Chapter Four
New Arrivals
Jenna cracked the knuckles of her right hand. Training her new personal assistant was going to take a lot of patience.
“Are you there, Ixy?” Jenna asked.
“I’m peeing,” Jenna’s new PA said crankily. “Can you give me a minute?”
Jenna bit her tongue.
She had no idea how many human rights violations she’d been guilty of when Sardius had been her personal assistant. She had never noticed when he went to the bathroom or if he ever did. She didn’t notice him sleeping. She didn’t notice him sipping water. She had worked him like a slave and she was still asking for more of him up until the very last moment.
Ixy and Ivy were the two assistants Jenna and Excelyn had managed to get from the Double X Chromosome Prison. Jenna got Ixy and Excelyn got Ivy. Between Jenna and the lamp post, she thought Excelyn got the better of the two girls. Jenna had managed to get five more on standby, and they were training another one named Conrad who was not a woman, but he was sentenced to a life sentence in the Xypher Zone and there was no other prison to put him in for the time being. The warden had asked them to take him on as his role as a personal assistant would keep him away from the other prisoners and stimulate his mind. He took over for Ixy and Ivy for the night shift so the girls could sleep and neither Jenna nor Excelyn needed much in the middle of the night. He was fine to look after both of them during that time period.
Ixy and Ivy were sisters who the warden would allow to bunk together if they would be Jenna and Excelyn’s personal assistants. The upswing was that they were very happy. The downswing was that they talked to each other a lot. As a consequence, Jenna didn’t leave the line open all the time. She only spoke to Ixy when she needed her.
Ixy and Ivy were in jail because they had tried to break a friend of theirs out of jail in the Xypher Zone. Needless to say, it didn’t work out. When they were caught, all their previous crimes came back to haunt them. For their crime spree, they liked to steal drugs and crash starships. The AAMC hated their guts because they didn’t steal the ships they crashed. They partied with pilots and then convinced their dates to let them take the wheel and then they’d steer it into the first thing they saw… usually the platform where the ship was docked—double damage.
Jenna wished she didn’t think that was hilarious, but she did.
The girls were incredibly sober now, but in their hearts, they still wanted to do drugs and crash starships.
The first person Excelyn hired was a bodyguard for her and Jenna to share named Crimps. She was a poison-touch girl with a terrible resume, but Excelyn wanted her badly.
“It’s fine,” Excelyn said, reminding Jenna that everyone had a terrible reputation.
“What if she touches you?” Jenna wondered.
The doctor scoffed. “Do you have any idea how many poisonous Octavians I’ve treated? I’m immune. Besides, her poison doesn’t kill many Adamis races. It just stuns them. Her skills are perfect for us.”
When Crimps arrived at the Stone Palace, Jenna thought she was more interesting than when she had only seen her profile picture. She had short pink hair and experienced wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. When Excelyn talked about her, she made her sound like a baby. Well, she was a baby compared to Excelyn, who was in her eighties. Crimp was older than Jenna. She wore back caps on all her fingers that melded into vine tattoos that went up her hands and forearms.
Jenna welcomed her easily, putting out her hand to shake hers.
Crimps looked at her outstretched hand and huffed out a breath of air. “Don’t shake hands with anyone,” Crimps advised before walking past her to greet Excelyn, who would be her real employer.
Jenna glanced over her shoulder at the poisonous woman. She knew Sardius would have liked her. She could practically hear his phantom approval through her earpiece.
***
Jenna had been ignoring the Octavian media circus that had been happening since she had kissed Favel. It was pretty easy to avoid as the Octavians were not loud people. No octopi were ranting on media outlets about how scandalous it was. What happened is that they would show the clip of Jenna kissing Favel (since it had been filmed), and then they would show an octopus couple reenacting the event as best they could. The Octavians could not get enough of these spectacles and Jenna saw one on a screen anytime she opened her control panel. The top video of the day would be showing and it was always that.
On the Adamis media outlets, commentators were crapping bricks. Whether they approved of what Jenna had done or not, they were all crapping bricks. They were all desperate to know what Jenna’s motive had been. What were her plans? What was she thinking?
No one knew.
And that was how Jenna convinced a reporter to come to Octavia Prime to interview her.
Jenna had chosen the reporter with care. She needed someone specific. Jenna had made a list of qualities. She, Excelyn, Ixy, and Ivy looked people over until they found the right person.
They needed someone who got their job through nepotism. Their reporter needed to be the child of someone pretty important. They needed to be someone who was not taken seriously because they’d had their life handed to them. Someone with pride. Someone with skill who was not being acknowledged because they were so-and-so’s kid. Someone who wanted to do something more… someone who would piss off an entire solar system if they were killed on the sly.
The perfect person was found in Celestina Rouge.
Celestina agreed to come do the interview, surprised the Octavians were willing to charter a starship for her since Octavians did not like frivolous space travel. She was told she could stay in the Sun Palace, the most luxurious of all the palaces.
