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Father

An endless web of wires and tubes latched onto Grand Duke Aloth t’Osgar’s body, making him look more machine than Regulian.

He looked awful, but not nearly as awful as the siblings had expected. Somehow, despite a breathing tube jammed down his throat, he still maintained a stately expression on his face. His mane, more silver than gold now, was oiled to a subtle shine and his tuft of a beard on his chin was trimmed to a tiny, dashing spike.

Their father had never been the height of physical strength, opting out of military service to continue the family technology business. However, he was neither scrawny nor obese, just merely a bit of healthy roundness that made him almost look kindly and grandfathery.

Something his rivals would learn quickly not to underestimate his appearance.

“That’s not him!” Daglow shouted on the datapad, which Uloth held against his chest. The other siblings immediately wished Valeria hadn’t left it behind. “Guys, that’s not him, do you smell tarragon? If you don’t, it can’t be him!”

“Dad has never smelled like tarragon in his life,” Quroth sniffed inadvertently.

“Get a Lupiad or a Sirian in there, trust me!”

“It’s him,” Uloth nodded, clasping his fist to his chest. “Proud, noble, father; it’s him. A titan of commerce and technology, a true general, through and through.”

“Yeah, uh, he can’t hear you suck up to him,” Quroth said.

“You never know!” Uloth’s ears twitched shortly after. “Not that I was sucking up! Just, well, I am a poet at heart, I suppose.”

“Bullshit.”

“Guys, uh…” Primath raised his paws and hushed, “...maybe we should have a moment, you know, in honor of dad. Some uh, silence?”

“You kidding? Maybe if we make enough noise he’ll wake the fuck up,” Quroth leaned over the hospital bed and shouted. “You hear that, old man!?”

“Primath is right,” Uloth said. “Show some respect.”

“Us fighting probably shows more respect than anything, he loooooved to stir shit up among us,” Quroth crossed his arms and wrinkled his snout at his brothers. “Remember when he locked Primath down in the hole and told us to play Spear the Slave?”

“That…” Primath chuckled, “...was uh…dad could be very old fashioned.”

“Old fashioned?” Quroth blinked. “You know any other family that had that as a kids game? If anything, the prick was downright forward-thinking in new ways to fuck up his cubs.”

“It built character,” Uloth frowned and nodded.

“Course it did, you were always the one with the stick, not in the hole,” Quroth snarked.

“Life wasn’t easy for me either,” Uloth raised his pointer finger. “But you wouldn’t know a thing about hard work and sacrifice, would you?”

“ENOUGH!”

Primath’s shout shook the room and rendered the rest of the brothers quiet, all their eyes locked on the eldest, though smallest, of their litter.

“We’re not going to uh…solve our problems with each other,” Primath panted, overwhelmed from his brief bout of anger. “So maybe we should just, you know, decide on who we’re going to vote for?”

“Here it comes…” Quroth muttered.

“Now, uh, I’ve got my own company but I can easily fold it into the System to System umbrella if needed,” Primath licked his nose nervously. “If we all vote, you know, for me we only need to convince one other member of the board and we’re cool.”

The room was silent once again.

Daglow tilted his head.

“As long as I get the Grand Duke title, I’m totally okay with whoever.”

“Are you fucking kidding me!?” Quroth snapped, spinning towards the datapad.

“For once, we’re in agreement,” Uloth clenched his paws around the corner of the datapad. “You’re not a real sibling.”

“Woooow, okay!” Daglow curled up his long muzzle, baring his fangs. “Dad put me in charge of Haven and this, all of this…”

Daglow motioned towards the field slaves in the background, “...all of this is dad’s crown jewel! This planet IS the Grand Duchy! I deserve the title, give me that and you’ll get my vote!”

Primath’s heart raced. Everyone was too mad at Daglow’s demands that they had barely even reacted to him putting his hat in the race. All of a sudden he didn’t look nearly as greedy as the Lupiad.

Narrowing his eyes, Primath couldn’t help but notice something about the background behind Daglow.

“Your slaves look frozen,” Primath poked at the screen. An Equuleian was stuck hunched over with a bale of grain half-lifted, an exceedingly uncomfortable position to maintain. “They were moving before, what happened?”

“Hey!” Daglow spun around and his muzzle clipped into the background. “Get back to work, you filth!”

Chuckling, the Lupiad turned back to face his siblings, “Slaves, am I right?”

The sound of papers rustling crackled through the speakers of the datapad.

“Daglow, what are you doing?” Primath asked.

The feed suddenly turned black.

“What the fuck…” Quroth whispered, “...is he up to?”

