First, though, the Manford-devil had to die, and that was a task Josef anticipated with great relish.
Leaving Arrakis, the VenHold fleet arrived at Denali, the base from which Josef would launch his surprise attack on Lampadas. Since the laboratory domes could not support the many thousands of extra inhabitants, most of his personnel remained aboard the orbiting ships during the two days of staging. Josef traveled down to the surface to meet with Draigo, Ptolemy, and Administrator Noffe, so that they could finalize the assault against Manford Torondo.
They were more than ready.
He also wanted to see Anna Corrino, his last bargaining chip. If all went well with this operation and Emperor Roderick was true to his word, Josef wouldn’t even need her. Her brother still did not know that he had her there, safe but held hostage … much as Cioba was on Salusa Secundus. Once Manford was destroyed, if Roderick made amends and remained true to his word, Josef would be pleased to return his sister to him, unharmed.
Everyone would be friends again.
If the Emperor betrayed him, Anna would make an excellent human shield, as a last resort.
When the shuttle landed in the darkness in front of the clustered lab domes, he felt a thrill of fear and excitement to see five fearsome cymeks striding noisily toward them through the caustic greenish mists. As a sealed-environment sleeve connected the shuttle to the laboratory domes, Josef watched the immense walkers march along on patrol. Each of Ptolemy’s redesigned mechanical warriors was more heavily armored than earlier models, carrying more weaponry than any cymeks that had fought during Serena Butler’s Jihad. These were invincible.
Josef smiled to imagine how Manford Torondo would react upon seeing a large force of such battle machines land on his doorstep.…
During the détente meeting, he’d gotten the impression that Roderick considered him weak and wounded, perhaps even defeated, but Josef would surprise him. The Emperor had no idea about this Denali installation or the cymek army just waiting to be unleashed.
Venport entered the dome wearing formal business clothes, and Draigo was there to meet him. “Directeur, the cymek walker forms are ready, as are the Navigator brains to drive them. We are prepared to strike the Butlerians, on your command.”
“The command is given,” Josef said, sounding pleased, “in the name of the Emperor himself. Roderick finally recognizes the true scope of the threat posed by the fanatics. Prepare the cymek drop-pods and begin loading the Navigator brains. We are readying our warships in orbit. This will be a total, unrestrained attack, with no mercy and no survivors—not after what those monsters did to Kolhar. I want to launch for Lampadas as soon as possible. The half-Manford is there now, crowing about his victory. This is our chance to obliterate him.”
The Mentat nodded. “We know he’s used atomics—so we must consider that he might have more when we go against him. But I suspect that he will be hesitant to use atomics anywhere near his own homeworld. It would foul his nest.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
“Also,” Draigo said, “the forty refurbished thinking-machine battleships have already been dispatched to Arrakis, as you ordered, where they will hold firm against any incursion. Your operations there are secure.”
“Excellent. Soon enough we will resume full spice production, expand our commercial routes with more Navigator ships, and bask in the Emperor’s high regard … in an Imperium without the silly Butlerians.” He allowed himself a satisfied smile. “We may be at the beginning of a new golden age after all.”
While the Mentat conferred with Noffe and Ptolemy, Josef went to see Anna Corrino. He needed her to do something for him, as insurance. While he waited in the main admin office, Josef reviewed the initial Lampadas foray, during which a mere three cymeks had caused so much damage. He could only imagine what a powerful force of them would do against a world full of unarmed primitives.
Two figures appeared at the waiting room door, lovely young Anna Corrino and a muscular man who looked like an idealized reproduction of Headmaster Albans. Surprised, Josef rose to his feet. “You are Erasmus? This is your new body?”
The man lifted his arms and flexed his fingers, as if still marveling at himself. “I am, and it is.”
Anna Corrino grasped her companion’s arm. “Erasmus is one of us now. He is my lover and my true love. Thank you for keeping me safe here with him, Directeur Venport.”