Jenna had to bite her lips together whenever the superiority of the Sun Palace was mentioned because Vash had now unearthed over a million Liri from her bedroom. Was that what Sardius had been thinking about when he made sure she got the Dahlia Palace? In any case, all the palaces were close in value, but Jenna wondered if the money she found made her palace more expensive.
When Celestina alighted from the pod with a cameraman and a PA, Jenna greeted her with the supermodel act.
Celectina was equal to the situation and came forward with a smile. She was a stunning blonde with hair that brushed her shoulders in a straight sheath, creamy brown skin, and three diamonds in a triangle pattern in her teeth by her canine. She was dressed like a billionaire’s daughter because she was one.
Jenna smiled too. “We are so excited to have you with us.”
“I’m excited to be here too.”
“Let me bring you to my courtyard and we’ll have lunch.”
Jenna needed a few minutes to steel herself for what she had to do. There was a stack of things that had to be accomplished during Celestina’s visit. First, Jenna had to give Celestina an excellent interview that would make her want to cover stories about Jenna and the Octavian/Adamis Alliance. If she got that far, that would be amazing. Asking for the second half of her wish list felt like asking too much.
The two women surface-level chatted while they sipped meal replacement drinks. Apparently, Celestina was not allowed to eat either.
Finally, they sat down for the interview.
Celestina pointed herself toward her cameraman. “I’m sitting down with Octavian/Adamis Alliance diplomat, Jenna Fairchild. Jenna, how do you like it here on Octavia Prime? How does it compare with your home planet, Earth?”
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Jenna smiled and put a hand to her chest. “Nothing can ever replace your home planet in your heart, but I’ve been so moved by the warm welcome the Octavians have given me.”
“We understand that you’re one of the rare people to receive the eight traditional gifts from the Octavians. What have they given you?”
As far as Jenna was concerned, the eight gifts had been a complete flop, but she would never admit that on Interstellar TV. “Wealth and riches may mean a lot to other people, but the greatest gift I’ve been given here on Octavia Prime is the friendship of the Octavian Council’s chair, Favel. Getting to know him has been the highlight of this incredible change in my life.”
“There has been quite the stir speculating as to what your relationship with him might be. There has been far juicer footage of you with Favel than with your ex-husband, Armen.”
Jenna nodded. “Yes. It was a shame that Armen and I could not have fallen in love, but since love turns in all sorts of ways, it was wonderful that his love turned toward Lucy.”
That was the moment that Celestina turned into a vicious reporter on Jenna. “But how can you know for yourself whether or not their love is flourishing? You haven’t been to Octavia Five to see for yourself, have you?”
Jenna was unphased. “I felt that visiting would be rather indelicate. Not only are they on their honeymoon, but Lucy is also expecting. I thought they would prefer to be alone during this time. They’re busy and so am I. There are so many diplomats that need to be crowned and that is a responsibility I cannot neglect. It feels like bad timing all around. ”
“Information about the AAMC candidates that visited your home has been littered with gossip and conjecture. Can you tell us any details about that conflict?”
“The AAMC majors who were here for interviews entered my palace armed without my permission and destroyed public and private property. I have received no apology from the AAMC and those majors have received no censure from the AAMC. I have informed Admiral Lou Denver that if they are not dismissed for disorderly conduct, I shall not entertain the idea of crowning a delegate from the AAMC.”
“That behavior doesn’t sound much like the AAMC officers I know. Care to elaborate?”
Jenna considered her words carefully. “Perhaps it would be better if I showed you footage taken by my security team of them entering my room and the damage they caused.”
The clip Jenna allowed to be displayed had been doctored to hide the bits of money that were visible in the brick pile, but otherwise, it was factual.
“What a mess!” Celestina agreed. “But did you invite them inside your bedroom?”
“Certainly not.”
“They’re saying you did.”
“Yet, I was not there when they entered,” she said coolly. “Their story that I invited them inside does not explain why they tore up my carpet or broke holes in my walls. Also, it doesn’t explain why my PA thought I was in danger and had me jettisoned from the palace. I’m sure it’s well known that I spent that night in Favel’s underwater mansion.”
“Which is when this happened,” Celestina said before turning to the camera and smiling. She stopped and turned to Jenna. “That’s when we’ll play the clip of you kissing Favel.”
Jenna nodded.
Celestina raised her eyes from the tablet she was taking notes from. “You know, you’re being pretty cool about all this,” she said as an aside.
“Thank you.”
“What were you thinking when you kissed Favel?” she asked without skipping a beat and Jenna knew the interview was back on.
“It’s difficult to explain that feeling of fear… when your own military turns against you. When you find yourself taking solace in a person you hardly know and witnessing their compassion toward you. Favel offered me comfort the night I had to flee my palace. His practical intervention on my behalf as well as his words comforted me. I haven’t felt that kind of closeness with another person in the flesh since I left Earth.”
That was true. She hadn’t felt closer to anyone other than Favel in the flesh since she left Earth. She felt a fresh stab in her chest over the loss of Sardius.
“There’s speculation that he’ll ask you to marry him. Have you thought about whether or not you’d be willing to accept Favel as your second husband?” Celestina continued.
