Chapter 297: Full Assault! Starlight Ignites! All Traitors Must Die!
After suffering catastrophic losses, the Harkonnen family was finally forced to face a cruel truth: they had absolutely no way of breaking through the enemy fleet's formation.
But this bitter realization came too late. The damage to the Harkonnen forces was already staggering, and the morale of the family coalition was plunging fast.
"No wonder that old bastard Leto dared to build those colossal warships and even openly declare rebellion—turns out he was fully prepared! I underestimated him..."
Baron Harkonnen growled through gritted teeth. The grim reality of their failed offensive lay right before him, undeniable no matter how much he wished otherwise.
Now, the tide of war was reversing dramatically.
Despite the overwhelming momentum projected by the joint interstellar forces of House Harkonnen and the Corrino royal family, as if they intended to sweep across the galaxy—
The moment they clashed with the titanic warships of the Universal Megacorp the entire alliance faltered. Those steel giants, with their seemingly infinite defense reserves, drove the Harkonnen soldiers to the brink of despair.
They sacrificed countless lives, yet couldn't even scratch the enemy's shield bar. What reason was there to keep going?
And Baron Harkonnen could clearly see the writing on the wall—if they lost this battle, the Atreides would take the victory, and the first to be purged would undoubtedly be House Harkonnen.
They had no one to blame but themselves—they were the weakest link.
The Corrino royal family had ruled the Galactic Empire for ten thousand years, accumulating immense political and human capital. Their influence and legacy still held power.
If House Atreides wanted to take over the empire, they'd need the royal family's support.
House Harkonnen, by contrast, had drained its coffers just to fund this war—and even borrowed heavily from others. If they lost and came away with nothing, total annihilation awaited.
Had he known investing in the "national debt" alongside the Corrinos came with bankruptcy-level risk, Baron Harkonnen would've never gone all in.
"Contact the royal command at once. Tell them to launch their forces immediately and coordinate with our attack!"
Baron Harkonnen all but roared the order. At this point, the Corrino family had to fight alongside the Harkonnens—together, they might still have a sliver of hope of killing Duke Leto and crushing House Atreides.
Otherwise, they were all doomed.
"Tell those cowards who've been hiding in their bunkers that our current offensive strength is nowhere near enough to breach the enemy's lines. If they won't fight, there's no point in continuing this war."
By now, anyone with half a brain could see that the fleet formations of the Megacorp were powered by shield generators of insane density.
Unless they concentrated their fire and overloaded those shields, any military action would just be suicide.
If they burned through all their troops for nothing, House Atreides would be laughing all the way to the throne.
So whether it was the Harkonnens or the Corrinos, they had to stop playing games and work together if they wanted any chance of winning.
If they triumphed, they'd all benefit. If they lost, they'd lose everything.
"Yes, my Lord Baron."
The Mentat Piter responded, though his tone betrayed a deep unease. As a human computer, Piter's computational abilities were extraordinary.
Based on a series of precise projections, Piter understood even better than the Baron just how dire their situation truly was.
His calculations showed that even if the Harkonnens and Corrinos combined their entire might, they still couldn't inflict any meaningful damage on the Atreides fleet.
Simply put, this war was a grossly one-sided mismatch. As far as Piter was concerned, House Harkonnen should already be preparing to surrender.
And as it turned out, he was absolutely right.
Back on Caladan, House Atreides had conducted repeated joint military drills with the Megacorp fleet, thoroughly testing the durability of their warships.
Keep in mind: the Atreides' firepower included orbital defense arrays and massive surface-based artillery.
Yet even under this three-pronged assault—orbital, planetary, and harassment by swarms of ships—the Megacorp vessels didn't show a single sign of shield overload.
Harkonnen firepower wasn't even close to that level. The outcome was inevitable.
At present, the Harkonnens were still piloting mosquito-sized ships, zipping around the starfield to launch attacks on the Megacorp's fleet.
But this ant-biting-an-elephant offensive didn't even register to the Megacorp navy. Their crew stood calmly at the viewing windows, watching the display like a fireworks show.
Before long, Emperor Shaddam received word of the situation and realized something was very wrong. He quickly issued orders for the Sardaukar Legion to enter the battle.
Truthfully, Shaddam had originally hoped to bleed House Harkonnen dry so he could sweep in and claim victory.
But he'd never intended to wait until the Harkonnens were completely spent before acting.
If they couldn't break through the Atreides fleet, they wouldn't even be able to land on Arrakis—let alone destroy House Atreides and kill old man Leto.
[All units, attack!]
