Hoseki Hanran is a female reptilian alien. Her pattering matches that of stone. Her form, when clothed, is quite androgynous, impossible to distinguish male or female. The clothing she wears, however, is noticeably masculine, in the attempt to purposely mislead people to believe she is in fact male.
As a young child, she was a rebellious reptile. A female of her kind, she was subject to a concept referred to as the Gender Laws. An entire subset of laws, a law book with nearly a thousand pages, was dedicated to outlining what females were allowed to do, what they could only do with the permission of their masters, and what they were not allowed to do. These laws are based deeply in the faith of these peoples, in which females must be completely submissive to males.
Growing up, she did not receive an education like her brother, as was the law. He would teach her things he learned in school, how to play games not taught to girls, because he found it unfair how his twin sister had to stay home and learn from mom how to be a good pet one day. They did this in secret for many years.
However, she was unaware that, very early on, her father had promised a dear friend that he would give his daughter to his friend's son, in exchange for a life debt. This was sprung upon her in her final year before the age females were expected to submit to a master.
One day, when she was nearly an adult, she asked her brother if he could take her to see the wilderness. They had gone many times, but she wanted to see it one final time before she was to submit to a master. While they were out there, they were attacked by a hoard of beasts with no Earth parallel. He was severely wounded, but she was spared. In his dying breath, he urged his sister to take his place and escape the life society forced her to live by living as a male, as him.
She returned with his clothing after giving him a proper burial. Her build was very close to her brother's so when fully clothed, her father managed to mistake her for him, and she told her father, lying about she had been killed and he had survived. He believed her story, and her life as a male began.
Over the years, she had slowly gotten used to the limitless possibilities open to a male: she got a formal higher level education, wore what she wanted, went anywhere without the escort of a man, and even participated in male-only events and ceremonies. She kept track of every law she had broken, and how successfully she was able to do so. She had always been taught that certain things were in the laws to protect women, to keep them safe. But she soon realized: females were just as capable as males... Except in one thing.
She had entered a bar, several years after her brother's death, wanting to try a beverage forbidden to females, containing alcohol. She gambled with the other men, drinking one cup after another. Whereas at that point the males would be only slightly intoxicated, she had been poisoned, and was getting incredibly sick. Her race's females lacked the enzymes to metabolize alcohol. She passed out.
When she awoke, she was in a prison hospital, a male doctor stabilizing her. She was soon told she was under arrest for being in a male only area in male clothing and for drinking the forbidden beverages. Within only minutes, the police had identified her, and realized that, not only had she done that, she had replaced her brother years ago. The pieces fell in place one by one, and soon she was accused of murder.
She was placed on trial for the murder of her brother, and she managed to convince them she had not, but in doing so she had admitted to breaking the Gender Laws for several years, even before his death. Her sentence was public execution by stoning. The night before her execution, however, something happened. She was transported out of her cell by a passing Alliance ship who had heard the news. Hating this reptilian race's gender laws, they promised her asylum in their Alliance, as the first female to challenge their society's extreme policies.
To this day, she dresses as a male, hiding wherever she goes, still afraid to let the people she encounters she is male, despite the fact the rescuing ship informed her females were not subject to special laws in most areas of the galaxy. She has to see for herself first wherever she goes. Currently, she is also trying to avoid alien criminals and reptilian bounty hunters, due to the reward of 1 million gold on her head for her return alive to face her punishment.
