Liet Kynes hurned across the killing floor and embraced the new leader After congratu lating Stilgar on his victory and assuring himself that the slash was minor, Liet-Kynes asked permission to address the troop It was immediately granted, and he explained to the assembled company that he had been granted his father's position as Imperial Planetologist and would be continuing the work with the palmanes that Pardot Kynes had begun The speech was short but effective Liei Kynes had made it clear, in terms the Fremen could accept, that he had taken on his father's role as their leader, that the leadership of the individual sietches would remain inviolate, as it had been under the older Kynes and that the ecological transformation would not be interrupted by the death of any one man, even its originator Sietch Tabr prospered under its new naib Stilgar led a dozen successful raids against the Harkonnens during his first year of leadership, all with minimum casualties More far-sighted than his predecessor, he also made plans for a gradual expansion of the cave warren adding larger factor) and weaving areas and extra classrooms for the slowly increasing number of children in the sietch (along with the new windtraps and catch basins the larger population would require) In 10176, Liet-Kynes returned to Tabr for a visit lasting several months It was dunng this time that he married Falra, a Tabr woman with whom he had grown up, under the Fremen ritual with Stilgar officiating Late STUGAR 477 the following year when the couple's daugh ter Cham was born, Stilgar and Misra stood as godparents to the child, pledging to raise her as their own in the event that her parents were unable to do so That responsibility came on them abruptly in 10180 when Falra was injured in a rockfall and died before help could reach her Be cause Liet Kynes was in-sictch so seldom, and because it was essential to the Fremen's plan that his connection with them not attract unwanted attention, the giri Cham was made a part of Stilgar's household at once Misra and Tharthar, their own children nearly grown, took the child immediately to their hearts- as did Stilgar's third wife, Kahfi, whom he married in 10185 (after defending his burda against her former mate, Jesal, in 10184) Like the rest of his people, Stilgar greeted the transfer of the Arrakis fief to House Atreides (10190) with cautious optimism True, the new rulers were off-woriders, like the Harkonnen beasts, but heartening stones of the House s character had preceded their arrival The firemen decided to wait to see if the tales had any truth to them before they judged the newcomers As far as Stilgar was concerned, the first proof came in the person of Duncan Idaho Swordmaster for Duke Leto Atreides Idaho had been sent to Sietch Tabr as Left's representative, to make contact witfi the Fremen and to assure them that the abuses suffered during the Harkonnen reign would now be ended During his stay m-sietch, Idaho had adopted Fremen customs without question and had conducted himself honorably After he had left to return to his Duke, the Fremen heard about a plot to send Haifconnen mercenaries disguised as desert people against the Atieides, because of the favorable impres sion Idaho had made, Stilgar dispatched a courier with a warning, following shortly after with a small band of men intent on seeing how the new soldiers would measure up as warriors The courier was waylaid en route by the pseudo-Fremen and badly wounded The Harkonnens attacked Idaho and his men but were rebuffed, with many being killed and the survivors taken prisoner Idaho found the courier and was taking him to the House medics when the man died He took the body back to Atreides headquarters, intending to bury him surprised that Stilgar and his men-who had joined him for the last part of the battle-had not asked that the corpse (containing water of their tribe) be given them Sfalgar's reasons for accompanying Idaho were threefold he wished to learn the man ner of man whom Idaho served so loyally he was curious about how the Atreides would treat the body of the dead courier Turok (the Harkonnens it was known showed no re spect to Fremen dead, not even to taking their water), and most important, he was compelled to see what Idaho intended to do with Turok s cryskmte, having surprised the dying Fremen in the act of throwing it away On all counts the naib was satisfied After he had forbidden Idaho to unsheath the cryskmfe before the other Atreides men (thereby ' defiling, in Stilgar s eyes, an "honorable blade ), he found that Duke Leto not only refused to be provoked by the encroachment on his authonty but enforced the command When the Duke added that it was an Atreides custom always to pay their debts and inquired whether there were any other way to honor the man who had died in his service Stilgar was enough impressed by the new ruler s behavior to favor him with a small fen or water tribute he spat on the tabletop before Leto The angrj reaction of the Atreides servitors-who did not realize how Stilgar bad honored Leto-was checked when Idaho reminded them of how precious water was to a Fremen, thanked Stilgar for his gift, and repeated the gesture himself Stilgar then requested that Idaho seek re lease from his service to the Duke