Vorian Atreides has joined a Combined Mercantiles spice crew on Arrakis after leaving Kepler. The workers accept him as an offworlder willing to do dangerous desert labor, but their discipline is severe because even minor mistakes can kill an entire crew.

Crew chief Calbir takes Vor under his wing while treating him like an inexperienced young recruit. Calbir notices Vor's shield belt and confiscates it for safety, explaining that Holtzman fields attract sandworms. Vor offers to pilot a scout skimcraft because of his long experience, but Calbir refuses, judging Vor by his youthful appearance and warning that Arrakis winds require proven local mastery.

Vor works instead inside the vast spice-excavator, which moves across spice sands while aircraft watch for sandworms. The chapter explains how melange became vital during the Omnius-induced plagues, how the spice rush transformed Arrakis, and how Combined Mercantiles now dominates production by crushing rivals through intimidation, sabotage, and worse.

After several weeks, Vor finds the brutal work unexpectedly calming because it lets him avoid thinking beyond the next shift. The crew spends nights on rocky outcroppings safe from worms, and Vor privately misses Mariella and Kepler while wondering when, or whether, he can safely return.

One night Vor discovers signs of an old desert shelter. Calbir identifies it as likely Zensunni, descendants of escaped slaves who retreated deeper into the wilderness and call themselves Freemen. Vor expresses interest in meeting them, but Calbir dismisses the idea and posts a watch, warning that nomads and Josef Venport's enemies both pose dangers.

As the crewmen tell stories of storms, worms, lost comrades, and distant loves, Vor remains quiet. Though he could recount a lifetime of wars and travels, Vor chooses privacy and thinks instead of peaceful years, loved ones, children, and the life he has left behind.