Jaspre Bark - Dawn Over Doomsday

Ahiga bent towards her. "You gave guns to the enemy Martha, you and three others of your tribe. On whose orders did you do this?"

"Well my chief's. But it wasn't like you think. We were just…"

"That's enough Martha. We don't need to hear any more you can go. So," said Ahiga turning to Cheveyo. "Do you deny arming our enemy?"

"Don't be ridiculous! Those men weren't Neo-Clergy soldiers they were a band of scavs."

"Who would have taken your guns straight to the Neo-Clergy soldiers they work for."

"You don't know that. You have no way of proving it."

"And you have no way of disproving it."

"I was simply making a trade. Those men had medicine I desperately needed for several members of my tribe. The men had something we needed. They named their price and we met it. It's common practice for tribes to trade with white men when they have something the tribe needs."

"It's not common practice for Navajos," said Ahiga, banging his chest with his fist. "And it isn't common practice for the Crow tribe either. These friends of yours have declared war on all our tribes. Why would any of us give them the weapons with which to kill us?"

"They are no friends of mine. Is this the best you can do Ahiga? Because you and your warmongering faction must be desperate if this tiny transaction is all you can come up with?"

"This is just the beginning. You've already admitted to running guns to our enemies. But I can show your treasonous behaviour goes much deeper than this."

"I'd like to see you try."

"You're about to," said Ahiga and motioned to Sam Long Arrow, an Arapaho brave, to stand. "Can you tell us all where you were three moons ago?" Ahiga asked Cheveyo.

The Hopi looked unimpressed. "I attended a meeting held by the Arapaho tribe. As I'm sure you know."

"Thank you for admitting that, even though your frankness obviously comes from your arrogant belief that you're above reproach." Ahiga smiled as Cheveyo bridled at this remark. "Tell me Sam," said Ahiga. "What did Cheveyo say to you when he approached you after this meeting?"

Sam cleared his throat. He spoke with hesitation. "He, err… he told me that if I supported his attempts to sabotage the UTN's fight for freedom the Neo-Clergy would see I was well rewarded. I'm sorry to say it, but I did have a few, err… doubts about the UTN's views on the Fifth Age. He said there were lots of others like me who had accepted the Neo-Clergy's offer. He also said I needn't worry about being found out because he was a Hopi and people would believe the way he… twisted the prophecy."

"This is a lie," said Cheveyo. "It's a totally unsubstantiated accusation. I've never even seen this young brave before. There were hundreds of people at that meeting, nearly all of them can vouchsafe for me."

"Can you call any of them to speak on your behalf?" Ahiga said.

"Can you call anyone to speak on this young brave's behalf and substantiate his story?"

Ahiga turned to address the hall. "Are there any other braves here who can support Sam's story? Perhaps some of you have been approached in the same way by Cheveyo. If there are, I ask you to have the courage to be honest with your brothers and sisters. We will not condemn you for listening. We condemn only those who side with our enemy against us."

A few of those assembled shifted uneasily in their seats, then another brave stood and said: "I was approached by Cheveyo in the same way."

A further brave stood. "So was I."

Then a young squaw stood. She was nervous and managed to say only "me too", then went to sit down again, thought better of it and remained standing, biting her thumb and looking at the floor.

Cheveyo looked like he had been totally blindsided. "This is preposterous," he said. There was a shrill note in his voice. "I've never spoken to any of these people. This is all your doing." Cheveyo pointed at Ahiga. "You told them to say these things to discredit me."

"Come now Cheveyo. I thought you could do a little better than that."

"Can't you see what he's trying to do?" said Cheveyo, addressing the hall. "Don't you see his little game? He's trying to discredit me so he can silence everyone who's against this war he's trying to peddle. This is all lies. All of it." Cheveyo turned to Hiamovi. "Great Chief, surely you can see that none of this is true. In all the years you've known me and counted me as your friend have you ever known me to turn on my own people? I helped you build the UTN from nothing. Why would I suddenly turn on it and try to tear it down? You can't honestly believe these fabrications can you?"

Hiamovi stood. He wore a solemn expression. "Cheveyo can you bring forward anyone to speak for you now and defend your name?"

"Well no. But why should I need to? This is so obviously a fabrication."

"So you say. But you can produce no-one to verify your side of the story. It pains me to say this, because we are old friends, but it seems the case against you is irrefutable. You've admitted to giving guns to the Neo-Clergy. You claim this was a trade in return for medicine. Yet, according to the testimony of others, you've been shown to have collaborated with the Neo-Clergy to sabotage and subvert our movement. This calls your claims of simply trading with scavs into question. And you can't produce even one person to verify your story."

"Not at such short notice no. But give me time and I can tear this preposterous accusation apart."

"With witnesses bought for you by the Neo-Clergy no doubt," said Ahiga.

Cheveyo looked about the hall trying to find someone on his side. "Great Chief, Onatah, brothers and sisters of the UTN, don't you realise what's at stake here? The Fifth Age of Man isn't some excuse to go to war to steal a weapon off the white man. It's a sacred becoming. A radical new development of our consciousness, a whole new way of being. You can't let this man and his accomplices silence me with their lies."

"Enough," said Hiamovi raising his arm for silence. "Cheveyo we've heard plenty of testimony claiming you're a Neo-Clergy collaborator. But we haven't heard anything from you that disproves it. All you've done is accuse your brother's and sisters of lying at the encouragement of a fellow inner council member. I find your behaviour dishonourable. You've done nothing to prove your innocence. I have to declare your guilt and make certain you're punished."

"Great Chief don't do this, I implore you," said Cheveyo. "For the sake of our friendship, of everything we wanted the UTN to be. For the coming of the Fifth Age of Man."

"It's for the sake of all those things that I pass judgement Cheveyo," said Hiamovi, with genuine sadness. "You're a proven traitor to your own people. I'm going to expel you from the UTN for life. You're to be taken from this hall and confined under armed guard until the Neo-Clergy is no longer a threat to our people."

Ahiga nodded and Hastiin and Akecheta seized Cheveyo. Cheveyo glared at Ahiga as they dragged him from the hall. Ahiga met the Hopi's gaze. He acted as though he was unmoved, bored even by the Hopi's reaction. Inside though, he was choking on his anger.

"Brothers and sisters," said Hiamovi once Cheveyo was gone. "I know some of you were taken in by Cheveyo's promise of a Neo-Clergy reward. I know you were going to speak out with him. I don't approve of your actions but I won't have you hunted down and expelled. Now is not the time to turn against each other. That is what the white man wants. Now is the time for lenience and unity. To show we can come together in a common purpose. For this reason I give a full pardon to all of Cheveyo's conspirators as long as they give up their attempts to sabotage us, and start to work with us again."

There was a huge cheer at Hiamovi's magnanimity. Everyone clapped, stamped and whooped victory cries. Ahiga was impressed. He would have rooted out all of Cheveyo's sympathisers and put them down with brutality. Instead Hiamovi had effectively silenced them. No-one would dare speak out against the war now, or they'd be branded a traitor. Yet he'd still managed to look merciful and just while he did it. He'd forced everyone to side with him and made it look as though he'd restored unity where there'd been dissent and division.