diff --git a/src/apps/epic/tests/integrated/test_views.py b/src/apps/epic/tests/integrated/test_views.py
index 9f6212c..3680f38 100644
--- a/src/apps/epic/tests/integrated/test_views.py
+++ b/src/apps/epic/tests/integrated/test_views.py
@@ -1792,6 +1792,19 @@ class PickSkyRenderingTest(TestCase):
         self.assertContains(response, 'id="id_pick_sky_btn"')
         self.assertContains(response, 'style="display:none"')
 
+    def test_no_sky_delete_btn_in_blank_sky_select_modal(self):
+        """A fresh PICK SKY modal (no preview wheel rendered yet) must not
+        carry the DEL btn — it would otherwise float in the empty wheel area
+        suggesting there's something to delete when the user has only seen
+        the form. The JS schedulePreview success handler is the contract that
+        injects the btn after the wheel paints — so the rendered HTML should
+        carry no <button id="id_sky_delete_btn"> markup. (The literal string
+        does still appear inside the inline <script> that does the injection,
+        so the assertion targets the rendered attribute syntax, not the bare
+        identifier.)"""
+        response = self.client.get(self.url)
+        self.assertNotContains(response, 'id="id_sky_delete_btn"')
+
 
 # ── SEA_SELECT rendering ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
diff --git a/src/templates/apps/gameboard/_partials/_sky_overlay.html b/src/templates/apps/gameboard/_partials/_sky_overlay.html
index 1cea2bb..bb76e3d 100644
--- a/src/templates/apps/gameboard/_partials/_sky_overlay.html
+++ b/src/templates/apps/gameboard/_partials/_sky_overlay.html
@@ -87,10 +87,12 @@
             </div>
 
             {# ── Wheel column ─────────────────────────────────────── #}
+            {# DEL btn is JS-injected after the wheel paints (see schedule  #}
+            {# Preview success handler) — keeping it out of the template    #}
+            {# means a blank PICK SKY modal can never show a DEL action     #}
+            {# against a non-existent wheel.                                #}
             <div class="sky-wheel-col">
                 <svg id="id_sky_svg" class="sky-svg"></svg>
-                <button type="button" id="id_sky_delete_btn"
-                        class="btn btn-danger">DEL</button>
             </div>
 
         </div>{# /.sky-modal-body #}
@@ -343,6 +345,7 @@
         } else {
           SkyWheel.draw(svgEl, data);
         }
+        _ensureDelBtn();
       })
       .catch(err => {
         setStatus(`Could not fetch chart: ${err.message}`, 'error');
@@ -401,20 +404,26 @@
     window.location.reload();
   }
 
-  // ── DEL btn — clears wheel + form + localStorage (no server hit) ────────
+  // ── DEL btn — JS-injected after the wheel paints; absent on a blank modal
   // PICK SKY's wheel is a live preview; un-saved data lives only in LS_KEY.
-  // Match the My Sky applet / Dashsky pattern but skip the server delete —
-  // there's no Character draft created during preview (sky_save fires only
-  // on SAVE SKY click w. action='confirm').
+  // The btn is created lazily after the first SkyWheel.draw so a blank modal
+  // can never offer a DEL action against a non-existent wheel; clearing the
+  // SVG removes the btn from the DOM entirely (re-injected on next preview).
 
-  // window.showGuard is assigned in a base.html script that loads BELOW the
-  // content block — defer the readiness check to click-time so the listener
-  // bind happens regardless of inline-script execution order.
-  const delBtn = document.getElementById('id_sky_delete_btn');
-  if (delBtn) {
-    delBtn.addEventListener('click', () => {
+  let _delBtn = null;
+  function _ensureDelBtn() {
+    if (_delBtn) return;
+    const wheelCol = document.querySelector('.sky-wheel-col');
+    if (!wheelCol) return;
+    _delBtn = document.createElement('button');
+    _delBtn.type = 'button';
+    _delBtn.id = 'id_sky_delete_btn';
+    _delBtn.className = 'btn btn-danger';
+    _delBtn.textContent = 'DEL';
+    wheelCol.appendChild(_delBtn);
+    _delBtn.addEventListener('click', () => {
       if (!window.showGuard) return;
-      window.showGuard(delBtn, 'Forget sky?', () => {
+      window.showGuard(_delBtn, 'Forget sky?', () => {
         while (svgEl.firstChild) svgEl.removeChild(svgEl.firstChild);
         form.reset();
         latInput.value = '';
@@ -425,6 +434,10 @@
         confirmBtn.disabled = true;
         setStatus('');
         try { localStorage.removeItem(LS_KEY); } catch (_) {}
+        if (_delBtn) {
+          _delBtn.remove();
+          _delBtn = null;
+        }
       });
     });
   }