Book II of the Catteni series. They had called the planet Botany, after the old penal colony on Earth.  They were prisoners and dissidents from other worlds who the hatred Catteni had banished to what they thought was an empty planet.  Kris Bjiornsen and her fellow slaves had survived very well with the help of Zainal, a high ranking Catteni who was just as trapped as the prisoners.  He knew the ways and technology of his people and he had a plan for fighting back.  He knew the Catteni were the victims of the Eosi, who used the Catteni as a galactic police force – as well as using them in more horrific and grisly ways.  And then there was the mystery of whom Botany really belonged to. Who had created the giant grain sheds and mammoth machinery that tilled the great fields?  The prisoners called them ‘the Farmers’ and waited for the day they would come and harvest their crops. And when that day came, the prisoners were awed to silence – for the Farmers were greater than anything the Universe had ever seen. Cover art by Peter Elston. https://cosmiccauldronbooks.com.au/p/freedoms-challenge-anne-mccaffrey-4/