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Held in the capacious Lower Cavern at Benden Weyr, the
first of the two trials was a sobering, well-conducted affair. At
one time there had been trained legists on Pern, but the need
for such persons had waned. Most arguments were ~~ttl~O by
negotiated compromise or, when all negotiation efforts failed,
by hand-to-hand combat. Consequently a spokesperson for
the accused guards had to be found: one of the teachers from
Fort Hold who specialized in legal contracts and land deeds
reluctantly agreed to officiate.
Gardner had not been very enthusiastic about involving
himself, however briefly, with rapists but he recognized
the necessity for representation and did his best. He had
perfunctorily questioned the victims as to the identity of their
alleged assailants and tried to shake their testimony. The three
women were no longer the frightened, half-starved wretches
who had been so abused. Their time in the Weyr had
done wonders for their courage, self-esteem and appearance.
Gardner even insisted that they had been rehearsed in their
testimony, but that did not mitigate the circumstances of the
grievous bodily and mental harm inflicted on them.
'Sure I rehearsed,' the oldest of the women said loudly. 'In
me mind, night after night, how I was flung down and . . .
done by dirty men as wouldn't have dared step inside a decent
woman's hold with such notions in their head. I ache still
rehearsing . . .' and she spat the word at him, 'what they
did, again and again and again.' For emphasis she slammed
one fist into the other hand. Gardner ceased that line of
questioning.
In the end, he managed one small concession for the
accused: the right to be returned to their Contract Hold,
following the trial, rather than have to make their own way
back to Bitra.
'Fat lot of good that'll do them,' Zulaya muttered under
her breath when he won that point. 'Chalkin hates losers and
those guys have lost a lot more than their contract.'
'I wonder what sort of tone Chalkin's next letter of protest
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will take,' Irene said with a malicious chuckle. Paulin had
received a thick screed from the Bitran Holder when he
discovered the 'unmitigated interference of assorted renegade
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dragonriders in his affairs and the abduction of loyal holders
from their premises'. 'If he dares make one...' She went on.
'Oh, why did it have to snow so hard? I'd love to have had
him here when his guards said they "was only following orders
to keep the holders from leaving"! M'shall would have
gathered him up in a ball and rendered him spitless!'
M'shall had assumed the role of prosecutor, claiming that
right since it had been his riders who were first on the scene.
He had been exceedingly precise in manner and in his
questioning.
'Poring over the Charter and what books Clisser could send
him on legal procedures,' Irene told Zulaya with a broad grin.
'It's done him a world of good. Taken his mind off... the
spring, you know.'
Zulaya had nodded approvingly. 'He'd have been a good
legist... or did they call them lawyers? No, barristers.'
'Yes, barristers stood before the judge and handled the trial
procedures,' Irene replied.
'Gardner wasn't half bad, you know. He tried,' Zulaya
remarked. 'I'11 even forgive him asking for mercy for those
miserable clods. After all, he had to appear to work for his
clients,' she added tolerantly. 'I'm glad we had Iantine sit up
close. I want to see his sketches of the trial. I could wish he
worked as fast with my portrait.'
'Your portrait is scarcely the same thing as annotating a
trial. And he's to come to Benden when he's finished with
you two, you know.'
Zulaya was pleased to hear the pride in Irene's voice when
she mentioned Iantine. He was a Bendenian.
'You mean, when he's finished sketching our riders?'
Irene gave a wistful smile, tinged with sadness. 'You'll be
glad he did. I wonder will he do the same thing for us at
Benden?'
'Whatever he can fit in, I'm sure. That young man's got
himself more work than he can handle.'
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'If he can get it all done before . . oh, the jury's
back.'
The twelve men and women, picked at random by straw
from those who had come to observe, had listened to all the
evidence. Tashvi, Bridgely and Franco had sat as judges. Now
a silence descended over the room, so intense that a cough
was quickly muffled.
The three rapists were accounted guilty as charged and
three more were sentenced as accessories, since they had
helped pin the victims down. The penalty for the rape of a
pregnant woman was castration, which was to be carried out
immediately. The others were to receive forty lashes, well laid
on by Telgar's large and strong stewards.
'They were lucky there isn't Fall,' Zulaya remarked to
Irene, Lady Thea and K'vin. 'Otherwise they could also have
been tied out during the next Fall.'
Despite herself, Thea gave a shudder. 'Which is probably
why there are so few cases of rape recorded in our Hold's
annals.'
'Small wonder,' K'vin said, crossing his legs again. Zulaya
had noticed his defensive position and her lips twitched
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briefly. He turned away. His Weyrmate had nearly cheered
aloud when the verdict was delivered.
'You can't do that to me,' one of the guards was roaring
now as he belatedly realized the significance of the verdict.
He had been the leader of the men stationed at the eastern
border crossing. The other defendants were too stunned, their
mouths moving in soundless protest, Morinst being loud
enough to drown out any complaint they could voice. 'You're
none of you my Lord,' he'd railed at three Lord Holder
judges. 'You've got no right to do this.'
'And you had no right to rape a pregnant woman!'
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