A pretty good story in my opinion. I think what it does best is the Cybermen themselves (even if there is one weird bit that I’ll get to) and the setting, which is really atmospherically creepy. The soundtrack works really well and gives Tomb of the Cybermen vibes (which I guess makes sense since these Cybermen are in hibernation much like those not to mention the references to Telos). The overall plot is a bit slow but mostly works and the Cybermen are properly threatening and the ending, while abrupt, I really like because of how bleak and tragic it is.
The big negative for me is that the side cast is too big and kinda dull. You’ve got Deeva who’s good and the most important so she’s fine. Then there’s resident a-hole Grash who is memorable for being the resident a-hole. The rest of the crew (Chev, Ike and Vol) are pretty forgettable and I could not for the life of me identify who was Ike and who was Vol when they were talking unless their names were brought up. Chev is recognizable obviously since she’s the only woman besides Deeva. There’s also Kelsey but he’s basically just there to be the sacrificial lamb so yeah.
The Orion War stuff is a bit underdeveloped which makes the Deeva android twist a bit less effective, though it still mostly works. Then the only other issue I have is that one bit where the Cybermen decide to kill Grash instead of continuing his conversion because he’s suffering emotional trauma… isn’t that why the Cybermen even do their conversion?
Overall, not as good as the first story, but it’s a fine enough listen. 7/10.