Imperial Heir
Copyright© 2025 by Ogreface
Chapter 5: Bova Courtesy Visit
Science Fiction Sex Story: Chapter 5: Bova Courtesy Visit - A story in the Pleiades Empire Universe. This story takes place around a thousand years after humans managed to reach the Pleiades cluster. It is the second book in a trilogy. The story of you young man's path from being disowned to finding his true place in society.
Caution: This Science Fiction Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including mt/ft mt/Fa Cousins
It took another two weeks to traverse the junction system before they reached the Bova gate and for the second time Jason found himself in the Bova system.
“We will be docking with the Bova space station in four days’ time” Captain Ericson informed Jason when both of them were enjoying a last cup of coffee after supper. “I understand you have been asked to collect Viscount Mount Grace’s oldest daughter and take her and her entourage with you to Secundus?”
“I have been asked, but since you are in charge of the Electra, I will use any excuse to explain why we didn’t pick her up,” Jason said with a smirk.
“Oh, we have no reason not to pick her up,” Captain Ericson said. “We are on a general patrolling and good-will mission, which usually means we at least dock to the capitol world’s space station when we enter an inhabited system. You will have ample time to go down to the surface, have a courtesy meeting with the duke and collect your ward. It will actually look bad if we end up this close to the seat of a duke and not make a courtesy call.”
“Did the Merope dock here as well?” Jason asked.
“I doubt it,” Captain Ericson said. “Their task is to get the emperor back to Secundus as quick as possible. the emperor was not on a general visiting tour, he specifically went to Grendel to find you and your mother. You should take all your ADCs, your Chief of Staff, and at least your concubines of noble birth with you when you go down.”
“Which leaves Roxanne,” Jason muttered. “She will not be happy,” The captain chuckled at his comment.
“I said at least, my lord,” he responded. “You are free to take all of them down. You will need to include Lady Jade’s nurse and personal assistant anyway.”
There were a lot of cargo ships docked to the Bova space station, and more floating nearby. Some of the cargo ships had their own shuttles and didn’t need to dock with the space station since they could collect cargo pods from the surface and bring them directly to the ship.
Electra was the largest ship orbiting Bova, in tonnage as well as in crew size. Most of the cargo ships had a crew of between four and twelve people, compared to the near six hundred people onboard Electra. The Sarina was one of those floating near the space station, patiently waiting for Electra to escort her onward.
Due to the human traffic on the space station, Captain Ericson suggested that Jason depart directly from the ship in one of the navy shuttles. None of Jason’s household wanted to stay on the Electra. Sylvia insisted on visiting Duchess Sarah, a dear friend of hers and Jason’s mother. Clarissa took Maggie and her girls as well as Mindy and Trish along as part of her staff. Jason decided to just take Roxy and Mister Gray along. Lisa Gomes turned out to be his most valuable resource on his staff, as the daughter of a viscount and marine lieutenant with official duties. Of all the noble born ladies in Jason’s household she had the most experience in dealing with other nobles.
Just after the shuttle landed, Lisa went into the cockpit. She was back a few minutes later and sat down across from Jason. She obviously had to nudge and browbeat a few of Jason’s harem members out of the way so she had space to sit directly in front of him while facing him.
“I hope you have a good idea of any protocol issues I will be exposed to on these high-level visits,” Jason moaned. “At heart I am still just a lowly marine lieutenant who is scared of his own shadow.”
“I’m not falling for that fake ‘poor me’ line anymore, my lord,” She replied with a smirk. “As for protocol issues, we will learn as we go along. The pilot has been directed to turn around so the rear loading ramp is facing your formal reception committee. Jade, you can use your hover chair and roll directly off the shuttle,” she said to the girl clinging to Jason’s one arm.
“Do I have to do anything special when I meet whoever is waiting out there?” Jason asked. He wished he had pulled rank and went into the cockpit to see what was awaiting him but now it was too late as the cockpit was now facing in the wrong direction.
“According to my sources the heads of imperial houses never travel officially,” Lisa said. “But you are here as the official imperial envoy of emperor Jason Pleiades, so even if you don’t have the title yet, you kind of ranks equal to the Duke of Bova. By the way, both the duke and duchess is out there waiting for you.”
“Why is he looking so nervous?” Lotus asked.
