The alchemists

In its eagerness to expand, the Empire was often too willing to look the other way while entire alien races were destroyed. When the Kin were discovered living on the beautiful planet that men called Belthannis, Scholar Emrys headed the team brought in to judge the aliens' right to survive. The Kin looked human, so at first the verdict was clear: Belthannis and its natives would be safe from human colonization. But the Kin were not human. Nevertheless, Emrys had a plan to protect them, and soon his team was embroiled in a complex scheme to fool the Empire.