I have been mulling over my thoughts on this one for a bit now. It's obviously excellently written — no surprise given the authors — and establishes so many fascinating things about the canon. Trip's emotional arc is very strong and very believable. It's heartbreaking, what this world and her military service has done to her, and it has a lot of parallels in the real world that are gut-wrenching. It's also completely on point thematically, like, triumphantly so.
However, I struggled slightly with it because the author transition is definitely noticeable, partly because the subject matter shift feels abrupt. There are a few breadcrumbs laid in the first two thirds that are suggestive of what might be coming in the factory (the reticence of the parents to enter the school/factory, for instance) but for me I would have liked a bit more dovetailing to smooth it out.
All that aside, it's so well-done on its writing, world building, emotional, and mood merits that I upvoted anyhow. Excellent work to both of you.
