Over the next few days, Sardius’ men dismantled portions of the space station where the orbital security team had their offices.  The technology was wiped and given a hard reset.  Sardius let bits of the old technology float in space for a few days while he upgraded their system with new technology.  Sardius assigned new men to work on the station filling every vacancy in the security system.  When he was finished, the only person on the station from the old team was Temptic, who did not understand everything Sardius was doing, but was willing to learn.  

Jenna had not seen Sardius since she had been aboard his station.  Occasionally, Ixy would go silent and Sardius would replace her in Jenna’s ear speaking to her about what he was doing.  He was usually floating in space as he replaced cameras in the space station.  

However, their conversations were not exactly romantic.  

“How much are you paying the new recruits?” Jenna wanted to know.

“I’m not paying them.  At least, I’m not paying them from my financial reserves.  I gave them the jobs of people who used to be part of the orbital security team.  The Octavian’s are paying them.  However, I’m still your chief of security and I’m still getting a paycheque.  I’m just the one telling the Octavians who to pay,” he explained.  

“What about the people aboard your private station?” she pressed.

“Well, I’m still a thief and I still have my private funds that I ripped off from Don Leo and other dead gangsters,” he huffed.  “I mean to say ex-army officials.  The amount of resources to keep a place like that funded is mind boggling, but I’m not arrogant enough to think that those resources will last forever.  To put it simply, right now I’m not paying any of them anything, but they know the deal.  They know we have food, air, water, fuel, and everything we need… for now.  I’m breaking that station up into twelve hunks.  Then I’m going to send a hunk to each of the moons of Octavia Prime and a few other places in the system.  We’ll see how much business I can drum up for orbital security and other such contracts.  Our engagement party will be very important in starting my advertising campaign.”

Jenna made a sound.

“What?  Are you unhappy with that princess?  Do you wish I’d stolen more money?” he asked with a wicked grin she could practically hear over the communication link.

“Not at all.  I didn’t mean to make a sound.  I wasn’t even thinking about you monetizing our love as a problem.  I was actually wondering if your ex-revolutionaries were going to be happy merely doing security after all the action of battle.”

“They weren’t in battle recently.  A lot of them are my people and they were scattered badly when I was sent to prison.  They were knives left in a drawer to rust.”

“And they wouldn’t be happier in their home system?” she pressed.

“Well, a lot of them brought their whole families with them,” Sardius explained with a happy click of his tongue.

“Are you saying that you have women and children aboard your death star?” she asked in disbelief.

“Death star?” he repeated.  “Is that what you’re calling my space station?”

“I guess,” Jenna said, looking out her window.  She couldn’t see the shape of the station from the surface of Octavia Prime, but at night she could see a light like a particularly bright star hanging in the sky.

“It’s called the Silviox 964, but that’s such a cumbersome name and we’re cutting it apart anyway.  It was a piece of army equipment we hijacked in the height of our revolution.  We’re giving all the individual stations names when we’re finished.  I think they’re all getting the names of famous Bonemen, so the one that stays here will be named after me.”

“They’re naming it The Sardius?”

“No.  They’re naming it something with the word vertical in it because Veritacalus is my last name and they think they’re being clever.  It’s only in honor of me and they don’t want to give it a cumbersome name.  They also don’t want to turn it into a bull’s eye for anyone who’s annoyed with me.”

“That got you in trouble in the past?” Jenna asked with her tongue in her cheek.

“Yes, Lover.  However, even though I brought several thousand people with me, I only brought about two percent of the number of people who followed me at my height.  These people are very devoted.  They’re the people who wish I had taken leadership on my home planet.  I wouldn’t and actually, just between us, I would never want to do that.  Refusing that role consistently has been one of the things that has kept me alive.”

“Really?”

Sardius did not explain the likelihood of his key player revolutionary buddies putting a gun to his temple when they thought no one was watching.  Instead, he talked about the more mundane side of that problem.  “Governing doesn’t suit me.  I wouldn’t even be interested in your job.  A time or two I have been worried that you’d get it into your adorable brain case that I might make a good diplomat, since you’re so shy on people to crown.”

“I never thought of it,” Jenna replied breezily.

“Really?  Not even once?” 

“Yes, Lover,” she answered back, mimicking him from earlier.  “I do want to eat your heart and steal your whole life from under your nose, but it never occurred to me to crown you.  I always just wanted you for myself.”

Sardius chuckled and clicked his tongue.  “Steal my whole life out from under my nose?”

“Isn’t that what love is?  If you’re with me doing all this stuff, you won’t be able to do anything else.  I’m kind of a total commitment,” Jenna explained.

“Well, I would rather be doing you than anything else,” he said ruefully.

Jenna chuckled.

“Sorry to change the subject, since I love the idea of doing you so much, but I’m sending you down security personnel to fill in every vacancy.  So, Celestina and Scion don’t need any guards, but Excelyn and Philip do (since Crimp needs a vacay), Iker does, and you do.  I’ve been figuring out who to give the positions to of my boys who want to keep their muscles.  You need three guards at each palace, so I’m sending you two because I’m going to take the first position myself.”

