Dysfunctional Imperials
Copyright© 2025 by Ogreface
Chapter 18: The Real Thing
Olaf was planning on being on the island waiting for Wilf and Gerb when they arrived back from their first fishing trip on their new fishing boat, on Olaf’s birthday, but then, an hour after lunch, two days before Olaf’s birthday and a month before the duke was due back, Olaf’s world erupted.
Dustin and Alton were both in Olaf’s office chatting with Alec, and Ruth sat on Olaf’s lap, when Alec’s communicator made an unusual sound. At the same time, the desk phone on his desk as well as the desk phone on Ruth’s desk next door made the same sound. All of them looked at each other in confusion. Then Alec jumped up and exited the office with his own communicator against his ear.
“Yes?” Olaf answered his phone, expecting Gwen to talk to him.
“Lord Olaf, I have the commander of the space station on the line for you, “ Gwen said in his ear. She sounded half out of breath. “Stand by for Viscount Vasa, “ she said to somebody else.
“Olaf here,” he said when Gwen stopped talking.
“Viscount Vasa, I am Lieutenant Commander Adams, in charge of the Imperial Navy detachment on the Ceres space station, “ A male voice said. “I just had a high priority message from Secundus. The message is from the chairman of the Imperial Council, Duke James Coburn of Atlas. Are you ready and in the position to receive a private high priority message, My Lord?” Olaf waved at Ruth and the two men remaining in the office. All of them quickly left the office, with Ruth closing the doors before going to her office and closing that door as well.
“I am now alone,” Olaf said. “You can continue, commander.”
“I understand that the Imperial Protection Service has sent their own version of this message to the head of the Ceres Protection Service, “ The commander said. “This message is specifically for you. Five days ago, Duke Wilbur experienced some medical distress. He was admitted to a medical institute on Secundus where they started doing tests. Three days later Duke Wilbur went into a coma. He died of a massive heart attack about forty-eight hours ago. The duke of Atlas sends his sympathy and also relayed a message from the emperor, Jason Pleiades, that you, Olaf Ostrander, Viscount Vasa, are hereby directed to assume full responsibility and authority over the Ceres system as the system’s designated ruler. The emperor has dispatched his own heir, Jason Taurus, Duke of Saturn, to make his way here and formally appoint you as the new Duke of Ceres.” The commander stopped speaking for a moment before continuing. “Your Grace, I received this notification twenty minutes ago via the secure data connection. I hereby add my own sympathies and offer you the full cooperation of the Imperial Navy Force as well as the Imperial Marines in case you need us.”
“Thank you. I guess it is sudden and a surprise, but not totally unexpected,” Olaf said. “The duke was in his seventies.”
“I will let you know as soon as we have an idea when Lord Jason Taurus will arrive, Your Grace, “ the commander said.
“Thank you, Commander,” Olaf said before he disconnected.
Olaf stood and started pacing the floor in his office as the full implication of the message worked its way through his mind. Just then he saw two space-going shuttles belonging to the Ceres Militia approaching the building. One kept hovering a thousand feet above the building as the other one went down for a landing. Then Olaf realized he had to inform others about the news.
“Grandmother, I have bad news,” Olaf said when Gwen connected him to the Palace.
“Wilbur?” Duchess Victoria said in a tired voice.
“He died of a heart attack about two days ago,” Olaf said. “The navy just informed me.”
“That explains why two of those huge shuttles took off from the base below the palace in such a hurry a few minutes ago.” The duchess said. “They only do that in extreme situation and since you called me, it could only be Wilbur. Are you ready for this, Olaf?”
“I guess I do not have an option, Grandmother,” Olaf said. “I’m just glad I had a bit of time to get ready. Grandmother, my first order as the new duke, you are hereby ordered to be my advisor, for at least the next year. You do not have permission to follow Grandfather Eric or Duke Wilbur into the grave yet.” Olaf tried to make it sound lighthearted, but he was very serious.
“I will be around, even if you don’t really need me, “ the duchess said. “You had better inform the council of barons.”
