Kal has always been considered too "fragile" to participate in the village activities. Her lithe stature links her to her father and distance her from everyone else. He left the village to fight in the Teristaque Wars and never returned. She meets Sarge, a strange star species of the human race who seems to know the secret of the patch from her father's uniform. Kal has always known she is different than her fellow villagers, and finally she may be closer to finding out why.