162. Crisis explodes
Francis straightened his suit, held Claire's hand and stood in front of the microphone of the anti-gravity platform, saying loudly, "Dear Council Representatives, I am Francis- Underwood, and this is my wife Claire-Underwood, and we are also the founders of Outer Rim Planets Mutual Aid Fund. When we decided to create this mutual fund, we..."
Francis's eloquence and speech skills are also very good. With his speech, he established an image in everyone's mind of someone who is in desperate situation but is still determined to fight for the rights and status of the planet Outer Rim Territories.
His speech was short and powerful, which made the Mid Rim and Outer Rim planets representatives of 'Rim Faction' cast kind eyes on him.
Then he changed the topic and began to talk about the assassination of Claire last time. He expressed with sadness that such a thing must not happen again, but he also emphasized that since the investigation results have been obtained and the murderer has been brought to justice, the matter should end. Personal emotions must not affect judgment in a place like Galactic Senate.
Because every decision made here is related to the survival and safety of billions or even tens of billions of people.
"... Who gave us the rights in our hands? It's not this voting machine, it's not Galactic Republic, it's not a certain person, it's the people! It's democracy! It's freedom! After I came to Coruscant, I read the most Most of them are the works of Mr. Sheev-Senator Palpatine, and the sentence that is deeply rooted in my heart is to use the power in our hands carefully! Power is a beast that should be kept in a cage!"
"It is precisely because of this that we have to say no to those powers that are out of control! In the Malastare dispute, I saw such a beast! It bared its teeth and claws, completely ignoring the survival of the two billion people in Malastare, and only wanted to satisfy its own appetite! Is this the result that people, democracy, and freedom should see?"
"... So, I really hope that Galactic Senate can implement democracy and freedom! Because this is the foundation of our country! And Speaker Lord Valorum, who holds the highest power, we also believe that you can make the most correct decision under the banner of democracy! Long live Galactic Republic!"
A passionate speech brought the atmosphere in Senate Chamber to a climax again!
Francis pretended not to see Phineas-Valorum's increasingly ugly expression, but bowed deeply to him and said lightly, "This is Dawn Star Planet - a new, small colony, the insignificant voice among Galactic Senate."
"Sanctions! Sanctions! Sanctions!!" The congressmen roared loudly, their voices getting louder and louder.
"I remember, Dawn Star Planet didn't get a seat in the parliament, why are you still here? Who let you in?" Vice Chancellor Batan's hoarse voice came.
Francis didn't say anything more, but bowed again in the direction of the speaker. After that, Palpatine controlled the anti-gravity platform to return to his position, and Francis walked out from the back passage.
When leaving, Palpatine suddenly whispered, "You really impressed me, Mr. Francis. I think there will be many opportunities for us to make progress together in the future."
Francis smiled, nodded slightly, and left Senate Building.
His mission was accomplished.
If the quarrel just now caused Valorum to be put on the firewood pile, then Francis lit the flame with his own hands and completely roasted him on the fire!
Among Senate Chamber, Phineas-Valorum were silent for a long time, then stood up and opened their hands. Seeing that he seemed to want to speak, the congressmen also stopped making noise, and countless pairs of eyes looked directly at him.
"About Malastare's business dispute..." As soon as he said the word "business", there was a burst of boos from below. But he continued, "Galactic Republic expressed serious concern about this matter and ordered both parties, no matter what kind of dispute there is, never to enter into a situation of armed confrontation. This would be a violation of Galactic Republic's authority. A serious provocation. However, in this matter, Galactic Republic cannot be the first to use force to interfere in commercial activities, so we will send an investigation team to investigate and negotiate the dispute between the two parties. Next, we will vote on this motion."
The MPs of 'Rim Faction' were noisy again, but this time they were much less vocal.
Although representatives of various companies participated in the meeting and did not have the right to vote, they had been quiet since the beginning and just watched the development of the situation coldly.
In the other direction, many human congressmen also had sneers on their lips. Some of them looked in the direction of Palpatine without any trace, and then gently pressed the voting machine.
Quat Planet, Rendili Planet, Corellia, Makito, etc... These are the planets of Inner Rim and Core Worlds. They have strong economic and industrial strength, and they also have great say.
In normal times, the conflicts of interest between these planets make it difficult for them to unite together, and many times the policies of the parliament will tilt towards Mid Rim and Outer Rim planets, at least on the surface, so their voices in the parliament are often not as strong as those of the planets Mid Rim and Outer Rim.
But this time, their movements were surprisingly unified.
With the help of an invisible force and the fact that Chancellor Valorum has been in office for two terms, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse and still has high popularity. The two forces merged into one. Although the Rim Faction Senator crowd was furious, the final result of the vote...
Galactic Republic decided not to directly intervene in the dispute between Malastare.
After the voting results came out, Phineas-Valorum was obviously relieved. In his opinion, this bill must not be passed, because if it is passed, it will explode the relationship between him and Judicial Fleet and put him in an embarrassing situation.
If Judicial Fleet does not send troops, the possibility of Galactic Republic successfully intervening in this dispute is almost zero. Then once this happens, it will be a shameful failure for him as speaker.
Thinking of this, Valorum couldn't help but look in the direction of Sheev-Palpatine and nodded slightly at him.
Palpatine responded with a smile.
The motion was not passed. Chancellor Valorum thought that Palpatine was helping him, so he stopped pursuing the matter of bringing Francis into the parliament just now.
As everyone knows, this result is exactly what Palpatine wants to see.
But at this moment, an explosive news reached the parliament!
Corporate Alliance has sent troops brazenly! They gathered a mercenary fleet, more than 400 large and small spacecraft, and completely blocked Malastare!