Diadem #6: The Nowhere Hunt by Jo Clayton

The Nowhere Hunt was a quest every Hunter refused. Only Aleytys, wearer-slave of the mysterious and powerful Diadem would dare try to slip unseen past starship battalions and land on a world encased in a cosmic shield which rendered all electronic equipment functionless. Avoiding poisonous flora, hostile natives, vicious predators and murderous ransomers, her job was to rescue and transport a massive, semi-intelligent insect queen off planet and save the queen’s besieged race from extinction….A seemingly impossible task, but one Aleytys could not refuse, for she had been offered in payment something she desperatley needed to continue her own personal quest…”Aleytys is an independant woman, strongwilled and competent, the total heroine” – Analog