Yeah so the emperor had the Sardaukar, his elite military force, as well as a bunch of conventional forces. The Sardaukar as well as most of the Harkonnen forces are the ones who ambush the Atreides in the first part.

[–] keepcarrot@hexbear.net 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Oh, I thought the sardaukar were mercenaries, but idk, the emper can hire out his forces as a treat.

[–] thethirdgracchi@hexbear.net 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

So that's the big shock for Paul and Leto, that the Emperor did hire his forces out to the Harkonnen. That's a huge deal, a step they considered beyond the Pale; the Emperor never hires out his Sardaukar, they're his trump card. It shows how concerned the Emperor was about the chances of House Atreides standing against him.

[–] keepcarrot@hexbear.net 1 points 8 months ago

I'm not sure how much this was transmitted in the movie, but now I've spent a while reading wiki entries