[Faith]
Faith's mind swirled. A twist of anger emerged from her emotional side. He should have told us earlier! But her more rational side understood. He protected us. Life was simpler not knowing.
Her upbringing made more sense now — why they lived in this remote section of settled space, far from the Commonwealth's influence; the intense schooling; the weapons and martial arts training; why he had insisted that they study the Writings of the Empress; the source of her disease; and why they had to avoid genetic databases.
He was grooming me to be the next Empress, the destiny for which my mother died.
It became too much. Destiny's unyielding grip squeezed Faith's heart, and she ran out of the galley, leaving her father behind while his eyes pleaded her to stay. In the darkened bedroom, she sat on the bed, leaning against the back wall with knees drawn up and a pillow clutched to her chest.
Breathe. Just breathe.
Faith never knew for sure what triggered the seizures, perhaps strong emotions played a role. It always started with a crushing chest pain. Wheezing, she desperately sucked breath through constricted airways.
This is the worst one yet.
She crawled across the bed, an arm swiping toward the bedside table where her inhaler laid. Instead, she knocked it to the floor. Sparkling lights appeared before her eyes, and a swirling dizziness stole her balance. She collapsed on the bed, trembling face down and struggling to gain a breath.
Moon scooped his daughter into his arms, cradling her in his lap. He placed the inhaler against her lips, releasing the medicinal mist. After a moment, breathing became easier and the chest pain faded.
Holding her close, he spoke in a whisper. "I am sorry, my daughter. I know this is difficult."
Faith looked up with moistened eyes. "Do I have a choice?"
"Yes. There is always choice."
"But would they hunt me down, no matter what I decide?"
Moon paused, then answered, "Yes."
"And when this disease takes me, what then?"
"It would fall to Hope."
Faith firmed her resolve. I have to protect my sister while I can.
*****
The doctor confirmed Faith's belief. Despite all the medical resources available to past Empresses over hundreds of years, a cure had yet to be discovered. But the doctor offered some new treatments to make the symptoms more bearable. The rare seizures and occasional asthma-like attacks were bad enough, but the worst was the near constant fatigue.
Emerging from the shower, she gazed at her gaunt figure in the mirror while smoothing back thinning sandy-brown hair. Each rib stood out, and her cheeks hollowed. Perhaps I might put on some weight, too.
The voice of her father came over the com system. "Faith, we are getting a distress call. I am diverting to investigate. Come to the bridge when you can."
She replied, "Okay, Dad."
Faith glanced up at a display panel as she walked onto the bridge, showing a man, woman, and child huddled together under dim light. They flinched as bright sparks crackled in the background. The little boy, perhaps five or six Earth years old, trembled in the woman's arms, clutching a stuffed animal. The wide eyes and tight lips of the adults spoke of fear. At once, Faith's heart went out to them.
Moon spoke in an even tone. "Aquila, this is Firebird Rise. What is your situation?"
The man shook his head. "Got jumped by pirates. They fired on us and took out our fusion thrusters and power system. We are dead in space on battery backup. Environmental systems are minimal."
"Have the pirates boarded your ship?"
He shook his head. "No. Not yet. But they are approaching."
Moon glanced up. "Sai, tactical display."
He studied the holographic display. Two ships represented by colored triangles appeared near each other within the scale of the 3D map. Moon called out again. "Sai, put the pedal to the metal."
Sai responded, "Sir?"
Moon dipped his head. "An old expression that means go to maximum velocity. Push the quantum drive to capacity."
"Understood. Putting the pedal down now, sir."
Moon's eyes returned to the family. "I see only one ship other than your own. We will be there in about twenty-seven minutes. What is your name, sir?"
A small smile appeared on the man's face. "Marquis Black, sir. And this is my wife, Imani, and our boy, Malik. The pirates pulled us out of quantum space and hit us with missiles. Be warned, they are heavily armed."
Moon firmed his expression. "So are we, Marquis, so are we. My name is Soloman Morr, but most call me Moon, and this is my daughter Faith." He motioned to his left, where she sat.
Marquis lifted an eyebrow. "Moon? Do you run the Stardrive Repair shop at Aegeus station?"
"Yup. That's me."
The man chuckled, his white teeth contrasting with dark skin. "I will be in need of your services, sir, presuming we can get away from these pirates."
"I think that can be arranged. What are you hauling, Marquis?"
"Refined metals, mostly iron and nickel, but some precious and rare earths."
With a nod, Moon said, "The pirates want your cargo and probably your ship too. So they won't fire on you again if they don't have to. Do you still have maneuvering thrusters?" Marquis nodded. "Turn your stern to them and vent a fusion reactor. Then they will have to go around the plume. That'll buy you a few more minutes before they can board."
"Okay. But I don't have to worry about the venting, the reactor is leaking fuel, anyway."
The little boy whimpered, tears streaking his rounded cheeks. His mother stroked his black curly hair, whispering in a gentle tone, "We will get through this. Be brave, my son."
Faith's heart melted. Putting on as calm a smile as she could, she addressed the boy. "Malik? Is your name Malik?" The little boy nodded. Faith pointed at the purple stuffed animal in his arms. "My name is Faith. Who is that with you?"
"It's Steggy. He's a dinosaur." Malik held up the toy, displaying the row of purple fabric fins across its back and long tail."
"Oh, I see." Faith nodded. "Well, you tell Steggy that we are coming to help. Take care of him until we get there, okay?"
Malik nodded, pulling Steggy back against his chest. The boy's mother winked at Faith and cast a slight smile.
Moon said, "Hold on, Marquis. We will be there soon."
The man nodded. "Be careful. God be with you, Moon, and with us all." He reached out to end the transmission.
Faith snapped her head around with eyes widened. "Dad, do you know what you are doing? Have you faced pirates before?"
He nodded nonchalantly. "Now and then. Usually just outrun them. The Firebird is fast."
"But we won't be running! And they won't like us showing up." Her heart raced as her mind played through all the things that could go wrong.
"Oh, they won't like us at all. But this bird has more firepower than you know, especially close-range point defense. No worries."
Faith frowned. "Dad, I don't like you saying no worries when we should."
Expressionless, he said, "You know, your mother told me that too. Let's just say that, in battle, our risks are relatively low." He turned to her. "Consider this real-life Empress training. What do you think we should do?"
"Well..." Faith paused, taking a deep breath to relieve the tension that rose in her gut. Her father's eyes held nothing but support, but they still seemed to bear down on her.
If I would ever be the Sol Empress, I need to keep a cool mind.
She replied, "A conflict would be likely. You tell me the risks to us are low, but they are not zero."
Moon nodded. "True."
"What happens if we do not intervene?"
"Then pirates will board and take the freighter and its cargo. If that family is lucky, they will be allowed to leave on a lifeboat." He narrowed his eyes. "Most likely they will not be so lucky."
Faith drew her lips together. "I don't suppose the pirates would leave if we asked nicely?"
Moon replied, "Not without a convincing show of force. And then, what about the next ship they attack?" She dipped her head. He reached across and placed a hand on his daughter's arm. "Space is cruel. No matter what we do, someone may die. I'd rather it be the pirates than that family."
"The Writings did say that standing up for justice always carries risk." Faith firmed her jaw. "We already said we would help them and well we should."
"That's my girl!"
She smirked. "And would you have disobeyed your Empress?"
Moon grinned. "There is one person who outranks the Empress." He tapped his chest. "The Empress' father."
Faith put a hand to her face. "I don't think it actually works that way." But it probably would.