sooooooo I did some checking

The Murderbot Diaries series has three super-short stories that I've seen in posts about suggested reading order. And I was pretty sure I once saw a post on tumblr with links to all of them, but hahahaha good luck to me ever finding that again. Luckily, it didn't take much sleuthing to track down workable free links, all of which seem to be as legit as anything on the internet these days.

1. Obsolescence
(this is actually a page where you can download a pdf of multiple short stories, including Obsolescence)
This one takes place waaaaaay in the past, and it's about the 'augmented rovers' that get mentioned in something MB watches. I thought it was sad, but wanted to read it just so I knew what was in it.

2. Compulsory
(not sure why this was published in Wired, but I know nothing about Wired, so maybe that's a thing it does?)
This one is set pre-series, and MB rescues a human worker at a mining facility. Includes the SecUnit lore that the workers don't think SecUnits can talk, and also clarification that SecUnits are not actually there to protect human workers.

3. Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory
(this story is also currently for sale on various sites, and just showed up on hoopla for me)
Set directly after 'Exit Strategy,' and it's from Mensah's POV!

Overse, sitting with Arada’s bare feet on her lap, gestures in frustration. “It would be closer to being done if Ratthi’s tables weren’t all over the place and all the links broken. What were you thinking, Ratthi?”

“I was planning to sort it all out the day GrayCris started trying to kill us, it was very distracting,” Ratthi protests.