Once again anger blinds Rukh, Kyuhai gauged as he blocked. He was disappointed, but unsurprised, for they had played out this scene many times before.

It was Zeljukh who ended the hopeless duel, bringing her bonded mate to heel with a derisory tirade of hoots and clicks. With a squawk of frustration, Rukh threw his scimitar aside and proffered his neck.

‘Ka’vash,’ Kyuhai said, gently tapping the creature’s throat. ‘End simulation.’

The swirling fog vanished instantly, revealing the ochre coloured expanse of the Fire Grounds. The Whispering Hand’s training bay was divided into six sectors, some housing demi-sentient sparring machines, others devoted to low-tech challenges like climbing frames or ropes. Kyuhai and his opponents stood in the simulation arena, where a large saucer-like machine hovered overhead, its underside bristling with sensors and projectors that tracked their movements. This late in the ship’s sleep cycle the bay was almost empty, yet Kyuhai and his companions were not quite alone. A human was training on the far side of the bay – the big man who led the expedition’s second gue’vesa support team. Their paths had crossed here before while their fellow travellers slept, but they had never spoken.

‘Reflect upon this defeat,’ Kyuhai told the avian warriors. ‘Leave me.’

The pair inscribed the symbol of Unity with their claws then loped towards the climbing arena, where they would continue training until he summoned them. Once they would have berated each other for their defeat, but they were past such foolishness. He had brought them that far at least.

‘Your honour guard is formidable, exalted one,’ the expedition’s ranking Fire Warrior had observed when Kyuhai had come aboard the ship. ‘The kroot are fierce allies.’

‘I am a Seeker, Shas’el Akuryo. I have no honour guard,’ Kyuhai had replied. ‘Rukh and Zeljukh are simply companions on my path.’

Many of Kyuhai’s fellow t’au were repelled by the avian auxiliaries, but he had detected only respect in the Fire Warrior’s voice. Though Akuryo and he were of the same rank within their respective castes, the Ethereals were elevated above all others, creating a gulf of authority between them. Had the Seeker commanded it, Akuryo would have taken his own life without hesitation. Such blind faith had troubled Kyuhai when he had first stepped onto his path, but he had soon learnt that it was not blind at all, for his caste was the living embodiment of the Tau’va.

‘We rule to serve,’ he said, echoing the words of his former master.