“Poor guy,” Clarissa said as she patted Jason’s leg. “Don’t worry, we will look after you.”
“It’s a good thing I listened to you and wore a formal suit,” Jason said to Lisa after he shot Clarissa a threatening glare, and got a raspberry for his efforts. “You are now my Chief of Protocol and Public Relations” He said to Lisa. Her eyes grew huge in surprise.
“Hey, appointing her is my job!” Clarissa said indignantly. “Lisa, I hereby appoint you as the Chief of Protocol and Public Relations for House Taurus. Your title might change once our lord and master has a more formal title instead of envoy. You might even have to take a leave of absence from the Marine Corps if he gets really busy.”
“I might just resign from the marine corps,” Lisa said as she stared at Jason. “Provided you are serious.”
“Welcome to his harem!” Lotus and Chloe called out at the same time.
As the shuttle’s rear hatch started to lower, Jason could see for the first time what was going on outside. The sky was blue and had some puffy clouds. Behind the shuttle was a Bova Marine Corps platoon in bright blue ceremonial uniforms drawn up in a hollow square with a small group of dignitaries waiting in the square. Lisa nudged Jason to exit first. Then both Clarissa and Lisa nudged Lotus to join Jason.
“You are his most senior concubine,” Clarissa hissed over the noise of the shuttle atmospheric engines as they shut down.
As Jason and Lotus stepped onto the shuttle ramp, squad of imperial marines marched up on either side the ramp. They were dressed in their space gray and white formal uniforms as they formed two lines just off the shuttle ramp. Jason recognized them from Electra’s marines but had no idea how they got there since they were not on the shuttle.
Jason felt a lot more nervous than he did at any time before as he tucked Lotus’s small hand in the bend of his arm and walked down the ramp. As they stepped off the ramp, the squad of imperial marines first saluted and then turned to face the same direction as Jason. From nearby a band started playing softly. Jason recognized the official anthem of the Empire, usually played only when the emperor was making a formal appearance. The fact that they were playing it as background music meant that he was recognized as imperial envoy, or so Jason assumed.
“There’s Lavender,” Lotus whispered as they approached the group of dignitaries. Jason’s eyes were locked onto the Duke of Bova, and Duchess Sarah next to him. When Lotus spoke up, he swiveled his eyes and noticed a small group of females standing behind the duke and duchess.
“Just walk up to the duke and shake his hand,” Lisa muttered behind Jason. “Don’t bow, you are representing the emperor.” He glanced around and noticed that his five ADCs in formation a few steps behind him, and with Ron and Sam on either side of him but on the outside of the two rows of marines. Behind the five ADCs followed Sylvia, Jade, and all his concubines.
The duke’s smile got even bigger when he recognized Jason from the incident with the rogue pirate in the Bova system a couple of months earlier. The duke and Jason met each during the hearing into the incident but the duchess and Lady Penelope were not there. Duchess Sarah and Lady Penelope had come face to face with Jason before the pirate incident when he escorted the ducal party onto the Electra before they left Grendel. At the time they didn’t recognize him.
To Jason’s surprise the duke and duchess both bowed as Jason came near them. He had to force himself not to return the bow. To say that made him feel weird was an understatement. As they straightened up Jason extended his hand to the duke.
“Jason Taurus,” The duke said with a huge grin. “Also known as Acting Sergeant Jason Cosgrove when we last met onboard the Electra. Welcome to Bova.” Jason shook hands with the duke as he glanced at Duchess Sarah standing next to the duke who gasped in surprise as her eyes grew huge. “We have received the initial announcement about your new appointment, possibly even before you heard it. We can all assume it will just be a formality before you get to add Duke to your list of titles. Quite a collection you will have. I don’t think you have formally met my wife, Duchess Sarah, yet,” The duke said as he turned towards the duchess.
“Actually, knowing now who you are I can see you have your mother’s eyes,” Duchess Sarah said in a small voice as she shook hands with Jason. “I am actually you aunt, you know,” she said to Jason.
“More like a great aunt, yes I know,” Jason said as he smiled at Lady Sarah. She was the same age as his mom and just as lovely.
“That’s true, so Penelope is your second cousin,” Lady Sarah said.
“Your Grace, this is Lady Lotus, my senior concubine and youngest daughter of Viscount Mount Grace of Grendel,” Jason introduced Lotus. Jason noticed that the five ADCs have moved out of the way and that Sylvia, Clarissa, and Chloe were next in line behind him.
