The special forces’ plan to land on Coral and attack the Rraey works flawlessly. They use nanobots to protect themselves from the heat of the atmosphere and to form parachutes. On the way down, they target the Rraey command center, where the tracking unit is being held. In just under 90 minutes, they manage to kill all the Rraey, take over the command center, and establish a central base for their soldiers. However, Jane warns John that this was only the first step, and they begin to prepare for a counterattack.

John thinks back to the night before. Jane asked him if he wanted to go back to being “normal” after living in a modified body. He told her that he does and that he plans to as soon as his service is over. He then asked Jane the same question; however, she admitted that special forces rarely retire, as they know nothing about what it’s like to be human. John pointed out that she could live her life in reverse order—service and then civilian existence—but still get the comfort and happiness she imagines. However, she responded that she would feel lost, as fighting is all she has ever known. At the end of their conversation, John told her that after retiring, he will send her a “postcard” to let her know where he is so that she can join him. She laughed it off, but John was being serious.

The Rraey attack quickly and relentlessly. They have no battle plan, so the special forces are able to fend them off for a while, but the Rraey’s sheer numbers swamp the CDF soldiers. While Jane and John shoot at approaching Rraey soldiers, their position is hit by a rocket. A rock strikes Jane’s head, severely injuring her. After fighting off the approaching Rraey, John grabs her and runs over 100 meters to a nearby repair garage. He checks Jane over and learns that she is still alive and no longer bleeding; however, she is in desperate need of medical help. His BrainPal informs him that there is an infirmary inside the command tower that has a stasis chamber that will help her heal and keep her alive until they can get her off Coral.

John carries Jane back to the control center. As he goes inside, he sees the first CDF ships arriving in the atmosphere. He also realizes that the Rraey are doing everything they can to destroy the command center and the tracking device. As parts of the building are destroyed around him, John makes it to the infirmary. He finds the tracking unit there, along with several dead Rraey soldiers. He searches and finds the chamber. Just before leaving, he sees a memory module on one of the dead Rraey soldiers. He plugs it into a monitor and sees all the data and schematics on the tracking unit. He takes the module and leaves just as the building is destroyed.

Outside, John sees all the Rraey fleeing as even more CDF ships arrive and begin to attack. Crick sees him and thanks him for saving Jane’s life, promising to get her on the next transport. John then gives him the memory module.

Because of his work on Coral, John is promoted to captain. He spends the first few months going to different planets to try to recruit new CDF soldiers. He is treated as a hero and largely performs public relations for the CDF. After that, he works with new recruits, introducing them to their new bodies and warning them about the dangers of war, just as Higgee did for John and his friends. Finally, John asks to return to combat, realizing that it is what he wants to do.

In all this time, John never sees Jane, though he learns that she healed fully and was reassigned to a new special forces ship. John also hears from Harry, who has begun working on the data from the skip drive tracker. He admits that the technology is well beyond what humans can replicate and that it opens up entirely new fields of mathematics and physics.

One day, John returns to his room and has a message from an anonymous sender. It is a picture of a field and farmhouse. He then hears Jane’s voice; she has decided that she wants to retire one day, and she wants John to join her. She tells him that she may be different from the woman who once occupied her body but that John once loved “part” of her. She has realized that “part of [her] wants to be loved by [him] again” (351). John thinks back to his last day on Earth, when he visited his wife’s grave and left without regret. Now, he is confident that he can leave his military life someday as well—also without regret—because he will see Jane again.