“Dad’s papers…” Primath held his mouth agape, “...he’s got sole access to all of dad’s shit.”

“So?” Uloth asked.

“We need to go, right now,” Primath’s paw quivered, “charter the next company ship, express…now!”

“Slow down there,” Quroth raised his brow, “it’s a week trip to Haven, one way. Now, I’m pretty damn sure Daglow doesn’t know the first thing about starting a fire, but I’m sure his slaves could have anything he doesn’t like burned before we even touch a ship.”

“Burned!?”

“Either that or hide away anything incriminating for safekeeping, pops loved collecting blackmail via the Extranet,” Quroth shrugged. “But I guess that wouldn’t be a problem for us, right?”

Everyone looked around pensively.

“No, of course not,” Primath cleared his throat. “But uh…maybe dad had something important written down?”

“Yes…” Uloth nodded, “...some important instructions?”

Tension filled the air and everyone could smell it, but none were daring enough to break decorum and bolt.

They all stood in silence, waiting. Primath was anxiously licking his nose like it was covered in sugar, Uloth stood firm with the facade of a stoic military leader though his scent was so powerful even a human could smell his anxiety, and Quroth, aloof though he may have been, would twitch upon one of his brother’s eyes catching his face.

No one wanted to be the first to ditch their father’s comatose body, but all of them wanted to be the one to claim whatever documents rested in the depths of Haven.

“Maybe…” Primath bit his lip, “...maybe we sing the Ode to Order? D-dad always-”

“Fuck!” Uloth was out the door, clipping his shoulder on the frame as he took off.

Without waiting a moment, Primath charged after him and Quroth jogged after.

“Outta the way!” Primath checked Uloth in the same shoulder he injured earlier, sending the larger Regulian crashing into a corkboard.

Papers scattered as the corkboard crashed to the ground. Nurses shouted, but Primath couldn’t wait for a moment, this was far more important than some nursing shifts and a few bruises. Uloth was military, he could handle it.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…” Primath chanted as he clamored down the emergency stairs.

Gotta move…gotta move…

Leaping down the final flight, Primath slammed feet-first into a janitor’s cart that suddenly peeked out from under the stairs. Gray water spilled onto the floor and mops rattled and rolled while the human janitor shouted in one of the many Earthen tongues.

“Sorry!” Primath called back as he pushed the exit door, emerging onto the street.

Primath’s eye’s perked as he caught sight of a familiar black limo. One of System to System’s vehicles was idling in the emergency drop-off lot. It wasn’t the same one he took here, Primath was kind enough to leave a few crowns in the car and order his driver to get dinner somewhere, it must have been one of his brother’s.

Good thing they’re company cars.

As soon as Primath put his paw on the door handle, he caught sight of Uloth emerging from the main entrance, teeth clenched together and growly quietly. The moment their eyes met, Uloth roared and charged.

“Go! Go! Go!” Primath slapped the roof of the limo and slammed the door shut.

With a squeal of the tires, the limo darted away from the hospital, leaving Uloth behind in a cloud of dust kicked up by the car.

“Eat shit, brother!” Primath flipped off his brother from the safety of the black-tinted windows.

Sighing, Primath leaned back in his seat and stretched his legs out. Glass crunched underneath his heel and he leaned over, finding a syringe on the ground next to a bag full of drugs and empty liquor bottles.

Quroth’s car, no doubt.

“Hey!” Primath clicked the speaker button. “My man, my friend! Hook me up to Gary at Utopian Systems! Tell him it’s all hands on deck!”

A garbled voice spoke back, “Gary is gone, he’s in the harem. Do you mean Rick?”

“Yeah, yeah, Rick!”

It only took one ring before there was a click and a timid human’s voice quivered throughout the limo.

“S-sir? How can I help you?”

“Garrrrrick! Rick! Listen, I’m gonna need you to book me on the next System to System company ship right now, going to Haven and I don’t want any of my siblings on the flight, okay?”

“Uhhhhhhh…”

Primath blinked.

“Rick, I think you just cut-out.”

“No I’m heeeeeeeere just…”

“Hey, look man, whatever the problem is, I’ll make it work, okay?” Primath knocked on the mirror separating him and the driver. “Driver! Spaceport, now!”

“So, uh…I don’t have access to anything System to System.”

Primath’s blood ran cold, his jaw slowly drooped down to the floor.”

“Garrick, you’re…” Primath squeezed his fists slowly, “...you’re a funny guy, much funnier than Gary!”

“No!” Rick moaned. “Uh, my security application was never submitted, I can’t even access System to System’s public website from our network! I can’t book the flight!”

“Who the…” Primath squeezed once again, “...who forgot to do that?”