“Oh my,” Duchess Sarah said as she shook hands with Lotus. “I hope your oldest sister can survive this change in circumstances.” the poised smile on Lotus’s face suddenly became a smirk.
“Your Grace, Lady Sarah, I’m sure you know Viscountess Sylvia, Lady Clarissa, and Lady Chloe, my wards,” Jason said. “This is Lady Jade Bitra, sister of the Duke of Mynos and my ward as well.”
“Sylvia! I’m so sorry for your loss” Lady Sarah gushed as she hugged Sylvia. “He is your guardian? We should talk” Lady Sarah said as she shot Jason a mysterious look before she shook hands with a blushing Jade.
“Lady Clarissa, your beauty is well-known even here,” Duke Justin said as he shook hands with Clarissa and Chloe. After also introducing Andrea and Megan, the procession finally had Lavender, Penelope, as well as Lady Gwendolyn Winters facing Jason. All three the girls had shocked looks on their faces as they stared at Jason. Lotus was hanging onto Jason’s arm as they faced each other.
“Lavender, meet my husband, Jason Taurus,” Lotus said with a syrupy smile.
“That was quite a jump, my lord,” Gwendolyn said as she curtsied to Jason. “From a marine grunt to the head of an imperial house.”
“I don’t think we can classify House Taurus as just any imperial house,” Penelope said as she curtsied to Jason as well. “Welcome to Bova, my lord and cousin,” she said as she shot him a shy smile.
“Let’s go home and relax before the ball,” the duke said.
“Oh yes, we are having a ball tomorrow night, in your honor, my lord,” Lady Sarah said as she hooked in with Sylvia.
Two armored hovercrafts have moved closer while the introductions were taking place. Jason noticed that the rest of his household were being shown onto the second hovercraft along with their luggage. He also noticed that all of the ADCs except got onto the second hovercraft while Lisa stayed right behind him. He was puzzled about her behavior until he noticed a Bova Marine Colonel hovering close to the duke as well.
“I must say,” the duke muttered under his breath to Jason as they took their seats in the front of the first hovercraft. Lisa and the colonel were sitting next to each other a couple of rows back while all the ladies as well as Sam, Ron, and the duke’s three body protectors were just in front of Lisa and the colonel. “You aide-de-camp is nicer to look at than mine. Where did you get her?”
“My apologies, your grace,” Jason said. “I’m still so new to all this that I’m not sure about any of the protocols I’m involved in. Lieutenant Gomez is actually Lady Lisa, daughter of a viscount on Scundus. She is one of a number of ADCs assigned to me.”
“I guessed that she must be of noble birth,” the duke said. “At least one of any nobleman’s ADCs are of noble birth and that ADC usually stick really close to their primary. My guess is that as soon as you get to Secundus you ADCs will all be promoted to better suit your status. Just make sure that Lady Lisa join us at the ball.”
Jason found it mildly disturbing when he realized the duchess and Sylvia were staring at him as they talked softly to each other. The duke seemed totally oblivious about what was happening and chatted about Bova and its accomplishments while they were traveling to the ducal palace.
On arrival at the palace the duke again welcomed Jason to his home. Then Duchess Sarah escorted Jason and his group to his suite. All of Jason’s other people were already inside the suite. Inside the suite he was met by an older lady, the assistant chief housekeeper who was appointed to look after Jason’s party.
When Jason finally walked into his bedroom, he found all four his concubines in a cuddly heap on the bed. They were all stripped to just their underwear. They looked asleep but then Roxy opened her eyes, yawned and waved Jason closer.
“Get out of your clothes and join us for a nap,” Andrea muttered without opening her eyes. Jason decided that was the best option available. As he got onto the huge bed while wearing just his boxers, the girls rearranged themselves so he was in the middle of the cute puppy-pile of sexy girls. There was some grumbling among the girls as Megan, who was the youngest, lightest, as well as tallest of the girls wiggled her way on top of Jason with her head under his chin. Jason fell asleep like that.
That evening Jason and his girls were all dressed formally as they joined the duke and duchess for dinner. All his ladies were with him, except Roxy decided to stay with the others. Even with her uncle being a baron, she was too nervous so Jason let her be. Lisa was in her formal Imperial Marine uniform.
