Crossing Orb: Newtype Commander

In early September CE70, Orb's diplomatic situation continued to deteriorate. Although Atlantic Federation envoy Hayes was firmly rejected by Char at the negotiating table, Washington did not give up putting pressure on Orb.

Proposals for economic sanctions have been put on the agenda of the Atlantic Federal Congress, including freezing Ob's assets within the federal territory, prohibiting federal companies from engaging in technology trade with Ob, and restricting Ob ships from passing through the Panama Canal.

If these sanctions take effect, Orb's economy will suffer a severe blow—although the orbital elevator has given Orb autonomy in space exploration, Orb's trade with the Earth Sphere still relies on traditional shipping routes.

At the same time, PLANT also extended "goodwill" to Orb.

Patrick Sara stated through diplomatic channels: "PLANT is willing to establish a closer cooperative relationship with Orb, but Orb must cease its clandestine military cooperation with the Atlantic Federation."

The "secret military cooperation" Sara referred to is the GAT series development project in Heliopolis. Although the project is conducted on a neutral satellite, Orb and the Union have never publicly acknowledged it. Sara's intelligence network has clearly picked up on some signs.

Caught between the two giants, Orb is like a rock caught in a pincer movement. A rock can withstand pressure, but if the pressure continues for too long, cracks will appear.

Mina Sahak sat in the tea room of the Asha mansion, holding a cup of matcha but not drinking it. Her red eyes were fixed on the tea leaves floating in the cup, her thoughts clearly elsewhere. Char sat opposite her, waiting.

"We need to find another way," Mina finally spoke, putting down her teacup. "We can't back down diplomatically, we can't concede militarily, and we can't collapse economically. But we can give the Atlantic Federation something—the benefits they want."

It's not military cooperation, not Orb's stance, but technology. Civilian technology that doesn't violate neutrality.

Xia looked at her: "What are you selling?"

Mina took a document from her sleeve, placed it on the table, and pushed it over: "Solar cells. Our previous generation of monocrystalline silicon technology had a conversion efficiency of 28 percent."

It's six percentage points higher than the current mainstream 22%, but not as high as our latest Minovsky assisted multi-junction cell—that's our core technology. The Atlantic Federation is facing an energy crisis.

The neutron jammers shut down all their nuclear power plants, their fossil fuel reserves are running low, and solar energy is what they desperately need. If we provide them with high-efficiency solar cell technology, they will have a chance to catch their breath, and their pressure on Orb will temporarily ease.

Char opened the document and quickly scanned it. The R&D costs had already been amortized, and the patent protection period only had three years left. Even if they didn't sell it, it would expire and be copied in three years. Rather than let someone steal it, it was better to sell it proactively and do a favor.

Moreover, it involves no military applications and is exported under the guise of civilian technology, which fully complies with Aub's principle of neutrality. He closed the document: "We cannot give out core patents."

Mina's lips curled into a slight smile, revealing the shrewdness of a businessman: "Of course. We'll only provide the older generation technology, with production licenses restricted to the Equatorial Union, and core technology components will continue to be supplied by Orb. Even if they get the blueprints, they can't build efficient and stable products without our key components."

"Through whom to conduct the transaction?"

"The Equatorial Union. They have good relations with the Atlantic Federation and a traditional friendship with Orb. They are perfect as intermediaries. The Atlantic Federation saves face, Orb's bottom line is maintained, and the Equatorial Union can even earn a brokerage fee—a win-win-win situation."

Xia was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. Go and talk to them."

On September 5, Mina left Orb and secretly traveled to the capital of the Equatorial Union. She participated in the negotiations as the chairperson of the Sahak Group—not as the commander of the Orb Defense Forces Space Force.

This shift in identity was a carefully designed move to keep the transaction at the level of "private business cooperation," leaving no evidence for any party that the "Ob government was involved."

The intermediary for the Equatorial Union was an old friend of Aub's—Energy Minister Abdul Hassan, a lean man in his sixties who had studied at Aub Industrial University and had always maintained a friendly attitude towards Aub.

He received Mina at his residence, and after a few pleasantries, they got down to business. Mina's terms were clear and reasonable: a technology transfer fee of 150 million, a 5% patent fee for each solar cell system produced thereafter, with a projected total revenue of around 300 million over three years, plus the rare resources that Orb lacked.

The core components had to be supplied by Orb—and there was an additional profit margin in that. All transactions were conducted through the Equatorial Union's accounts; payments from the Atlantic Federation went to the Equatorial Union first, then to Orb.

After listening, Hassan leaned back in his chair and smiled: "Miss Mina, your proposal is very well thought out. Every detail is designed, and even the price is calculated so accurately. It seems all I need to do is sign it."

Mina's smile was just right—half polite, half shrewd: "You are my elder, and I dare not overstep my bounds. The power to negotiate is in your hands; I have only provided a preliminary plan."

This isn't modesty; it's a technique. It makes the other person feel like they're in control, even if all the conditions were set by her.

Three days later, representatives from the Atlantic Federation secretly arrived in the Equatorial Union. The negotiations took place in the underground conference room of the Equatorial Union's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Atlantic Federation representative was not a government official, but rather the technical procurement director of a large energy company. This was an unspoken arrangement between the two sides—the government would remain out of the picture, so that any problems could be blamed on the company.

Mina was dressed in a dark business suit, her long black hair styled in an updo, and her red eyes behind her gold-rimmed glasses gleamed coldly under the conference room lights. She sat to one side of the negotiation table, with technical documents and draft contracts spread out in front of her.

Across from them were three representatives from the Atlantic Federation: Procurement Director Mark Stevens, a white man in his fifties with a technical background, shrewd and cautious; Technical Advisor Linda Hill, in her forties, very knowledgeable about the solar energy field; and Legal Advisor, a taciturn lawyer who barely spoke from beginning to end, only taking notes in his notebook.

Stevens flipped through the technical documents, his expression shifting from skepticism to seriousness, and then to astonishment. "Your monocrystalline silicon conversion efficiency reaches 28%? Is that figure accurate?"

"There's a third-party testing report attached." Mina gestured for her assistant to hand over the report. "It's an independent test from the Equatorial Joint Energy Laboratory. You can call to verify it."

Stevens flipped to the attachment and glanced at the test report. The numbers were impressive, and the testing agency seemed authoritative. He reviewed the contract terms again: the technology transfer fee was 150 million, a high price but reasonable. Supplying core components to Orb was unavoidable, but at least the production license was in their own hands. He closed the contract, exchanged a glance with Linda, and nodded.

"Ms. Sahak, the contract terms are acceptable. But we need to ensure the timely delivery of the technology—the sooner the better."