On the display, the announcement from Earth was being played. On the monitor, Marshal Nechiev stood behind a podium with Commanders Picard and Janeway behind her.
Nechiev spoke; "When, in the course of human events, a group falls victim to oppression and neglect by the power of a distant crown, it becomes necessary to shake off the shackles of oppression in favor of a more attentive and democratic government. This idea, greatly alluding to the work of Thomas Jefferson of Earth, is the idea of self-righteous revolution. And like Jefferson's revolution, the crown we refuse to serve has already declared us in a state of rebellion before we do so ourselves. And so we of the Zeon Protectorate, which came from separate beginnings to meet one greater goal, will now do what the Federation has already done. We now will recognize our right to self-government. We recognize ourselves as a galactic nation. As our own force in the universe. Granted, Earth's former glory will take work to recapture, but we will endeavor to persevere. We and other groups oppressed or attacked by the Federation have a unified spirit which will live on. No matter what we do, no matter the outcome of the revolution, our spirit will ring on. And this spirit is the one thing the Federation, Starfleet, the Klingon Empire, the Borg, Species 8472, and all other enemies of our grand alliance, can never crush. We are stong. We are resolute. And we will celebrate this day, in the Zeon Protectorate, as our independence day!"
The monitor blinked off.
Walker started the discussion, "Our course of action is simple."
"We kill the lot of them." Another admiral, Admiral Worf, scowled.
"More or less. We have seen them as a fly on the wall, but Zeon has called us out." Walker said emotionlessly, "We have to crush their opposition now."
"Is that really wise?" Captain Tomas Paris spoke from across the table of the other speakers, "If we just send a fleet and wipe out the Sol system we make myrtars toward their cause. A person of that status is hard to erase from the minds of the populous."
"This is a military nation, Paris." Captain William Riker spoke to Paris from the side with the others, "The views of the populous don't matter."
"Still, to alienate our people may lend support to their cause." Paris countered, "Let them crash upon us. Let them launch failed strikes, and make it their fault."
"Mr. Paris." Walker intervened, to stop the argument from building, "I see your point, but your plan could make this war drag on. Right now, a strike on Sol is most rapid and effective. We will send an encoded transmission at 0900 hours tomorrow calling for the forming of as task force here. By weeks end, we will send them off, at low warp, toward Sol III, destroying any Zeon sympathizers while en route." Walker announced to the ten people present, "Admiral Worf, contact the Kling Imperial Forces, and have them join us. Captain Riker, you and the USS Guardian will be one of the three commanding ships. The others will be Captain Paris and the USS Aspire, and myself aboard my flagship, the USS Geneva. Now we have thirteen hours till we announce our action. Let's go to work."