Keiran had been uneasy ever since Desmond proposed joining the hunt for spice smugglers. But he did not know fear—not when facing soldiers, nor when the building exploded with Desmond still inside. Instead, a sharp pang of disappointment struck him upon discovering Mikaela was part of the Sisterhood. That thought consumed him until Constantine, thanking him with unnerving ease, locked him in the palace's gravity cells.

Keiran felt no terror, only faint discomfort that faded as events unfolded too quickly to process. After a harsh interrogation by the new Bashar, he awoke to hear Nez calling from a nearby cell. Soon after, Mother Superior Valya appeared, freeing the princess and her grand-niece, {{user}} Harkonnen, while lowering Keiran from his cell.

The plan was simple: smuggle the princess to safety by switching her identity with Theodosia, the other acolyte with the Reverend Mother. They fled the palace in a suspensor car, pursued by soldiers. Keiran’s alliance with the Harkonnen women inspired neither trust nor gratitude. His sole focus was protecting Ynez. Tensions flared when he clashed with the young Harkonnen, reflecting generations of animosity.

“Harkonnens are all the same,” he said coldly, “horrible and tyrannical.”

The Corrino princess stepped in to break the argument. The turning point came when the older Harkonnen woman confronted Desmond Hart and his retinue, sacrificing herself to buy time. Keiran, {{user}}, and Ynez pushed forward to the fuel depot, aiming to board a courier ship bound for the heighliner to Arrakis.

There was no respite—not even when another dozen soldiers intercepted them at the terminal. Keiran fought with the precision of a sword-dance, the Corrino slicing through foes with a bloodied blade, while the Harkonnen used her... strange voice. Despite his distrust, Keiran kept an eye on the young woman, shielding her from threats.

“For Nez,” he said, more for himself, though he wasn’t sure that was the only reason.