[ A very, very successful empire. In Miles' time, only the Barrayaran Imperium itself comes close, and that's only three worlds.

But that implied hint ... Ah, well. He may as well explain himself before the soldiers paint a more biased picture anyway. ]

My ancestors arrived here over 700 years ago, fleeing a nuclear holocaust. And then the wormhole they'd used to get here closed off unexpectedly, cutting them off from the rest of the Nexus. Which may have irradiated the planet even worse, potentially.

Just picture it. Going from modern to medieval tech in an instant, with dangerous radiation even for a normal world.

[ He pauses here to let Wash draw conclusions on his own, first. ]