Viscount Asgaard was not available, being still on vacation, but his personal assistant offered to get hold of him as soon as possible. Baron Rudolf was surprised at the news, but like Olaf, not shocked. He offered to get the council into a special session and would inform Olaf of any decisions made by the council. By that time Olaf could hear a lot of voices and movement outside his office. When Ruth poked her head in, with a confused look and wide eyes, he told her to open the doors.
The first person through the main doors of his office was Alec, followed by a captain with the same unit badges as Alec, making him Alec’s boss, as well as another militia officer, a female lieutenant. There were a number of militia members in the passageway as well. Dustin and Herman stood in the conference room looking lost, but then Ruth went to take care of them.
“Viscount Vasa, I am Captain Abram Kenworth, second in command of the Ceres Protection Service, and acting commander in the absence of Major Letterman.” the captain said. “We just received a message from Secundus that we should elevate your security to that befitting the official ruler of the system. I’m sorry, Your Grace but it appears that Duke Wilbur died of medical issues.”
“I have also just been informed by the navy commander on the space station,” Olaf said. “What does the change in security implies, captain?”
“In effect, it means that you will have the same level of personal security as Duke Wilbur had,” The captain said. “You will not only have Lieutenant Devlin, the sergeant, and the eight troopers to guard you anymore, you will have myself, two officers and double the number of troopers surrounding you at all times.”
Olaf looked at the other officers behind the captain in more detail. He already noticed Alec behind the captain but now he noticed that the female officer was Jenna, a cute and pretty girl he had encountered during the storm but never interacted with.
“Very well, Captain,” Olaf said. “I will let you do your thing while I inform everybody else who needs to know.” The captain saluted and then turned back to talk to Alec and Jenna.
“Your Grace,” Ruth said softly next to Olaf. “Viscount Asgaard is on the phone for you.”
“Viscount Dirk,” Olaf said after lifting the handset on his desk.
“Olaf, my assistant told me that your assistant sounded stressed, “ Viscount Dirk said. “Are you alright? The duke will slaughter me if anything causes you to have issues.”
“I am fine, thanks” Olaf said. “The duke is not.”
“Hey, I just had an urgent message to attend an emergency meeting of the council of barons, “ Viscount Dirk said before Olaf’s comment sank in. “Does your message have anything to do with that?”
“Viscount Dirk, I was just notified by the imperial navy command on the space station that Duke Wilbur has died of a heart attack,” Olaf said. When he stopped talking, there was only silence.
“Then I guess we had better have that emergency meeting, Your Grace, “ Viscount Dirk said finally.
“Baron Rudolf called while you were on the phone,” Ruth said. “He invited you to attend a special emergency meeting of the council of barons.”
“When?” Olaf asked.
“As soon as you get down there, Your Grace,” Ruth said.
“The council chamber, Captain,” Olaf said as he walked out of his office.
There was a direct doorway from his office into the conference room next door, and the captain seemed to have set up camp there as he organized the security detail. All the people in the conference room immediately formed a cordon around him as they escorted him down to the ground floor and into the public room where the council of barons held their hearings and public meetings.
The call for an emergency meeting of the council of barons must have caused all the council members to panic because when Olaf was escorted into the chamber by the Master at Arms, all twelve barons were already there but still milling around in confusion. Viscount Dirk was not there yet, telling Olaf he was not in the building. A number of spectators, news people as well as senior officials of the government and a few other barons were there, looking excited.
“Why the sudden emergency meeting, Rudolf?” One of the barons asked as more spectators and news media personnel took seats in the public section. Baron Rudolf waited until all the barons, and the viscount had taken their seats and then stood and addressed the people.
“We had some bad news,” Baron Rudolf announced. “Before we continue, let’s wait for Viscount Asgaard to get here.”
To Olaf’s surprise, one of the latecomers was the senior judge, Sir Jameson, who was followed by another baron who was not on the council. The judge gave Olaf a dirty look before taking a seat on the far side of the aisle.
When Viscount Asgaard finally arrived, Herman and the commanding officer of the Ceres Militia were with him. The colonel and Herman both bowed to Olaf before sitting down next to the captain while a grim-faced viscount took his seat with the council of barons.
