Battle of Denali

The Battle of Denali was the final battle of the conflict between the Butlerian movement and Venport Holdings, fought in orbit and on the ground of the planet Denali, although, by the time the battle takes place, the Butlerian movement is no longer a threat. The battle represents the final blow dealt by Emperor Roderick Corrino to Directeur Josef Venport.

Background
After the three-way Battle of Lampadas, resulting in both the Butlerian movement and VenHold being severely weakened, Emperor Roderick discovers that his sister Anna has been held hostage by Josef Venport at Denali, and Admiral Umberto Harte's people manage to learn the location of Venport's hidden research facility. The Emperor assembles a sizable force and retains two large spacefolders to transport the fleet to Denali.

Meanwhile, Josef Venport is attempting to bolster the defenses at Denali and repair his remaining ships. The independent robot Erasmus, whose gelcircuitry has been implanted into the cloned body of his late pupil Gilbertus Albans, has been working on adapting Thinking Machine technology for the defense of Denali, while simultaneously pursuing a sexual relationship with Anna Corrino. Erasmus manages to reprogram a number of mothballed war mechs to defend the facility against a ground assault.

Battle


The large Imperial fleet arrives in orbit of Denali and begins to siege the planet. In response, Directeur Venport warns Emperor Roderick to stay away, lest any harm come to his sister. Unbeknownst to either of them, Erasmus has deeply hurt Anna by making her believe that their relationship has been nothing more than an experiment for him. Devastated, the already mentally scarred Anna chooses to end her own life by walking out into the toxic atmosphere of Denali unprotected. Unexpectedly feeling remorse, Erasmus walks out to rescue her but is unable to make it back. Both of them die in a matter of minutes, as even the robot's gelcircuitry succumbs to the caustic atmosphere.

When Roderick finds out about his sister's death, he angrily orders Admiral Harte to attack the defending VenHold ships, while simultaneously raining bombs on the research facility. After several VenHold ships are destroyed, Norma Cenva transports herself onto the bridge of the Imperial flagship in order to negotiate with Roderick. She agrees to withdraw all ships to Arrakis and leave Denali undefended, if he makes a promise to spare all current and future Navigators and agrees to create an independent Spacing Guild and maintain the flow of spice. As soon as Roderick makes his promise, Norma disappears from his bridge, and all the VenHold ships jump away, leaving the planet exposed.

Stunned at his great-grandmother's betrayal, Josef Venport can only watch as swarms of Imperial troops transports land outside the facility. Some of them are destroyed by the few surviving cymeks, but the heavily-armed Imperial troops in sealed suits eventually overwhelm them. The war mechs programmed by Erasmus march out and engage the Imperial soldiers. After a fight lasting many hours and costing many lives, the Imperial soldiers prevail and enter the facility.

They kill any researcher, who attempts to flee or resist, and detain the rest. Some of the scientists release experimental weapons on them but are gunned down mercilessly.

Venport's Mentat Draigo Roget offers to negotiate with the Imperials in order to spare as many lives and research as possible. Knowing that his own life is forfeit no matter what, Josef thanks him for his years of service and sends him out, while Venport locks himself in an office and contemplates suicide, unwanting to undergo a public execution. Just then, Norma Cenva appears in the office and tells her great-grandson that he has one chance to survive, thanks to a loophole in Emperor Roderick's promise to her. If Josef becomes a Navigator, then Roderick can't harm him. While furious at being tricked at first, Roderick eventually accepts this fate for his enemy.

Aftermath
As the Imperial forces occupy Denali, Venport Holdings is no longer an entity, and its assets are confiscated by the Imperium. Mentat Draigo Roget is sent to Arrakis to manage spice harvesting operations. With his two main enemies defeated, Emperor Roderick declares a victory in a grand speech on Salusa Secundus, where Norma Cenva announces the formation of the Spacing Guild in order to provide safe foldspace travel to all of Imperium.

Appearances

 * Navigators of Dune