In the Kaitain ambassadorial quarters, Piter de Vries sat at his writing desk, composing a note.

Blood dripped from the ceiling, pooling and congealing in a thick puddle on the floor, but the Mentat paid it no heed. The steady metronome of falling droplets sounded like a ticking clock. He would clean up the mess later.

Since delivering his anonymous message that informed the Emperor of Richese’s illegal spice stockpile, de Vries had remained at the Imperial Court, setting up complex plans to advance the position of House Harkonnen. He had already heard grumblings about Shaddam’s intended punishment of Richese. De Vries relished the thought of appropriate revenge.

He also meant to hoard any knowledge he gathered, eventually doling it out to the Baron in measured doses. In this manner he would prove his continued worth and keep himself alive.

While spying at court, he had picked up an interesting tidbit the Baron might appreciate, far more important than mere political or military moves against House Richese. For the first time, Piter de Vries had seen Jessica across a crowded room, a lovely woman six months pregnant with another Atreides heir. That opened up so many possibilities….

“My dear Baron,” he wrote, using a coded Harkonnen language, “I have discovered that the concubine of your enemy, Leto Atreides, currently resides in the Imperial Palace. She has been taken under the wing of the Emperor’s wife, ostensibly as a lady-in-waiting, though I cannot fathom the reason for this. She seems to have no duties. Perhaps it is because this whore and Anirul are both Bene Gesserit witches.

“I would like to propose a scheme that could have many repercussions: pride and satisfaction for House Harkonnen, pain and misery for House Atreides. What more could we desire?”

He pondered again, watching the blood drip from the ceiling. A message cylinder lay open beside him on the writing desk. He scribbled again. “I have managed to keep myself hidden from her. This Jessica intrigues me.”

With a smile he recalled how Leto’s concubine Kailea and their firstborn son Victor had both been killed in the past year. The Harkonnens had hoped this double-tragedy might drive the Duke mad and destroy the backbone of House Atreides forever. Unfortunately, against all odds, Leto seemed to have recovered. His recent attack on Beakkal indicated that he was more aggressive and decisive than ever.

But how much more could the damaged, bitter man tolerate?

“Jessica intends to stay here and give birth to her child in the Palace. Though she is constantly watched by the other witches, I believe I may be able to discover an opportunity to slip in and kill the newborn infant, and, if you wish, the mother as well. My Baron, think of how that would wound your mortal enemy! But I must proceed with great care.”

He finished writing in smaller letters, so that his entire message could fit on a single sheet of instroy paper. “I have therefore arranged a legitimate reason to remain here on Kaitain, so that I might keep watch on this intriguing woman. I will send you regular reports.”

He signed the note with a flourish and sealed it inside the message cylinder, where it would be dispatched on the next outbound Heighliner to Giedi Prime.

Dispassionately, he gazed up at the ceiling, where he had hidden a body behind the panels. The inept Harkonnen ambassador, Kalo Whylls, had put up more of a struggle than expected, so de Vries had slashed him a few extra times, leaving him a patchwork of gaping wounds, with his lifeblood draining out of him. Quite a mess.

Turning back to the items on his desk, de Vries examined a document obtained from the Imperial Minister of Forms, a simple transmittal to the Kaitain bureaucracy. No one would question it. Smiling with his sapho-stained lips, the Mentat dutifully finished writing an official decree, which he would deliver to the Emperor’s Chamberlain, informing them that the previous Harkonnen Ambassador had been permanently “recalled” to Giedi Prime. Piter de Vries filled in his own name as the man temporarily designated to take his place.

When all was in order, he stamped the document with the Baron’s official seal. Then he got ready for the next step….