The Ceres Militia was not large enough to warrant a commander with higher rank than colonel but there was talk about expanding and converting the militia to the size of two full-scale marine battalions with a brigadier-general in command.
“Council member, Lord Asgaard, Lord Vasa,” The chairman of the council of barons said as he finally stood. “This meeting was called at the request of Viscount Vasa, who has some important information to share with this council.” Then he sat down, looking at Olaf with a grave look on his face. Olaf was feeling very much out of place as he stood and walked to the podium.
“Viscount Asgaard, Council members, about half an hour ago, I received a call from the commander of the Imperial Navy detachment on the space station, telling me that Duke Wilbur died from a heart attack roughly two days ago,” Olaf said. That was only as far he got before the auditorium erupted in noise as everybody talked and shouted questions at the same time. Baron Rudolf held his hand up, causing the noise to die slowly until he could continue.
“Viscount Vasa, please continue,” Baron Rudolf said when the noise finally died down.
“Five days ago, Duke Wilbur experienced some medical distress,” Olaf continued. “He was admitted to a hospital on Secundus where they did tests on him. A few days later Duke Wilbur went into a coma. He died of a massive heart attack forty-eight hours ago.” The crowd again started making a noise, so Olaf stopped talking, only to have the crowd stop talking among themselves. “I was informed by the navy commander that the duke of Atlas, the chairman of the Imperial Council, relayed a message from the emperor, Jason Pleiades, that I, Olaf Ostrander, Viscount Vasa, am to assume the position as the system’s designated ruler.” Unlike previous times, the audience was mostly quiet at Olaf’s last statement.
“Are there any other sources to confirm the duke’s death?” somebody in the audience asked. Olaf glanced behind him to see the baron who was sitting next to Sir Jameson, the senior judge, was standing and addressing the council. Then Colonel Vercuil stood and approached the podium, so Olaf stepped aside. The colonel gave Olaf a faint smile and a nod as he stepped up to the podium.
“An hour ago, my office received communications from the Imperial Council to secure the person of Viscount Vasa in case of any security issues,” the colonel stated. “Since he was in his office, we confirmed his whereabouts before we sent confirmation back to Secundus, but we also elevated the viscount’s personal security detail to that warranted by the duke. I also received a direct message from the naval commander on the space station that the emperor has sent Duke Jason, the imperial envoy, to Ceres to personally oversee the transfer of authority to Duke Wilbur’s heir, Viscount Vasa. We received notification that the Imperial Yacht Empress Olivia, the ship the envoy is traveling on, has met up with a frigate sent out from Secundus and that the Empress Olivia should be entering the Ceres system within the next day or two. I have placed the Ceres Militia on an elevated level of readiness. We also received notification that the Imperial Marine contingent stationed in the system is available to assist if needed.”
“Well, unlike the previous time when Duke Eric was assassinated, we do have a valid and legal heir for the duke,” Baron Rudolf said. “Unless there are valid objections, this council will act as if Viscount Vasa is the designated duke until the imperial envoy formally appoints him to the office of Duke of Ceres. Colonel Vercuil, as the commander of the Ceres Militia, are there anything we should be aware of as far as planetary security is concerned?”
“We are not aware of any threats at this time, My Lord” The colonel stated.
“So, for all practical purposes, Viscount Vasa will be assuming the title of Duke of Ceres, which will be formally acknowledged upon the arrival of the imperial envoy,” Viscount Asgaard declared. “Any questions?”
“You have something to say, Sir Jameson?” Baron Rudolf asked. Olaf noticed that the judge had his hand up. Just then Olaf’s three concubines, escorted by Alice and two more troopers, entered the auditorium and sat down in the back. All four the girls had confused looks on their faces.
“Viscount Olaf is a mere boy, under-age and uneducated,” Sir Jameson said. “Is making him the next duke the best move under the circumstances?”
“Sir Jameson, Olaf Halgaard Ostrander, Viscount Vasa, is the formal and official heir to Duke Wilbur. He also will be eighteen in two days’ time. Are you trying to suggest an alternative?” Baron Rudolf responded to the judge’s comment. The baron sitting next to the judge subtly nudged him, causing the judge to shake his head and sit down.
