After Ellus frees Hyla and Andros, the twins fly their stolen ship to Salusa Secundus, the heart of the Imperium. During the journey and after arrival, they study Butlerian records and human histories, resenting the way those accounts condemn General Agamemnon and praise Vorian Atreides as a hero who betrayed the thinking machines and helped defeat the cymeks.

Hyla considers the possibility of turning Vorian back toward Agamemnon's legacy, while Andros believes Vorian deserves death. By searching public broadcasts and historical records, Andros discovers that Vorian recently reappeared on Salusa Secundus to speak for Kepler, the world where he had built a family. Hyla obtains Kepler's coordinates, and the twins steal the fuel they need, killing two people who interfere before leaving Salusa Secundus.

On Kepler, Hyla and Andros use the combat and infiltration training taught by Juno to approach Vorian's village by night. They know the layout, the names of Vorian's relatives, and the location of his house, but they care only about finding Vorian rather than his descendants. Seeing Mariella alone inside, Andros wants to attack immediately, but Hyla insists on gathering information first because violence can follow intelligence, not replace it.

The twins break into Mariella's home and reveal that they are Vorian's brother and sister. Mariella is suspicious and refuses to tell them where Vorian went, saying he left Kepler permanently for his own reasons. Impatient, Andros shoves Mariella into a chair hard enough to break her collarbone, and Hyla agrees that they must use harsher interrogation methods while covering their tracks so no one can warn Vorian.

Before dawn, villagers see Mariella's house engulfed in flames. Bonda, Mariella's daughter, rushes there with her husband Tir and their sons, but the fire has already consumed the lower level and is spreading through the house. Tir restrains the distraught Bonda as firefighters struggle against the blaze, and Bonda collapses in grief, realizing that her mother likely did not escape.