“Uh…so I report directly to you…”

“Nevermind, that’s not important,” Primath closed his eyes and inhaled, “Canis Charter, give them a call, tell them we need a flight now and give them my name. You got my company card info?”

“N-no, I d-”

“Dammit, Garrick, you’re my assistant!” Primath slowly inhaled once more, imagining the sudden jolt of anger fading into a still pool of water. “Alright, no problem, just use your own card and I’ll pay you back later with interest.”

“S-sir, I’m supposed to be using that for part of a down payment on an apartment this weekend, I-”

“I’ll pay for it! Just do it, Gary! I’ll transfer it all and more, I’ll suck your cock, okay? Ever had your cock sucked by a Regulian?”

Primath stuck his tongue out and pointed at the barbs carpeted across it, “It’s like a whole new world, you’ll love it. Get that ship booked and I’ll make you cum so hard! End call.”

The speakers went silent and Primath leaned back, staring out the window with a smug smile. The world blurred by as the limo rumbled down the road well over the speed limit. A Regulian Guard’s car saw them pass but it did not pursue.

They know who spices their meat.

Primath tapped the speaker button with his claw, “I was just kidding when I said I’d suck his cock, you know?”

The driver did not reply.

“Damn!” Uloth snarled as the limo sped away off into the distance.

For a moment, Uloth pondered running after them. He was in prime shape, having aced his regular physical exercises in the military even after getting his commission, with enough red lights he could have made it.

But no, he needed to think smart and conserve his energy. Uloth had sent his driver home. He could have called up another company car, but who knew how long that would take. He needed a vehicle now, not ten minutes later.

Narrowing his eyes, Uloth scanned the cement jungle surrounding him.

Ambulance. No, terrible optics.

Unlocked cars? No, that would be a crime and there was an unmarked car loitering around parked at the head of the parking lot with a Vulpeculan lounging around in it. That screamed being an undercover Claw Agent, the last thing Uloth needed today.

A white Regulian Guard car came sliding along the road.

Perfect.

“Hey!” Uloth shouted and took after the car, waving his arms around.

The Guard, a portly Regulian, looked over in Uloth’s direction, his eyes widening. The car began to speed up, but as a result of poor maintenance and budget cuts, the acceleration was not enough to prevent Uloth from catching up and opening the passenger door.

“Freeze!” the Guard reached for his pistol and slammed on the brakes.

“Colonel Uloth t’Osgar of the Regulian Army, I need to commandeer this vehicle,” Uloth sat down, shaking the suspension of the car, without any regard.

“Fuck…” the Guard hissed and released his grip on his holster, “...sir, the Claw is going to ream our asses if they find out about this.”

“It’s okay, we’ll donate to make up for any budget cuts,” Uloth slapped his palm on the dashboard, “get me to the spaceport, it’s urgent.”

With a silent sigh, the Guard shifted gears and stepped on the pedal. The car quaked constantly as it stormed down the road, lights and sirens flashing.

Whipping out his personal datapad, Uloth connected a pair of earbuds to the audio port and clipped them to his ears.

“Hey, Snow,” Uloth spoke as the video feed began to load, “gonna need you to do me a favor.”

The video suddenly flicked to life. A single hoof appeared, the camera pointing upwards at it as if it were on a pedestal above Uloth. Uloth paused, admiring the perfectly smooth hoof, not a single blemish nor indent marking its flawless curvature. Thick, white feathering covered it, granting it the slightest semblance of modesty.

Uloth could smell the heady aroma of his slave wafting into his nostrils.

“Lotus!” Uloth blurted out and the hoof suddenly kicked the chair out from under it. The camera cut out for a second and when it returned, Snow appeared, sitting atop their bed with a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Yes, master?” Snow bowed his long face and closed his eyes. “I am at your service.”

“Need you to book a charter flight to Haven, use any company, it just has to be now.”

“Not the company ship?”

“No,” Uloth gritted his teeth, there was no question Primath got it first, “no, go straight to the charters.”

The sight of a black limo coasting along the road just up and to the left caught Uloth’s attention.

“Text me the details, let me know asap!”

Uloth ended the call and tapped the Guard on the shoulder, pointing at the limo.

“That’s my brother,” Uloth rumbled, “let's give him a little scare. Speed up.”

“I don’t want any trouble,” the Guard said, but complied, stepping on the pedal with more weight.

“Don’t worry, it’s all under my orders,” Uloth tapped the dashboard as soon as the nose of the car was a few inches ahead of the limo’s. “Maintain speed…”

“Sir, if you’re-”

Uloth snatched the wheel and swung it hard to the left. The Guard shrieked as the driver’s side swiped the nose of the limo, sending it spinning off into the greenway between the two sides of the road. The limo tried desperately to continue moving but succeeded only in kicking up dirt behind its wheels.

