The Bretonian ambassador grabbed a small notebook and a pen from a pocket on his suit. He wrote: "1. t23 rsolvd fvrbly". Toshinori couldn't see what he wrote, but he could guess. "I have another point to address", said Joyce, "But I am your guest here, and it would be polite to first deal with the matter that you have invited me for. Only one condition is imperative: Bara must be returned to Crayter. A permanent KNF presence in Tau-31 is not something that we will like, but it's something that we can negotiate given the right conditions. We have no interest in Tau-29, so this can't be symmetrically reciprocal, but we do have a system to rebuild. If the Kusari government could fund Samura to rebuild, say, Stokes Station for the BMM, Bretonian media will have something tangible to display as a sign of Kusari's friendship and the government will not be criticised if we sign a treaty that will legalise KNF presence in Tau-31."
He could have worded that more concisely, Joyce thought in hindsight. English had become the lingua franca of Sirius, so there was no translator present, and although Toshinori was adept, it was not his first language. The Bretonian put a soft smile on his face to encourage the Kusarian that it was not rude to ask if he hadn't understood something.
![[Image: IeOloj2.png]](https://i.imgur.com/IeOloj2.png)