Mara is on her first hunt testing out the droids as they look for Vong infiltrators.  She discovers a female traitor and follows her as she leaves a payment for informant in the Senate Security Council.  After a bit of work she is able to map out the network of infiltrators.

Admiral Kre'fey gives a passionate speech to all the members of the military that have gathered.  He wants them to know that they will soon be crushing the Vong into oblivion.  Jaina meets with Kre'fey after his speech, and he tells her that he will be giving her a two-week break from the war to go to Mon Calamari to see Jacen and her family.  But while there she needs to convince Luke and Leia to bring many Jedi back so she can use them in Force meld attacks against the Vong.

Mara follows the infiltrator to a marina where she inspects some of the ships.  A second Vong warrior enters and joins the first as they go into a submersible.  Mara picks up a submersible of her own to follow them.  She follows them onto the other side of the underwater city and realizes in horror that they are planning an assassination attempt on Cal.  She uses her own sub to ram them.  They are able to torpedoes at her, but she tricks them and the torpedoes eventually follow back to the Vong sub, destroying it.  She alerts Luke and they move Cal to their quarters.

The next day Cal is elected to Chief of State with 85% of the vote, and his first order of business is to establish a new Jedi Council.

After another embarrassing failure on Yuuzhan'tar, Tsavong Lah wishes to take on a decisive battle with the New Republic.  Shimrra, however, is not interested until Nom Anor joins Lah's side.

Cal and Luke discuss who the initial nominees for the Jedi Council will be.  Kyp Durron is on the list.  Rodan tells them that he will have nothing to do with the government or any councils that they may wish to try to appoint him to.

After Jacen does some relaxing and shopping he sits down with Luke to discuss the Yuuzhan Vong.  He tells Luke that he doesn't hate the Vong anymore than you hate a child who was raised poorly and acted out.  He also tells Luke that he was able to form a mental telepathy bond with creatures while he was kidnapped.  He neglects to tell Luke however that he was still in contact with the World Brain on Coruscant and has influenced it to create havoc in small but annoying ways.

Jacen and Danni Quee go to a tropical part of the island to relax and talk.  She tells him that she's currently unemployed, but that several other scientists have made an interesting discovery.  While most of the Vong genetics are similar to theirs, one strand is unique to every organism in the Yuuzhan Vong galaxy.  After another trip the next day, they return and Jaina is waiting for them in his apartment.  She is only able to stay for a moment and must report to Luke about a previous request.  That night Jacen is awoken by his parents and after a joyful reunion, the Solo's move into a new apartment together.

Cal and his inner circle, including Luke, meets with Admiral Ackbar who gives a rundown on the state of the New Republic and the Yuuzhan Vong, including noting that the New Republic has killed almost a third of their warriors.  He points out all the standard traits of a warrior and counts them all as a unified weakness because of their predictability.  He recommends setting a trap that will bring them into a battle very soon while they are weak.  Due to an influx of young, untrained pilots, he recommends they attack Vong worlds that are thin on protection, and then build up to the large-scale attack.  The other part of Ackbar's plan entails only defending three or four planets that are vital to their salvation and letting the rest fall.  The timetable is three months.

The first Jedi Council, or High Council as it is now named, is called to order.  Kyp announces that Lowbacca and the Wookies have discovered a way to use dovin basals to pull Vong ships out of cyberspace the way they've been doing to the New Republic.  Many question why Luke has changed his mind into a more aggressive stance and he explains he has learned some new lessons from Vergere.  Despite Kyp's warnings about younger Jedi being tempted by the Dark Side, Luke says, as Vergere has, that they must trust in their training and they have given all the warnings they can.  They wonder what to do with some of the Jedi apprentices who have spent a lot of time in battle and decide that many will become Jedi Knights - the first of the New Jedi Order.  And so it happens that inside an auditorium, after remembering those Jedi that had fallen in the war, that nine new Jedi Knights are crowned including Jacen, Jaina, Tahiri, Lowbacca, and Tenel Ka.

After two months of skirmishes and battles it becomes obvious that Jacen has the ability to know when to attack and where to move and becomes the chief tactician on the bridge of a capital ship.
Ackbar's plan is taking shape.  He has found several moons around Ebaq in the core and he hopes that the Jedi will act as bait to trap the Vong in the system and turn it into a killing zone.

At the next High Council meeting, the unique Yuuzhan Vong gene is revealed as well as a weapon that will lead to the annihilation of all Vong life within a month.  Luke is obviously completely opposed to the weapon, known as Alpha Red.  The council has a heated argument including whether Alpha Red could eventually mutate and kill everyone.  The Council votes the plan down, but Cal overrules them and wants to continue with the project.  Luke returns to tell Mara the news and Vergere overhears the conversation.