not sure how important.. but here's a screen capture of a red item in the red home station.. I also had some blue gov issue plasmas, but no screen shot.

http://portfolio.iu.edu/gmcnaugh/redobject.tga

I'm not sure if it is limited to the home sectors yet, but there does appear to be a color-shift problem. I've noted color changing cargo, ions that lose their whitish center, solid-red explosions, etc. If you see these, please try to narrow down the parameters that may have led to the change.

Ok, I think I fixed the bug. The fix will be in the next update.

While being in s12, I noticed that the Secro cargo from def bots flashed from the normal blue to red. Is this normal?

It isn't normal. This is the problem being discussed. The hope is that it will be corrected when the full update is launched.