American Renegades — Chapter 8. Chief Panii leered at Diane for a tense…
By: Sascha Gomberg
Tags: Historical Fiction, History, Science Fiction, Fiction, American History

Chief Panii leered at Diane for a tense minute before growling, “What kind of things?” Diane swallowed, guessing that the detail of her answer could very well decide her and Chaska’s fate. “Many things. Some are weapons. Some are tools. All will help your people not only survive, but thrive.”

“The Shawnee are the greatest tribe this land had ever seen.”

Diane couldn’t help notice the similarity between his rebuke and Chaska’s, so she glanced over to her Siouan companion. Chaska rolled his eyes. “When I say people, I mean the Shawnee, the Siouan, the Sauk, Chickasaw, Creek, Arapaho, Comanche, all of them. The Whites have arrived, and in the age of your children, you will see destruction and death by their pale hands upon your people.” Diane felt a little dramatic, but she needed to scare the man. One tribe wasn’t enough, but two would prove to the rest of the tribes that joining forces was the only way.

“You are not of them?” asked Panii, expertly masking his emotions.

“These whites come from a land across the ocean called Europe. I was born on this side of the sea,” retorted Diane. Chaska gave Diane a confused look, since she had told him she came from far away. “Where?” growled Panii.

“A place where people, for the most part, live in peace.”

Panii raised his spear and laid the head on Diane’s breast. She shivered at its coldness. Chaska grunted, tried unsuccessfully to stand, and fell on the ground. He was still too weak to even to crawl towards Diane and the chief, so he laid there and stared fiercely at Panii. The chief chuckled and moved to other side of Diane, keeping his blade pointed at her heart. “Why not stay in your paradise and stay out of our affairs?”

Diane pondered her response, then said, “Because your land greatly affects mine. Without the wellbeing of your land, justice will never be found in mine. I mean to unite the great tribes of the plains and those beyond in order to fight off the Europeans. Once you do, they will respect you as equals and many, many lives will be saved. Not just in this land, but in others.” Diane was referring to the Transatlantic Slave Trade that wouldn’t come to fruition if Europeans didn’t need a work force to colonize the New World, but she didn’t want to overwhelm Panii or Chaska.

“How can I trust you?”

Diane met his gaze and stated confidently, “Nurse us back to health, then return with us to the Siouan Tribe-”

Chaska, clearly not enchanted with the idea of the great Shawnee tribe marching to his home, cleared his throat, interrupting Diane, but she plowed ahead. “I have many things there to show you that will convince you.”

Panii stared at her, his hand holding the spear, quivered, in rage or in excitement. Diane didn’t know, so she closed her eyes. “If you do not believe me, ask Chaska for some examples.”

The chief’s hand stopped trembling and he removed the spear from Diane’s breast. He crossed to the middle of the teepee and knelt next to Chaska. “Well?”

— —

After Chaska detailed the devices he’d seen to Panii, the chief was intrigued. He instructed the medicine woman to heal them fully. His people were at first enraged that he was going let a Siouan warrior live and even angrier when they discovered his plan to march to their enemies’ camp. Panii related Diane’s claim. After much back and forth, the Shawnee tribe coalesced since, despite their disapprovement, Panii was their chief.

In the teepee, the medicine woman was just finishing up feeding Chaska and Diane. She departed finally, leaving the duo to themselves. “Diane, you had no right to invite the Shawnee to our camp without clearing it with me. I can guarantee this will end badly.”

“It’s the only way.”

Chaska sighed, “You may be far more advanced than my people and our neighbors, but you have yet to learn how we think and act. You will put my tribe in great danger.”

“If this is not done, both tribes, all tribes, will lose. I’m saving you from the only true danger your people will ever face. Chaska, I’m risking my life to be here with you. Can you not see that I care?”

Chaska had had enough with dancing around the question that plagued his mind for days and spit out, “Diane, are you from the future?”

