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The God Emperor's Dune


Dante

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(OOC: Hrmmm...I'd guess she's a na-Arch-Duchess... ;) )

The private post-celebratory meeting had the feeling of a dinner party. Although most of the guests still wore the flashy attire of the evening's affair, the actual feeling was one of relaxation and good company.

Darius beckoned over his mentat, J'invy, to join his little company of four: himself, Jennifer, Lillian, and the mysterious Earl Leto, the company of five had much to talk about.

Invitations had, of course, been sent to key represtatives all over Ix. The guests mingled with an ease amplified by the low lighting and lower musical drone.

"Ahh...Politics of the Imperium," says Darius for no apparent reason.

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"They have a way of turning against you." Lillian replied to the Arch-Duke's statement.

"The politics you enjoy now are but the surface, as each of you well know." Lillian continued. Each of the people in this room has their own asperations, their own goals. Some of them plot treachery even now, others will do so only when they see that it is perfectly safe." She sipped her fine, Caladan wine.

"Which ones in particular, are plotting currently?" The Ixian Earl raised an eyebrow.

"We can discuss that later." Lillian absently dismissed the subject. "For now, there are only two people we should talk about." She smiled at the Arch-Duke and his new daughter, who bore her family crest with great pride. "And the possibilities that their actions now entail."

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I have been here far to long, I long for my home.. Leto slightly swished the brandy in his hand looking out at the group.

"Show no weakness, the Atreides as we know them are dead, we lead the Imperium, the Emperor is nothing more then a puppet. Your actions will decide the fate of the world Leto, choose conflict, you shall get conflict, choose peace, you shall get conflict. Either way, lead the Imperium, be afraid of no one and make the Vernius name known, the world is ours." His fathers image recited the words he had said so long ago when Leto was even more of a child.

Today is my birthdate, yet I feel not 15 but more like a full grown, battle-worn vetren, politics do change you...God, father, was I ready for this?

Muttering he turned around and smiled at passing guests, still in deep thought.

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OFF TOPIC: I think Clanner is back - so The Emperor is back, could we start the conference? I say - five posts from now? Or shall I start it when I'll enter tomorrow?

House Sarmizegetusa reentered the fever of the preparations for the conference that was about to commence. Some of the guests took time to visit the planet and see its full potential, while others remained inside and tried to hide from the locals.

Being in 'emergency' as the Political Events continued, the military kept recruiting, and the Army reached 4 million soldiers. The Space Fleet doubled as well, thanks to the Sardaukar aid. The House's nuclear armament was ready, and Burebista knew that from now on they will be looked over in a different way.

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occ: damn i had hoped to hide ;)

Look I have something to say. If anybody moves towards Arrakis I will destroy it. I kid you not.

Earlier on I sent multiple sandworms to a hidden planet onboard a lightspeed vessel. The crew was loyal Fish Speakers and they are on planet.

Do not mess with me right now! In real life my best friend just died in a car crash. I left to attend his funeral. Im there right now. So I will not put up with any shit right now please. Ok people? This board is the only thing thats my solice (yes i know i spelled it wrong!).

Ok...on with the conference i guess.

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The Arch-Duke turned to J'invy, and grinning said, "Mentat, compute this: How many Fremen does it take to change a glowglobe?"

J'invy grinned back and said, "My liege, you, of all people know how much trouble I have with infinite numbers."

Most of the group laughed. The one who didn't was the Earl.

On the edge of a chuckle, Darius turned toward the Earl and said, "J'invy, new computation: how many glasses of Caladan wine does it take to loosen our esteemed host's tongue?"

The mentat looked at the Earl and said, "I doubt it's his tongue that's at issue here."

"Good point," replied the Arch-Duke. "Earl Leto Vernius of Ix, I challenge you to a life of happiness and victory. Heavy matters wiegh on your mind. Heavy responsibilities on your shoulders. Make the right choices, but let your heart be your guide."

Jennifer raised her glass and said, "To happiness and victory."

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"To happiness and victory" muttered the Earl who raised his glass along with the rest of the party attendants.

How can I be happy while my planet awaits my return and I remain on this desolated hellhole? There is no happiness in my life, only politics.

