Recalcitrant

Ves sent out a flurry of messages on his comm. First, he contacted Melkor, as he could trust his cousin to brief him without any bias.

"Are you safe, Ves?" Melkor asked over the comm. His projected bust radiated fatigue.

"I'm fine. I've had some close shaves, but we've dug up a fortune in exotics. Even if they have to relinquish the majority to the MTA, they'll still make it off with a tidy profit."

"That's good to hear. It's been rather hectic on our end. As you can see, this base hasn't fared well in the last couple of weeks. The pirates under the instigation of the Dragons of the Void have ganged up on us. They wiped out the smaller outfits first before they tackled the main forces of the Mech Corps."

"Is everyone else okay?"

"Raella suffered a minor injury when her mech got swarmed by enemy mechs. She managed to eject in time, but she's suffered a bruise to her ego."