Sometime later Kemm's father Yull and the ship's captain were listening as the human told them a tale of escaped acid beasts and Rett's heroic attempt to protect his nephew. An attempt which unfortunately had ended in his demise.

The two Limissians looked from the acid eaten body of Rett to Matriarch Oz and wrongly concluded that such a small unimposing figure couldn't possibly be responsible for the death of a blooded warrior and therefore must have been telling the truth.

Nothing in his life thus far had prepared Kemm for what was happening. His uncle was dead and the being responsible was lying about what had happened. She was calling Rett a brave hero, and they believed her.

"Speaking the truth is not always a luxury that leaders have." Matriarch Oz whispered in Kemm's ear while the captain and his father argued off in a corner. "Of course, even if you choose not to speak it, you should remember what the truth is."

He looked over at her, unsure of what to think or say. "So what is the truth?" He finally asked, wanting her to admit at least to him what she had done. She wove lies so finely that even he had begun to doubt his own memory.

The human reached into her pocket and handed over a metallic purple shard that she had plucked from an acid beast's paw earlier. It was small and easily concealed in the palm of his hand.

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He had heard of these before, though it was his first time seeing one. Vressia hadn't always been a barren waste. Once it had housed a thriving civilization, but they had wiped themselves out and taken the whole planet with them.

What he held in his hand was one of the few remaining artifacts of Vressian technology, dormant nano machines compressed into crystal form. Millions of tiny machines waiting for orders that would never come.

In theory if they could be activated the possibilities were endless. Vressians had used nanotechnology for everything from construction to medicine. Of course it was also possible that if the machines woke up it could lead to another cataclysm. That was why they were strictly controlled and only a few orbital labs were allowed to tinker with them. That way if something went wrong the damage would at least be partially contained.

"Your uncle was dealing in more than furs and misery." Matriarch Oz sighed. "It's an old smuggler's trick, put a beast in a cage, hide contraband inside with it. Usually customs officials won't bother looking inside if it means getting their faces ripped off."

Kemm pocketed the crystal. His uncle was belligerent and greedy, but he wouldn't have even attempted something like this without Yull's backing. He waited until the captain was distracted by a subordinate before approaching his father.

"Not now, Kemm." Yull shook his head. "Go to your quarters and wait for me there."

"Of course father." Kemm replied, thinking about the crystal in his pocket. "I'm sure we have much to discuss."