Ambassador of the Shadows

Ambassador of the Shadows (L'Ambassadeur des Ombres)
Cover of the English language (UK) edition
Date	1975
Series	Valérian and Laureline
Publisher	Dargaud
Creative team
Writers	Pierre Christin
Artists	Jean-Claude Mézières
Colorists	Evelyn Tran-Lé
Original publication
Published in	Pilote magazine
Issues	M14 to M17
Date of publication	1 July 1975 to 1 October 1975
Language	French
ISBN
Translation
Publisher	Dargaud USA (USA) Hodder Dargaud (UK)
Date	1982 (USA) 1983 (UK)
ISBN
Translator	L. Mitchell
Chronology
Preceded by	Birds of the Master
Followed by	On the False Earths

Ambassador of the Shadows is volume six in the French comic (or bande dessinée) science fiction series Valérian and Laureline created by writer Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières.

Valérian and Laureline are travelling to Point Central with Earth's new Ambassador. Shortly before they arrive, the Ambassador calls them into his quarters for a meeting. He informs them that he intends to take advantage of the fact that it's Earth's turn to preside over the council at Point Central – he intends to bring order to the galaxy by proposing a federation with Earth as the keystone and police. He reminds the two young agents of the importance that he is protected. He also entrusts Laureline with the source of their funds while they are on Point Central – a Grumpy Converter from Bluxte, a small hedgehog-like creature that can defecate multiple copies of anything it eats.

The astroship lands at Point Central and the three Terrans spacewalk to the Earth's segment. Entering, they are greeted by the assembled dignitaries that occupy the segment. The Ambassador begins his opening speech but, suddenly, the partition wall melts and a group of armed aliens burst in, opening fire with cocoon guns from Xoxos. The cocoons envelop everyone present rendering them unconscious except for Valérian and Laureline who react in time to put their spacesuit helmets back on. Laureline is trapped by one of the cocoons so Valérian is forced to pursue the aliens, who have taken the Ambassador, alone. Following them to their ship, he is captured and the ship blasts off into space.

Freeing herself from her cocoon, Laureline is dismayed to discover Valérian has gone. There is one other survivor of the attack – Colonel Diol, the assistant head of protocol. Suddenly there is a ring on the main lock chamber of the segment. Diol is horrified – each race usually stays in its segment and only communicates with the others via the screens. Three small aliens enter and introduce themselves as the Shingouz. They have come to offer their services to the Ambassador as vendors of information. Laureline shows them the devastation wrought by the attack and asks them what they know. Using the Grumpy, Laureline pays them in Ebaba pearls and they suggest she tries asking the Kamuniks, allies of Earth. For a further payment of pearls they give her a map of Point Central. The map has a large unmarked white section. When she complains that the map is incomplete, the Shingouz tell her no such map exists.