Veetans live (tops) around 25 years, but begin their grand "walk-abouts" around 3 or 4. So Nosh's grandfather has about 22 years of space travel behind him.
The current emperor, Fernando's uncle, and the one we've met in the strip, has only been in power for a few months.
The previous emperor, Fernando's grandfather, was the one the elder Veetan served under.
But if Elder Veetan served under Fernando's grandfather before he was Emperor, yet only has 22 years of Space Travel, how long was Fernando's grandfather's reign? Does the Familia have a high emperor turnover rate due to its large size and all the coups d'etat?
But how did they get to the Denny's ??
Last night, it suddenly dawned on me that Nosh early on says that the current emperor is nephew of his predecessor. If this is true, Fernando is not his nephew, but rather his cousin once removed. (If he is his nephew, the current emperor would be son, not nephew, of his predecessor, which would add parricide to regicide.)
Anyway, assuming that they are indeed first cousins once removed, then if the Empire uses primogeniture rather than proximity of blood to determine the line of succession, Fernando actually has a better claim to the throne than the current emperor does! Does this explain why he was one of those accused of "Cavorting with regicide", and will this come into play later?