“Even if Olaf Halgaard Ostrander was only sixteen, there is no alternative,” Viscount Asgaard said. “Olaf Ostrander will be the next duke. While he is not formally Duke Olaf yet, I hereby offer him my full support.” With that Viscount Asgaard stood and then bowed towards Olaf.
The viscount’s action resulted in the entire council of barons standing and bowing to Olaf, who also stood to acknowledge the high honors offered to him by the entire council of barons as well as the ruler of the planet.
Olaf had always felt as if he was an intruder, a feeling that had slowly faded over the past two years but never went entirely away. Not only did he feel the weight of responsibility of his new title, but he also had the responsibility of taking care of the people in the entire system, some 60 million people. Then he realized, as the new duke, he also had to swear fealty to the emperor and serve as advisor on the Imperial Council.
“We need to change how you move about and where you live, Your Grace,” Captain Kenworth said as he and the colonel joined Olaf and his girls in a military shuttle. They were also joined by all the security personnel who usually looked after Olaf and his concubines.
“Is it appropriate to already address me like that?” Olaf asked.
“Appropriate or not, Your Grace, the title is yours,” the colonel said. “You should be aware that while the empire has hereditary succession, for the designated heir to assume the title on the death of the previous holder of a title is not guaranteed. If the heir somehow proves to be less than suitable, higher levels of nobility will step in and appoint another, more suitable, heir. In your case, I have to admit that the emperor has asked me to observe you, which I have been doing over the past year and a half. I also received reports from your teachers and anybody else who had close contact with you on a regular basis. I already sent my report to the emperor shortly after we were notified of the death of Duke Wilbur. The rest will just be a formality, Your Grace.”
“I have no idea how long it will take Major Letterman and the rest of Duke Wilbur’s staff to get here but until then I will prefer to keep as many of Duke Olaf’s current security staff in place but to augment them by adding more people,” Captain Kenworth said as he addressed the colonel. “I will join with Lieutenant Devlin in shadowing the duke until Major Letterman gets back and changes the situation.”
“Your Grace, I’m sure many people of higher rank than me will keep telling you this in the future but we all feel it is important. You need an heir, even if it is not a family member,” The colonel said. Then the colonel’s gaze subtly drifted towards the three concubines sitting across from them. The three girls were all dressed casually, for a typical summer’s day but still neatly enough to be seen in Government Hall. Olaf glanced at the three girls as well and could not help but get a sense of excitement as he admired their slender figures. He instantly realized what the colonel was hinting at. Not only were none of his three concubines pregnant yet, but they were also all three still virgins.
The hovercraft they were in was a standard military version, a space-going shuttle with atmospheric hover capabilities and capable of carrying an entire platoon of soldiers. It was a copy of the Imperial Marine attack shuttle but with a modified interior. The seating layout was similar to the marine version but a third of the seating had been replaced by more comfortable seats.
When Olaf and the girls were escorted off the shuttle at the palace, he saw two more shuttles hovering around them, just like when the duke left the planet. There was a full platoon of Ceres Militia formed up as an honor guard. As Olaf stepped out towards the palace entrance, the militia all came to attention and then presented arms as the officers saluted him. Olaf felt very weird about all this but did just as Duke Wilbur did and saluted the militia back.
“You should move into the ducal quarters,” Olaf’s grandmother, dowager-duchess Victoria said. “I already moved out of that section before Wilbur and Thelma left for Secundus.” They were having a late supper.
It was just Olaf, Duchess Victoria, Vanessa, Mona, and Aster around the table. Life was kind of chaotic with every news agency on the planet wanting to interview him and every baron in the system calling to offer their personal support. Luckily, most of them called using the audiovisual system instead of making personal visits.
Other than the five of them, none of the other nobility was at the palace, but Duchess Victoria had already warned him that his entire family was planning on converging on the palace for his eighteenth birthday, an event that was already in the planning stages a few weeks earlier.
