The accord was negotiated in the same room used for safety classes. The coffee was burnt, the chairs did not match, and every draft went on the public network before anyone signed.
Grand Chancellor Qi Ming arrived with an offer of territory and laborers. Austin sent both back. “Three billion workers on live lines? If one gets fried, who gets sued? Me.”
“We are not taking your worlds,” he said. “And people are not a payment.”
The final agreement had six parts.
First, the Concordat withdrew its weapons from the solar right-of-way. Civilian ships could use the freight lanes after filing a manifest.
Second, both sides ended void tolls on passenger and cargo traffic. Rescue ships received priority everywhere.
Third, the Concordat paid for damage from the sabotage and later attacks. Wu Ji’s individual restitution was separate from the return of surviving crews. No worker lost a ticket home to cover a commander’s debt.
Fourth, the solar grid could export five hundred sun-blasts to Concordat border systems. Power would go first to homes, water, food, hospitals, and other shared needs under the same public-allocation rules used at home. Industrial customers received what remained. Power factor must stay above 0.95, or the bill carries a 200 percent surcharge. No ruler could buy a private reserve while a public district went dark.