Josef gave the young woman a reassuring smile. Anna’s primary mental damage had occurred on Rossak at the Sisterhood school. Afterward, she had been sent to be trained among Mentats, in the hope that Headmaster Albans could reshape her thoughts and make her normal again. When Draigo Roget whisked her off to safekeeping on Denali, Anna had been frightened, but he managed to convince her that the laboratory domes were a sanctuary against the turbulence in the Imperium. Anna seemed not to understand her value as a hostage.
Now she pressed herself against the biological body of Erasmus. “We are so happy now.”
Josef smiled back at her. “Good, then there is something I need you to do for me. I think your brother is concerned about you. Would you record a message for me? We should reassure him.” For insurance.
“My brother?” Anna’s brow furrowed, as if trying to remember. “Which one—Roderick? Or Salvador?”
Josef kept his voice smooth and gentle. “I’m afraid Salvador suffered an unfortunate accident. He is dead.”
“Oh, that’s right—I forgot. A sandworm gobbled him up.” She shrugged. “Salvador ruined my love affair with Hirondo and sent me to the Sisterhood school.”
“Roderick is Emperor now,” Josef said. “I’m sure he wants to know that you are safe. I would very much like you to record a holo message to reassure him. Could you possibly do that for me?”
“Of course, as long as I don’t have to leave Erasmus.” She slipped her hands around her companion’s arm.
“No, I want you to stay safe right here, for as long as is necessary.”
Erasmus’s brow furrowed as he worked through the implications. Finally he looked at Josef. “I understand. He is right, Anna, it is very important that we say what your brother needs to hear. I will help you make the recording so that it says exactly the right words.”
“Thank you. Record it as soon as you can.” Josef looked into the human eyes of the independent robot, and a strange understanding passed between them. Erasmus was probably devious enough to develop a more effective recording than any Josef would have constructed, and it was obvious that Anna would do anything for him. “I’ll review it when you’re finished,” Josef added.
Interrupting them, Draigo arrived at the office door, accompanied by two cymek carts carrying brain canisters. “The walkers are being loaded and shipped up to orbit now, Directeur. All Navigator brains have been briefed on the attack plan against Lampadas. Ptolemy and Noffe are eager to go.”
Anna brightened. “Will you kill Manford Torondo?”
“We most certainly will,” Josef promised.
“I’m glad. He’s a monstrous, cruel man. He cut off the head of Headmaster Albans. Actually his Swordmaster did it, but Manford gave the order, so he’s responsible.” She frowned, reliving the event. “If you kill both Manford and Anari, that would be best.”
“We intend to,” Josef assured her. Anna seemed happy with the answer.
For every scientist who dedicates his life to helping humanity, there are ten thousand fools who are just as willing to destroy.
—PTOLEMY, Zenith Archives
The warship sensors were connected directly to Ptolemy’s brain via thoughtrode, so he was able to study the entire planet as the VenHold fleet approached Lampadas. Manford Torondo was down there, the man who had inflicted so much pain, suffering, and ignorance on the human race.
The last time here, when Ptolemy was accompanied by only two other cymeks, they had dropped down to cause mayhem and kill a single target. Although the latter objective had failed, they had learned much about the planet’s vulnerabilities.
Now this full-scale, Imperially sanctioned operation would mount a frontal assault on the dangerous fanatics—using cymek walkers and advanced warships.
There would be no mercy, no peace talks, no prisoners taken. The Butlerian infestation would be exterminated in their own nest.
Directeur Venport had said it best. This was a sentence to be carried out in order to guarantee the future of human civilization. The titanic cymeks and the bulk of the VenHold Spacing Fleet would be enough to do the job.
As the ships closed in, Ptolemy, Noffe, and the brooding Navigator brains installed themselves in gigantic cymek walkers, each one an arsenal in itself. When the preservation canisters were locked into place, the cymek brains tested the thoughtrodes. The spiderlike walkers would be an agile and unstoppable army, ready to raze the city of Empok.
As the cymek drop-pods prepared to launch, Ptolemy wondered if he would feel pleasure once he avenged Dr. Elchan, or just a sense of closure to know he had at last done something for his friend and all the others the fanatics had harmed.