“Ha!” Uloth saluted mockingly. “We’re gonna make it, soldier!”

Quroth exited the hospital and sighed. His ride was gone.

After stopping to help both the nurses clean up their schedules and a janitor mop up the floor, both victims of his brothers’ rushes to be first to the spaceport, Quroth considered this to be just another string of problems he had to overcome.

Not that he was in any rush, mind you, his brothers would be spending quite some time doing nothing but waiting to arrive at Haven and Quroth, although tempted at first to follow in their path, decided that it would be better to stay.

Quroth’s datapad rumbled and he clipped on a wireless headphone to his ear and answered it.

“How’s your father,” Ilaya’s voice whispered.

“Awful,” Quroth frowned and walked along the sidewalk leading to the main road, “I don’t think he’s gonna make it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No,” Quroth shook his head, “no, that’s not…not needed.”

“I know, but…” Ilaya sighed, “...I don’t know what else to say.”

“Where are you?” Quroth asked. “The limos gone.”

“I took transit home and left the driver there,” Ilaya swallowed. “Sorry, I thought you’d be awhile.”

“No, it’s okay,” Quroth bit his lip and hissed. “Fuck! The drugs!”

“I doubt whoever took the limo will care, it’s not like any of it is controlled.”

“Nah, not that, just don’t need those fucks bringing it up. Taxi!” Quroth shouted at a passing taxi which snubbed him. Putting a distinct whine on his voice, Quroth continued. “Oh, he’s back on the drugs again, can’t be trusted! Dad’s on liver number two but Quroths out of control again, time to ship him off to Peaceful Mind again while we pick apart dad’s legacy!”

“Peaceful Mind wasn’t that bad, we had some good times there. The food was nice too.”

“Taxi!”

A yellow van hummed towards the sidewalk and Quroth opened up the door, letting himself in.

“Where to?” the Vulpeculan driver had a steel collar around his black-furred neck. Property of the company.

“System to System HQ,” Quroth closed his eyes as he sank back into the soft, plastic seat.

“Damn, you work there or something?” the driver sniffed and stepped down, the electric van whirring as it swept back into traffic. “How much they pay? Enough to cover the loss of your soul?”

A tiny cross dangled from the rear-view mirror, it was from some kind of human religion that caught on among the Vulpeculans, especially the poor and enslaved ones. Which tended to be most of them.

“Dunno, don’t think it was worth much to begin with,” Quroth sighed. “Sure as hell not worth what they pay me.”

“Yeah, I know how it is, stuck-up pricks like the t’Osgars. Ya make them bullion and they give ya a coin,” the driver pulled at his collar. “Well, at least you get a coin.”

Quroth looked into the rear-view mirror. His mane was covered in knots and tangles, and somehow his skin was pale enough it was visible past his coat of fur. He didn’t make a lot of public appearances compared to his siblings, but if it weren’t for his unkempt appearance he might have been recognizable.

“You see that interview the oldest one of those cubs did? Phew…” the driver snickered.

“What if I told you I was a t’Osgar?”

“Buy my freedom and I’ll believe ya.”

Leaning forward, Quroth read the driver’s license hanging from the back of his seat.

“Okay, Driver-456…shit, they don’t even give you names?” Quroth shook his head. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Don’t fuck with me, that’s not funny,” the Vulpeculan peered back with his teeth bared.

“Alright, fine.”

Quroth looked out the window and a black stain on the dry grass caught his attention.

“Stop the car, I’ll get out here.”

“We’re not even close,” the driver said but complied, pulling over to the side.

“Nah, I see someone I know.”

Quroth reached into his pockets and took out a handful of crowns, far more than what would be needed for the trip and placed it in the Vulpeculan’s outstretched paw.

“Here,” the Vulpeculan passed a tiny booklet made of cheap paper, “the good word. Worth more than gold.”

The pamphlet had a black and white image of a human with a beard and long hair standing defiantly, a sickle in one hand and a hammer in the other. A star hung in the night sky above him.

“Er…thanks,” Quroth slipped the pamphlet into his pocket and exited the taxi without another word.

“God bless!” the driver called out before taking off.

Stepping off of the road, Quroth walked along the tire tracks trailing across the dirt towards the black limo. A tire was popped and one of the company drivers, dressed in a black veil covering his or her features, was assembling a jack.

“Hey!” Quroth called out to the driver. “Who’s in the limo, Primath?”

