Naib's Countenance [EE8]

[Kannon]

After some waiting, Stilgar decided he could afford to take a break from disputes with his peers and asked Ahmina to be directed to the quarters he chose for the time being, spartan as they were. He didn't even have time to relax water discipline, or just didn't want to given how seals were being opened many times because of all the traffic. Cave of Birds got busy.

[Ahmina]

''Subakh ul kuhar Stilgar''

Ahmina had been quick to arrive once told her naib was able to talk to her. She was not her usual self: something was alight deep within her mind.

[Kannon]

"Ah, Ahmina. Subakh ul nar." Stilgar might have been surprised that she was there. Still, her naib was glad that she came to him alive. He gave her a small smile. "Has Liet already released you from your bond to the offworlders? Or do you come with a message?" He released his face flap, revealing his dense dark beard. "Your stillsuit needs repairs." He remarked with paternal reproof.

[Ahmina]

She mirrored him as he removed his face flap

''I was with the offworlders until we got separated by a secret Harkonnen mining ship's military thopter escort after the eruption of a geyser in the cielago depression. The auditors managed to survive and escape thanks to their shields but that attracted the wrath of a maker I had to ride out of the field so it wouldn't kill the little makers...'' she took a breath ''...my stillsuit was damaged and my fremkit lost during the fight but I managed to follow the harkonnen's flight path to the false wall west where Shisakli found me.''

[Kannon]

Stilgar listened carefully. At the mention of her equipment loss, he frowned slightly - Ahmina knew him for being very tight manager of the sietch's resources, allowing little waste and carelessness, but in the end she knew it wouldn't be a major problem to get her a new one. Still, the story was more important, even as he wasn't quick to praise.

"How do you know those were Harkonnen? Abumojandis has told us there has been more activity by the Habbanya Erg, but those have all been unmarked craft. We know of no Harkonnen base in this area, but we have caught those smugglers. They say they are Tuek's but are held because we want the truth out of them about this activity. Why have they come to the Cave of Birds? If we don't get answers, their water will be taken. I think they may still be worth more alive than dead, at least some of them, but some naibs disagree."

[Ahmina]

''The topters were of military grade and geared for battle against our people.'' she explained ''They might not had a crest but the callous display of power, pride and violence speaks louder then the storm''

Who else could they be, after all? Would the Harkonnen permit some other party to import such hardware or leave it operating? Would smugglers act this way or laden themselves with so much anti-fremen weaponry?

Each factor might have been possible but all taken together painted a clear picture

[Kannon]

Stilgar frowned, thinking.

"You may be right. But you may also be wrong. Let me tell you a story from the time Liet and I were young. Down at the South Pole, Rondo Tuek, father of Esmar, was extracting water from the ground, but he was also the king of smugglers. We were beholden to him because he was our contact with the Guild and our bribes were passing through him. It was before Liet made direct contact with the Guild. Rondo Tuek sheltered a noble hunted by the Imperium who had been running his own operations on and off Dune for many years before Tuek finally betrayed him. He had been mining his own spice and could afford a lot of good equipment. He even had powerful explosives called atomics. It was all under Harkonnen noses and they didn't know. But Tuek sold that noble to the Emperor's man in Arrakeen and the Emperor's soldiers came for him. Liet took revenge on Tuek the Fremen way because that noble had been his friend."

The naib paused.

"His son Esmar tried to fix things with us not so long ago. He took a Fremen wife, a woman from Gara Kulon called Roula. But a few months ago he betrayed her to that Emperor's man in Arrakeen again, that Count, and she was killed for something she didn't do. And that Count killed a few other Fremen working with Tuek and drained their blood. Not in a deathstill. And then he watered the hideous palms before his palace with that blood while the Baron was watching."

He put his hand on his knee.

"Harkonnen are our enemies, Ahmina. But it doesn't make everyone else our friends. Few come to Dune for a reason different than to take from it. We don't understand this new activity, but we must learn what it is. It may be smugglers, or someone they help. It may be Harkonnen, or someone they help. It may be some other power from the Imperium we have not known about before who embarrasses the Harkonnen. We can destroy this activity without knowing, but I don't like such blind ways."

