The sun rose on Arrakis.
In the city of Arrakeen.
It was still.
Things moved slow.
The city was filled with debris.
Fires still burned in the streets as workers rushed to contain them before the sun fully rose.
Inside the pace.
Outside of a room, Duncan, Jack, and Jessica stood as they waited for Yueh to give them the Gurney's current situation.
Many moments passed.
Everybody was silent as they waited patiently.
A click sounded as the door opened and Dr. Yueh stepped out.
"Doctor how is he?" Duncan rushed forward to ask.
Yueh had a prominent frown on his face.
His eyes gncing at Duncan's worried face.
"His right leg could not be saved," Yueh said quietly.
"He is in a coma. The impact did severe damage to his body." Yueh paused.
"He was not secured when the impact occurred. His body took the full force of it." Yueh said.
Duncan's eyes widened.
For a moment he said nothing.
His fists slowly clenched at his sides.
Jack stared at the ground in silence.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody knew what to say.
Jessica gnced at Duncan and Jack with a frown.
"Will he wake up Doctor?" Jessica stepped forward and asked.
"It is uncertain when but he should wake up soon however," Yueh said.
Jessica nodded.
"How are the other crewmen?" Jessica asked.
"The others had braced themselves and were properly secured in their seats. They fared considerably better with minor injuries." Yueh said.
Jessica nodded.
"Paul." Jessica said.
Nothing.
"Paul." Jessica's voice sharpened slightly.
Jack blinked.
'Paul...'
'Right. That's me.' Jack thought to himself.
His eyes lifted from the ground slowly.
"Sorry," he muttered.
"Follow me," She said as she began walking away.
She turned a corner and Jack followed.
"Paul," Jessica softly said as Jack turned the corner as well.
"Do you know what a leader is?" She asked.
Jack was silent for a moment.
'What does she want?' he wondered to himself.
A moment of silence passed.
"A leader is someone who takes responsibility for the people under him" Jack said.
"No, A leader who cannot carry the weight of his dead or injured has no business leading the living," Jessica said.
"In situations like this, people will be injured.
Some will die.
You need to be strong enough to carry that burden" Jessica said.
A brief pause.
Jessica looked at Jack and something crossed her face.
Not quite sadness.
Not quite fear.
Something she didn't let fully form before she controlled it again.
Having finished what she wanted to say, she turned around and walked away.
'He is not ready,' Jessica thought to herself, her eyes squinted, and a frown was prominent on her face.
Jack watched her walk away in silence before he turned back and headed towards the room Gurney was in.
As he turned the corner, he saw Yueh sitting on the floor leaning against the wall staring at the door in front of him.
Duncan was nowhere in sight.
Jack quietly walked up to Yueh.
"Where is Duncan?" Jack asked as he sat beside Yueh.
"He is inside," Yueh said softly.
Jack gnced at him sideways and let out a sigh.
Between the two, a moment of silence passed.
"The Baron escaped..." Yueh muttered.
'...'
Jack gnced at Yueh.
His rexed heart immediately tightened.
"Yes, he did," Jack agreed.
"He escaped, but he will get what's coming for him" Jack said.
"That is not what you promised" Yueh muttered.
Jack's jaw tightened.
A moment passed as he tried to answer.
Yueh stood up staring at Jack.
"What if... what if Wanna was alive and my actions... my actions killed her?" Yueh asked.
"Come on Yueh, we have been through this already" Jack softly said causing Yueh to scoff.
"You Great Houses…" Yueh said bitterly.
"You are all monsters."
"Monsters who will use anyone to get what they want," Yueh said staring at Jack.
Jack watched in silence as Yueh turned around and began walking away for several moments.
A tired sigh escaped Jack's lips when Yueh had walked off far into the distance.
His head leaned back against the wall as his eyes stared up at the roof.
"At least we are alive" he muttered to himself shutting his eyes for a moment.
...
A few hours ter, Jack walked into Duke Leto's office.
"Paul, you are here" Leto muttered as he gnced up at Jack walking.
Jack nodded.
"What is the aftermath of the battle?" Jack asked.
"The House took a lot of damage this time Paul. We lost 18 good pilots st night and have 97 injured pilots and crewmen. We lost several Ornithopters as well" Leto told Jack who nodded, taking this information in.
"Commander Gurney..." Jack said, but stopped.
Leto's eyes turned downcast.
"Yes, but it is good that Commander Gurney is alive," Duke Leto said.
"What about the damage to our refineries and overall structural repairs?" Jack asked.
"Two of our refineries have been severely damaged the other 3 will come into operation condition soon however," Leto said.
"A Landsraad should be held soon, we have enough war prisoners to extract a confession enough to potentially knock down the emperor's authority and deal a major blow to the Harkonnens," Jack said.
Leto was about to nod, but froze for a moment.
He looked up at Jack standing in front of him, his eyes staring at Jack in silence.
"You have been so different," Leto muttered.
'Different?? I have blended in perfectly!' Jack thought to himself with a frown.
Leto suddenly smiled, almost self-deprecatingly.
"I was worried about you," Leto said.
"But somewhere along the way…" He ughed quietly.
"I stopped worrying. And started relying on you instead."
"Not just the visions. But the decisions you have made."
"I kept waiting for you to make a mistake." Leto paused.
"But you never did, Paul." he said with a soft smile.
"House Atreides will be in good hands with you," Leto said.
Jack was silent.
"Yes"
That was all Jack could say as he stood there staring at Leto smiling at him.
"Good job son," Leto said.
Jack was silent for a long moment.
He opened his mouth. Closed it again.
Something tightened in his chest that he hadn't expected.
'Three months.'
'Three months of faking visions, strategies, near death, and war.'
'And somehow this is the hardest thing to say.'
"Thanks... father." Jack finally muttered.
Anime-sucks
