The novel “Binary System” by Eric Brown was published for the first time in 2017. It’s the fix-up of two previously published novellas.

Cordelia “Delia” Kemp is part of the crew of the starship “The Pride of Amsterdam” when a catastrophic failure causes its destruction. Delia is lucky to to reach a shuttle but it’s thrown into the wormhole formed to bring the starship to its destination. Instead, the failure opened it to an unknown destination, which turns out to be about 10,000 light years from Earth.

In the area of ​​space where Delia ended up there’s a planet that is barely habitable but when it reaches its orbit, her shuttle is shot down. Delia discovers that the planet, called Valinda, is inhabited by a hostile species that conquered it long before. The sentient natives are used as slaves and, when Delia’s neural implant allows her to communicate with them, she manages to escape. Understanding the planet’s recent history is crucial for her future.