While dinner was formal, it also turned out to be relatively intimate because the dinner guests consisted only of Jason and his group along with the duke and his family, and their guests. Also present were Lady Penelope’s guests; Lady Lavender, and Lady Gwendolyn, the daughter of Baron Sedgefield of Grendel. The table was arranged in a hollow square so everybody could talk to everybody else without having to raise your voice.
The duke told his side of how Jason managed to overcome the traitorous earl, who had turned pirate, in a fair sword fight, and how the earl tried to use his wand and lost it to Jason in the process. The duke made as if Jason did everything single handed.
“Everybody who knows about those wands also gets told that they are nasty, that they would fry you in an instant,” Lady Penelope said as she responded to her dad’s retelling of events. “I guess you must have been terrified when the pirate pointed his wand at you.”
“I was not scared of his wand,”Jason said. “I had no idea what these wands were capable of. I have never even known about then until I found mine. I knew something weird was happening when my wand started vibrating against my leg. I was more concerned for the safety of Lady Lisa when he held his wand against her neck.”
“You were in the fight?” Duchess Sarah gasped in surprise as she looked at Lisa, who was sitting next to Jason.
“I was a platoon commander at the time,” Lisa explained as she leaned slightly forward. “Lord Jason was one of my squad leaders, and the platoon expert on swords. He had much more of a hand in reducing the number of casualties that day than he is willing to accept. He has been teaching the marines how to use the short battle sword. A number of marines told me later that if Lord Jason didn’t teach them how to use the short words they could have been killed. Apparently just brandishing those swords in a manner that indicated they knew how to use them resulted in the pirates backing away from them.”
“Are you not scared of his wand?” Lavender asked her sister. “I mean, having such a dangerous and mysterious thing so close to you?”
“Not really,” Lotus said. She was sitting on Jason’s other side and had her hand on his other thigh. “At first I thought he loved that wand more than he loved his own concubines,” she said as she looked at Jason with a smile and leaned closer to him as if she was planning on kissing him. “But then I realized it is because there seems to be this unexplained bond between the wand and its carrier. He never leaves it behind. He had his pants altered to have a special pocket for them.”
“He even had a special sleeve made that fitted around his leg on the outside of his pressure suit,” Lisa added.
“So, you have your wand with you now?” Lady Gwendolyn asked in surprise.
“Wait a second,” Lady Penelope interrupted. “You said them? What do you mean he has special pockets for them?”
“After the pirate lost his wand, nobody except Lord Jason, was willing to touch it. He just calmly picked up the other wand and kept it along with his own,” Lisa explained.
“The emperor told me to hold on to it until the court case against the pirate,” Jason added.
“Can we see these wands?” Lady Gwendolyn asked shyly as she glanced at the duke. “Have any of you ever touched the wand?”
“All of us had to,” Lady Clarissa said. “It is required of anybody who work or live closely with Lord Jason. It is a kind of test. By touching the wand, and not getting zapped or fried, the wand approved of you to be close to Lord Jason. I guess the wand can sense if somebody has some deep-rooted inner urge to hurt him.”
“Maybe you can show these wands to the ladies after dinner,” the duke said to Jason’s relief. “Let’s retreat to the library for after dinner drinks.”
“I still wonder why you suddenly disappeared,” Duchess Sarah commented as they settled in the library, which was basically a fancy lounge. “Your mother was really upset when she arrived back and discover you have been missing for nearly two years.”
“We only found out recently what caused Jason to run away,” Clarissa said. “About two months before he disappeared Rick started stealing from the castle treasures. When the thefts were discovered, Rick framed Jason for it. Grandpa accused Jason for being a thief even if they had evidence that Jason could not have done it, and besides grandpa admitted that he never really thought it was Jason. Jason must have thought the entire world was against him, and him not having a parent to take his side either. I don’t blame him for running off and hiding away.”
“And yet, I was not hiding away,” Jason said. “The moment the name I used come up as a candidate officer for the imperial marines, the emperor realized what might be happening. Your grace, do you remember that parade you attended on Grendel in the company of Duke Richard the Second, when the Grendel marines sent off a whole company of six platoons for special training on the Electra?”
