at garrison, and her consort Pave! Mems Her mother, like many of the women in the royal military, was a strong, broad shouldered type with a muscular body, Nayla inherited these characteristics in an amplified version and was known from her earliest days m the Grumman fish Speaker's school far her unusual strength Unlike Calliste, however, Nayla was unattractive in the extreme Even as a child, she possessed a flat, square-jawed face, undistinguished blonde hair and nearly invisible eyebrows Her eyes were her only compelling feature but not for their beauty they were piercing, overbnght, they made those subjected to their gaze uncomfortable (They were also a vivid green, but mis was a detail few noticed immediately) Nayla began her training at the age of three, as was usual for a Fish Speaker's child, and impressed her teachers from the beginning with her interest in,religion In other academic subjects she performed only marginally, and physical training came so easily to her that she seldom had to apply herself It was the studies concerning the God Emperor and his works m which the homely child most willingly immersed herself, a willingness which marked her among the faculty as either a devout little girl or, occasionally as an incipient fanatic The appellation chosen generally depended upon the individual teacher s own beliefs, but Fish Speakers bemg the loyal servants of the God Emperor that they were, only a small number of mem saw anything remarkable m the strength of Nayla s dedication In 13705 when Nayla's class of Fish Speakers graduated, she had already spent five years as a junior member of the Imperial Constabulary the subdivision which dealt with domestic problems in Leto's far flung empire Nayla had been dispatched on sever al occasions to trouble spots on Grumman and had received commendations from three of her commanding officers for her zeal and expertise in subduing noting locals Graduation from the Grumman school raised Nayla from junior to full membership in the Constabulary It alba brought her to the attention of the God Emperor, who received files on each Fish Speaker as she completed her training Intrigued by the reports of Nayla's superiors Leto ordered her transferred to her first off world duty assignment-the Wallach IX garrison-and arranged for annual reports of her progress to be sent to Arrakis Unbeknownst to the Fish Speaker Command Leto assigned an intelligence aide to make her own reports to him The God Emperor always had need of Fish Speakers whom he could trust to obey him without question Nayta, with her known religious obsession and record of competence, seemed a good potential recruit Her testing lasted for fifteen years The Wallach IX assignment, m which she proved herself completely invulnerable to the Bene Gessent s most persuasive attacks on her faith, ended with her promotion to lieutenant s rank and transfer to Seprek (fourth planet of Endani C) m 13709 During her stay in the Seprek garrison the Daelk Rebellion broke out, destroying the Seprekian capital for winch the re\olt was named and threatening to engulf the remainder ot the planet It sue cessful the rebels would have managed to wrest Seprek from the God Emperor's control necessitating its invasion and recapture by a large force of Fish Speakers and setting a most disagreeable precedent It was decided to send out a squadron of Death Commandos These berserkers-errant Fish Speakers who had m some way failed in serving the God Emperor-would descend on the rebels m Dai_lk like a horde of aveng mg Furies, unstoppable except by welcome death, which would earn the salvation forfeited by their earlier behavior The Commandos were used only in last ditch situations and no NYCALL1STE 397 group they were sent against had yet survived the battle In addition to maintaining the shock value of the Death Commandos, there was another reason for Fish Speaker Command's reluctance to put their errant sisters into action The Commandos had to be led by someone lacking their overpowering urge to kill and destroy-someone capable of directing the operation coolly and effectively The Fish Speaker who volunteered for such an assignment (the job had to be taken on voluntarily, because it was considered unthinkable to order anyone to Cake it) seldom returned from her mission Her commanding officer was not surprised when Nayla volunteered to lead the attack Daelk was taken and Nayla-her left arm so badly burned by a lasgua near-miss mat it required six hours of reconstructive surgery- returned to her garrison with news of the victory She received a special citation from the Lord Leto, delivered by a member of his elite Citadel Guard, and was promoted to captain Nayla remained on Seprek for eleven years, continuing her record of outstanding service and earning further promotion She was a sub-bashar by her teeth year in the garrison and seemed destined for its eventual command until a summons arrived in 13.