"Welcome, comrade Paulinus", said Duquesnes, abandoning the usual form of adress for Imperial officials. "We will not bother you with niceties and we'll go straight for the terms. Here is what we propose."

A young woman behind Duquesnes handed him a holo-slate, which he unfolded and read aloud.

"First of all, you would have to hand over the Western half of the Imperium to the Federation, including Aresia. Our troops fought hard to liberate those areas, and we expect to have them stay within the Federation's control. Secondly, we demand that you dismantle all the Western legions and give us their equipment. Thirdly, we demand that you hand over any prisoners of war you may still have. In exchange, we will hand over our own prisoners. Thirdly, we want all the damages done by Imperial forces during the previous war in Federal territory to be repaid in full. Finally, we want Umbra to be dismantled."

Duquesnes closed the holoslate and looked into the Curator's eyes.

"These are our terms."