Chapter 8: Busted

Suddenly Jason realized his game was up. He might have tried to make something of himself, by becoming a marine officer, but being selected to join the imperial marines, at the same time as the emperor decided to visit the system, meant he was most likely to come face to face with his mother or his cousins, all of whom would instantly recognize him.

The reception was in the form of a casual mix and mingle with finger foods and conversation on the menu. The four newly commissioned lieutenants were understandably nervous as they followed their battalion commander and their previous company commander into the great hall. Jason has been in that hall a few times but always as an observer from the sidelines. Now he was in the thick of things.

While there were champagne and white wine available, Jason decided to stick to grape juice. He grabbed a glass and casually worked his way to the side from where he could observe everybody while not being so obviously visible.

One observation Jason made was that the officers of noble descent all had their swords with them. He noticed that they were by far in the minority, and that they were also the more popular among the ladies in the hall. Jason subtly felt for the comforting presence of his own wand in its special pocket on his right thigh. Then he also had to touch the second wand, the guest wand in the other pocket on his left thigh.

“Hi Jason” Lotus suddenly said as she appeared in front of him. She had a naughty smirk on her face as she looked up at him. “I really enjoyed dancing with you last night. I hope I get to dance some more with you tonight” she added as she turned red in the face.

“I would be honored to dance with you but what if your mother object?” Jason asked as he gave the cute fourteen-year-old girl a slight bow. The only warning Jason had was when Lotus cut her eyes to the one side. As Jason stood upright, he found Clarissa standing next to Lotus, with a frown on her face.

“You are right, it is Jason” Clarissa said. She was quite calm as she looked him up and down, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to suddenly come across your cousin who has been missing for more than two years. “I can now see how you managed to disappear. Impressive, making the imperial marine grade as well as becoming an officer. Are you not a bit young to be an imperial marine officer? You are only seventeen, nine months younger than me.”

“Being abandoned by your own family tends to mature a person, Lady Clarissa” Jason said just as Carmen decided to join the gathering. “Lady Clarissa, Lady Lotus, meet Lieutenant Carmen Palmer, my best friend. Maybe I should add my only friend but there are four of us.” Jason stood watching as the three females glared at each other before Carmen made a cute curtsy in front of the two noble ladies.

“If you will excuse me” Carmen muttered as she shot Jason an apologetic look before backing away and then walk away to where Shelly and Stan were standing watching the drama unfolding around Jason.

“Jason!!” a female voice squealed before a slender young girl barreled into Jason. “I missed you so much. Where have you been?!!” Jason looked down into Chloe’s huge eyes. “I couldn’t believe it when Lotus said she thought you were here.” Then Chloe stood back without taking her hands away from Jason as she looked him up and down. “Nice” she said as she took in his uniform. The she hugged him again. Over Chloe’s head Jason noticed Clarissa rolling her eyes at her younger sister.

Jason was on the point of excusing himself and return to the base but Chloe’s reaction threw him. He just knew he could not just turn his back on the only family member who was always there for him, even with his mother abandoning him when she went gallivanting around the cluster with her cousin Duchess Sarah.

“So, were you ever going to come back or were you planning on just staying missing?” Clarissa asked.

“What happened, why did you just disappear?” Chloe asked as she ignored her sister.

“I’m sorry but the last contact I had with any family member was when I was accused of being a thief. With my mother gone most of the time and the cool reception I got from everybody else, I was, and still am, convinced that this family is better off without me dragging you down. I think I managed to carve my own place in the world. If you will excuse me, I have to go, and there is no need to broadcast my presence here. I will most likely ship out with the Electra when she departs.”

“Jason?” Jason turned to find himself looking into his mother’s eyes. Next to her stood his aunt, Viscountess Sylvia, also looking at him with huge eyes and a surprised look on her face. Jason gave his mother a slight bow.

“Mother” he said. He was surprised at the cool tone of his own voice.

“He was about to leave” Chloe complained as she wrapped her arms around Jason’s waist, effectively stopping him from going anywhere. Jason noticed that his mother was rather pale in the face as she stared at him.

“I thought I would never see you again” she said. “I came back only to find out you have disappeared.”

