The Sisters of the Order of Saint Rita forge a new path in Sisters of the Forsaken Stars. 'We lit the spark, maybe we should be here for the flames.' Two generations ago, Earth's colonies and space stations broke free of their home planet's tyrannical rule. Earth's Central Governance is now flexing its power to regain control of its lost assets. The Order of Saint Rita-whose mission is to provide aid and mercy to those in need-uncovered Central Governance's atrocities on the remote planet Phoyongsa III and intervened to save colonists' lives. On the run and reeling from the loss of beloved members, the sisters have stayed under the radar while continuing to honor their calling. Yet the story of their defiance is spreading like wildfire, spearheaded by a growing anti-Earth religious movement calling for revolution. Faced with staying silent or speaking up, the Order of Saint Rita must decide the role they will play-and what hand they will have-in reshaping the galaxy.
The sisters of the Order of Saint Rita captain their living ship into the reaches of space in Lina Rather's debut novella, Sisters of the Vast Black. Years ago, Old Earth sent forth sisters and brothers into the vast dark of the prodigal colonies armed only with crucifixes and iron faith. Now, the sisters of the Order of Saint Rita are on an interstellar mission of mercy aboard Our Lady of Impossible Constellations, a living, breathing ship which seems determined to develop a will of its own. When the order receives a distress call from a newly-formed colony, the sisters discover that the bodies and souls in their care?and that of the galactic diaspora?are in danger. And not from void beyond, but from the nascent Central Governance and the Church itself.
