On Arrakis, Vorian Atreides flies a scout aircraft above a VenHold spice-harvesting operation in a sheltered valley. Calbir has allowed him another solo patrol, though Calbir still warns Vorian not to underestimate the planet. While circling the basin, Vorian reflects on his long life, his lost families, the Butlerian Jihad, and old betrayals.

A burst of frantic radio traffic interrupts Vorian’s patrol: the spice crew is under attack. Vorian returns silently rather than broadcasting his approach. He finds dune rollers burning, workers dead, and the excavator shut down, but he lands to investigate because survivors may still be inside and evidence may soon be erased by sandworms.

Inside the excavator, Vorian finds more bodies and retrieves his shield belt, a flare gun, and a pry bar. On the operations deck, Calbir has been decapitated, and two young attackers, Andros and Hyla, wait for Vorian. They appear strangely familiar, possess unnatural strength and resilience, and say they expected Vorian not to run.

Hyla’s stunner fails against Vorian’s shield, and Vorian’s attacks barely slow the pair. After a flare sets their clothing on fire without stopping them, Vorian flees through the excavator. Vorian uses the manual cargo-pod ejection system to launch Andros and Hyla into the air, but they drop from an impossible height unharmed, pursue him, and damage his scout flyer, forcing him to crash near the rocks.

As Vorian climbs into the rocky ridge, he meets Ishanti, a desert watcher employed by Josef Venport. Ishanti helps Vorian trigger a rockslide against Andros and Hyla, but the attackers survive and continue the chase. Ishanti then insists Vorian turn off his shield because it will enrage a worm, and she leads him onto the open desert as their only chance of escape.

Ishanti uses a sonic device to draw a sandworm, then leaps onto its back and pulls Vorian aboard. She exposes tender flesh between the worm’s rings to steer it, and Vorian ties himself down as the worm carries them away at great speed. Andros and Hyla are left stranded on the sand while Vorian and Ishanti escape into the deep desert.