“Lady Sylvia, Lady Olivia, if you would be so kind to excuse Lieutenant Cosgrove, the duke and the emperor wants to see him” Lt Cmdr. Winterton said as he joined the small crowd of astonished females surrounding Jason.

“I’m coming too” Lady Olivia said as she hooked in with Jason. Chloe decided to be included and grabbed Jason’s other arm. Jason had no option but to follow the battalion commander into a side room with his mother and cousin clinging to him. Lady Sylvia and Clarissa decided to tag along as well, with Lady Lotus also following.

“Ah, the emperor wants to see me” Jason muttered to the two females as a warning. The last thing he wanted was two semi-hysterical females making a spectacle of themselves in front of the emperor.

“Yeah well, I’m your mother, I get preference.” Lady Olivia said with a surprisingly determined tone of voice. “Besides, he has been here a whole day and daddy is the only one to actually have seen him from up close or spoke to him. I think it’s time I finally get to meet him. Duchess Sarah and I have been trying to get an interview with him for a whole year. Now that he is in our house, he will see me.”

Lt Cmdr. Winterton led the group into a small lounge where the duke and the emperor were sitting in two stuffed chairs talking to each other. There were a few security people in the background but otherwise the lounge was void of other people. Lt Cmdr. Winterton halted and saluted the emperor and duke. Before anybody could say anything, the emperor stood up. Jason could instantly see the resemblance between the emperor and the man hugging his mother on the photo that Shelly’s mother gave him. Jason felt himself going cold as realization sank in.

“Olivia” the emperor said as he bowed. “I hear you have been looking for me” Jason’s mother didn’t say a word as she looked at the emperor with her mouth slightly open in surprise. “Jason, you seem rather popular with the ladies.” Jason managed to pull his one hand free and saluted the emperor.

“Jason?” the duke asked in confusion. “Where did you suddenly come from? What is going on here?”

“Olivia, would you please take a seat before you faint” the emperor said as he took Lady Olivia by her elbow and guided her to a couch. “Lady Sylvia, please join Lady Olivia. Let me see, Clarissa, the face that could sink a thousand ships, and Chloe. You must be Lotus.” The emperor bowed at each of the girls as he named them, causing all of them to turn red in the face.

“Your Majesty, I don’t understand” the duke said as he looked Jason up and down. “We have been searching for Jason for years, only to have him walk in here in the uniform of an imperial marine lieutenant? And you seem to know about this?”

“Somehow, I think Jason was never lost, he just didn’t want to be found by those who were supposed to be close to him” the emperor said as he looked Jason up and down. “I guess I should be honored that you decided to take my family name when you joined the Grendel marines” he said to Jason. “That seems perfectly understandable since your mother gave you my first name, and undoubtedly told you what last name I was using the last time I was here.” Jason didn’t bother to answer and just stood stiffly at attention in front of his real father. “Grendel, I don’t know everything but I do know a lot.” The emperor said to the duke. Then he turned to face Lady Olivia. “So, my dear Olivia, why exactly have you been trying to see me?” Jason glanced at his mother to see the color coming back into her face, along with a look he knew quite well. She was angry, very angry. She stood, facing the emperor with her fists clenched at her sides.

“I will admit that I wanted you to seduce me, seventeen years ago.” She said in a steady but dangerous tone. “I was not expecting to be pregnant after that episode and I cannot blame you for that either. I do blame the duke, my father for marrying me off to a baron with no backbone and making no effort to try and locate the father of my baby. When that baron effectively disowned my son and made no effort to continue our sham of a marriage, I decided to appeal to you to have my marriage formally dissolved. I wanted my dowry back, so I could make a life for me and my son. With the help of my cousin, Duchess Sarah of Bova, I tried for a year to get an audience with you and achieved nothing. In the meantime, I was expecting my father to at least look after my son while I was away, only to return and be told Jason had disappeared.” She faced the duke, still as angry as she was at the emperor. “You only started to seriously look for him when you needed a new heir, father. Before then you couldn’t care about him or his mental and social well-being.” Then she turned to face the emperor again. “Well, your majesty, it seems I don’t really need your help anymore. My son managed to make something of himself without my help, or his grandfather’s help, let alone your help. In the morning I will sue my husband for a divorce, which he will undoubtedly grant me since he gets to keep my dowry. I will bid you good night and good bye. When you are done talking to my son please let me have some time with him before you ship him off.” With that she twirled and charged towards the door.

