Red Zone

Ves didn't dare be too greedy in his demands. He started with the most critical and important request. "I'd like to be a part of the mining expedition that seeks to extract the resources buried close to the core of the planet."

As soon as he mentioned the core, Colonel Ilos turned sharp. She completely shed her friendly expression. "Where did you hear about our deep mining operations?"

"I've been assigned to retrieve something valuable from the core." Ves quickly responded. "As you know, I'm apprenticed to Master Carmin Olson, who's currently a guest professor of the Leemar Institute of Technology. As her subordinate, I'm sometimes called to take care of business on her organization's behalf."

What he said was all true, but Ves deliberately mixed his actual meaning. His first sentence about being assigned to retrieve an ore from the core of the planet had been true, but he didn't explicitly state that he received this mission from the System.