I see some confusion RE the DAO helping to fight more DAO, I thought the idea of a suprise RL foe was clearly communicated myself. I was absorbed into the narrative, great stuff. I don't fancy the DAO protagonist's chances of getting home though!

I dig the unlikely allies angle coming from the protagonist having to fast talk her way into the cultist's good graces.  Also, for those questioning the alliance, the first paragraph states that robot legions interrupted the fighting, not that the protag would be killing more DAO soldiers. As for the pronoun verification, on the one hand I appreciate the inclusion but on the other I feel like it could have been included a bit more smoothly.

I was a little confused at the end and the pronoun injection was a big distraction. It kind of felt like authorial intrusion for a far future sci-fi setting, and created a distraction from the story, I felt.

I was a little confused at the end and the pronoun injection was a big distraction. It kind of felt like authorial intrusion for a far future sci-fi setting, and created a distraction from the story, I felt.

Yeah... Why would the DAO soldier volunteer to help the Machine Cult kill (I assume) more DAO soldiers just to live? Can imagine that scenario not ending well whether the Machine Cultist (already near death herself) accepted the offer or not.

Nice descriptions, not entirely sold on the reasoning for an alliance, but this piece had some subtle world building to consider so thanks for sharing!