The Red Chapel
"The Chapel Room of the great sleeper ship Kimanjo, now, forever known as The Red Chapel, stands as a testament..." Clove let the sound drone over her, she'd heard this before, her guests were not so fortunate.
"Thank you for your hospitality, do you really welcome people to Kimanjo all the time?"
"Only those who come from Naismith, and have impeccable diplomatic credentials, I'm afraid. But why would you bother is a mystery to me..."
"We're curious about what happened after the The cyberbattle of 2245."
"You mean the cutting of the light, as they call it, or the inciting incident of the betrayal, for us reds."
"I'm sorry, I realize this is rather a touchy subject..."
"It's been over a hundred years, but it has left a mark. No one in the Red claw of the Sagittar was unscathed."
"And that's where we are?"
"Yes, the claw of the sagittar is the tip of the galactic arm, we're protected from some pretty nasty x-ray bursts by a nearby nebula here, and so are safe. But we only learned that through trial and error, during the incident..."
"How many?"
"A famous scholar of history in my tribe said the reds lost as much as thirty-five per cent."
"Noy jitat! But Thallax..."
"Thallax didn't have many reds, up to that point." And none after, she didn't bother to add. "Are you two married?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I don't think I've seen a Solar with quite so much Meritocracy body language, I'd swear she was born on Thallax..."
"I was born on Thallax III iota, the gene-secured facility there..."
"What, so you're no Solar?"
"No, I'm a peacered genemix."
"What, so you're one of them...". She backtracked. "One of us..."
"Please, don't pretend, I'm a peacered, who've severed ties and live on Thallax..."
"Peacereds are still reds... Everyone can choose, everyone can make a difference." She was holding onto one lock of hair with one hand, thumb thrust through it, wrapped around the digit.
"And this building, this red chapel?"
"It was the great mess hall of the ship. It was converted into a place of worship by the survivors of the ship's crash. Those not red are lucky to even see it."
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