A Crisis Ignored

Senators, Lepidus has been declared a public enemy. War is upon us. We must act quickly if we are to emerge victorious. While I held that we should have first delivered an ultimatum to Lepidus demanding that he relinquish his command and return to Rome, we, instead, voted to declare him a public enemy. There is no more time to delay. If he was not opposed to us then, he will certainly be opposed to us now, and a formidable enemy he is. Lepidus will fight. He commands five legions; one here in Italy, two in Gaul, and two in Spain. If we do not act quickly, we shall face the very real prospect of military defeat.
My esteemed colleague Varro has suggested a good plan. With the large number of veterans of Caesar’s campaigns residing in Italy, I suggest that we recruit them into the legion being raised by Dolabella. Furthermore, if Lepidus has summoned his legions from Spain and Gaul then it will be imperative that the three legions under Decimus Brutus in Transalpine Gaul prevent them from entering Italy. We also have a way of dealing with with Lepidus’ legions in Spain. Send the two legions under Pollio against Lepidus’ Spanish legions. This will keep Lepidus’ Spanish legions tied up in the west, while Decimus Brutus fends off those in Gaul. This leaves only one legion in Italy at Lepidus’ command. We should be able to raise more than enough troops from Caesar’s old legions to deal with these.
Let us also keep in mind, Senators, that our scouts have brought us no news of Lepidus’ whereabouts. Without actionable intelligence, our armies do not stand a chance in the field. We must redouble our efforts to gain this information, or we will not succeed in defending our fatherland.
I would also like to point out here why we are in this position to begin with. We have spent so much time squabbling over personal vendettas that we have failed to seize the opportunity to prevent this sort of thing from occurring in the first place. Our esteemed consuls would have us believe that their personal vendetta against Brutus is somehow more pressing than a renegade general who knocks at our door with the strength of no fewer than five legions! Are we mad?! By the gods, to continue our debate from the other day would be not only insane, but also a clear sign that we no longer have the best interests of the Republic at heart.
I propose that we suspend the discussion of Brutus until we have dealt with Lepidus. We are in a state of emergency. We can no longer sit idly by while the wolves howl at the door. We must answer them, or be devoured. I implore you senators, put down your vengeance; put down your petty squabbles. Our country is in mortal danger. Protect her! What good will it be to try Brutus for crimes against the state when there is no state left in which to do so?! Turn to the danger at hand before it is too late.