Terra Dawning by Ben Winston Page A

position?”
    “No, for defending me,” she said. “You really are a good leader.”
    “I tend to disagree with you on that, but thank you for the compliment. Could you ask Captain Coir or his lady to join us? It's their turn in the hot-seat,” Ben asked.
    She nodded, kissed him on the cheek, bowed to the council and left. Ben took a deep breath and returned to his place.
    “My Brethren, please keep in mind we are not here to condemn these individuals. It is not our job to see these people brought to justice. They are here to offer information, just as Addson Dee was.
    “To this point, Captain Coir has been very helpful and forthcoming. He has answered every question put to him and has not attempted to evade or shirk his responsibility for his actions. I want you to remember that this man and his people have been backed into a very tight corner and forced to do this. Honestly, I don't know if I would have done anything different in his position. Please try to remember this when you are speaking to them.”
    “They could have simply run away, Prime. They always had that choice,” Councilor Rodriguez said, quietly.
    “No, they didn't. The Duke held their families hostage against their good behavior until they were in too deep to back out. Yes, they could have ran at that point, but ask yourself this; where would they be able to run too?
    “They had no proof that the Duke had been ordering them to do these things. So anywhere they went in the Empire, they would be nothing more than escaped indentured servants. They would have been arrested and punished for their crimes, or returned to the Duke for his justice; which would amount to the same thing, except the Duke would probably have eaten them alive.
    “You will never be able to convince me these people had any other choice. No, I do not and will not say they didn't perform these atrocities. They did and they admit it. However, it amounted to a do or die situation.”
    “They still killed the entire population of the Great Falls Aerie, Prime. Would you have us absolve them of such a thing?” Councilor Hines asked.
    “I ask all of you this; in a murder trial, who's on trial? The murderer or the gun he used to kill with?” Ben asked.
    “Guns do not have the ability to decide right or wrong; they are a tool, nothing more. Whereas, your Captain Coir made the decision to do something he knew was wrong. It is not a valid comparison, Prime. A soldier has the obligation to protest obviously illegal orders, these pirates had the same obligation.”
    “Really?” Ben asked. “For the sake of argument, let's say I have a gun to Councilor Whitmore's head. I order her husband to kill Councilor Yoshi, or I will kill her. Who is he going to object to? If he outright refuses the order, I kill his wife and then him because he disobeyed. What do you think he would do?”
    “He could always complain to one of us.” Councilor Carlyle said grinning because she knew she was playing into his example.
    Ben nodded. “That sounds reasonable. However, who among you would honestly believe that I would do such a thing? Would you take the word of Councilor Yoshi over mine? Would you take the word of one of our people? Would you if you knew he was also a convicted felon?”
    Ben looked at the faces of the other Councilors. It looked like they were starting to get the picture. “Although far more complex, that is the situation Captain Coir and his people have found themselves in. They did what they could to stay alive and keep their loved ones alive. That is why I am asking you not to assume everything is as it seems, because it isn't.””
    While he had been speaking, Jorga had escorted Captain Coir into the chamber and they both had heard most of what Ben had said. His escort whispered something to him and he shook his head as if to clear it before bowing as was traditional.
    Ben looked at him and smiled in a friendly manner. “Welcome, Captain Elrond Coir of the privateer