“Olivia!” the emperor didn’t speak loudly but his voice carried well and had a demanding character to it. Jason was surprised then his mother stopped but she didn’t turn around. “You had your say. Now allow me to have my say. It’s the least you can do.”

“I’m sorry, your majesty” Lady Olivia said in a soft voice. Lady Olivia meekly turned around and returned to her seat next to Lady Sylvia, who was watching everything with her mouth hanging open.

“When I first met you, I was full of myself, totally arrogant.” The emperor said. “I ended up taking you for granted. I assumed all females would automatically allow me any liberties I want to take with them. When I got back to Secundus I quickly learned that you were a special case, a rare gem. All the other females I met were empty shells compared to you. I guess I started measuring all other females I end up meeting against you, and they all came up short. It took two years before I realized I only wanted you. I made inquiries and found out you were married with a child so I was forced to forget about you, until you started requesting an audience with me. I have to admit, I was not eager to face you again. My sources told me you were still married. I wrongly assumed that you wanted to ask me for some favor for your husband.” The emperor chuckled softly. “It shows you just how arrogant I still am. I knew you and assumed you knew by that time who I was as well. It never occurred to me that you still had no idea who I really was. When you suddenly stopped requesting an audience I dug deeper into your affairs and discovered that you have been separated from your husband for over five years.

“That was when I decided to come to you. I was already on my way when I received two disturbing messages. The first was about a rogue earl who has been captured by a young marine with a wand, an unknown wand. The second message was a request for approval to commission that same young marine, by name of Jason Cosgrove. I’m the only one who have ever used that name. The Cosgrove name belongs to the long line of emperors dating back over a thousand years. There are no other Cosgrove families. It didn’t take much to realize that your son could very well be my son as well. When I received the commissioning dispatches, I had a look at the ID photo that came with it. The resemblance was so obvious that I knew he was my son.” Then the emperor turned to face Jason, who was still standing stiffly at attention. “I instantly recognized you when I got out of the hovercraft to join the parade. I insisted on joining the parade, to have a look at you before we formally met. I am proud to be your father even if you might not have similar feelings towards me.” He then gave Jason a puzzled look. “Would you relax already” he said. “Have a seat, this is an informal meeting among family members.”

“So, you admit that you seduced Olivia all those years ago, your majesty” The duke said. “Matters would have been so much easier if we knew at that time who you were. You should have been held accountable for Olivia’s situation.”

“Father, please” Lady Olivia said to the duke. “That is history. Nothing can be done about that now.” Lady Olivia stood again and came closer to Jason, taking him by his left arm and just held onto him. “At least I now know where my son is, and what he has been up to since he disappeared.” Then she looked up at Jason with a surprised look on her face. “You only turned seventeen five months ago. How did you manage to get into the marines? How long have you been a marine?”

“According to his records he joined two and a half years ago, at the age of seventeen.” The emperor said as he moved closer to Lady Olivia. “You aged yourself?” he asked Jason with a smirk on his face. “Don’t worry about it” he said as Jason wanted to speak. “Because of your relationship with me you will never be a regular marine officer. You will still be a marine officer but not on regular duty. Call it special duty. Olivia, you have guests waiting of you. Can we continue this family discussion after the ball and tomorrow, please?” he said in a soft half pleading tone. Lady Olivia looked around as if she saw everybody in the lounge for the first time.

“Sylvia, we have an imperial ball to manage” She said to her sister-in-law. “Let’s get the ball going. Lady Lotus, what is your role in all of this?” she asked as she suddenly noticed the cute young girl trying to hide behind Clarissa and Chloe. Lotus turned red in the face as she shot a nervous glance at the emperor.

“I..., ah..., I was talking to Jason.” She muttered. “I was hoping to dance with him and hoping my mother would not notice us together. She didn’t like me and Lilly talking to Jason and the other lieutenant earlier but I like him a lot.”

