Chatt was actually taking a moment to drink some spice coffee in the yali his tribe had appropriated. It was at the lower levels, and the hum of the windtraps and the thicker whiff of water vapour tickled the nostrils. His baliset was nearby; he either must have player or strummed it, or was about to. Baliset was a complex, nine-stringed instrument and few could master it.



"Ahmina, isn't it? Where did you lose your offworlders?" He gestured for her to join him on the orange-blue spice fiber cushions for this moment of reprieve.

''Subakh ul kuhar Chatt?'' she greeted as she sat near ''I we were separated at the salt flats when we where attacked by what I believe to be an Harkonnen force. '' she told once more

''I only arrived recently...how are things here?''

"Subakh ul nar. Hard to say quickly. Perhaps sit." He gestured. "So the Harkonnen attacked them? They must have thought they could succeed."

''The thopters were unmarked but they were certainly Harkonnen.''She said ''We essentially stumbled on each other and they seized the opportunity or did not know who we were at first, I think''

"Ah, so they just wanted to eliminate trespassers. What did they want to hide?"

''My guess? Their mining rig...the auditors are here to make sure everything is on the level on this front. Which is clearly not the case.''

"It has never been since the Harkonnen came. Why now then? Their terror doesn't offend those offworlders, but one hidden spice facility might?"

He paused.

"The same we met and traded with? That thopter was a good one. It was a good trade."

''The same'' she said with a nod ''Most f the offworlders value spice above most things...from what I have observed it acts like a potent drug when they ingest it. Their leadership might very well be addicted to it somehow...and if the Harkonnen are messing with the supply...'' she paused, shrugging...''You don't hoard drugs when the junkies have bigger knives then you''

"So they clash over who will be draining spice that belongs to Shai-hulud." Chat shrugged. "I know, I know, these new offworlders seem to be slightly better. Not sure if those who have sent them are, and if they are just pawns. You haven't come to discuss them though? It's about smugglers?"

''We can speak about them...if you want. But yes, I want to know your opinion about the smugglers and what we should do with them''

"I think we should release them, but keep their equipment. Smugglers can be a nuisance, but they are not our enemies. We don't need a feud with them." He shrugged. "If they return, they don't know the sietch below, they haven't seen the catch basins. Taking their water will not stop them from coming back if they already know the way."

He paused. "Their lieutenant, he calls himself Bannerjee, has some desert honesty. They may be true that they are getting their part of the bargain with the offworlders done by providing them transport from here. Question is, what bargain." He drank some spice coffee, letting the question hang. "Still, the naibs will decide."

''Good question...I know the offworlders have very intimate dealings with Zenzi, Bewt's daughter, that may be linked? But I don't think it's wrong to assume that some of them will have a hand in the water distribution.''

Chat cringed at the mention of Bewts. He apparently didn't appreciate their water business. "These smugglers are Tuek's. I don't think they have anything to do with the Bewts."

He shrugged it off and looked at her. "You've come to say something, Ahmina."

''I wished to talk about the prisoners and what should be doe with them. Unless they already have been interrogated...to you want to talk to them with me?''

"They've been talked to, but we can try. You're here on Stilgar's suggestion, aren't you?" He chuckled. "I have faith in my naib, Ahmina, that he wants the best for the tribe. I'd have challenged him if I didn't. We don't always agree, but this is how it is within the sietch, isn't it?"

''I got Stillgar's approval but I am here on my own initiative Chatt. I believe this is one more part of my trial''

He nodded and finished his coffee.

"What do you want to ask them about? Good to know ahead, their answers may kill them."

She raised an eyebrow

''I wonder why they came here in the first place...who gave them the location''

"They might have known about the place without knowing it." Chatt said, rising, reading to leave with her. "Things look different from above and from the sand. But we can ask that, I think. Anything else?"

She rose as well

''I what capacity do they deal with the outsiders...we must stay ahead and keep aware of such dealings''

"They may refuse to tell it. Even if their word is not worth their water, the still understand that betraying their partners is bad business." Chatt shrugged as they walked up from the warrens of the Cave of Birds to the hidden seals where there was a more exposed part of the caverns.

''Dying is also bad for business'' she replied ''Aren't they aware of the situation they are in?''

"I think they are. Their squad leader here, Bannerjee, is a reasonable man." Chatt shrugged. "It's easy to get them killed, Ahmina. Harder to keep them alive."

They finally reached the cave where the smugglers were held. There was a commotion, but Chatt's reputation was such that they didn't challenge him approaching the two dozen men sitting at the far end. One of them rose. He was a rare kind: stocky, but not water-fat, a hybrid of adjusting to the necessities of Dune while maintaining privileges of offworld supplies. His eyes were tinged with blue slightly, a sign he'd been there long enough.



"I won't speak out of order, Fremen. Tell us what you want from us and perhaps we can finally come to some settlement."

''A settlement assumes you have something to trade'' she replied to the smuggler ''So what can you trade Bannerjee? I am curious''

"You have already taken all our things." Bannerjee said matter-of-factly. "Except for our lives."