: Thanks for the detailed response... I think I should clarify that I didn't
: bring up the Geneva Convention as a means of criticizing Haverson on a
: legal basis, but instead to challenge his actions based on an ethical
: standpoint and to link it to what a person of our time would associate
: with military honor and just conduct. I imagine there are many legal
: technicalities that would make for an interesting science fiction
: courtroom drama, but that's not what I was thinking when bringing it up.

Okay, I want JAG in Space now.

: The Dowski thing is an instance of a trope I've seen in these kinds of
: stories where the one idiot tries to surrender, gets in trouble, and
: usually brings trouble to the rest of the unit. I think Starship Troopers
: did it. I think John Scalzi did it in Old Man's War. Hell, I did it in a
: Halo fanfic with a nutty church-goer trying to convert Jiralhanae. It's a
: thing. It's the specific way Dietz focuses on the other soldiers bullying
: her and portrays it positively that I don't like. In other examples, it's
: "Oh, poor disillusioned redshirt, too good for this world." This
: usage feels like an excuse to revel in thuggish behavior.

There's nothing positive about it whatsoever. It's not a narrative hurdle to merely get over. Such a scene could've been pivotal to establishing character faithfully and lending credence to the atmosphere. No regulars-turned-guerillas take things so lightly.

: It really reminded me of some nasty torture fantasies I've read on the
: Internet... There's a lot of messed up stuff out there... Like, you know
: Cupcakes, the infamous My Little Pony fanfic where Pinkie Pie tortures
: Rainbow Dash to death? It's like, a wholesome Halo novelization suddenly
: lurches in the direction of a sadistic fanfic. It's not a flat-out
: grotesque nightmare like Cupcakes, obviously, but it's got some nasty
: imagery with tying a woman up while verbally abusing and threatening to
: shoot her... It feels like a sadistic fantasy because otherwise, it would
: be horror. I feel like even Keyes just promptly shooting her and feeling
: bad about it would be better than what there is.

From a situation like that it's what I'd imagine Keyes resulting to at the end, not toying around with Dowski.