Gurney Halleck is the Warmaster of Duke Leto Atreides, trained by "the best fighters in the universe", who has in turn trained Leto's son and heir Paul in hand-to-hand combat. Gurney, Duncan Idaho and the Mentat Thufir Hawat serve Leto as a war council unparalleled in the Imperium. Gurney is also a talented troubadour. In Dune, Gurney and 73 of his men survive the Harkonnen attack that devastates the Atreides forces, and they fall in with local spice smugglers to survive. Gurney and his team fall for a Fremen trap—a fake hoard of spice—and are almost killed before Paul, now the Fremen leader "Muad'Dib", recognizes him. Gurney nearly kills Jessica, mistakenly believing she betrayed Leto, but later becomes her loyal chief officer. In Children of Dune, Gurney returns to Arrakis with Jessica and coordinates a purging of dissidents with Fremen leader Stilgar. Gurney follows what he believes are Jessica's orders to test Paul's son Leto II to be sure he has not been overcome by his ancestral memories. Learning that the testing was actually ordered by Paul's sister Alia, Gurney escapes, sending a message to Duncan to initiate their plan to force Stilgar to join the rebellion against Alia. Gurney flees to a rebel sietch and joins Leto II and the mysterious Preacher, who is actually a blinded Paul. After Leto II returns to Arrakeen and reclaims the throne from Alia, Gurney is assigned to Sietch Tabr as part of Stilgar's council.
Gurney Halleck is the Warmaster of Duke Leto Atreides, trained by "the best fighters in the universe", who has in turn trained Leto's son and heir Paul in hand-to-hand combat. Gurney, Duncan Idaho and the Mentat Thufir Hawat serve Leto as a war council unparalleled in the Imperium. Gurney is also a talented troubadour. In Dune, Gurney and 73 of his men survive the Harkonnen attack that devastates the Atreides forces, and they fall in with local spice smugglers to survive. Gurney and his team fall for a Fremen trap—a fake hoard of spice—and are almost killed before Paul, now the Fremen leader "Muad'Dib", recognizes him. Gurney nearly kills Jessica, mistakenly believing she betrayed Leto, but later becomes her loyal chief officer. In Children of Dune, Gurney returns to Arrakis with Jessica and coordinates a purging of dissidents with Fremen leader Stilgar. Gurney follows what he believes are Jessica's orders to test Paul's son Leto II to be sure he has not been overcome by his ancestral memories. Learning that the testing was actually ordered by Paul's sister Alia, Gurney escapes, sending a message to Duncan to initiate their plan to force Stilgar to join the rebellion against Alia. Gurney flees to a rebel sietch and joins Leto II and the mysterious Preacher, who is actually a blinded Paul. ,After Leto II returns to Arrakeen and reclaims the throne from Alia Gurney is assigned to Sietch Tabr as part of Stilgar's council.