Chapter 1073: Negotiations with the Terrami (2)

A typical merchant-style opening: praise the other party first to establish a harmonious atmosphere.

Guilliman nodded slightly, not rising from his seat.

"Chief Trader Eloan, welcome. Please, sit."

Both sides took their seats.

Guilliman spoke straight to the point.

"Before we enter formal negotiations, I need to confirm a few basic principles. These are not the content of the negotiations, but the prerequisites for them."

Eloan made a "please proceed" gesture.

"First, within the Star Alliance territory, Star Alliance law is supreme. The Terrami must abide by all applicable laws."

"Second, no activity shall harm the interests of Humans or the Star Alliance."

"Third, Star Alliance sovereignty is inviolable. Any activities by the Terrami within the Star Alliance are based on licensed authorization, not inherent rights."

"Fourth, any deception, concealment, or misleading conduct will lead to the immediate revocation of authorization and may result in legal consequences."

Guilliman paused.

"Do you clearly understand and accept these principles?"

Eloan replied calmly.

"Fully understood and accepted, Lord Guilliman. The Terrami have traveled in the Bode Star System for three thousand years and know well the importance of 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do'."

"We abide by local laws and respect local sovereignty within the territory of every civilization."

"This is the basic prerequisite for commercial activity."

Guilliman signaled for his assistant to begin recording.

"Very well. Then, let us enter the formal agenda. First, please have the Terrami delegation state your specific proposal."

Eloan signaled to the trader beside him, who inserted a data chip into the conference table's interface.

A holographic projection lit up in the center of the table, displaying the Terrami's proposal framework.

"Lord Guilliman, our proposal is based on a core philosophy: mutually beneficial, controllable, and sustainable cross-civilization exchange."

Eloan pulled up the first chart.

"Scope of activity: We propose establishing a 'Te Xu Mao Yi Zhan' in the GC-7783 Xingxi, containing the following facilities:"

"A, Terrami side: A modified Chamber of Commerce Mother Ship to serve as a permanent trading station, providing product display, negotiation, and residential functions. This ship will remain permanently docked in a designated orbit, with engines kept off except for essential maintenance systems."

"B, Star Alliance side: A Jian Guan Kong Jian Zhan, responsible for cargo inspection, transaction auditing, and personnel supervision. We suggest this station be located within five kilometers of our Mother Ship for ease of real-time supervision."

"C, Huan Chong Qu: Centered on the trading station, a ten-thousand-kilometer radius shall be an absolute no-fly zone, which no ship may enter except for authorized vessels; a one-hundred-thousand-kilometer radius shall be the Jian Guan Qu, where all entering and exiting ships must report in advance and submit to inspection."

Guilliman nodded slightly. This proposal was very reasonable, even more conservative than he had anticipated.

Voluntarily proposing to shut down the Mother Ship's engines significantly lowered the security risk.

Eloan continued:

"Two, transaction mode: All transactions must go through a standardized process via the Star Alliance supervision station:"

"1, The Terrami side submits a list of proposed trade goods and technical parameters seven days in advance."

"2, The Star Alliance audit team conducts safety and value assessments, providing approval, modifications, or rejection opinions within five days."

"3, Approved goods are transported to the supervision station, where they are jointly inspected and sealed by both parties."

"4, Transactions are completed within the supervision station; payment methods can be resources recognized by the Star Alliance, precious metals, or specific information exchange."

"5, After the transaction is completed, the Star Alliance is responsible for transporting the goods to the destination; the Terrami side will not participate in subsequent transport."

Company Commander Severus said to Guilliman in a low voice.

"They actually voluntarily gave up control over the transport phase."

Indeed, this meant the Terrami could not know the final destination of the goods, nor could they use transport as a pretext for reconnaissance.

Eloan pulled up the third section:

"Three, information exchange: The Telarami Chamber of Commerce is willing to establish a regular information exchange mechanism with the Star Alliance."

"A, Basic information package: Provide a 'Peripheral Star Sector Situation Briefing' once per standard month, covering political, economic, and military developments. The first briefing, as a gesture of sincerity, will include key data accumulated over the past ten years."

"B, Customized information queries: The Star Alliance can submit specific information requests, which the Telarami Chamber of Commerce will query based on its own database and network, charging a reasonable fee."

"C, Information verification mechanism: The Star Alliance can conduct random verification of provided information; if major intentional errors are discovered, compensation may be demanded."

Xiusi Wolun asked: "What are your information sources? How can you guarantee you won't be misled?"

Eloan replied: "Our information sources are diverse: public data, commercial intelligence networks, transaction records with other civilizations, and our own observational data. We cannot guarantee one hundred percent accuracy—information warfare is ubiquitous in the Bode Star System—but we can guarantee we will not intentionally provide false information."

"At the same time, we suggest the Star Alliance establish its own verification system, which is also standard practice in commercial cooperation."

Guilliman noted this point.

The Terrami did not make unrealistic guarantees but instead proposed pragmatic solutions, which actually increased their credibility.

"Four, personnel management:"

"A, Resident personnel: The Terrami's resident personnel at the trading station will not exceed fifty people. Everyone must submit detailed background information to the Star Alliance and undergo regular vetting."

"B, Visiting personnel: Other Terrami ships visiting must apply thirty days in advance, with each stay not exceeding fifteen days; the total number of Terrami on the station at any one time shall not exceed one hundred."

"C, Star Alliance observers: We welcome the Star Alliance to station a permanent observer group of no more than thirty people, who shall have the authority to inspect all areas except for personal living quarters."

"We suggest the observer group include technical experts, security officers, and cultural consultants to fully understand our operations."

Eloan paused and added.

"We also suggest that observers may accompany our caravans on limited 'external journeys', provided, of course, that the Star Alliance approves and the itinerary does not involve sensitive areas."

"This would allow the Star Alliance to more intuitively understand our operational mode within the Bode Star System."

This was a bold proposal, but it could also be a trap.

Guilliman pondered to himself: Allow Star Alliance personnel to board Terrami ships for inter-system travel?

This could provide invaluable first-hand intelligence on the Bode Star System, but it also meant the personnel might face risks.

"Five, dispute resolution: establish a joint arbitration committee, composed of three Star Alliance representatives and two Terrami representatives, to handle daily disputes.

Major disputes shall be submitted to the Star Alliance legal system for adjudication."

"Six, agreement duration: the initial term of the agreement is proposed to be five standard years. Evaluation for renewal shall begin six months before expiration."

Eloan finished the statement and turned off the projection: "This is our preliminary proposal, Lord Guilliman. We believe this is a balanced plan: it satisfies the Star Alliance's security concerns while preserving basic space for our commercial activities."

The members of the Star Alliance delegation exchanged glances and discussed in low voices.

Guilliman analyzed it quickly in his mind: the proposal structure was complete, it took the Star Alliance's primary concerns into account, and they had even proactively made concessions beyond expectations.

This either meant the Terrami truly only wanted to do business, or it meant they were extremely skilled at negotiation, using superficial concessions to trade for long-term access qualifications.