Destiny is merely the convergence of choice and circumstance.

- Writings of the Sol Empress, Words of Faith

[Faith]

"Do I want to know why everything in the chiller had Hope's name on it?" Moon said while settling back into the captain's chair.

Faith tightened her lips, looking up at her father. "Umm, no, you don't."

"That is what I thought. I just pray both of them will be uninjured when we get back." Moon shook his head, then looked up, calling out. "Sai, do we have a departure course?"

The feminine alto voice of Sai responded through an overhead speaker. "Yes, sir. It just came in."

With a touch of a button on the chair arm, an image of a dark bearded man wearing a worn ball cap appeared on a forward display panel. Moon said, "We are headed out, Seth. Be back in a couple days."

The man performed a mock salute with a grin. "Safe journey, my friend."

While not the talkative type, Faith's father cultivated friendships with most of the port workers and earned their respect. Because of this, he usually received preferential dock services and departure windows. As the Sol Writings suggested, respect earned had its benefits.

The bridge of the Firebird Rise had the same artistic lines as its exterior. Swirls of bright colors accented the walls, and a stylized image of a flaming firebird gazed down from the ceiling. Four curved chairs in a semi-circle overlooked a set of translucent control and display panels. A sloping floor ahead led to a small open area where a holographic display would project stunning images.

Seth looked down and frowned. "Be careful, Moon. There are reports of pirate activity in that sector."

Moon grinned, patting the arm of his chair. "The Firebird Rise can handle a few pirates. No worries."

Faith's eyes widened. Pirates?

Moon turned to his daughter, pointing to the control panel in front of her. "Why don't you take the helm and bring her out in manual?"

"Me?" A nervous tingle emerged in her gut.

"Sure. It would be good practice. Sai will keep you from crashing in to anything." He looked up. "Won't you, Sai?"

The AI responded. "Oh, yes sir. With the lack of near obstacles, the probability of collision is less than ten percent."

Moon said, "See? No worries."

Faith gulped. When he says no worries, it usually means I should.

This would be her first time piloting a starship, having only done it before in simulation. Her voice came out weaker than she wanted. "Okay..."

A tap of the panel brought up the helm controls. She rehearsed the steps in her mind, then mumbled to herself. "Firing port maneuvering thrusters at twenty percent." The ship moved away from the port dock.

Once sufficiently clear, she manipulated the thrusters in a particular sequence, pitching and yawing the ship. "Aligning to departure course." Properly oriented, she adjusted the fusion reactor controls. "Fusion thrusters at ten percent."

Faith's eyes darted to her father, who nodded an affirmation. His simple gesture calmed her tingling nerves and induced a feeling of confidence.

The application of too much thrust from a maneuvering thruster brought forth a frown. A yellow course deviation warning light blinked on the control panel. But a corrective action brought the ship back on course, transforming the frown into a small smile.

After several minutes, she announced, "Departure completed. Aligning to destination course. Quantum drive warm-up initiated. Fusion thrusters idled." She sat back with a huge smile on her face. "Sai, activate the quantum drive when ready. Set relative velocity at, say, thirty-C."

A voice responded. "Yes, Pilot Faith."

Moon bowed his head to her with a smile. "Not bad. Especially for your first time."

The compliment warmed Faith, eliciting a measure of joy. From her father, 'not bad' was high praise. Honest almost to a fault, he had never been one to dole out false commendations. Each one was truly earned.

Faith smiled. "Thanks, Dad."

She studied her father for a moment. Over the years streaks of gray appeared in his short sandy-brown hair and a few lines in his strong face. Various youth treatments might have hidden those, but he seemed to prefer a seasoned mature look. Ruggedly handsome by most standards, he attracted amorous attention, but never went past casual dating. The last woman he dated became possessive, almost snarling at Faith and her siblings should they come too near the man she claimed.

Faith tilted her head. "So, what's up with you and Candi?"

She almost smirked. What kind of woman takes Candi as a nickname?

Moon huffed. "Nothing anymore. She got irritating, so I broke it off. Didn't take it very well, though."

"You're almost as bad as Gab. Where did you find her, anyway?"

