Hey, you're being waaay too hard on yourself! It's a great story, and the things I pointed out aren't major fixes. Just a few words here and there. Plus, the great thing about having a beta reader is that you can ignore whatever you want. That's your right, as the author. And I won't be offended. Beta readers give you their opinion, and you have to take it with a grain of salt.

I'm having a similar experience, had someone look at "Last Enemy" and she pointed out a few things that I agree with and that aren't really easily fixable without changing the whole story dynamic. And you know what, sometimes you just have to chalk it up to experience and remember it for next time. Because the piece might be succeed as an organic whole as it is, and if you tinker too much with it trying to fit it to the beta's vision, it will all fall apart.

Thanks for sharing your thought process. Sometimes it feels like I'm the only one with these feelings.

PS I don't think you need to give much more background. Some of those questions I had were my curiousity and don't need to be in the story for it to work.

It wasn't the characterization that was off, at the heart. Just doubts about whether I thought a character would express things the way they did in isolated parts. Overall the characterization is spot on. But we all view the characters differently, so you don't have to accept my interpretations...