“Oh, your mother is going to have such a surprise” Lady Olivia said as she smiled at the young girl. “Your Majesty, you need to pick a lady to open the ball with. Jason, feel free to ask Lady Lotus for the first dance, as soon as the emperor opened the dance floor, but don’t dance with Lotus exclusively. After all, you are an imperial marine officer, apparently with some very high connections. Clarissa, Chloe, you should also go pick some young men to open the dancing with.” With that she and Lady Sylvia made quick bows to the emperor before they scurried out of the lounge.

“Jason, a word” the emperor said softly.

“Wait for me outside” Jason said to Lotus and Chloe who both were crowding around him. The duke was standing off to one side, trying hard not to stare or listen in on what the emperor was doing and saying to Jason.

“I am going to formally recognize you as my son.” The emperor said. “I have a very strong suspicion that your grandfather is also planning to announce you as his new legal heir, since both his son and other grandson are out of the picture. We will have to come to some sort of agreement on that but we can discuss that tomorrow. In the meantime, you are and always will be my son. At this stage you are my only son.”

With that he reached into his pocket and pulled out flat square rose-wood container which he opened. Inside the container was a medallion with the image of a stellar constellation on it and a ribbon with a royal blue and white color scheme. He pulled out a rather large golden medallion on a black ribbon with silver edging around his neck from inside his tunic and pressed the two medallions together. “As the son of a nobleman you are entitled to the nobleman’s lesser title. Before I became the emperor, I was known as Jason, Earl of Taurus, or Earl Jason Taurus. For some historic reason the earls living on Arcadia seldom use their titles. To them being called by your house name, for example Jason Taurus, is sufficient to declare that you are head of House Taurus. In a similar way I am known as Jason Pleiades, Emperor. Since I now officially have a son, you get the name and title Earl Jason Taurus, head of House Taurus.” He said as he grabbed Jason’s hand and pushed Jason’s thumb against the medallion. Jason felt a feint prick followed by a slight warm feeling. The emperor let go of his hand and lifted the medallion from the container, placing the medallion ribbon over Jason’s head. “If we later decide that you are not going to be my official heir, it will not change anything concerning your new title, unless you decide to denounce the title. Grendel is still your grandfather and still outranks you, but since there are no other dukes on this planet at this time, you are currently the third highest ranking nobleman in this system. I am proud of your military achievements. I can’t wait to hear your full story, and about your wand, but later.” With that the emperor gave Jason a hug before he gave Jason a grin and walked out of the lounge, causing the duke to have to jog to keep up as he tried to look back at Jason at the same time.

Suddenly Jason was alone in the lounge, and totally bewildered. He was not a commoner, he was an earl, the head of an imperial house, whatever that meant. Not only did he suddenly found his real father, he seemed to have gotten his mother back as well.

“He is in here?” Jason heard a female voice as the lounge door opened slightly. Then Carmen peeked in. “There you are” she said as she and Shelly came into the lounge, with Chloe and Lotus peeking into the door as well. “You suddenly disappeared...” she said until she noticed the medal around Jason’s neck. Her mouth opened but no sound came out.

“Is that what I think it is?” Shelly asked. “Lady Lotus said the emperor and the duke just came out of here. What does this mean?”

“It means the emperor is my biological father” Jason said. “It also means I got his minor title.”

“Head of House Taurus” Shelly read as she examines the medal up close. “Heads of imperial houses are usually earls. He just made you an earl?” Both the young female lieutenants first saluted and then curtsied in front of Jason when he didn’t immediately respond.

“I just knew I never stood a chance with you” Carmen said softly. “If it was not the age difference it was the marine no fraternization policy, and now it is your title, my lord.”

“Apparently some earls don’t use their formal titles” Jason said as he repeated what his father the emperor just told him. “You can both still call me Jason except I’m now Jason Taurus or Earl Jason Cosgrove.”

“Jason Taurus is a title and a name” Shelly said. “I guess we will not see you again after tonight”

“Would it be permissible to have at least one dance with the earl?” Carmen asked shyly.