Before she could answer, the medicine woman entered. Chaska shouted, “Get out!” and the woman scurried away. Diane’s cheeks burned. She knew answering truthfully could cause disastrous affects on how events would play out. The more people who knew that she had time traveled, she harder she would have to work to protect the time travel device, which she had already lost to the one other person who knew her secret.

— —

Jose’s plane skidded to a stop on the dirt road. Hundreds of people, soldiers, men, women, and children, white and black, had gathered on either side of the makeshift runway. Word travels fast here thought Jose as he turned the engine off. Nicolls stripped off his urine-soaked trousers, grinning at Jose. “Well done, old boy! Fetch me some new trousers!”

Disgusted by the sight of Nicoll’s disease infested crotch, Jose plugged his nose and handed the Colonel a pair of jeans that he found in the back. Nicolls ran his fingers down the blue denim in wonder. “What be it made of?!”

Jose shrugged, checking the plane’s fuel gauge. They had burnt through several large barrels of kerosine in a short amount of time. While lantern oil worked, Jose wondered if it was healthy for the engine. Outside a group of soldiers cautiously approached the plane as if it could lash out and bite them at any second. “Colonel? Are you alive?” one shouted.

The Colonel flung open the door, arms spread side to side. He paraded himself out towards the soldiers, showing them and all the other New Englanders his new pants. “Never have I been more alive! I have seen the land from above! Higher than the tallest peak. Faster than the quickest ship. With this, England shall be the crown jewel of the New and the Old World!” pontificated Nicolls to everybody. People began to shift nervously, talking quietly among themselves. The colonel barged ahead, “With this machine, the Dutch and the House of Habsburg shall crumble. Long live England and Charles the Second!” At the mention of their king, the people cheered. Jose stepped down from the plane, and the people fell silent. The last thing they expected to step down from the flying machine was a brown person, let alone one wearing such ridiculous clothing. Nicolls noted the silence and turned to Jose, waving him over. Jose tentatively walked up, and the Colonel clasped his hands on the teenager’s shoulders.

“This man’s name is Jose. He invented this device and he’s the only one who knows how to fly it. He speaks our language and will be considered a royal guest by all!”

The Colonel’s amicability astounded Jose, but he quickly realized he was the most valuable person Nicolls had ever met. Obviously, Nicolls had lied to his countrymen that Jose had invented the plane, because knowledge that Jose came from a land where planes were plentiful could be disastrous. It would be better to have everyone believe that flying machines were created under British jurisdiction.

“Give ’em a wave,” Nicolls nudged Jose, who gave the crowd a peace sign. The people gasped and murmured. “Are you quite mad?” demanded Nicolls, then explained that holding up two fingers was considered rude. Jose shrugged and the Colonel laughed. “No worries, my boy. We have much to teach each other. Now tell me, what other newfangled devices doth thou have?”

— —

Lotte, the Dutch maid who had spotted Jose’s airplane, rushed into a large cabin, followed by several townspeople and Dutch soldiers. Anthony Colve, a strong, calm naval captain looked up from the multitude of maps laid out across his desk. His long curly hair, bounced up and down as he rose to meet his visitors. In his thick Amsterdammer tongue, he asked, “What is all the commotion? Military personal are the only ones allow in here!”

Lotte stepped forward, “General Colve. I was out on the west bank when I heard a noise from above. I looked up and I saw a giant flying object. It was making a sound unlike I’ve ever heard.”

Colve took a step towards the girl, forgetting all formal pretenses. “Where was it headed?”

“To the outskirts of New York, I swear.”

Colve raised his hand to his mouth, then ordered everybody but Lotte out of the cabin. He sat the maid on the other side of his desk and pulled out a large sheet of paper and a quill. “Tell me exactly what you saw,” he instructed Lotte, who proceeded with a detailed explanation. Colve wrote down everything. After she was finished, Colve thanked and dismissed her. He then called Arend, one of his most trusted men, into the cabin. “Take this letter to Amsterdam and deliver it to the Stadtholder himself, no one else. Protect it with your life. The future of the Dutch Republic is in your hands.”