Jenna had coached herself, and she was prepared to answer this question with ease. “I know the word ‘marry’ leaves people confused about what the relationship between an Octavian and an Adamis could be when our bodies are so different. Marriage seems to imply a sexual relationship instead of just a friendship that has been sealed with legal agreements. Adamis don’t usually make their friends sign agreements stating that they will always be friends and that their affection toward each other will not change, no matter what happens. However, the Octavians have a beautiful tradition of loving more than one person without precisely defining what relationship they have. If Favel were to ask me to be his best friend forever, I would accept because I want our relationship to be sealed in gold. I want it to be the kind of friendship that never tarnishes.”
Jenna smiled at the camera before glancing back at Celestina.
“Josh, turn off the camera. I need to talk to Jenna privately,” the reporter said with a snap.
The cameraman flicked off his camera and went into the house so fast that Jenna wondered if he had to go to the bathroom.
“What the hell are you thinking?” Celestina asked, dropping her reporter demeanor. “You can’t marry an Octavian before you marry an Adamis. Marrying one at all risks alienating the Adamis from more sectors than just the AAMC. Why are you taking such a crazy risk?”
“Look, I didn’t scream it for the camera, but there isn’t any confusion about what the AAMC soldiers were doing in my bedroom. They broke in to steal the diplomatic crowns. I made the mistake of inviting six AAMC officers for interviews. They were going to crown all six of the officers attending themselves. There’s no magic or technology that says it has to be me who crowns the diplomats. If they had done so, every decision that came up would have been solved exactly the way the AAMC wants it because they would have had a three-fourths majority vote every single time.”
Celestina squared her shoulders. “And who are you to say that what the AAMC wants isn’t what’s right for all Adamis? You just got here!”
Jenna tightened her smile. Celestina had been taught Lou Denver’s line of debate, but she knew she could crush it with the right words.
“I had no problem crowning some of the AAMC guys,” Jenna shot back. "I had them over to interview them. I was more than happy to crown a few of them, but six? Don’t you want to see more points of view represented than just theirs?”
Celestina cleared her throat. “The AAMC represents more interests than just theirs.”
Jenna leaned forward. “Do they represent yours?”
“A little bit,” the reporter replied. “If it wasn’t for them, we’d never get reporters anywhere. They’re far easier to deal with than the Octavians.”
Jenna leaned further forward. “Are you sure you want the AAMC to be your middleman?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Jenna chuckled. “We did not bring you here for you to interview me. I could have done an interview without you and I bet my people could make me look just as pretty for the camera as your boy, Josh, can.”
For the first time, Celestina started to squirm. “What do you want?”
Jenna leaned back comfortably. “We’ve been studying you. You are here for me to interview you.”
“For what?” Celestina gasped.
“For a diplomat position. I brought you here to see if you were interested in being crowned yourself.”
Celestina’s mouth fell open in complete shock. “Why?”
Jenna continued, “So, you were saying, the AAMC represents your interests? How easy are they to work with? What do they ask for in return? Is it easy to meet their needs so they can meet yours? Do your people like them? Think like them?”
Celestina couldn’t answer.
Jenna went on. “I want to do more for you than provide a direct link to the Octavians. I want to give you the Sun Palace and let you do broadcasts about yourself and whatever we’re working on as a committee.”
“Isn’t most of that supposed to be secret?”
Jenna shook her head. “Most of it isn’t. I’ve been asking questions on this topic as well. From what I’ve understood, it’s only confidential when we’re fleshing out the details of treaties, but they have to be public knowledge while they are being debated and signed. In the end, anyone who is interested should have access to pretty much everything we do. I think the public would like to hear about treaties and trade agreements from someone like you. Someone beautiful. Someone with a long family history of reporting the news and entertaining viewers. Not only that, but I’ve seen about a dozen interviews with you where you speak of how you long to be taken seriously. This is something you can do all on your own. It’s something you can just decide to do and then do without the backing of your family or anyone else. It would turn the tables.”
“You don’t sound like you’re interviewing me,” the reporter realized. “You sound like you’re offering me the job.”
Jenna smiled. “I am offering you the job.”
Celestina’s jaw moved like she wanted to talk, but for the first time in her life, she didn’t know what to say.
“Don’t answer right now,” Jenna amended. “Come with me. We’ll tour the Sun Palace and then I’ll take you over to the Stone Palace and you can meet Excelyn.”
The sun was just setting as they crossed the bridge that led to the Sun Palace. Palm trees in the distance made beautiful silhouettes near the blinding glint of the sun’s reflection off the water.
“Wait, Jenna,” Celestina stalled, putting up a hand in a question. “How did you leave everything on Earth? You must have left a lot?”
Jenna shrugged. “No. I didn’t, but they did offer me a really handsome man to get me off-world. It was such a shame that it didn’t work out for me. It wasn’t until I started doing this job that I realized how much meaning it had. You must believe me. I am trying to build a stable number of voters for the Alliance. I want different views. That is all. We’ll probably get an AAMC guy crowned at some point. Maybe more than one.”
“Can I recommend one?”
“Absolutely. If you know one of them who isn’t a rock or a piggy, I’m very interested in meeting them.”