:Chapter 266 Earth Federation Starfleet
Here at the special press conference held by Quantum Holdings, Andre and his grandson, Charlie, appeared on the rostrum at the same time as the reporters from all over the world immediately began clamoring down below, their cameras flas.h.i.+ng repeatedly.
The two sat down under the escort of their bodyguards. Andre smiled as he pointed toward a pretty blonde reporter, indicating for her to ask her question.
“I’m from BBC News. May I ask if there is any truth to the rumors that Quantum Holdings will be giving their full support to your former director, Wu Long, in the coming general elections? And just in what capacity will Quantum Holdings be showing their support?” asked the female reporter.
Andre smiled. “Wu Long is one of Quantum Holdings’ founders, possessing a wealth of experience in management. Furthermore, he has dealings with plenty of extraterrestrial civilizations, and as this is precisely the critical juncture where the Earth Federation will be stepping into the interstellar era, we need people like Wu Long in a leaders.h.i.+p role to lead us onward. As such, my colleagues and I from Quantum Holdings are showing our fullest support toward making Wu Long the next Federation president.
“As for the degree of our support, Quantum Holdings will do what we can well within our capabilities,” Andre said firmly.
That female reporter pressed on with her line of questioning. “Quantum Holdings is currently the largest business in the Federation that no one can compare. Could you generally tell us in what ways would Mr. Wu be supported?”
Andre laughed. “Everyone knows that the Federation’s status in the Pan-Human Alliance is extremely insignificant. Though we have joined the Alliance in name, we are far below the average standards within the Alliance in terms of technology, culture, and other necessary indicators. If Wu Long were to be elected, Quantum Holdings would put forth a special fund to help the Federation construct its own starfleet.”
“What?! A starfleet?”
“A starfleet that belongs to the Earth Federation.”
“Oh, G.o.d. That’s incredible!”
Andre’s casual comment caused quite the commotion among the audience. All the reporters could hardly contain their excitement, shouting their questions as they clamored, completely ignoring the rule about no shouting during a press conference.
It had been many years, and every Earthling yearned for their home planet to be recognized by the Alliance. After all, the huge gap between themselves and the intergalactic society was like a thorn in everyone’s heart. They were all born on this planet, so of course everyone wanted it to keep improving.
A starfleet would not only be able to defend Earth, it was also a very symbolic acquisition. After all, it was somewhat awkward for a planet, which was said to be in the interstellar era, not to have its own starfleet.
Andre waved his hand, indicating for all the reporters to settle down, before he pointed back at that female reporter to continue.
This blonde lady had not expected that Quantum Holdings would be able to make such a grand gesture and was momentarily fl.u.s.tered. After all, the cost of raising a starfleet was ginormous. There was also the fact that the cost of maintaining such a fleet in operation would be astronomical—something the current Federation’s weak purchasing power would have problems with. Even a simple wars.h.i.+p was already quite a substantial financial burden.
Nonetheless, this blonde reporter was experienced in her job and very quickly came up with a question to ask on the spot. “The news that Quantum Holdings will be helping Earth build their first starfleet is too shocking; do you mind going in a bit more details toward this end?”
The various reporters present all agreed. All of them felt the news about this starfleet would trump everything else, and they were most concerned with uncovering the secrets behind this.
Andre threw a glance at Charlie then he immediately pulled out the information packets they had already prepared for all the reporters. Due to the limited number of copies, these reporters had to crowd together in small cl.u.s.ters as they excitedly perused the pages.
Actually, what Quantum Holdings had just announced about building a starfleet for Earth was simply changing the name of that fleet their company currently owned. They would now be known as Quantum Holdings and Earth Federation’s combined fleet, so if the Federation ever had the need, they would be able to temporarily have use of these wars.h.i.+ps for themselves.
Xia Fei of course had no intentions of giving the Federation the fleet that he had so painstakingly built by himself. Since Xia Fei constructed the fleet to satisfy the needs of his company, as well as to defend from external aggressors, with how Earth was his home planet, Xia Fei also had hoped that it would remain peaceful and protected. Adding the name of the Federation to the fleet would not change anything of the status quo; the control of the fleet still remained in Xia Fei’s hands.
As a show of their sincerity and a show of face to the Earth Federation, Quantum Holdings had first taken out two Caldarian Kestrel-cla.s.s frigates to be placed under the Federation’s name, no different from conferring a t.i.tle in traditional commerce.
Everything stated in the information packet would only happen after Wu Long had been formalized as the Federation president. If he was not elected, Xia Fei would definitely not be cooperating with these nasty politicians at all. In fact, he even had a backup plan to relocate the company entirely, though of course, that was only in the event of an extreme scenario. Even if someone else were to obtain the position, Xia Fei would first seek to dethrone the person.
He must accomplish what he had set forth to do. This was Xia Fei’s creed, and he did not care about the death of a politician or two in order to achieve his ends.
“I’m from CNN News. I notice that the current plan is for Quantum Holdings to hand over their present fleet in installment. The cost of those wars.h.i.+ps is hard to scoff at; could your company be willing to just abandon such a full-fledged fleet like that?” a bespectacled reporter asked.
Andre nodded. “That is a good question. I can give you my a.s.surance that Quantum Holdings is not just any business but one with a great sense of responsibility. Quantum Holdings is also very worried about the present situation that the Earth Federation is in. What would the cost of a starfleet be compared to as long as our home planet could become stronger? Be it the present or the future, Quantum Holdings will be working hard to further develop the Earth Federation and won’t simply put monetary interest as our goal.”
The reporters present could not help but be moved hearing Andre make such an impa.s.sioned statement. Actually, all of them knew that Xia Fei was akin to an eagle that would not strike until the rabbit presented itself. There were of course conditions attached to these so-called installments, or else there was no way for anyone else to attempt to sneak even a single dollar out of Xia Fei’s pockets.
Besides, Xia Fei was still the one setting the terms when it came to the concept of installment. As long as Wu Long became the president, this would become like a contract without any time-restraints. Who would care?
Thinking further ahead, Xia Fei’s establishment of Quantum Holdings was not simply to cause small waves and ripples. He had far loftier goals in mind, and a fleet of frigates was hardly going to satisfy his need. He had plans in the future to build cruisers, battles.h.i.+ps, and even capital s.h.i.+ps.
Man could not just think of their immediate benefit, and Xia Fei could see that he needed to make some concessions today, all in view of a more comprehensive goal in the far-flung future.
The press conference ended with great success, and the next day, every single media outlet around the globe was welcoming Wu Long as a presidential candidate, with many heaping praises upon Quantum Holdings. It was but a small price to pay for free press coverage, further improving the company’s reputation, while at the same time giving a boost to Wu Long’s election campaign. There was no way to consider this deal to be detrimental at all.
In some inconspicuous corner of the news, a small tofu-size article about ex-president’s Murati’s death could be seen. The ma.s.ses had already harbored much hatred for that ineffectual politician, so there were even some who cheered over his end.
It was in the hustle and bustle of such hopeful news of the future that the news of Murati’s death sank like a stone thrown in the middle of an ocean, instantly disappearing without a trace.