The driver did not regard him, Quroth didn’t expect him to. The drivers were even more secretive and creepy on the rare occasion they were actually seen. The first time Quroth saw one as a child he thought they were ghosts.

Returning the indifference to the driver, Quroth went up to the door and tapped the window.

“Hey, bro!” Quroth called out. “Had a little accident?”

The door clicked.

Quroth waited for it to open but when it did not, he took the initiative and pulled the door open.

Much to Quroth’s surprise, he did not find one of his brothers waiting there, but Valerie, sitting with perfect posture and her palms folded across her lap.

“Well, well…” Quroth slipped in and sat down next to the human. “Just the person I was looking for.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” Valerie took out a silver case, flipped it open and pulled out a cigarette.

“It’s true, I was in a taxi on the way to the office when I saw your limo,” Quroth stretched his arms behind his back. “Must be fate.”

Valerie blinked, “I see.”

“What do you mean?”

“Quroth, if you’re attempting to use your presumed charms on me, I must make it clear that of all of your siblings, you are the least likely to seduce me and that is saying a lot,” Valerie slipped the cigarette between her lips and continued while Quroth was stunned. “You smell like a wet rug and simply even touching your paw would make me fear I’d overdose on painkillers.”

“Uh…” Quroth blinked, “...I was not leading in that direction, but thanks for letting me know I’m the most hideous of the t’Osgars, glad to be the swamp creature of the family.”

“Please, I’ve been among Regulians far more than my own kind, I know when a dominance play is underway,” Valerie cupped her cigarette and lit it with a gold-plated lighter. Clapping the lighter shut, she took a drag and blew smoke off to the side. “Do you really expect me to spread my legs and submit?”

“Fuck no,” Quroth retched. “You smell like dad, you know? Mixed with your own disgusting human scent, you smell like his rotting corpse.”

“Huh…” Valerie sniffed and twiddled with her cigarette, “...that sounded sincere.”

“Yeah, I sure as fuck didn’t seek you out for that.”

“So what is your plot then?”

Quroth shrugged, “Figured we might be able to work something out.”

“There is no bargaining with your father’s wishes and I intend to execute them to the letter.”

“Never said anything like that!” Quroth rolled his eyes. “You gotta stop jumping to conclusions.”

“Then get to it, what do you propose?”

“Well, do you know where my siblings are? What they’re doing right now?”

“Perhaps I do, perhaps I don’t.”

“So you don’t, glad we cleared that up,” Quroth clapped his paws together. “You’re sharp as a tack, but not perfect. A little free advice for lying: if you’re gonna do the whole ‘maybe, maybe not,’ thing, always keep in mind what the other person will jump to as a presumption.”

“Perhaps I’m doing that right now.”

“And now your lie is getting too complicated. Take it from someone who knows a thing or two about lying to siphon money out of my trust fund, I know my shit.”

“Suppose I don’t know about your siblings' movements,” Valerie took a drag, this time blowing smoke straight in Quroth’s face. “What value would what they are doing right now serve me?”

“I can guarantee you’d love to know and could easily benefit from it,” Quroth placed his fight against his heart. “I swear it, for what it’s worth. And I want you to swear that if it is as juicy as I promise, you’ll let me join Team Valerie.”

“There is no…” Valerie’s mouth curled as she chuckled, “...Team Valerie.”

“Sure, sure, we’re all just one big, happy family,” Quroth pointed at the human. “Even if you really believe that, you’re still gonna want this info to guard dad’s legacy.”

“Fine,” Valerie stubbed her cigarette out. “But in addition to this information, I’m going to need your board vote for the emergency CEO.”

“For who?”

“Doesn’t matter who, you’re voting for him. Do that and keep the information coming, and we’ll see about getting you what you want out of this. What is it, anyways? Extranet operations? The media division? Jolt?”

Quroth froze for a second.

“I’ll tell you when the time is right.”

“Very well, first things first,” Valerie crossed her arms. “If your brother’s activities aren’t juicy enough, no deal.”

“They’re heading to Haven to pick a fight with Daglow,” Quroth crossed his arms, mimicking the human. “Find out what secrets dad might have written about, they’ll be busy transiting and arguing that they won’t be paying attention to matters back on Regulus Prime.”

“Liar,” Valerie shook her head, “none of the company ships have been booked. I’ve been keeping an eye on them.”

“Maybe they haven’t done it yet; charter?” Quroth leaned back and stretched his legs. “But that’s what they’re doing, right now, as we speak.”

“A Guard car did run us off the road,” Valerie peered out the tinted window. “I couldn’t get a good look, but that does scream Uloth.”

“Sounds about right,” Quroth said. “So, this a tasty enough morsel for you?”

“Delicious.”