“Isn’t that a little low for you?” she asked coyly.  “You’re in charge of everything.  Does it even make sense for you to come down here when you’re managing a whole army?”

“I already explained that the Silviox is getting broken up.  Temptic will manage the station and the new orbital security team, but my station will be managed by one of my followers… Just like the eleven other stations.  You’re not the only one with an HR nightmare on their hands.”

“But you’re not sitting around managing resumes.  You’re hanging on the outside of a space station.”

“Right,” he agreed.  “Because I love myself.  I have associates who are better at managing that stuff than I am.  I can leave most of that work to them.  Besides, it’s fun for the boys to work with me while I’m up here since I won’t be up here for long.”

“Then why are you talking to me?” Jenna fumed.  “Shouldn’t you be regaling them with your witt and banter instead of chatting up your fiance.”

“Good point.  I should go.  See you soon, Lover.”

She said goodbye and got Ixy back in her ear.  

“Celestina wants to talk to you on video chat,” Ixy said in a bored drawl.

Normally, Celestina would have come over and curl up on Jenna’s couch for a good chat, but Jenna had separated her palace along with the Rainmaker Palace in preparation for Rold’s visit.  The arms dealer told her to keep the porch light on, so he could arrive at any moment.  So, she was nowhere near the Sun Palace.

The screen clicked on with Celestina’s bright face.  “Hey, Sweetie!”

“Hey, Sunshine Girl.”

“So,” Celestina began, clicking her tongue to prepare to give bad news. “Josh got Sardius’ reel of you and him and your engagement and he didn’t tell me about it until he had finished preparing the entire engagement announcement.  I have to tell you that I don’t think it looks great for you to marry Sardius so soon after you married Favel.”

“Isn’t there something we can say to smooth it over?” Jenna complained, letting her head fall back on her pillows.

“No.  I think to make this look the best, you’re going to have to wait at least a year.”

Jenna snorted.  “Suits me just fine.  It’s not like I can marry anyone with a forcefield guarding my personal space so carefully.”

“Also,” Celestina said disapprovingly, “these film clips Sardius sent leave much to be desired.  I know you were limited in what you could film because he can’t touch you and I know you absolutely have to announce your engagement immediately no matter how it looks, but they’re not great.  Josh did what he could.”

“Is that why he didn’t tell you anything about it?” Jenna wondered.  “Was it because the clips were shoddy and he was hoping to turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse?”

“I’ve never heard that expression before, but it very accurately describes the challenge Sardius gave Josh.  Naturally, it didn’t work out.  Neither of you look very good.  Can’t Sardius come down so Josh can film him?  I know he won’t be able to make a collection of pictures like what he did for you and Favel, but—”

Celestina was interrupted.  It was Josh.  He was behind her and he was yelling things.  

Jenna gawked at the screen until Josh came into full view.  He put his face right up in the camera.  “Who says I can’t do as well with you and Sardius as I did with you and Favel?”

“Celestina did,” Jenna supplied meekly.

“Like hell I can’t!” he stormed.  “It won’t be the same kind of photoshoot, but even if you two can’t touch each other I can still get a collection of shots that are just as good.  I just need to be more creative and who the hell ever said that I couldn’t rise to the challenge?”  He glared down at Celestina, who was shrinking under the weight of his gaze.

Jenna had to come to Celestina’s rescue.  “There isn’t much time, Josh.  I would hate to put too much pressure on you when it isn’t a straightforward fashion shoot.”

“Do not tell me what I can and cannot do.”  Josh leaned in and said to the camera and Jenna menacingly.  “Jenna, you call up your little Boneman and you tell him that if he wants to announce his engagement to you, he has to come down and get engagement pictures.  What he sent me was subpar, even for him.  He thinks you two glaring at each other is cute and sexy in a way that everyone will enjoy.  He’s dead wrong.  I’m refusing to give my authorization until I take the pictures myself.”  Josh huffed, straightened and stalked out.

Alone, Jenna asked Celestina meekly, “Can he do that?  Does he have some kind of authorization that I don’t know about?”

“Uh…” Celestina said nervously.  “About that… You can release whatever press package you want, Jenna, but if you do, there will be consequences.”

“What kind of consequences?” 

“For starters, you might not give the public the right impression of Sardius and that might matter a lot when dealing with the AAMC or the customers Sardius is hoping to poach from the AAMC.  It might soil your reputation as well.  I mean, you’re already a deeply controversial figure, Jenna.  Wouldn’t it be better if you let Josh have a whack at it?  He might be able to improve everything with the touch of his camera lens,” Celestina pleaded.

“You know,” Jenna said, taking a moment to bite her lips to stop the laugh from escaping.  “You make a very convincing argument, but it just occurred to me that I might piss off Josh bad enough that he might not be helpful in the future and that is enough for me to give the man what he wants.”

Celestina visibly relaxed.  

“I’ll tell Sardius,” Jenna said, realizing that she had become Josh’s errand girl.