Alright, it's not quite as exciting as when a certain Admiral (or, well, Lord) is the main focus, but this was an enjoyable read that, yes, stands alone just fine. For one you see more of Quinn's background (and I'm not sure that there's a lot of other places where space station culture is looked at), and for two, Athos is like, simultaneously the kind of world you expect to have existed 2000 years ago but also the kind of world that won't even be possible until 2000 years in the future. Definitely a lot of tongue in cheek points about Ethan's view of women, as is to be expected.