When the armored containers were loaded in the launching bay, Ptolemy’s external sensors showed him the adjacent pods containing Administrator Noffe and the other Navigator cymeks. They would smash the Butlerians like a hammer. Ptolemy swiveled his optical sensors to watch Directeur Venport enter the bay. The business leader stood proudly next to the cymek pods, with the black-garbed Draigo Roget at his side.
“You will launch as soon as we enter planetary orbit,” the Directeur said. “Cymek forces will take care of the ground battle, while our fleet will have its hands full fighting the barbarian warships.”
“Those old Butlerian vessels are no match for our shields or weapons,” Draigo said, not in a boastful manner, just stating a Mentat analysis. “But it will be a tactical challenge, considering the size of their fleet. We are risking everything on this.”
“With the Emperor’s blessing,” Venport said.
While he made sure that Arrakis was well defended, Venport had left only a skeleton crew behind at Denali, since the secret research outpost was secure in its isolation. Once they eliminated the Butlerian threat, the research station’s reason for existence would go away, and Ptolemy looked forward to the day when he and Administrator Noffe could focus on other scientific work to help humanity.
“We will accomplish the mission, Directeur,” Noffe said through the pod’s speakerpatch. “Given the level of resistance that Lampadas is capable of mounting, we will not fail.”
“I wish I could be down there myself,” Venport growled, “but I’ll do my share of destruction up here.”
Alarms sounded as the VenHold fleet entered Lampadas orbit. The antique Butlerian warships scrambled to respond to the unexpected arrival. They blasted away in a pell-mell barrage without any tactical coordination. Explosions rumbled through the hull of the VenHold carrier, and Ptolemy’s sensors detected energy discharges, but none of the enemy strikes penetrated the shields. Manford’s defenders were like a child having a tantrum, growing more desperate when it didn’t get what it wanted.
Draigo said, “We should launch the cymeks now, Directeur.”
Venport’s eyes gleamed with anticipation. “Yes, we need to do that.”
Connected to his fellow cymeks through external sensors, Ptolemy watched armored pods tumble out of the bay doors of other carriers, dropping through intermittent, timed gaps in the Holtzman shields. Finally Ptolemy felt his own pod launch.
Speeding down through the atmosphere like a meteor, Ptolemy scanned upward to watch the VenHold fleet begin its clash with the Butlerian ships. Already, three of the enemy vessels were damaged or destroyed.
And it was just the beginning.
* * *
ANARI IDAHO BURST into Manford’s office, her eyes uncharacteristically wide in panic. “Venport has come for us—we are under attack by his fleet! They’ve opened fire on our ships in orbit.”
Startled, Manford quickly concealed the Erasmus journal he’d been reading behind a pile of other papers. His rush of guilt vanished when he saw her look of urgency. “Venport?” he said. “But we obliterated Kolhar—what can he possibly have left to fight with?” He scowled. “I didn’t know he was even still alive.”
Deacon Harian strode into the room, his face flushed. “Apparently, he had more assets than just Kolhar, and now he intends to get his revenge.”
Anari nodded. “Venport’s ships have dropped more than a hundred armored projectiles through the atmosphere, just like the ones we saw before. I believe they are cymeks—and they are on the way down to Empok.”
As if to confirm her statement, the projectiles began to crash around the city, and Manford felt a sickening chill. We used atomics against him, and now he turns thinking machines against us.
Anari reached down to grab him. “Let me take you to safety in the deep tunnels, Manford. I’ll seal you in an armored room and guard you myself. We’ll send your body double outside—”
“You will not!” He shook free of her grasp. “The demon machines are our greatest enemies, and I will not hide while Venport’s monsters lay waste to my world. Now is the time for me to guide my followers—I will rally them!”
In a stern voice, Deacon Harian said, “Leader Torondo, this is the reason your body double exists. Let that expendable man take the risk. Anari can carry him into battle.”
Manford was growing angry. “Millions of my followers came to Lampadas for me, to be my weapons in the fight for the human soul. Now is the time I need them most, and I won’t let them be led by a counterfeit. Enough! There will be no further discussion.”
Outside in the streets, the crowd was roaring like a beast. Some fled in panic with no safe place to go, while others tried to form a solid defense against the cymeks that emerged from their crash pods. Manford could hear explosions and the heavy grating sounds of mechanical limbs, humming pistons, and thudding footfalls—far too close. The giant walkers began to march.