He shrugged. "Just ran into each other one day."

Sai came on over the overhead speaker. "Actually, sir, Candi approached you one evening at the port tavern. At the time, you were receptive--"

Moon interrupted, narrowing his eyes. "We don't need the details, Sai!"

Faith grinned. She and her siblings relied on Sai's inability to keep secrets in order to monitor their father. "Dad, you look for women in all the wrong places."

"Your mother told me that one time." His breath halted and his eyes focused far away. Faith picked up on the emotional tells.

"You still miss her, don't you." Her words came out as a statement, not a question.

He dipped his head and took another deep breath. For the briefest moment, his chin quivered and then his lips firmed into a straight line. This was a rare show of emotion from a normally stoic man. "Yeah. I do."

He still grieves. But he is also angry.

Faith rose and came to her father, bending down and hugging him as he sat. He returned the hug. She said, "I wish I would have known her."

"I wish that too." His voice had an edge, but then softened. "I am sure you would have liked her."

Returning to her chair, Faith let a few moments of silence wash over her thoughts. She asked, "Why am I here?"

Moon's eyes widened. "Huh?"

"Why did you bring me on this run? You usually go alone or take Gab or Hope with you."

His eyes dropped. "I will be trading some textiles. I could use your help with the deals. Besides, can't I take my oldest child on a trip with me once in a while?"

Faith fingered the satiny fabric of her blue shirt, an unconscious habit. The tough, but silky-smooth textiles made from an indigenous plant fiber were her home world's most valuable export. Her father would often haul and trade them to nearby systems on a commission basis, a business relationship that worked well for both him and local farm coops. Delphi was a beautiful and peaceful world, with primarily an agricultural economy. Colonists didn't come here to get rich, but rather to get away from crowded Commonwealth worlds.

Faith narrowed her eyes. "Dad, why am I really here?"

Moon blew out a breath. "You always were perceptive, more than Hope or Gabriel. It's interesting how triplets can be so different. Gab is the explorer and adventurer. Hope is my science nerd. And you, Faith, are my philosopher and diplomat."

"Dad..."

"Okay," he huffed. "There is a new doctor. She may have some fresh insights on your health issue, and will examine you off the books."

Faith closed her eyes and sighed. "Another doctor? Dad, I have done my own research on my condition."

Commonly called the Empress Curse, it was a rare genetic expression disorder that had sometimes plagued the Line of the Empress, hence the name. There was no cure, only some treatments to delay the inevitable.

Moon's eyes moistened. Faith put a hand on his shoulder and spoke in a gentle voice. "I know my lifespan will be short and I'm already past the typical expiration date. I have come to accept that."

Moon dropped his head. "But I have not."

"Why do we always have to see doctors in secret? And also never travel on public interstellar ships?" She recalled how he would drill that rule into them, that they must avoid having their genetic profiles appear on any database.

"To protect you."

Her voice increased in volume. "Protect us from what? I want to know!"

A hand went to his chin, and he looked away. After a pause that hung in the air, he said, "Do you remember how you and Hope would pretend to be the Empress?"

"Yes. But we were just little girls." She smiled as pleasant memories popped up in her mind. "We had fun with that. And I remember how disappointed Gab would get if we didn't let him be Empress."

"Well, there is more truth to that than you know."

Faith's eyes widened. "What are you saying, Dad?"

"It is time I told you of your origin." Moon blew out a breath. "Do you remember what I told you about your mother?"

She nodded, but her eyes remained wide. "Yes. That she was a Sol Priestess falsely accused of terrorism, that she stowed away on your ship, and that she sacrificed herself to save us. Is all that true?"

"It is all true, but not the whole truth."

Faith suppressed a twinge of anger that swelled up within. "The Writings say that even words of truth may deceive."

"They also say that part of wisdom is knowing when to reveal deeper truths." Moon sighed. "I am not so wise about these things. I even wonder if I should tell you this at all, but you have a right to know." He stood up. "Let's go to the galley and put on a pot of tea. I have a story to tell you."

Moon stopped his daughter with a hand on her shoulder, gazing straight into her eyes. "But here's the spoiler. You are the true heir of the Sol Empress."