Philip groaned.  “I am not an Adamis doctor.  I’m an Octavian doctor, Jenna.  There are Adamis doctors on this planet.  Please, let me call one.”

“What are you so afraid of?” Jenna asked recklessly.  “It’s not like you treated Rennett.  You only examined him.  You can’t be guilty of any kind of malpractice.  You didn’t give him any drugs or perform any surgery on him.”

“Exactly!  He needs both drugs and surgery!” Philip said loudly.  

“Oh.  Well, why didn’t you say so?” she asked, sounding remarkably reasonable, considering what she had put Philip through for the past few hours.

Jenna’s first step had been to have Rennett looked at by a doctor.  The closest one to Jenna at that exact moment had been Excelyn, who was sitting exactly behind Jenna when they watched Sardius interrogate Rennett and Scion.  However, the pink-haired diplomat had immediately shoved the task off onto her new husband.  He had resisted, but she promised she’d insult him just once as a way of showing her gratitude since she was an old woman and she was going to fall asleep in the next twenty minutes whether she liked it or not.

True to her word, she didn’t make it to the end of the second interrogation.

In the present, Philip gave his recommendation.  “Whatever you decide, Jenna, whether you crown him or not, you can’t fire this man into space. The inertia will kill him.  I think the AAMC was hoping you would kill him.  He has to stay on Octavia Prime for the rest of his life.  He’ll never be well enough to leave.”

“Okay.  Get him a doctor as soon as possible,” Jenna relented

“I know someone good,” Philip offered.

Jenna nodded and marched into the room where Philip had put Rennett down to rest.  She sat next to his bed and stared at the old general until he woke up.

“Hi, Miss Fairchild,” he said, still a little fuzzy after what Sardius fed him the night before. 

Jenna smiled.  “How are you feeling?  Are you feeling well enough to have a conversation with me about what’s going to happen next?”

An army man, he would have nodded if his head had been detached.  

Jenna began and hoped that she sounded gentle.  “Listen, the first thing you need to know is that no matter what happens, you can never leave Octavia Prime.”

He jolted up but didn’t get all the way up before something inside him cracked and Jenna had to ease him onto his back.  “Why not?”

“I’m sorry.  You aren’t well enough for space travel and you’re unlikely to be well enough to travel to space again.  Regardless, I’m willing to crown you if you can meet a few of my demands.”

“What are they?”

“You didn’t come off great in your interview with Celestina.  There was a lot of negative talk over social media about your appointment.  But I think I can raise your popularity if you let me control the narrative.  I’m going to write something for you to read to the public that will change everyone’s opinion of you.  I’m going to write something very sentimental that will win over the hearts and minds of everyone who watches TV.  In exchange for my prettying up your image, you will never go on TV again without my permission.  You’ll never give a quote to a reporter or allow anyone to quote you for the rest of your life.”

“That’s a little harsh,” he rasped, again trying to sit up in bed.

Jenna watched him struggle for a moment before offering him a hand,  “It is the only thing of consequence I need from you.  I won’t try to control your voting.  You can vote however you like.  Satisfy your AAMC masters or don’t.  It will be none of my business.  More importantly, I need to control the image of the diplomats that represent the Adamis to the Octavians.  I will not have you undercutting my support for this program.  If you decide to take me up on my proposal, you’ll be given the Waterfall Palace with servants to see to your every need for the rest of your life.”

He looked at Jenna and with that one look, she knew that he had never been offered anything close to that good from the AAMC.

“What happens if I refuse?”

“I’ll enter into talks with the AAMC on your behalf because, as I said, you cannot be removed from this planet.  Your heart won’t take it.  You came here on their orders, and I’ll make sure they pay for your housing here on Octavia, though I cannot promise to secure you luxury.”

He frowned.  “I need to talk to Admiral Denver before I can give you an answer.”

“We’ll arrange for that immediately.  I don’t know his schedule or how easy he’ll be to get in touch with.”

“I’ll get him,” Ixy said over the loudspeaker.

“I’ll leave it to you.”  Jenna got up to leave, gave Rennett a solute that she hoped didn’t come off as pretentious, and left the room.