I think you will be pleased at what happens when [spoiler character] meets Cordelia. *serene*

Also:
I do have to say, though, I found myself twitching at the way that the book casts the Resistance Against An Occupying Power as absolutely, one hundred percent the bad guys.

I hear you on this, but -- Miles's non-neutrality aside, it was such a refreshing change from casting the Resistance Against An Occupying Power as absolutely one hundred percent the good guys. Which is what we almost always get.