Griffin Harkonnen travels to Kepler after Valya tells him Vorian Atreides is hiding there. Griffin resents having to leave Lankiveil after the loss of Weller and the whale-fur cargo, but family honor takes precedence over his business plans and his ambitions to become a Landsraad representative on Salusa Secundus.

To fund the trip, Griffin sets aside Lankiveil’s operating money, automates accounts, appoints deputies, and spends savings meant for his future political work. He takes a cheap, roundabout route on a Celestial Transport cargo ship despite mistrusting the company after Weller’s death.

When Griffin reaches Kepler, he sees Imperial warships protecting the planet and learns that Vorian secured them from Emperor Salvador. At the spaceport, local workers eagerly describe Vorian as a beloved resident and hero who rescued enslaved Kepler families from Poritrin and used his influence to protect the planet. These accounts unsettle Griffin because they conflict with the Harkonnen family’s image of Vorian as a treacherous enemy.

As Griffin travels toward Vorian’s valley, he imagines confronting Vorian openly rather than murdering him dishonorably. Griffin remembers years of combat training with Valya and wonders whether Valya had always been preparing him for a moment when a Harkonnen would face Vorian Atreides.

Griffin arrives during a funeral procession and meets Bonda, Mariella Atreides’s grieving daughter. Bonda explains that Mariella died after the family house burned, and that Vorian had already left Kepler as part of a bargain with the throne to secure the planet’s safety. Griffin first thinks Vorian might be dead, then learns that Vorian has gone to Arrakis.

Because no outbound ship will leave Kepler for several days, Griffin accepts Bonda’s invitation to stay for Mariella’s funeral. He chooses not to share the hostile Harkonnen stories he knows about Vorian and instead quietly observes a community mourning Mariella and honoring the Atreides family.