All that and now this

Rome's Revolution was my first science fiction novel. As such, it wasn't my best work. Hopefully, I am improving as a writer. One of the big criticisms I received consistently when the novel was the three-part VIRUS 5 was that my heroes, Rome and Rei, got out of scrapes too easily. They were never really challenged. Said one reviewer:

There was plenty of drama and suspense within the main plot line, the love story and other character interactions went just a little too smoothly to be believable.

So as I was revising the novel and crushing it down into a single novel, I tried to up the action and make life more difficult at each stage. For example, Rome and Rei had survived Rome's being cast out of the Overmind (Cesdiud), the discovery and arrival of the Stareaters and a year-long journey cooped up in The Flying House.

I tried to imagine their relief at finally arriving at Deucado and I wanted to take away that relief right off the bat. Here is how it went:

     “Well, it looks good to me,” Rei said. “There and there,” he pointed down, “there’s a ton of bright yellow and green coloration. That has to be vegetation.”
     “Oh yes, there is much vegetation,” Rome replied.
     “Well, no sense in just sitting here. MINIMCOM, have you been able to contact their OMCOM or AI yet?”
     “I have been listening, not transmitting,” MINIMCOM said.
     “Why?”
     “There is something wrong here. I am analyzing the situation.”
     “What do you mean something wrong?” Rome asked with a small amount of trepidation in her voice.
     “The Vuduri are aware of your presence and it would appear that they have been for some time. They know who you are. They know that your Ark contains Garecei Ti Essessoni. They are very agitated. They are discussing possible outcomes. Oh!”
     “What do you mean oh?” Rei asked.
     “They are contacting me to confirm our identity. I have described the tugs and told them that Rei is mandasurte. They are demanding that Rome contact them directly. They are saying that failure to connect is… OH!”

Tomorrow, what kind of computer says Oh?