Well, I was right (in a sense) that Talan would be Clark's great temptation. He succumbed to the temptation to be a hero and save a life again. And he had no clue that Talan would rather eat ground glass and drink fresh lava than confess her feelings to him.
The idea of using Alon to draw out Nor is a good strategy, but it could backfire on Ching and Zara because Alon isn't reporting to Nor, but to Rae Et, and neither Zara nor Ching seems to realize it. I wonder if this misguided assumption will have serious consequences later on.
Oh, a note about sergeants in the military. They are classed as "non-commissioned officers" in Earth armies, which means that they can order a private to do anything that a commissioned officer (lieutentant or above) can order. The main difference these days is the level of education and training received, and the limits of promotion (officers can go as high as general rank, non-commissioned officers cannot receive lieutenant's bars without a special qualifying process or event). So there wouldn't be that much of a problem in the US Army between Sergeant Lok Sim and Captain Enza, especially since you pointed out that they're not in the same chain of command or even in the same class of specialty.
But that's not a problem at all, and it does make for an interesting wrinkle in their relationship. Let me add my plea to the chorus: Let Lok Sim Live! (t-shirts available with credit card order only)
I only hope Lois can stay true to her ideals despite having compromised some of them for the greater good. I still think her biggest trial is yet to come, and if that's true, it'll be a whopper when it does finally arrive.
