of the Galaxy.
As Emperor, one might appear powerful, but they'd be a lightning rod for resentment, envy, and rebellion. High risk, low reward.
As a vassal of the Universal Megacorp, however, he could reign as the foremost House, enjoy guaranteed prosperity, and profit through their vast interstellar trade networks.
An empty title paled in comparison to real gains—and Duke Leto knew exactly where his priorities lay.
Power should always belong to the capable. Otherwise, it breeds disaster and ruin.
And the fall of the Corrino dynasty was proof of that.
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