Pulse of the Imperium

It is with the Bene Gesserit that they would travel to the Areteion; Salomea had insisted. By that time Xard had learnt to manage his discomfort around them as they seemed quite disinterested in him. Salomea was busy with listening to the streams of information coming with the fallout of the lion debacle, Cordana seemed absent-minded, watching the River Thonios hurtling below just as they were crossing the Mnemopharangos Canyon. But Shinah had received a subtle sign that she expected a report.

Xard was visibly pensive. Even for someone as non-versed in Imperial politics as him the repercussions of what had transpired seemed weighty.



Salomea leaned back from the thopter controls, took off the headset and finally spoke, to the wounded Zensunni.

"Are you ready to play the hero's role, Nirilli? You might be expected to. The voices of your people are converging that way."

Cuyler watched the landscape pass beneath them quietly. She didn't have the best history with thopters, but there were no lions up bere.

Cuyler Gray wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 27, 2025 2:25 pm

Cuyler watched the landscape pass beneath them quietly. She didn't have the best history with thopters, but there were no lions up bere.

A key of qaraa flew by. She didn't have the best history with cliffs either, but here she was, having survived once again. Her leg was numb for now, after tight dressing and painkillers.

Kannon wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 27, 2025 1:44 pm

Salomea leaned back from the thopter controls, took off the headset and finally spoke, to the wounded Zensunni.

"Are you ready to play the hero's role, Nirilli? You might be expected to. The voices of your people are converging that way."

Nirilli looked at Lady Salomea. She had tried to tidy herself as best she could, with one arm in a sling.

"I saw that people might die if I did not act, so I stood between them and peril. I could not prevent all the harm, but I could try to prevent some. And so I did. I was not afraid to die if it meant a guest lived."

She paused, thoughtful. "But why do you say Zensunni voices are converging that way? Because Ben Ghali died? A slave reaching for the stars? More died who were not Zensunni. The grief is for all. The weeping will refill every pool in the marsh."

"It is the simplest of answers, Nirilli. They saw your courage." Salomea stated the fact. "Your own interpretation of what you did may be quite irrelevant here. People who saw you cannot be swayed from believing they already know your motivations. Until you say or do something that will shock them out of it."

The Bene Gesserit tilted her head. "The same could be true about you, Ms Gray. But your appearance doesn't tell the populous you are one of them, even if you carry some local genetic markers."

"I have not known for that long myself." She responded. "I am still learning what that heritage means to me. It is a part of why I am here. As for leaping into the lion's den, I too have been trained to serve wherever I am needed."

Nirilli looked at Lady Gray curiously.

"You are ... you have Zensunni family? Can I ask from what planet? I am curious about all the places the Wanderers have wandered."

She shrugged. "I was born on Kirana III, beneath Noble class. I don't know my genealogy well enough to guess where my Zensunni ancestry was introduced. It was never mentioned. I had an aptitude for culinary skills and was educated to make use of that potential. I wonder now if others knew about my blood and intentionally trained me to understand the qualities of melange. Maybe, that was why I was sent to Arrakis."

"I have heard there is a Zensunni population on Arrakis, called Fremen."

"How wonderful to be a chef! You are a performer of a kind, like me. An artist. But one who provides nourishment with their craft. Are you here to become a chef for a patron?"

"I like to expand my skills by studying the foods of other planets, especially those that are culturally influenced." She explained. "I visited Caladan recently and had the opportunity to come here."

"Caladan," she repeated. Another planet to learn about! "What did you like best about Caladan?"

"Are you interested in historical recipes? Ancient recipes?"

"There was a local festival when I first arrived. The people were very welcoming and their food was delicious." She smiled. "All recipes interest me. But, really it's about how culture and location influence those recipes. Som e dishes are universally common, but can be vastly different experiences on different planets."

She smiled.

"What an experience to travel and sample! Do you have your own ship that you can do so? What is your favorite dish that you have learned to make?"

She shook her head. "I am not where near important enough to have a ship. But, I have been fortunate to have opportunities to travel. There is a savory pastry I was taught to make by a family of miners. It us simple and adaptable. I enjoy making that."

She smiled at the thought of a savory pastry taught by a family of miners. Lady Gray seemed to value the contributions of simple working people.

"Growing up on our tribe-family's barge in the marsh, my mother often made green fig and salt fish. I can't think of anything more tasty. Except possibly her callaloo and salt fish, which is even more savory." Lady Gray had clearly indicated she liked savory dishes.

"That sounds delicious. " She nodded. "That's the kind of dishes that interest me."

None of the Sisters seemed inclined to intrude upon the culinary conversation, and their thoughts remained their own. Xard scored a shut-eye, actually. But now, they were about to land, somewhere near the top of the Areteion. The crystal that was the mouth of the Heliophagos glistened in the afternoon sun.

Relief crossed Cuyler's features. But, she remained alert. They still had to land after all.

Nirilli could see they were close to arrival.

The memory of her mother's cooking brought with it also how she made these very dishes also for her tribe's lavish pot-latches when there was a loss, each trying to give more, to console with food, the chief giving most, the fisherman returning with the biggest catches, the keening...

The ways here in the Archon's city were different. But perhaps there was an opportunity to help. To sing the Archon's grief so it was felt as warmth and care.


do you want to share what Nirilli might have had a chance to observe in the past about funeral rituals here in this court? seems like a logical thing to think about and maybe talk about or scene about

Turning her attention back to Nirilli, Cuyler smiled. "I would like to hear more stories about your family and life here on Harmonthep, if you would have time to share such."