Dedication
It’s the morning of the Great Raid on the Zernabian Prison Planet! Before heading into battle, the Temerity and the destroyer Ron’s Revenge land at the mountaintop monastery of St. Nicholas of Myra in order to let members of their respective crews prepare spiritually. Outside, Amelia is getting her first taste of winter; coming from a desert planet, she’s never made a snowman! As she and Zik finish their portly snowperson, Amelia asks about what’s going on in the temple. As it turns out, she never learned about God and religion; it didn’t exist in the prison camps.
Curious, Amelia asks about whether Zik believes in God. He replies that he doesn’t know anymore; his faith has been shaken following the death of his mother. Just then, the priest conducting the services steps outside, signaling its conclusion. Zik offers to introduce Amelia to him, to show her that it’s not so strange. Indeed, Father Nikko turns out to be warm-hearted and happy to meet the famous Zernabian Firebird. He inquires why Zik didn’t come in and join his father, Mizhakwan, and the captain of Ron’s Revenge for a blessing. Explaining his reticence, Zik mentions that he won’t turn down a blessing, but church is still too difficult for him.
A jolly Father Nikko teases his cousin Mizhakwan about her different views, something the two of them do to each other every time they meet. Turning serious, he gives a final formal blessing to the warriors and their ships before they leave. A curious and respectful Amelia watches as everyone bows their heads, and then it’s time to leave for battle!
DEFENDER ZIK LORE BREAK!
Religion on Zoz isn’t a very big part of life for the most part. The major religions that came to Zoz are Christianity, Buddhism, various forms of North American pagan animism, and Hindu. Most of the original Zozian settlers were atheistic, however, and that’s the dominant belief for the majority of the population. Some major Old Earth religions like Islam did not have a significant population among the original settlers and simply died out.
Christianity specifically is structured a little differently than back on Old Earth. For Roman Catholics, they’re unable to communicate with Rome, so they have no idea who the Pope is. To adapt, they took on some of the traditions and structure of the Eastern Orthodox, and some overlap began to occur. The original Christian community was small enough that it was a matter of survival to work closely together, even though a few theological differences kept them from fully uniting. Protestants, Evangelicals, and most other denominations are simply not present anymore, having been underrepresented among the first settlers.
