The Ambassador

As three civilizations converge, one man's diplomacy will decide the fate of worlds.In the 25th century, humanity's expansion among the stars has brought it into uneasy harmony with the Kitar-an alien people who fled their own world to escape the once vanquished terror known only as the Others. On the former colony Pitcairn in the Tau Ceti system, Ambassador Edward Goldstein receives a warning that the Others are on their way back to Kitar, threatening not just the Kitar's long-lost homeworld, but the fragile trust between species. Yet on Earth, a newly elected president of the Western Alliance has turned sharply against alien contact, ordering isolation at any cost.Defying Earth, Goldstein sets out aboard the aging starliner Benjamin Sepulveda, determined to reach Kitar first-and broker peace before fear turns into catastrophe.But he is not alone in the race. The heavily armed warship Unity is already en route, tasked with severing the faster-than-light Links to Kitar and destroying the automated vessel that made contact possible. Unaware of the Others' return, its crew could trigger the very conflict Goldstein hopes to prevent.As three civilizations converge on a single system, the fate of worlds will hinge on trust, courage-and the desperate hope that ancient enemies can choose peace.