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October 15, 3057 – The Council Meets Again. Benton brings his adjutant. He shows that all of the Liao resistance has been eliminated. He used some nasty tactics, and struck hard, but all Liao cells and terrorists appear to be ended on Epsilon Eridani. Now the repercussions begin. Benton acted without official authority, and Braham Essex ordered him to take action. Now they will be sanctioned, perhaps.
October 16, 3057 – Council President Gloria Freeman host a press-conference and chastises Benton’s actions as a flagrant disregard for the governmental authority. She has ordered him to surrender the troops to local authorities and surrender to the Senate’s Ruling Council.
A few hours later, Braham and Benton host a press conference too.
“Benton did not act without authorization, but he did not have it from the government. I gave it to him.”
“How can you do so?”
“For humanitarian reasons. The death toll is know known at more than 250 people across this planet. How many more brothers and sisters would have died before this government acted? I stepped into the gap that they created in their disorder.”
“It seems like treason.”
“Is it? Then why did the government wait three weeks, until the guerillas were destroyed, before coming out against Benton? If it was treason then, why wait? They clearly wanted the threat to end, but they didn’t want to do it themselves. If ending a anti-Epsilon Eridani threat is treason, then what does that make the complicators of the Council?”
“Benton, thoughts?”
“This Council is a gang of frightened bureaucrats unfit to govern a compost heap.”
“That’s very articulate. Will you submit to them?”
“ I will not submit to their authority now, or ever again. No person in my command will be forced to turn themselves in for defending our home.”
“In fact, I will go one step further. I want everyone in the capital of Madison to leave if you can. I am ordered General Benton to Madison to oust the government temporarily. It’s clearly time for a change here. We’ll have elections to follow. Our record on city fighting is very good, and no one wants one piece of concrete to be destroyed or one hair on the head of a person to be harmed, but we cannot know how the local forces will act. Therefore, Benton will march in, and we will give the people a chance to speak and tell us if we acted improperly or not.”
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