The priority lesson scene was marvelously well-done. The foreshadowing of the arrival of the dreaded brass effectively illustrated how the officer class is a vastly different tier of Corps society. Sipping tea while corporal punishment was administered was like something out of the Belgian Congo. Wesson was the true subject of the demonstration, as the transition from slave to overseer cannot be easy or painless. That dude must be really messed up. Mandatory transfer seems like it would be a mercy.
As complete as the officers’ control over the corpsmen is, Wesson grabbing Gray and sniffing her undershirt still seemed like an excessive liberty. Couching the whole exchange amongst Gray’s fears that her treason would be discovered was a deft misdirect. If she’s clever, Gray can throw Wesson off the scent by masking the greater betrayal with the lesser.
Gray imagining Rice observing the priority lesson was another good feint, as we didn’t know until the last moment who from Brown Toon was getting punished, and the reader was free to suspect it was Gray. If it was Gray up there with the chopping block, would Rice try to save her? Gray probably doesn’t think she deserves to hope for such a deliverance, but she obviously would anyway. Like I said, doomed.
Finch is a puzzle. The standard trope is that she should be possessive of her special relationship with Wesson, but here she seems to want Gray to join her in trading favors, possibly so it won’t feel so dirty to her. Or maybe she’s just trying to earn the position of Most Cynical Bitch in the Toon.
“Rice, what’s a pairing?”
“You don’t wanna know.”
Like hell we don’t.
Warrant officer, natch.