With that command from Bashar, commander of the Sardaukar Legion, a swarm of advanced starfighters surged out of the Spacing Guild's highliners like a hive of hornets.
They charged toward the Megacorp fleet, clashing fiercely with the company's deployed AI drone swarms.
With this fresh army joining the fray, the Harkonnen alliance's offense did gain some momentum—but the overall battle situation remained unchanged.
The Megacorp still held absolute dominance.
Yes, the Sardaukar Legion was one of the strongest forces in the Empire, but in interstellar warfare, what really mattered were capital ships, big guns, and shields.
Unfortunately, the Dune universe's technology tree was infamously warped. Their approach to warfare had devolved into nothing more than a contest of spending power.
They didn't compare ship tech. They didn't test naval tactics. There was only one rule: brute force.
Whoever had the most ships and the deepest pockets won.
But now, facing a civilization like the Megacorp—one that had invested in the right technologies—and seeing their overwhelming capital ship array...
The Harkonnens and Corrinos were about to be crushed by a civilization operating on an entirely different level.
It was like a tribe of spear-wielding savages charging a modern army armed with artillery. All bark, no bite—they shattered at first contact.
Worse still, the Sardaukar were elite ground troops, specialists in close-quarters combat.
Throwing them into a space battle alongside a navy? That was complete lunacy. Wrong battlefield, wrong skills.
But at this point, Emperor Shaddam had no other choice.
They lacked any AI automation tech—if they wanted ships flown, they had to use live pilots.
Fortunately, ship piloting in the Galactic Empire had been streamlined. As long as the pilot had a functioning brain, they could get the hang of it.
Still, without AI automation, every ship required human operation—driving their war costs through the roof.
This was where the Megacorp AI investment really paid off.
Every Megacorp warship was equipped with advanced smart AI systems—coordinating units, managing weapons, and controlling drone swarms.
Their AI-controlled drones weren't just fast—they performed highly complex, near-unimaginable tactical maneuvers.
In many ways, naval combat in space resembled a high-speed shooter game: success came from precision strikes to break the enemy's defense.
And in that realm, AI naturally outperformed human brains.
They processed more data, reacted faster, and most importantly—they aim-botted.
Even in the absolute best-case scenario—where the Sardaukar somehow broke through the Megacorp ranged and point-defense systems, evaded the drones, and landed a successful boarding assault—
They wouldn't be greeted by victory.
They'd find themselves face-to-face with the Megacorp elite transhuman warriors: Astartes and Spartan Soldiers.
A descent from one hell into an even deeper one. The mere thought of it was despair incarnate.
…
Arrakis.
While the space battle raged furiously in orbit, the forces of House Harkonnen and the Sardaukar Legion were steadily being annihilated.
In less than half an hour, the combined casualty rate had already reached 30%.
Under normal conditions, a force would begin to break after losing half its troops.
With strict discipline, a unit might hold until 60% losses—but an army that fought to the last man was a myth in the Galactic Empire.
To breach the Megacorp fleet before hitting that 50% collapse threshold, Emperor Shaddam and Baron Harkonnen had made their choice.
They would fight to the bitter end.
All in with a reckless shove.
Ironically, this decision only worsened the Allied Forces' casualties. From the surface of Arrakis, the "stars" that filled the sky tonight looked especially brilliant.
But those sparkling lights were nothing more than the dying embers of destroyed spacecraft.
Inside the Atreides base headquarters, Dr. Yue, who remained unaware of the naval battle's developments, was pacing anxiously back and forth in the corridor.
At this moment, he was gripped by a sense of burning anxiety. The Harkonnen forces had failed to descend according to the plan, which meant something had changed. If this continued, he would be exposed!
Staring at the defense system, which was moments away from rebooting, Dr. Yue's heart sank into despair. It was very possible that Duke Leto had already discovered his treachery.
If that were the case, as a traitor, he would surely be seized by the Atreides guards—executed in disgrace and branded in shame. And his wife, Wanna, would never have any hope of being saved.
Just as Dr. Yue stood paralyzed by indecision, Duke Leto suddenly appeared at the far end of the hallway, catching him off guard with a casual comment:
"Dr. Yue, the stars are very bright tonight. Why aren't you outside enjoying them? What brings you here instead?"
As he spoke, Leto deliberately flicked his wrist, drawing attention to the shield generator strapped to it—the very device that controlled the defensive energy field.
A blue glow radiated from the device, signaling that the shield was now fully reactivated.
And with that, Dr. Yue's plot was laid bare.
When he saw Duke Leto, Dr. Yue froze for a moment. He knew then that his covert actions had already been exposed.
"…I'm sorry, Your Grace. I had no choice."
