master" Even though Dxracan was not quite the swordsman that Gurney Halleck was, he was a superb teacher Paul often remarked that Duncan's feline movements and swift reflexes made him a difficult teacher to emulate However, Duncan's success is easy to measure in Paul's triumphs over the Fremen Jamis and the na-Baron Feyd Rautha Harkonnen More im portant to Paul s leadership to the Fremen, Duncan also made him a master tactician, and it would be foolish to expect that Paul ever would have been accepted by the Fremen, even with consideration of the religious forces, if he had not been a complete warrior Sadly tjpical of Duncan s services to the Atreides, his skill as a teacher brought House Atreides woe as well as joy One of the primary reasons Shaddam IV and House Comno supported Baron Vladimir Harkonnen's attempted destruction of House Atreides was that Duncan and Gurney Halleck had trained a small force to equal the Padishah Emperor's Sardaukar, and Arrakeen Fremen held great potential for expansion of this small group It was Duncan who first recognized the military potential of the Fremen As the leader of the second wave onto Arrakis, it was his responsibility to initiate contact and negotiations with the desert commandos The success with which he did this demonstrates Duncan's thoroughness and care in matters relating to House Atreides He was the one who learned of the danger of Shields m the desert, who delivered the first cryskmfe to Duke Leto, and who stopped Leto's anger when the Naib Stilgar spat on the table to honor the Duke He also established a tempo rary truce with the Fremen While he was never the ideal diplomat his character made him the ideal liaison with the Fremen His morality pride, ruthlessness loyalty, prowess, and fondness for the truth were a perfect match with the puritanical, ngid, and brutally direct Stilgar In addition, his honoring of the slam Fremen, Turok, shortly after the Atreides arrived m Arrakeen, created the opportunity for Duncan to accept dual alle giance Duncan's familiarity with the deserts of Arrakis, gained during his time in the sietches, would later be an irreplaceable asset following the Harkonnen/Sardaukar attack His knowledge enabled him to guide Paul and the Lady Jessica to freedom and to find Liet-Kynes In spite of his obvious skills and singular IDAHO DUNCAN 319 IDAHO DUNCAN HAYT loyalty, Duncan Prime's life was filled with bitter anomalies His impulsive actions which often spelled the difference between life and death, were out of place in the Atreides world of intrigue, politics, and prescience Duncan was unreflecting and im