[Ahmina]

Ahmina was silent for a long moment, reflecting on what she had heard.

''Liet spoke the same warning but in different words.'' she admits ''But does it matters that they friend, foe or everything in between? These auditors will bring change and we must be ready for it, yes?''

[Kannon]

Stilgar nodded slowly, thoughtfully, barely audibly harrumphing into his beard. "What change could that be though? Do you have an idea, Ahmina?"

[Ahmina]

''I am not sure.'' she admitted ''But if we don't have a hand in it we won't be able to influence how it's shaped''

Her zeal was lessening...Stillgar was a respected naib for a reason

''But I will not go against Liet's will if he decides against it...'' now for a change of subject ''The smugglers...they said they had dealings with the auditors?''

[Kannon]

"True." He agreed with the sentiment she had expressed, the nodded. "Ah yes, they said such things. They said they had seen the activity too and so they have directed the offworlders here as some part of their deal. But we are here, and this audit is not about us." Stilgar was not ridiculing the point, he just strived for a spectrum of possibilities, even acknowledging points his rivals made. Tunnel vision would do his tribe no good.

[Ahmina]

''What will the council make of them?''

[Kannon]

"Saajid wants Liet's word, Abumojandis wants an offer from Esmar, Rajifiri wants their water and be done with them. For now, they live."

[Ahmina]

She thought for a second ''Rajifiri...is Chatt with him here?'' she ended up asking

[Kannon]

"He is." Stilgar confirmed, somewhat surprised. "Chatt is a good warrior..." He looked at Ahmina closely, wondering about her intentions, perhaps misreading them.

[Ahmina]

''He met the auditors and I a few days back'' she explained ''The eldest auditor spoke wisely and Chatt agreed to trade rather then take their water''

[Kannon]

"Ah. Even if you convince him to try to change his naib's mind, Rajifiri is a very stubborn man, set in the old ways." Stilgar chuckled. He was not averse to sticking to the old ways, in many ways they constituted him. His conservatism didn't collide with empathy and flexible tactics, even a pragmatic streak at times, a paradox no Zensunni felt compelled to resolve. Rajifiri and Stilgar often clashed, but it was more a conflict of characters and purview than any firm disagreement of principles. They were both men of ilm and fiqh, tenets and beliefs. "But I give you my permission to try."

[Ahmina]

She gave a nod

''Can we talk to the prisoners to see if they are truly with the auditors? I would be curious as to their dealings with them''

[Kannon]

"Not without guards posted by other naibs, who have their own orders. Talk must be careful else they may say something that can provoke those guards to take their water. It is a delicate situation, Ahmina." Stilgar's authority was not greater or smaller than those other naibs, and any controversy could always default to the most Fremen of ways - secure water for the tribe.

[Ahmina]

She nods again

''Should I go find the prisoners first or should I speak with Chatt before hand?'' she was good at many things but social finesse was not one of them

[Kannon]

"If you can get Chatt on your side that may help you with Rajifiri's men. They respect him."

[Ahmina]

''I will seek him out then...let's hope he his more reasonnable''

[Kannon]

Stilgar nodded. "You did good, Ahmina." He said finally. "Between what you have been doing for Liet and your contacts with the offworlders, you are making a name for yourself among the people. Taking a Maker out of the salt pan is difficult." A rare acknowledgement.

"When we're back in Sietch Tabr, I will want to talk with you about the marriage. I have been asked, and I expect to be asked more soon." Perhaps there was a reason Stilgar mentioned this right after Chatt had been spoken of?

[Ahmina]

To say that Ahmina did not swell with pride at Stillgar's acknowledgement would be a lie...she did but thoughts of marriage for later though: She will cross that canyon when she reaches it.

''Yes my naib. I will take leave of you and search for Chatt if there is nothing else''

[Kannon]

"For now, there is nothing else." He dismissed her with his usual strict paternal expression.