Rimrunners (1989)

Machinist and former marine Bet Yeager needs a berth badly enough to board a ship whose command structure is already divided. Cherryh makes her useful skills inseparable from the dangerous business of choosing whom to trust. This is the list's harsher examination of belonging: close quarters can mean intimidation as well as solidarity. Expect a brutal, claustrophobic thriller. Like Merchanter's Luck, it is readable on its own within the larger Alliance-Union universe.