It took us three days to sail back to Nexus. Even when we arrived I didn’t believe the sight of shredded metal houses, bodies -or what remained - were strewn in the dirt, and the purple sand had a red tinge to it. My house, that is to say, the place where I stayed with Dayna and our children had been wiped away. A teddy bear head sat perfectly atop a pile of rubble —Clara’s teddy.

“The Zergs did this?” First mate Michael said.

I spat on the purple. “Zergs are pirates but they aren’t pirates. Not like this.”

My crew stood atop the deck of Star Gazer, hats off hand to hearts, those from Nexus searched the rubble till they found what they wer looking for.

Never heard any man or woman on my crew wail like that. The sound stabbed and twisted right in the heart.

I knelt and scooped a handful of purple.

“But who?” Michael said.

As I let the sand trickle down, red stained my hand.

I frowned.

“Who could be the savage?” Michael said.

I scooped up another handful and let it drop. Again my hand stained with an orange tainted red.

“They’re not dead.”

Someone gasped. “Found a pistol, looks Dartheon.”

“Not dead?” Michael said. “Captain I know this is a tough ti-“

“It’s not the Dartheon’s,” I said, scooping up another handful of sand. “Look damnit!”

Michael’s eyes widened as he saw the orange stain. “Bloodvale? Why dye the sand?”

“And a Dartheon head piece,” someone else shouted.

I shook my head. “Think Michael, think.”

Michael frowned. “It’s not blood?”

“My family, village members, they’re not dead. They were taken.”

“By who?”

“Bloodvale. A scene. Deception.”

“The Letchers?” Michael said. “Traffickers?”

“Round up the crew. We’ve got a planet to visit.”