With nearly four months in their new ship, the Phoenix and her crew are getting up to speed with their new contract. Adara is showing with her pregnancy. Decker is a nervous wreck, concerned she's over taxing her energy while she's pregnant. Conflict between them arises when he tries to stop her from flying too much. Safeguards from the Hettians are put in place but during the process, Adara's transport is damaged while she's in the toxic gaseous cloud. It takes her expert flying skills to get them out of the cloud and back to the Phoenix. Jolen and Wade become entangled but have a falling out. One of Adara's trainees thinks he should have Jolen but a chair over his head during a bar fight discourages him. While flying the settlers to their new planet, the Phoenix encounters the Tuscalai ships. They have their first contact with Jolen translating and Adara negotiating. Babies abound with Talia and Rhia becoming pregnant. Franklin and Cara get engaged and decide to have a child. Babies and families grow as the crew of the Phoenix deal with hostages, encounters with new races, and settlers.