The group continued to chat and the Earl geastured his departure as he quickly left and went onto the deck. He looked up to the sky where three moons shone down bueatiful colors and sighed.

"I wasn't ready for this father."

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(OOC: Hrmmm...Mind if I take a few liberties?)

When the Earl leaves the area, Lillian nudges Jennifer and she follows behind.

"Mind if I join you out here?" asks Jennifer, walking out onto the deck.

"Suit yourself," comes the uninterested reply.

Jennifer walks up beside the Earl and leans over the rail. "Whoa, long way down, huh?"

Leto sighs, "Yeah, from our viewpoint- about three miles."

"You ought to know, your family has built most of these, haven't they?"

Leto sighs again, "My family, my family... Why does my family obsess you people so much?"

Jennifer looks down, not at the view, but at her shoes, "A person's psyche is the result of genetic and environmental memories."

The Earl scoffs and turns away, "You Bene Gesserit witches and your axioms...Don't you realize; words never won any wars?"

Jennifer raises her eyebrow, but artfully avoids her first reply, saying, "At least you knew your parents."

The Earl chews on this for a few seconds, and turns back with a casually concerned look, "You never knew your parents?"

Jennifer grins, "More Bene Gesserit breeding programs," she chuckles politely, "Of course, I had plenty of teachers, analysts, counselors...and plenty of Reverend Mothers."

"But they never told you...?"

"No, they must've not considered it...important. Plenty of BG axioms, histories and languages...but that never...mattered," the smile had slipped from her face, and her eyes had a distant look. "I've always wondered, though, how much my eyes looked like my...fathers," the last word is accompanied by a small, thin tear.

The Earl walks the few steps separating them and touches her arm. He then wraps an arm around her.

(OOC: Dang, some of my most emotional writing yet; Even I got a little misty on that last bit ;) )

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As the politics seem to be going well, I think the conferance should proceed as planned.

Lillian sat in a small, dark, private room. She was alone. The shigawire reel had arrived during the celebrations, an she had slipped out silently. She hoped to be back soon, she didn't want to be apart from the others. Especially Arch-Duke Darius.

The reel detailed the Emperor's work on Arrakis, including his recent equipment uses. For a Bene Gesserit, there was only one conclusion; the Emperor was transporting sandworms after all. Arrakis was no longer his only card...

Darius turned around in surprise as Lillian sidled up to one side, being unusually figity. "We have a new problem." She said.

(OCC: Yes, I like what you've done, Lord J. :)

Secondly; I know the Emperor didn't declare it or anything, but it would be kind of obvious to anyone watching. And everyone is watching.)

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(OOC-Quite right dusty)

The expansive conference center was among the largest building on the small houses planet, and was impressive compared even to the Landsraad Chambers on Kaitan.

Culratha had arrived only a day before, a hundred guards in his stead and several dozen new battleships waiting for him just outside the system. He was not looking forward to the next days proceedings, and would be pleased to return to his ship, no matter what the outcome of the conference.

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occ: im using FTL engines from the Buterlian Jihad book. They went from Salusa to Giedei Prime and back in under a month.

Were talking 200 x lightspeed here.

Back to the confrence...

Leto II sat down in his chair and smiled. Arrakis. Dune. Desert Planet. Now one of three planets that have the Spice Melange.

"I have an announcement to make concerning the Imperium. I am tired of all of our bickering and fighting. And one more thing I had hoped to present but hopefully will unify us. My exploration scouts have returned from deep space and found the Machines!

The Thinking Machines still exist!

And, according to our best estimates, they are less than a year away."

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(O.C.C - Destroying Arrakis, smart idea leaving me with absolute control).

"You tired of bickering and conflict, yet you inform us of machine occupation which will inevitably lead to conflict, ironic huh?" Leto snickered adjusting his posistion in the chair.

"And I am supposed to rely on your word on this? And even if they are there, how the hell do we stop them?"

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(OOC-Sorry, you still couldn't have transported the worms and resettled them)

"We defeated them with primitive weapons and a poor position. The galaxy is ours. They would have to pry it from us. This is, if they do exist..."

Culratha reclinced once again into his seat, turning slightly towards Leto II

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Darius leaned forward and put his elbows in the table.

