Benning

Solar System Entry
Population: 2.25 million (Pop. estimate is pre-invasion)

Benning, the nearest garden world to Arcturus Station, is the primary source of its food supply and an important staging area for starship maintenance and repair. Occupying the planet would be key in any attempt to retake the system's relay.

Scattered intelligence indicates that during the battles of Arcturus and Earth, the Reapers sent a small force to Benning to destroy its comm buoys, spaceports, and starships. With the population immobilized and communications cut, the main force concentrated on the larger prize, knowing they could return before repairs could be made or help could arrive.

Heat sources in Benning's space indicate a non-Reaper presence here.


 * Note: The Kodiak can land here.

Codex Entry
Benning was once a thriving human colony, but the Reapers have rounded up a large portion of the populace for processing. Some pockets of civilian resistance still elude the Reapers, however, and rescue attempts are underway. A "resistance radio" established during the early days of the attack continues to broadcast, exhorting survivors to band together and discussing rumors of safe havens. Unfortunately, those rumors have begin resulting in ambushes, increasing the desperation of those who remain free.

Through all this, Benning's automated agricultural systems have continued to operate, leading to unprecedented stores of food in the planet's granaries and warehouses.