II - OPHELIAZ
One year later, the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen was sitting in front of the full Imperial high court.
—Imperial report of the Harkonnen trial, M5 10192 AG
A few hours after their escapade, Nestor, and the poor Virgo, arrived on the stationary sea platform of Opheliaz. It was an ocean planet used for high security deep storage. This planet was under the control of the Thulu family. The little vessel landed safely on a free remote pad.
“And what now, Nestor?” asked the unwilling fugitive impatiently.
“You will stay in the vessel, I need to see someone first.” Nestor started to search something behind him.
“But they will come! What if they catch me and think I am you –” Virgo stopped speaking as he noticed Nestor handing him a little device.
“I have hidden a bomb here. If you see a Guild ship come, you get out of the vessel, hide, and then click on the detonator when you find them near the cockpit, okay?” Nestor explained rapidly with grand gestures.
“O-Okay, I will do it,” Virgo affirmed to Nestor and himself, “But if we blow our ship, how we will escape from here afterwards?”
Oh, I had not thought about that. I will figure it out – If I find something juicy down here, I will have the help of his Majesty to get out. Nestor through to himself. “You will see soon enough, Virgo. Don’t panic. Now, I have to do something here quickly—wait and be ready to trap them,” he said, holding Virgo’s shoulder.
Nestor got out of the vessel and closed the cockpit. He removed his Guild clothes and put on the attire of a Harkonnen. He had also grabbed a stolen electronic book from the vessel’s storage space that he put in his left pocket, near a small knife. He then walked out of the landing pad.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Planet Opheliaz [https://res.cloudinary.com/dxtl7maxi/image/upload/v1661078179/Art/Pourpre%20Conspirary/planet-opheliaz-avrip-and-the-machine.png]
Planet Opheliaz - Avrip & The Machine
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The wind was surprisingly calm, and the water was tame. A deep shade of dark blue came and went around the landing area. Nestor founded himself near the centre of the complex, the conciergerie, the place where the Thulu give access to the data location for their prestigious clients.
As he entered, he only saw one woman waiting on a dark blue desk. She was dressed with the typical azure tone gown with the family insignia, a whale embroidered in a triangular patch.
“Welcome to Opheliaz! How can I help you?” said the lady.
“I’m Stanislas Volken; I’m a data manager for the Harkonnen house,” said Nestor in a hushed tone. Harkonnen style, no hello, no please.
“May I see your electronic Thulrah?”
Nestor took the Harkonnen electronic book out of his pocket and turned the page to the middle. An azure light appeared in the book. He gave it to her with a nod.
She briefly inspected its contents, then placed her hand on the blue marker.
“Seems correct, but I need to make a little additional audit; the Baron pays for the extra security,” she explained, “Silae! I need an extra check on a Thulrah!”
A petite azure-haired woman with very pale skin appeared in a transparent cloak. The concierge lady gave the book to the strange woman, who took it and inspected it. She put her nose next to the book, she took a deep breath, and her pupils went down to make way for the infinite empty space.
She is a mentat! thought Nestor in surprise.
“That won’t take long; it’s a regular procedure since the Baron’s victory,” said the concierge.
The Baron’s victory, Nestor weighed these words in his mind for a bit, that’s why HE sent me on my mission. Since I have read the report of the trial, I am also in doubt of his new shenanigans.
Silae used her augmented sense of smell from her mentat power to inspect the deepest cell of the electronic book that contained the Thulrah, a special set of data used as a key for the Thule deep storage.
They have their own mentat procedure and technology. I knew they were advanced on the subject—but for a Minor House, it’s very strange, Nestor noted with amazement.
Silae’s pupils resurfaced, and she exhaled through her nose and said in a very soft voice, “Thulrah Zamearh, the integrity is untouched.” She handed the book back to the concierge.
“Let me gather your key and location,” said the concierge, busy with her storage systems. “This is the key for vault 387 in the VJ area. You will find deep-water equipment and the water jockey on your left by taking this door,” she indicated.