Mil reminisced about the cousin he had only known briefly. It was his first cousin once removed (if he did it correctly), Ver, a 1/4 noble and ex-member of the skaa rebellion. He came to tell his only living kin, Mil's father, that he was leaving the rebellion.
"What! Why?" Mil's father had said.
"I met someone. At first glance, he looked Terris... but I could tell that that wasn't the case. He told me that I could leave this place," Ver had said.
"Are you going to the Outer Dominance?"
"No. I'm going to the stars." He left after that.
That was the only time Mil ever saw Ver. Three weeks later, Mil's village was destroyed.