War hero

[Major Harkonnen]

It was that accursed mercenary band that got him into this position. Sitting in a burning Sabre in the middle of an irradiated asteroid field, devoid of glory, far away from Rheinland. Mercenary work never really suited the Major, who basically continued to pretend to be one of the Rheinwehr, tidying his uniform, wearing it, along his medals, to every engagement he went to. He wanted to continue fighting for the Vaterland, for his citizens, for Rheinhardt and Voelkel, who were both enjoying their luxurious pensions on Baden-Baden, but he couldn't.

Everything he fought for was gone, his dreams shattered, his ship's hull slowly melting away.

Harkonnen sat back on his seat. He stared into the vast emptiness of space, he watched as the burning asteroids of the Von Rohe belt crashed into the hellish corona of Omega-11's giant sun.

He closed his eyes.

He was ready to die.

"VFK Delta 1-1, this is the RNC Braunau am Inn. Do you read?" - the radio suddenly cracked. Wow, it was still intact after all the beating Harkonnen's ship got.

Blood rushed into his head, his heart started beating. Rheinwehr ships? Out here? It was a miracle.

"VFK Delta 1-1, this is the RNC Braunau am Inn. Do you read?"

He wiped the blood from his forehead, then grabbed the radio and shouted:

"Yes! ... Yes! This is Major Einar Harkonnen of the Rheinw---- I mean the Valkyrie Freikorps. My ship was beaten up by Hessians. My vessel is on fire and the reactor may explode any second, can you lend a hand?"

Silence followed for about five seconds, but it seemed like an entire week for the former Major.

"We copy, Major Harkonnen. We're right at your location, we're going to rescue you, just hold on."

A Donau-class cruiser hovered over the burning Sabre. He was saved.