Arakasi remained in position by the litter as Keyoke hastened forward. The Force Commander had barely reached the head of the column when a cho-ja charged. With the uncanny ability of his race to go from frenetic movement to absolute stillness, he halted scant inches before Keyoke, then stood there trembling, as if eager to fight. Yet when the cho-ja made no further provocative moves, Keyoke bowed with cautious courtesy. ‘We are of the Acoma,’ he announced. ‘My Lady of the Acoma wishes to speak with your queen.’
The cho-ja warrior remained motionless while the constant traffic of workers flowed by on either side. Tense and silent, the Acoma soldiers awaited any hint of threat to their mistress, while Arakasi advised Keyoke. ‘I don’t think these warriors understand Tsurani. This one here is barely mature. We may be forced to defend ourselves.’ Controlled but urgent, the Spy Master lowered his voice. ‘If the one in front attacks, the others may come to aid him. If we provoke him, they certainly will. Strike only at those who attack first, for some who come may be seeking to aid us.’
Keyoke returned a fractional nod. His hand lightly gripped his sword hilt, Mara saw. Yet he made no move to draw, even when the creature twitched his head to get a better view of the brightly amoured fighter. Long, tense moments dragged by; then another, larger, cho-ja arrived. Mara waited, edgy as her escort, as the newcomer pushed through the press of young warriors. It paused at the side of the one who confronted Keyoke, and shouted what might have been a command in a high-pitched clicking language. Several of the surrounding youngsters dipped their forelimbs and hurried away, but more stayed, including the one who blocked the trail. Without warning, the larger cho-ja reached out and seized the youngster around the middle of the upper body. He locked his limbs in an immovable grip, and for a moment the two cho-ja strained against each other, grunting with effort as their chitin grated together. The first cho-ja tottered; pulled off balance, he fell to the ground, where he thrashed for an instant in panic. The elder placed a leg atop the younger cho-ja, holding him down for a moment, then stepped back, allowing the younger to scramble to his knees. The minstant he regained his footing, he spun and ran away, and the last of the young warriors fled with him.
The remaining cho-ja clicked apologetically and saluted. ‘Honours to your house, humans.’ Keyoke returned the salute as the cho-ja said, ‘That young one was unused to the sight of humans. He was ready to attack, and the others would have followed him had I not thrown him down.’
Softly, but so that all could hear, Arakasi said, ‘Cho-ja are most vulnerable when on the ground. They are extraordinarily agile, and terrified of losing their footing.’
‘That is true,’ agreed the cho-ja. ‘When I pulled the youngster over and held him down, he knew I was his better and he would not stand against me. I am Ratark’l, a soldier of the Kait’lk.’ He bowed in a very human fashion, then motioned for them to follow. ‘I do not know your colours, humans, but I can see you are not of the Inrodaka. His men wear the colour that can’t be seen, which you humans call red.’
‘We are of the Acoma.’ Keyoke indicated Mara’s litter and added, ‘This is my mistress, the Lady of the Acoma. She has travelled far to meet with your queen.’
The cho-ja spun around and seemed agitated. ‘My knowledge of your language seems now to be inadequate. I know of your Lords. What is a Lady?’
Keyoke responded with an imitation of a cho-ja gesture of respect. ‘She is our ruler.’
The cho-ja almost reared. His eyes glittered as, with a deference not shown before, he bent his head towards the litter where Mara rode hidden from sight. ‘Ruler! Never have we seen one of your queens, human. I shall hurry to my Queen and tell of your arrival.’
The cho-ja spun abruptly and darted between the press of commerce towards the hive entrance. Somewhat disoriented by the brevity of its manners, Keyoke turned to Arakasi. ‘What do you make of that?’
Arakasi shrugged and indicated that the party should resume the approach to the hive. ‘I suppose the home garrison has never seen a Tsurani woman before. Only traders and envoys of the Lord of the Inrodaka come here. It’s quite possible that this may be the first time in memory that a Ruling Lady has come to deal with a hive queen. The novelty may prove interesting.’
Keyoke halted the march. ‘Dangerous?’
Arakasi considered. ‘Probably not, though with the young warriors as nervous to be moving to a new hive as they are, I can’t say for certain. Still, I’ve never heard of the cho-ja harming a guest. For the moment I expect we are safe.’