“I think I got conned into promising the first dance with Lady Lotus there” Jason said as he smiled at a nervous-looking Lotus who was still peeking into the door. “I would love to dance with both of you. I don’t want to just forget about my real friends.”

When Jason and the four ladies crowding around him entered the grand ballroom a few minutes later, the music was just starting. Lotus was clinging to Jason’s one hand as Carmen and Shelly walked on either side of them. Chloe was looking rather moody as she tried to figure out where to squeeze herself into the circle. Jason looked around and noticed Viscount Osborne, Lotus’s father, nearby, talking to a baron. For the first time Jason took more than casual notice of the medals the two men were wearing. Both had their medals around their necks but the actual medal was tucked into their shirts so only the ribbons were visible. That made sense to Jason since dancing with a ten cm diameter medallion hanging around your neck would cause some issues, and possible injuries to the lady you are dancing with. Jason quickly tucked his medallion inside his shirt as well.

Everybody turned to face the dance floor as the music changed from background music to a dance tune. Jason, with Lotus on one hand and Chloe suddenly holding his other hand, watched as the emperor, in the full-dress uniform of Imperial Marshall, walked up to Lady Olivia and bowed in front of her. She promptly turned red in the face as she curtsied to the emperor. Then he took her in his arms and they started dancing.

“He is quite handsome” a lady standing near Jason said to her partner. “She is just beautiful as well.”

“Don’t go anywhere” Jason said to Chloe as he let go of her hand and led Lotus onto the dance floor. Lotus was petite and more than a head shorter than Jason but she knew how to dance. The look on her face was classic as he started dancing with her. They were dancing a formal waltz which meant they were a respectable distance apart. As Jason and Lotus started dancing, he noticed his grandfather leading Lady Sylvia onto the floor with more and more people were joining them.

“Mom’s about to have kittens” Lotus muttered to Jason as they danced around the floor. Jason followed Lotus’s gaze and found Lady Simone, standing next to Lilly, glaring at Jason and Lotus.

“You don’t seem to mind if she gets upset with me dancing with you.” Jason said.

“That’s because you are not just another marine officer, you are Jason, the long-lost grandson of the duke. I will not mention what I heard and saw inside there. Mom will just call me a liar. If you are really now an earl then she will bully Lavender to try and grab you first.”

“Except Lavender is on Bova, six light-years away” Jason said with a chuckle.

“I have to admit, I’m a bit young for all this but that doesn’t stop me from liking you” Lotus said as she grinned up at Jason.

As the first waltz came to an end, Jason steered Lotus to where Chloe were standing watching them. Chloe’s face slowly transformed into a huge grin when she realized Jason was aiming for her after he bowed to Lotus.

“She is even younger than me” Chloe muttered as they waited for the music to start again.

“Why do you say that?” Jason asked.

“You will need a wife and some concubines” Chloe said. “I just wonder if maybe I can stay close to you. Rick has always been a pain in the butt, even more so after you disappeared. Mom and Clarissa are very secretive but I’m sure Rick did something to Clarissa. I’m not sure exactly what but there was a lot of shouting and crying in my parents’ chambers. Rick looked all moody while Clarissa kept hiding the fact that she has been crying a lot. Now daddy is in a coma and Rick is in prison on another planet. Mom keeps wondering if she will also lose her title if daddy never wakes up or die.” Jason had nothing to say about that, except to get all angry again at how Rick was pampered by his grandfather while Jason was ignored. Now suddenly Jason was the man of the hour when his grandfather needed an heir. The vague comment about Rick doing something to Clarissa was just as disturbing.

Jason was taking a break from dancing, courtesy of Chloe, Lotus, and Lilly who all decided to go to the rest room at the same time, possibly to gossip and compare notes like girls like to do. Lilly had suddenly become very friendly towards Jason after having a brief private argument with Lotus and their mom. Jason made as if he didn’t notice and danced with Lilly but didn’t really talk to her while she was very chatty towards him.