"Thinking machines?" Darius' eyebrow went up, "What proof can you show us of thier existence? Shigawire reels?" Darius laughed, an odd-sounding echo in this serious company, "You are the Emperor, of course, but the Landsraad cannot move on your testimony alone!"

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"The Emperor is making a bold move. If it is true, all of the Imperium will unify around him, and the opposition will be crushed by all the others, probably by the Landsraad. But, if he is bluffing, then he'll lose, the Landsraad will surely rise against him, he'll destroy Arrakis and the Imperium will break into tiny pices, leading to stangation and ultimately to death."

Lord Burebista turned towards the Emperor:

- Sir, your duty as an Emperor is to take care of your subjects. If, by any chance, the machines capture Arrakis, will you destroy it? If you do that the machines will surely destroy us. If it will still exist then we'll have a chance in recapturing it. I know, this is just a supposition, but, in this case, what will you do?

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"If the machines capture Arrakis I will not destroy it for they will have no use for the Spice Melange...I hope.

As for proof...well...when you have the cance send scout vessels on vector 194.9 from Arrakis. You'll see what I am talking about."

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Taraza sat, watching. She watched the Emperor makes his statements, watched the arguments and counter-arguments develop. She watched Arch-Duke Ghobey and Lillian, with Jennifer on their left. She too, Taraza noted, was paying very close attention. The Ixians, Sardauker, all were here. Even she was.

Grouped together of course, they were very vulnerable... But who would attack?

Coded Memo sent to Ixian Earl during conferance:

[hide] Whether the Emperor is telling the truth or not (he's learnt everything, so even a truthsayer cannot tell), we should consider the possibility of the machines returning. Human life is valuable to us. What say, using fire to fight fire? Or in this case, using steel to fight... Think about it?

Regards, Lillian, serving House Ghobey. [/hide]

Just as Taraza was standing to speak, there was a hush in the hall as the great doors opened. Through it, two malformed people walked.

"Representing the Spacing Guild." The first one announced, as a shadow fell across the entrance, "Senior Steersman Havird."

The Navigator's tank hissed slowly into the room. The doors shut, and the two representatives took up positions at either side of the tank.

"Regarding recent claims!" The Second representative called out. "The Guild has made four wide sweeps! we have found no trace of intelligent Machines. We have, however, located several ships bearing the imperial banner travelling through space outside a Heighliner! This is clearly in breach of the Great Convention, and we request that the Emperor explain himself!"

(OCC, so are we going to let Clanner get away with it or not? All the facts are stacked against it...)

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(OOC-Go for it :) And another thing. The Fish Speakers didn't form for hundreds of years after Leto II became Emperor. A whole lot after Farad'n's death... so Clanner, you can't be using Fish Speakers.)

Coded Message To Earl Vernius of Ix:

[hide]Whether the wild claims of the Emperor are valid or not, a promising situation has risen. If he is lying, we can discredit him. If he is telling the truth, we can move our alliance away from engagements and leave the Machines to weaken or destroy the Emperor. After which, we can sweep in and begin our plans for a jointly ruled Empire. I hope to join someday, on the field of battle[/hide]

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The Lord listened the Guild Representants.

This could be a trick. Of the Guild. On the other side the Emperor has a NEED to lie to gather the Imperium around him.

- Well, Sir, what do you have to say? You say you have detected the Machines, but the Guild sais otherwise. Please explain yourself.

The Lord then called a soldier and ordered him to search the space as far as possible with the radars they possesed. Burebista wanted to be sure. He wanted the truth.

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(occ: in case you havent figured it out Im SICK of the emperor position! i want to make my own great house and let someone else have the emperor position!)

Leto II looked out among the throngs of the Imperium and knew that no matter what he was doomed. Finally he decided on a course of action he thought he would never reach.

"The Thinking Machines are out there. They ae coming. The reason the Guild can't find them is because they are using no-globe technology. I found them only because one of my ships collided with one of theres. The machines are smarter. And they are better equiped. I have decided on a drastic course of action. If the Imperium does not unite to destroy this threat...I will step down as Emperor."

(occ: if the fish speakers dont exist then who the fuck do i have to support me assholes!!!)

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