I do enjoy Ruocchio's writing, and this series is undeniably intriguing, but this story bugged me a bit and made me worry about how much I'm going to like the rest of the series. I'm finding myself wanting to love this series more than I do. I love space operas, and any beefy sci-fi series gets me excited. When it comes to this, it is just a personal tastes thing. I'm just not a fan of using Christianity or any currently major religion as a theme or plot device in a space epic set so far in the future. Especially considering the existence of alien species. I wouldn't say religion was used poorly in this novella. I just don't like it.