The Ambassador

An accomplished older woman and her team look for ways to protect the Local Neighborhood. Together, they must find a way to stop the invading Olmeri.

This is the third book in the eight-book series. It returns to the Ambassador's present. The Alliance is getting more frequent reports about Olmeri incursions.

The Ambassador and her team are on Dagon sorting out the data they collected. She invites N'amani to become her student. She'd already invited Beth. He is overjoyed. They all go to brief the Alliance High Council on what they have figured out and what they don't know. The Council sends them out to do more surveys and shore up their alliances. It's a long trip. They spend weeks on board the ship, collecting data near the Outer Boundaries and getting to know each other. They find some allies true and others false. They go to a leisure world for shore leave. On their last day ashore, Kell is attacked. N'amani and the Ambassador defend him. They finish their surveys and are on their way back to Dagon when the Ambassador gets a call from Galen. Their teacher, Master Tai, has peacefully passed away. They divert to Ras 2 where the Ambassador gives her inheritance, the title to the House of Tu, to Sentar. The five gather to say goodbye to their teacher.

The stories offer a rare glimpse into the inner world of traditional martial arts training. The Ambassador and her four old friends embody the five elements of Xingyiquan (Metal, Water, Wood, Fire, Earth) grounding the series in the long history and storied traditions of authentic Chinese martial arts. Their colors (White, Black, Green, Red, Gold) reflect their elements, personalities, and special skills (xingyi, taiji, qigong, bagua, sword).

Throughout the stories, the focus is on taking care of each other, what honor, integrity, honesty, and kindness mean, how we pass on what we have learned and bring up the next generations, and all sorts of positive character questions that are fundamental to traditional martial arts.