“I remember that very well,” Duke Justin said. “Richard had just took me on a tour of the training facilities at his main base. I realized why the Grendel marines are seen as the best in the cluster, and why Grendel supply over 40% of the Imperial marine yearly replacements. Then we inspected the parade. I can tell you Richard was really proud of those marines of his.”
“I nearly had a heart attack,” Jason said with a chuckle. “Minutes before we marched onto that parade I was told to act as platoon commander for the first platoon. We had no officer assigned to us and I got picked. I realized I was going to have to face my grandfather. At that time I still thought I was being accused of theft so I was worried that if he recognized me, he would have me kicked out of the Grendel Marine Corps.”
“That can’t be right,” Duke Justin said. “The platoon commanders were all lieutenants, except for the one candidate officer..., it was you! But how? When I met you, you were a sergeant.”
“We were four candidate officers,” Jason explained. “A candidate officer effectively has no rank so when the Third Battalion needed sergeants, we became acting sergeants. We only received our commissions when the emperor signed the proclamations after we got back to Grendel.”
“You were that guy with the white bars on his shoulders!” Duchess Sarah exclaimed in surprise. “You were there all the time. Your mother was with me on the podium watching you and we didn’t recognize you!”
“When the emperor arrived, we had another huge parade,” Lotus added. This time Jason was one of the flag bearers. I thought something looked familiar about him when he marched past the review stand. I told Chloe about him but she didn’t believe me.”
“You told me that the guy nearest us with the imperial banner looked just like Jason,” Chloe said. “I wasn’t looking at his face, I was looking at their uniforms. I only recognized him when you grabbed him that evening at the ball”
“I guess we are all guilty of not recognizing you,” Penelope said. “I remember looking you in the eyes when we left the Electra. I thought something about you looked familiar but couldn’t put my finger on it. At least you are now where you belong.”
“And with more titles than most other noble-born,” the duke added.
“What do you mean, daddy?” Penelope asked. “Most dukes has minor titles but how would Lord Jason have multiple titles?”
“Are you not the new Viscount Moorefield?” Lavender asked Jason.
“Yes, he is the new Viscount,” Sylvia said. “At the same time, he also got his real dad’s minor title.”
“Lord Jason received two minor titles at the same time from two different people,” the duke explained. “He is the emperor’s son, and, after confirmation by the imperial council, he will be the emperor’s official heir. That confirmation does not stop the emperor from letting his son inherit his minor title, that of head of House Taurus, and thus an earl.”
“You managed to snag yourself an earl” Lavender said as she glared at Lotus.
“I didn’t snag myself an earl,” Lotus said. “Mother’s explicitly instructed me to avoid the ‘commoner imperial marine lieutenant’ and to not give him any encouragement. I disobeyed her and snagged Jason. Only after I snagged him did he become the new viscount and earl at the same time. If you think I was fortunate to snag myself a viscount then wait till you hear what happened to Lilly. She is now Duchess Lilly of Mynos.” Lavender’s eyes grew huge as she looked at Lotus.
“The Mynos incident?” the duke asked. “Remember the news about Duke Mynos suddenly dying, about four months ago?” the duke reminded his wife. “Apparently he refrained from appointing an heir even while he had twin teenage sons. What happened there?”
“There are indications that Duchess Mynos became under the spell of a crafty rich commoner who wooed her and might even have hastened the death of the duke. He tried to eliminate the twins, Jade’s brothers,” Jason explained as he gave Jade a smile. She smiled back at him. “I basically just took my time and got to know the twins a bit better. The duke had the minor title of viscount and never handed that down either. I had a tough time deciding which brother would be a better duke and finally decided.”
“It was funny how he did it as well,” Lotus giggled. “Both the brothers flirted with Lilly but one was more serious about her than the other one. While the twins were effectively still without titles Jason married Allan and Lilly, as well as Alex and the daughter of Viscount Sparta. Only after they were married did he appoint Allan as the new Duke of Mynos.”
“Mother will have kittens when she hears that Lilly married a duke,” Lavender gasped in surprise.
“Actually, she married Allan Bitra,” Lotus said. “He only became a duke afterwards.”
“Once he was a duke, Allan made Jason my guardian,” Jade spoke up for the first time. “Officially it was to give me the opportunity to visit Secundus, and see more of the cluster, but after hearing more about Lord Jason’s life and escapades I’m even more serious about staying with him. I think you are stuck with me permanently, my lord,” she said to Jason.
