“You are being sensibly agreeable about this, for which you will be rewarded,” the old Honored Matre said.
“I recognize your powers, Honored Matre,” he said. That was true. He bowed his head to conceal the resolution that he knew he could not keep from his eyes.
She gestured to the newcomers. “These two will accompany you. Their slightest whim is your command. They will be treated with all honor and respect.”
“Of course, Honored Matre.” Keeping his head bowed he lifted both arms as though in salutation and submission. A dart hissed from each sleeve. As he released the darts, Waff jerked himself sideways in his chair. The motion was not quite rapid enough. The old Honored Matte’s right foot shot out, catching him in the left thigh and hurling him backward on his chair.
It was the old Honored Matre’s last living act. The dart from his left sleeve caught her in the back of her throat, entering through her opened mouth, a mouth left gaping in surprise. Narcotic poison cut off any outcry. The other dart hit the non-Face Dancer of the newcomers in the right eye. His Face Dancer accomplice cut off any warning shout by a blurred chop to the throat.
Two bodies slumped in death.
Painfully, Waff disentangled himself from the chair and righted it as he got to his feet. His thigh throbbed. A fraction of a meter more and she would have broken his thigh! He realized that her reaction had not been mediated by her central nervous system. As with some insects, attack could be initiated by the required muscle system. That development would have to be investigated!
His Face Dancer accomplice was listening at the open hatch. She stepped aside to allow the entry of another Face Dancer in the guise of an Ixian guard.
Waff massaged his injured thigh while his Face Dancers disrobed the dead women. The one who copied the Ixian put her head to that of the dead old Honored Matre. Things moved swiftly after that. Presently, there was no Ixian guard, only a faithful copy of the old Honored Matre and a younger Honored Matre attendant. Another pseudo-Ixian entered and copied the younger Honored Matre. Soon, there were only ashes where dead flesh had been. A new Honored Matre scooped the ashes into a bag and concealed it beneath her robe.
Waff made a careful examination of the room. The consequences of discovery made him shudder. Such arrogance as he had seen here came from obviously awesome powers. Those powers must be probed. He detained the Face Dancer who had copied the old one.
“You have printed her?”
“Yes, Master. Her waking memories were still alive when I copied.”
“Transfer to her.” He gestured to the one who had been an Ixian guard. They touched foreheads for a few heartbeats then parted.
“It is done,” said the older one.
“How many other copies of these Honored Matres have we made?”
“Four, Master.”
“None of them detected?”
“None, Master.”
“Those four must return to the heartland of these Honored Matres and learn all there is to know about them. One of those four must get back to us with what is learned.”
“That is impossible, Master.”
“Impossible?”
“They have cut themselves off from their source. This is their way, Master. They are a new cell and have established themselves on Gammu.”
“But surely we could. . .”
“Your pardon, Master. The coordinates of their place in the Scattering were contained only in a no-ship’s workings and have been erased.”
“Their tracks are completely covered?” There was dismay in his voice.
“Completely, Master.”
Disaster! He was forced to rein in his thoughts from a sudden frenzied darting. “They must not learn what we have done here,” he muttered.
“They will not learn from us, Master.”
“What talents have they developed? What powers? Quickly!”
“They are what you would expect from a Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserit but without the melange memories.”
“You’re sure?”
“There is no hint of it. As you know, Master, we —
“Yes, yes. I know.” He waved her to silence. “But the old one was so arrogant, so . . .”
“Your pardon, Master, but time presses. These Honored Matres have perfected the pleasures of sex far beyond that developed by any others.”