OK, first and foremost, I need to say that this story was a home run. It is playing ball in the same ballpark as "Paper Tiger." If this was a home run, "Paper Tiger" was a grand slam, from my point of view.
Now, second, and much less important, I'm surprised that we waited for Artemis Rising to hear this story. I guess you could mark this as my "compliant" if you're looking for one.
Veronica was a very excellent choice for a reader. (However, I could be biased, she's really just that good.)