"Yes. Though it held resources that were of interest to the man I was then employed by. Alien artifacts, in particular."

Just state the facts. As unbiased as possible. He still can't quite see a reaction, but that shouldn't be long, now.

"My partner and I were hired to sustain an already bloody civil war among the native population, and retrieve what artifacts we could in the process. Agent Washington and his comrades landed in the middle of said war when their ship crashed on the planet."