“Too soon,” Olaf said as he studied his grandmother’s face. She lost her husband a bit more than two years earlier but other than looking somber, she didn’t seem to be too depressed about the death of her brother-in-law.
“Maybe that is good,” Duchess Victoria said. “We can use that wing to accommodate the imperial envoy and his party. You can move in after the emperor’s envoy has left.” Earlier that evening Olaf was informed that the Empress Olivia, with Jason Taurus and his entire household onboard, would be docking at the space station in about a week’s time.
“I can understand that the emperor rushed here when Duke Eric died, to ensure a proper succession, but why is the envoy coming here?” Vanessa asked.
“For starters, Olaf needs the ducal medallion,” Duchess Victoria said. “One can assume the medallion will either be with the imperial envoy or it is on its way by some other means. From a message I got from Thelma, I got the idea that the emperor has taken a special interest in Olaf,” Duchess Victoria continued. “Whenever he met with Wilbur and Thelma, he kept asking them about you, what your future study plans were and if you had somebody in mind as your future duchess,” Olaf glanced at his three girls.
“Don’t look at me,” Vanessa said. “Just the events being planned for your birthday are making me feel queasy. Somebody else can be the duchess.”
“Same here,” Mona said. “Besides, Olaf needs to start making heirs now, but I don’t think I’m quite ready for that yet.”
Generally, Vanessa and Mona had no problems interacting with other noble-born people, especially women, but since the news of the death of Duke Wilbur broke, all three of them were thrust into the spotlight and all three of them seemed a bit out of sorts because of it. Aster was actually the worst of the three, she seemed ready to hide or run away, obviously disliking the intense attention on all of them. Aster might be his best childhood friend and now she found herself the concubine of a duke, but she was still the shy girl from the fishing village on the island.
Olaf’s first full day as Designated Duke of Ceres started with him dragging Alice and Alec down to the militia base where they joined a platoon for early morning exercise on the beach. They had just started when Captain Kenworth and Lieutenant Jenna Purcell arrived, dressed for PE but looking to be a bit rushed. Alec smirked at the cute yet aloof lieutenant Purcell as she joined them on the damp sand. Besides Alice, there were a few other NCOs around as well.
“We used to run with these guys every morning when we were not attending classes, but now they seem much more skittish,” Olaf commented loud enough so the others could hear him.
“You might still be the same person as before, Your Grace,” Alec said, “but all of us have changed. We now run with the duke.”
“Your Grace, we need to have a meeting this morning still, concerning the re-organization of your security detail,” Captain Kenworth said when they got back after the six-kilometer run on the beach. It had been a while since Olaf and Alice joined the troopers, but all of the troopers made sure to stay near and behind Olaf. Jenna seemed to be the least fit and dragged in at the back of the column with her face all red and breathing hard. The captain gave her a questioning look but didn’t say anything.
Olaf never took it for granted that he would be showering with a girl. It was more likely that the girls would join him in pairs and less likely a single girl would join him. That morning it was Alice and Ruth. As usual, he got aroused and as usual they smirked and blushed as they washed him. His three concubines had no trouble washing his genitals, but Alice and Ruth restricted themselves to just his upper body. He also just washed their backs but went so far as to wash the chests of his concubines.
“I got this idea that the CPS is going to sideline me,” Alice commented as she washed Olaf’s chest with soapy hands.
“What would you like to do?” Ruth asked as she washed Olaf’s back.
“Not sure,” Alice responded. “I mean, I’m not a member of the Ceres militia and while I’m an imperial marine, I don’t see that as my future anymore. I don’t have the proper rank or training to be Olaf’s body protector either. I like you, Olaf, but not as a husband.”
“I also love you but more like a sister or very close friend than a lover or wife,” Olaf said.
“I have my own issues,” Ruth added “I might not be able to continue working for you. When my parents get back, Mom will be out of a job, unless you make her your personal assistant.”
“Do you two trust me to make the right decision?” Olaf asked.
“Obviously,” Ruth said without hesitation.
“I will do anything you want, as long as I can stay here on Ceres and near you,” Alice said.