“Take me out there, Anari. My faith is strong enough to face down these demons.”
She looked torn. “But I swore to keep you safe, Manford.”
“Then don’t allow any harm to come to me.”
Anari’s thoughts and loyalties seesawed, and finally she secured her shoulder harness in place and lifted him onto it. Then she grabbed her sword and carried him out into battle.
* * *
WITH THE MENTAT at his side, Josef returned to the bridge of his flagship, which Norma herself had guided to Lampadas. Like birds of prey, more than two hundred VenHold ships had arrived at the Butlerian planet. Now, the enemy vessels standing against them were exactly what Josef had expected, the same ragtag vessels that had appeared unexpectedly at Salusa Secundus … the same ones that had bombarded Kolhar with atomics.
He would show the fanatics that reckless enthusiasm could not make up for the combined shortfall of inadequate shields and out-of-date weapons. Emperor Roderick would be pleased … as Josef himself would be.
By the time he and Draigo reached the bridge, the cymeks had been deployed on Lampadas, and above them the space battle was already under way. Josef expected to mop up the skirmish quickly; it was his task to take care of the barbarian ships in orbit.
The Butlerians shot projectile weapons at the VenHold fleet, and Josef frowned in annoyance as the bridge deck vibrated from the buffeting of explosions against his ship’s shield. After watching the outnumbered ragtag ships closing in like small, overconfident guard dogs, he said, “Cut them to ribbons.”
With Mentat focus, Draigo studied the warship positions, made a quick assessment, and issued instructions. With short, staccato sentences, he directed specific VenHold vessels to take designated positions and open fire. In less than fifteen minutes, seven enemy vessels had been destroyed and three others so severely damaged that they reeled away from the fight.
No, this would not take long. Josef drew a deep, satisfied breath.
Though he didn’t issue additional commands for the time be
ing, he sat back in the captain’s chair, observing and enjoying. Down on the surface, Ptolemy and the new cymeks should be having an easy time mowing down the savages.
Beside him, Draigo gave a surprised gasp, and the command crew shouted. In an unexpected tactic, four Butlerian ships drove at full speed toward a large VenHold carrier in a suicidal charge. The Butlerians fired a spray of projectile weapons, hammering and hammering the VenHold shields in a frenzied effort, until the single ship’s defenses were overwhelmed. When the VenHold shields finally failed, three of the enemy ships peeled away at the last moment, while the fourth continued forward, accelerating like a battering ram. It plowed into the spacefolder, and explosions scattered the debris of both ships.
Josef stared in disbelief. After a moment’s assessment, Draigo said, “We’re heading into the den of a madman—I am not surprised he would encourage the use of suicide tactics against us.”
Josef’s skin crawled as he looked around. “It might be worse than that. The half-Manford was willing to use atomics against us at Kolhar. What if he uses atomics again? We thought he wouldn’t use them on Lampadas, not wanting to foul his own nest. But we might have been wrong.”
The Mentat’s answer was swift and cold. “We will find out soon enough.”
Josef leaned forward. “Put all our ships on high alert to watch out for warheads being launched, and prepare for evasive action if necessary. He’s not going to catch us by surprise. In the meantime, close ranks and open fire. Destroy as many of those ships as you can. They can’t launch atomics if their ships are wiped out.”
As soon as the VenHold fleet turned their weapons against the fanatical forces, the outnumbered Butlerian ships fell, one after another, slaughtered like cannon fodder. With each vessel he destroyed, Josef chalked up another bit of revenge for what these savages had done at Kolhar.
In addition to atomics, the barbarians had found ways to reveal even more aspects of their insanity, and they suddenly demonstrated one such tactic: The antique ships had been outfitted with old-style lasguns, a type of energy weapon from the time of the Jihad. Lasguns were known to interact violently with Holtzman shields, resulting in an energy release equivalent to a small atomic warhead. Thus, lasguns had been removed from any scenario in which shields might be present. No one wanted to take the risk of complete mutual destruction.
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