Joq Rigel is the alias of Joachim Parisse, the brother of Natalie Parisse and the nephew of the powerful Deed Industries founder Marco Deed. Deed assigned Rigel to serve as the navigator and general fix-it man aboard the ship Xerxes to assist Lorelei Ogden and April Vasquez.

Rigel's story ended in tragedy. Based on flawed (and ultimately inaccurate) evidence, Deed believed his nephew had betrayed him and callously shot him in the head.

Needless to say, this murder destroyed Deed's already-strained relationship with his own family, especially his niece Natalie Parisse.