Dr. Yue lowered his head, ashamed. He didn't know how to face his former master, Leto, but deep down, his dominant emotions were guilt and humiliation.
Because whether as a loyal retainer of House Atreides or as an undercover agent for the Harkonnens, he had failed completely.
"The choice was always yours," Leto said, shaking his head with a sigh of regret. "You just made the wrong one."
If it hadn't been for Lady Jessica's warning, Leto would never have believed Yue would betray him.
After all, there had never been a precedent of a Suk doctor turning on his master. And yet, such a thing had happened—right in House Atreides.
"Tell me, why did you betray House Atreides?"
Duke Leto didn't lash out or interrogate him in anger. As always, he spoke calmly, as if this were a routine conversation between old friends.
"Yes, Your Grace…"
Dr. Yue didn't dare meet Leto's eyes. He explained that the Harkonnens had taken his wife, Wanna, and subjected her to torture. He said he had no choice but to do this, that it was the only way to save her.
After hearing Yue's confession, Duke Leto's expression darkened with disappointment. In his mind, he had already passed judgment.
The reason Leto asked why Yue betrayed the family wasn't because he didn't already know—it was to offer him one final chance to "prove his loyalty."
If Yue had claimed to be brainwashed by Wanna, or persecuted by the Bene Gesserit, and insisted that he still remained loyal to House Atreides, maybe—just maybe—Leto would have considered leniency. Perhaps the offense could be minimized, and Yue would be allowed to stay.
In truth, when a leader asks a subordinate what mistake they made, the mistake itself is not the real concern.
The real issue is whether the subordinate can demonstrate that their loyalty remains intact. That's the critical point.
As long as the response contains even a shred of loyalty, the punishment likely won't be too severe.
But Yue's answer? It was the epitome of a hopeless fool.
He took all the blame upon himself. He refused to say a single bad word about Wanna. He wouldn't so much as imply the Bene Gesserit were involved.
With a person like this, no matter how much the leader wants to save him, it's impossible—because he's actively digging his own grave.
Duke Leto shook his head in bitter disappointment and delivered the final judgment:
"You colluded with our enemies and plotted against House Atreides. According to our laws, this crime warrants death. Do you have any last words?"
As he finished speaking, Leto drew a sharp dagger from his waist. This time, he wasn't giving Yue another chance to explain himself.
He was offering him a chance to speak his last words.
For a traitor who turned against his own house, Leto could show no mercy.
Betray once, and you're never trusted again.
To those in power, loyalty is more important than ability.
After all, just building that trust demands a massive investment of time, emotion, and resources.
Once trust is broken, restoring it would take a thousand times more effort than it took to build.
Rather than hope for reform, it's more efficient to eliminate the problem and find a replacement.
When it comes to betrayal, the most efficient solution is elimination—whether it's to uphold house laws or avoid future risks.
Dr. Yue understood his fate. But rather than fear or panic, he felt a strange sense of relief.
Compared to watching his wife suffer while his conscience tore him apart, death was a kind of release.
"I have nothing more to say. You may kill me as you wish, Your Grace. I only ask—please save my wife, Wanna. She's innocent. She's a good person."
Even at the final moment of his life, Yue's thoughts remained with his wife, whose fate remained uncertain.
Hearing this, Duke Leto could only feel bitter disappointment. Even now, Yue thought only of his wife.
How could he ever be trusted again? A man who thought only of his wife, and not once of his old master?
What if Wanna were taken again someday? Would Yue betray them all over again?
Leto took a deep breath. He said nothing in response to Yue's plea. Whether Wanna lived or died wasn't his concern.
He simply stepped forward, seized Yue by the shoulder, and plunged the dagger deep into his chest.
With a wet shhk, the blade easily pierced his heart.
A flood of blood gushed from the shattered organ, soaking through Yue's clothes, and his consciousness began to fade.
A stab to the heart is not the gentlest death—but it's not the cruelest either. Letting Yue die quickly was the final act of mercy House Atreides could offer a former retainer.
At that moment, Yue gripped Duke Leto's wrist tightly, aware that his life was slipping away.
Even his vision began to blur.
In that fleeting moment of clarity before death, Dr. Yue realized just how terrible his mistake had been.
Betraying House Atreides was the most foolish choice he had ever made.
Even if he had succeeded in helping the Harkonnens destroy House Atreides, how could he ever be sure that the ruthless Baron wouldn't turn around and silence him afterward?
But regret was useless now. Death had already wrapped its chains around him, pulling his soul into the abyss.
There was no longer any need for Dr. Yue to feel guilt or remorse for his betrayal.
He had already paid for it—with blood.
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