The Fall of House Atreides
A Harkonnen-Sardaukar ambush tears down Duke Leto's rule on Arrakis before it can take root.
The Arrakis fief was a gift with teeth. Baron Vladimir Harkonnen and Emperor Shaddam IV built the trap together. Both men were unsettled by the Duke's popularity and by the discipline of his Atreides fighting corps. Dr. Wellington Yueh carried Imperial Suk Conditioning meant to make harming a patient unthinkable. The kidnapping of his wife gave the Harkonnens their lever. He disabled the palace shields at the moment it would hurt most. Harkonnen shock troops stormed in, with Sardaukar hidden among them in Harkonnen livery. That was a strike against a Great House, and it broke the Great Convention outright. Arrakeen fell within hours. Duke Leto died trying to take the Baron with him. His last weapon was a poisoned false tooth, and it failed. Jessica and Paul fled into the deep desert. Only the quiet aid of the Imperial planetologist Liet-Kynes kept them alive long enough to reach the Fremen.
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