“Lieutenant?” Jason turned to find one of the emperor’s security people, obviously military trained personnel in plain black clothes, standing next to him. “The emperor requested that you, Lieutenant Dalton, Lieutenant Cramer, and Lieutenant Palmer meet with him in the lounge.” Jason just nodded before he waved at Dalton who were still dancing with one of the prettier of the wallflowers. He gathered the two ladies, who were just coming from the ladies’ rest room and herded them all to the lounge where he met with the emperor earlier.

“What’s going on?” Shelly asked when they walked into the empty room.

“Orders” Jason said. He just grinned as Dalton plopped down on the couch while the other three kept standing. When Jason also kept standing the two girls suddenly got nervous.

“What’s with the ribbon?” Dalton asked as he concentrated on the ribbon around Jason’s neck for the first time.

“Stan, better stand before somebody comes in” Carmen said. Stanley frowned as he slowly rose to his feet. Just then the door opened and two of the security people walked in. The one was a male in his thirties with a rather severe scowl on his face. The other was a female of about Shelly’s age. She had a totally neutral expression on her face. What drew Jason’s attention was that they seemed to be ignoring him as they concentrated on the other three. That was when Dalton suddenly realized what was going on.

“I just wanted to meet the four newest imperial marines whose commissions I signed a few days ago” the emperor said as he walked into the lounge, followed by four more security types. He walked up to the two girls, who both curtsied, and shook their hands. Dalton saluted before he got to shake the emperor’s hand. Jason also saluted before getting hugged by the emperor. “Just to confirm any rumors that Jason might be spreading,” the emperor said with a smirk on his face, “yes, Jason is my son, and yes, I did bestow my minor title, that of earl and head of House Taurus on him. Now, the reason I asked to talk to you four; Jason is a commissioned imperial marine officer, just like I am. At the same time, he is also an earl and my son so there is no way that any marine battalion, imperial or planetary, will knowingly put him in charge of anything, just like no baron will ever allow his heir to serve in the marines. Not only can I not allow Jason to serve in a combat environment, the Imperial Council will forbid it as well. He will serve but not on active duty.

“You three are newly commissioned but you do not have any commands since the nearest battalions, the Third on boards the Electra or the First Battalion on the Merope which brought me here, are currently all fully staffed. No leaderless platoons anywhere in sight. I was hoping to convince you three to join the staff of Jason Taurus, who will be going to Secundus where his status will be confirmed by the Imperial Council. Since the four of you have been together for the past two and a half years, I can assume you like each other enough to continue working together. You don’t have to decide now but I would like some response before I leave the system.”

Jason watched his three friends as they gaped at the emperor. He knew how they felt. A week ago, the emperor was some mystical far-off figure that everyone serves under but never got close to. Even just visiting the core system of the Pleiades Cluster called Pleiades Prime, or even the capitol world, the planet Secundus, was seen as a once in a lifetime event. Carmen was the first to react.

“Your majesty, it would be an honor to serve Lord Jason” she gushed as she tried hard to suppress her excitement.

“I agree, your majesty” Stan said. “I would serve you through Lord Jason. There is this matter of the three of us still needing to finish our academic training. Not that the completion of our degrees is in any way more important than serving Lord Jason but...”

“I’m sure Jason will take that into consideration.” The emperor said. “Since you have already been commissioned you can complete your Grendel degree, and any other degree you want to while serving on Jason’s personal staff.”

“In that case I will also love to serve on Lord Jason’s staff” Shelly said. She was much more controlled compared to Carmen.

“I’m sure Jason is still thinking like a lieutenant and not like the head of an imperial house,” the emperor said, “so you four should take a few days, or weeks, and figure out what each of you should be doing, while Jason make plans to introduce himself to the empire. One last thing, Jason, do you by any chance have your wand with you?” Jason nodded as he patted the special pocket on the side of his thigh. “Excellent, can you take it out please.” Jason removed the wand and held it in front of him. He noticed that all the security people suddenly got a lot more interested in him. “This is a requirement for anybody close to the emperor or any of his family. Jason I would like you to carefully reach out and touch this...” the emperor suddenly had a meter-long jade staff in his hand. Jason realized he must have had it with him but had it hidden behind him when he came into the lounge. “Don’t try to grab it, just gently caress it with your fingertips. Tell me what you feel as you do it.”