“Go for it, girl,” Lotus said as she jumped up and hugging Jade.
“Do you have any more vacancies for a willing and eager concubine?” Gwendolyn asked shyly but with a naughty smirk on her face.
“Lady Lavender, I don’t know if your mother sent you any instructions but she asked me to offer you the opportunity to travel with my household to Secundus,” Jason said when it was clear the dinner party had coming to an end.
“That would be a great opportunity to meet more eligible suitors,” Lady Gwendolyn gushed excitedly. “As Lady Lavender’s companion, is there any chance of me accompanying her to Secundus?”
“No, my mother has not sent me any messages about that” Lavender replied to Jason.
“Oh, I have a letter for you from mom,” Lotus said. “She might have mentioned it directly to you in the letter but she also told me that it might be beneficial for you to accompany us. When she said that, Lilly was still part of the group.”
“Will you be returning to Grendel sometime?” Lavender asked Jason.
“I am still the legal heir of Duke Richard the Second of Grendel,” Jason said. “Since he is much older that the emperor it has been decided that I should fulfill that role first. One of the reasons for me having two ladies from Grendel as concubines is because we are supposed to try and produce at least one possible heir for me who would then inherit the title of Viscount from me and eventually take over the title of Duke of Grendel if I am required to step in for my father.”
“That is quite a scheme,” Duke Justin said. “I can see how you ended up in this Imperial Dilemma you referred to.”
“How long will you be gone?” Penelope asked. “You would be reactivating House Taurus and re-establish all of House Taurus contacts and associates. How long will it be before you return to Grendel?” Jason was surprised that Penelope was concerned about that. Duchess Sarah was also puzzled about Penelope’s question.
“Penelope, are you by any chance interested in accompanying Lavender to Secundus?” Duchess Sarah asked. Jason was expecting her to show some level of enthusiasm for or against her mother’s question but she reacted unlike how Jason expected.
“Ah, maybe,” she muttered as she blushed and shot Jason an embarrassed look. “I mean, it’s a chance to get to Secundus, and besides, he is a second cousin.” Her mother gave her a puzzled look.
“Well, better think about it,” Duchess Sarah said as she shot the duke a look. “Lord Jason and the Electra will be leaving in two days’ time.”
Jason’s concubines were excited and clingy as they got back to their suite. It didn’t take much for Jason to realize that they had too much of the strong and very sweet liqueurs the duke served them. The four giggling girls fell onto the bed and then started undressing each other. Jason decided to make sure the rest of his group were all settled.
The suit had four bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and a common lounge. The first bedroom Jason checked into had Sylvia and Clarissa sharing the room. As Jason knocked, the door got opened by a smiling Clarissa.
“Just checking if all my people have been settled and nobody has been overlooked,” Jason said as Sylvia dragged him inside.
“I think a good-night kiss would also be in order,” she said as she wrapped herself around Jason. Over Sylvia’s head Jason noticed Clarissa rolling her eyes at her mother before she turned her back on them. Sylvia just about attacked Jason, while both of them were still fully dressed. She had her tongue in Jason’s mouth while rubbing herself against his thigh. She was all flustered and out of breath but grinning when she finally let go of him.
Clarissa still had her back to Jason so he walked around her to face her and before she could react, he leaned down and gave her a soft peck on the corner of her mouth.
“At least give her a hug,” Sylvia said.
“Are you planning on checking up on everybody before you go to bed?” Clarissa asked with a frown.
“That was my plan but I have no idea where the others are housed,” Jason said.
“Mom, you go shower so long,” Clarissa said as she took Jason’s hand and led him out the door. In the lounge, where Ron was checking out the couch, Clarissa wanted to let go of his hand, but he refusing to let go of her.
“Are you planning on staying on that couch all night?” Jason asked Ron.
“They gave me a room nearby, my lord,” Ron said. “I’m sharing with Delano and Mister Gray. Sam insisted on taking the second shift, from two am onward. One of us will be here all night.” Ron only realized they were going somewhere when Clarissa led Jason out the door. He grabbed his jacket and stormed after them.
A few doors down the passageway Clarissa knocked on a door and peeked in before pulling Jason inside. The suite was similar to where Jason was staying. There were also four doors off the lounge, which was empty.