Called
Several
generations ago, an alien planet inhabited by a race of intelligent
highly evolved reptiles was hit by a human craft that was on a
mission to find resources. After a short period of time when both
lived in a mutual truce, the natives decided that the humans would
make good laborers with their small size and much more delicate
fingers. A group of humans managed to escape with sympathetic natives
out into the wilds, but many were left behind and ultimately ended up
being modified to better suit the needs of their new masters. Some of
these modifications included a toughening of the delicate human skin,
and improvements on their senses so that they might better handle
their tasks. In addition to this, they were outfitted with specially
engineered suits and collars to send electrical impulses through
their bodies. These collars can be activated by a group of massive
warrior class natives they call Handlers, as well as by a fence that
surrounds the alien settlement, preventing any escape.
Alana is one
of these modified humans; engineered and grown by one of the native
scientists to assist him in his research. She doesn't know until
later, that her undersized owner is a sympathizer for better human
treatment, and has secretly sabotaged her collar in an attempt to
keep the Handlers from punishing her too harshly. After one such
confrontation with a hulking Handler who insists that Alana be
re-assigned to work in the tight spaces of some machinery, the
scientist works out a plan to sneak her past the fences. They start a
search for a settlement that is rumored to be out past the wilds in
the mountains where humans and aliens are supposedly living in peace.