“Let me think about this some more,” Olaf said as he rinsed off and stepped out of the shower, leaving the two girls to start washing each other as they giggled softly.
Olaf knew that Alice used the staff bedroom in his suite and that Ruth shared Aster’s suite. Vanessa and Mona each had their own suits, so Olaf always spent the nights alone in his bed. When he walked into his room after showering, he found Aster and Mona in his still unmade bed.
“What are you two up to?” he asked as he dropped the towel and started dressing. All he could see of them was their eyes as they peeked at him.
“We were planning to shower with you, but we were a bit slow,” Mona said with a giggle. “Alice and Ruth were already in the shower with you.” Then Aster sat up, uncovering both of them. Both of them were still wearing their sleep clothes.
“Is there a chance that I can go back to the island for a while?” Aster asked.
“As long as you promise to come back sometime,” Olaf said. His remark caused Mona’s eyes to grow wide in surprise.
“Were you planning on leaving him?” she asked Aster.
“No!” Aster exclaimed. “It’s just...”
“Too much?” Olaf asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed and bent over to look her in the eyes.
“I definitely feel out of place around here,” Aster muttered. “Even your involvement after the storm just proved that you are worthy of being the duke, but I feel very much out of place.”
“I will not force you to stay here if you don’t want to,” Olaf said gently. Aster was looking down, hiding her face but then she lunged at him landing on his lap with her arms around his neck and her face pressing against his neck.
“I really enjoyed being the girl of a secret nobleman,” Aster said against his neck. “I just don’t know if I can be the woman of the duke.”
“I hate to say this, but you are still a virgin,” Olaf said. “You can still go your own way. How about you go spend some time on the island. You get to decide when or if you want to come back. Just remember that you can stay a virgin and go back to school for another year before you make any final decisions.”
“I’d like to spend some time on the island with Wilda, but I can already see that I am going to miss you,” Aster said.
“As soon as you start to feel overwhelmed, I will let Alec fly you to the island,” Olaf said.
The entire upper structure of the Ceres Protection Service, along with the commanding officer, Colonel Martin Vercuil, and his second-in-command, Major Conrad Warren, were waiting for Olaf when he exited the breakfast room. He left his grandmother and Vanessa still busy discussing the merits of having a strict schedule of meals, and how to run the duke’s household. He tried once to add his opinion, by reminding them that the future duchess will most likely have her own opinion about such matters. The dowager duchess and his concubines just gave him looks of tolerance before they ignored him again.
“Let’s go talk in the library,” Olaf said as he led the large group away. As usual, Ruth was right behind his left shoulder and Alice was behind his right shoulder but a step further back.
“Who all accompanied the duke to Secundus?” Colonel Vercuil asked as he addressed Alex Tremaine, the assistant chief of staff.
“Sir William Kent, the chief of staff, as well as Diane Preston, the duke’s personal assistant,” Alex said. “Diane’s husband, Derick Preston, used to be one of the palace guards but he got rolled into the duke’s security team for the trip to Secundus.”
“Major Letterman, the head of CPS, went along as head of the duke’s security detail,” Captain Kenworth added. “He has two lieutenants, Miller and Tanner, as well as twelve team members with him.”
“Those people will eventually make their way back here, but it might take a while,” the colonel said. “My concern is to secure the duke until Letterman and the others get back. Your Grace, you have been under the protection of Lieutenant Devlin since the assassination. I assume you will not have any problems with any of the other CPS officers. We need to double up your security team. We don’t expect any trouble, but you are the duke and should have a full team of security surrounding you at all times.”
“I don’t have any issues with that,” Olaf said. “I assume the imperial envoy will have his own security.”
“Jason Taurus has a whole bunch of independent noble titles,” The colonel said. “He is apparently about your age and also a duke so technically he is the same rank as you. He will definitely have his own security. We just need to accommodate them while they are on the planet. Captain Kenworth, I will ensure the militia is ready for anything at all times while you and your team take care of the duke. I would feel more comfortable if you used as many of your people as possible until your boss gets back. Remember to give us fair warning about any public activities, parades and such, so we can plan street closures and access routes”.
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