The hottest television programme in America aired outside of prime time or daytime, in an otherwise limited viewership time slot of late night, Saturday night.

Broadcast at midnight, Irreverence’s calling card was spontaneity, with lines that were frequently not holding to the script, coupled with a quality complement of staff actors and a high dose of irreverence, resultingly producing the ratings-shattering hit.

Much discussion ensued before llhaesa notified Sarah Willingham, producer of her upcoming tour of her and Jahrae’s acceptance of the request to appear on the programme.

Jahrae felt apprehensive, unsure whether it was wise for a new diplomat, with no record of accomplishment, to appear on a comedy programme. Llhaesa, a veteran of performing, had no issue with the appearance, with the comedy element not bothering her. Llhaesa’s expertise was in music, not comedy, and she was happy to let the professionals handle shaping that element.

In the end, Jahrae agreed to appear with her wife, if nothing else the appearance would provide a nice segue into the state reception at the White House four days later.

For llhaesa, the appearance would allow her to perform musically with M’traliel, testing their new material.

Broadcast from Los Angeles, the partners, along with M’traliel and Khahishra, used Chekresu to journey westward, making the trip in a decidedly turtle-like, at least for Chekresu, half hour.

While the show’s staff wished them to be on hand for a couple of days of rehearsal time, llhaesa consented to one day plus day of show only, due to her and Jahrae’s work schedule.

The plan was for the couple to do an opening dialogue that made use of their natural inclination to tease one another, with participation in one skit, and llhaesa performing twice.

Practise proved scripted, and the apprehension Jahrae felt increased, for the planned opening dialogue did not feel right, not like her usual banter with llhaesa.

With the show broadcast from Los Angeles, airtime was at nine pm Pacific time. The countdown began; the light went red, with the couple walking out onstage, ready to face an uncertain fate.

“Good evening, everyone!” llhaesa went first, giving Jahrae time to get used to the environment onstage. “My wife and I accepted the invitation to appear before you tonight, mainly because it helps fulfil our quota of new gay recruits.”

“Llhaesa,” Jahrae finally spoke, “shall we mention that there are signup booths by each entry point into this theatre, and that failure to sign will result in brainwashing?”

This was an ad-lib response, and it caught llhaesa by surprise. “My love, you should not joke about this matter, people might really believe you would do such a thing.”

“Why shouldn’t they? I did it to you, and had fifteen years of freedom after you were dumped here before someone figured out my ploy!”

“Actually, your plot was known, Jahrae, and it is your memories that are not real. You are actually a guy – after all, you are the parent of the child to be I carry within me.”

“You expect me to believe that story over the basic explanation that you carry a foetus that is the result of genes from two other women? I am sorry, but the latter is the more credible story.”

“I am quite certain the audience does not wish for us to air our dirty laundry in public, as we now do,” llhaesa shot back. At this point, the entirety of their dialogue as ad-lib, the script left far behind.

“Llhaesa, do you mean our soiled undergarments? Surely you jest, for you wear not undergarments now, nor do you ever.”

“Interestingly, Jahrae, you speak of my lack of underwear, but which of us gets in and out of a restroom faster?”

“Because I go into a stall and close the door, llhaesa, and do not simply straddle a washing basin as you did moments before we came on air.”

Llhaesa felt laughter bubbling up inside and it showed on her expression, the audience reacting positively to seeing her struggle to squelch the laughter and continue. “You are just envious your legs are not of sufficient length to do the same!

Shall I share how you, totally naked, chased our dog all about our home?”

“He jumped up on the bed when we were um, otherwise pre-occupied!” Jahrae played along, for in truth, she had happily settled in and not disturbed Pegasus at all. “OK, I concede that point, and wish to ask you about the rumours you will tour and play topless. Please tell me this is not so!”

“That was a reference to the piano, Jahrae, and not to me; the piano will be topless – it is a special design for this tour.”

“Oh, nice save, ‘essa! Admit it, you wish to flash all the gay women out there, and leave them under your mesmerising spell!”

“Is this all it will take?” Llhaesa lifted her tee shirt, under which she wore another that was of her skin one, with breast imagery upon it. The audience roared its approval, with llhaesa lowering her shirt back down as she replied, “My, Earth women are easy! And to think I have spent long hours planting subliminal messages in our music! All I had to do was lift my shirt, go figure.”

“By the way, you took the landing craft to San Francisco the other day without saying a word to me, and I found a receipt in it from Shake, Rattle, and Roll – you know, the legendary sex toy shop in that city? Would you care to explain?”

“What is it you wish me to explain, Jahrae?”

“Well, for one thing, how do I justify on our Arrhazonan government expense account the cost of flying 4100 plus kilometres at a cost of $1,000 per kilometre, this in order to purchase a vibrator? What would a government auditor say?

“Hmmmm, that depends. What is the gender of this auditor?

I needed something for when you do things like chase our dog about the house! It turned out to be a very wise investment!”

“I see. So you blame this need on me, well, perhaps I should share with the audience the child you carry is the spawn of the devil, and not of me!”

“That is most curious Jahrae, given you told me you are the devil.”

“Me? It was you who told me you could spin your head all the way around.”

“I can, watch!” Llhaesa proceeded to do an expert pirouette, while Jahrae looked on, supposedly flabbergasted.

“You did not spin your head; you spun your body around!”

“Did my head not go all the way around, Jahrae, hmmmm?”

Back stage, the producer, hesitant and nervous with the immediate deviation from their script, laughed with each newly delivered line. These two were good at comedic banter, and further, it was obvious the good-natured teasing was something with which both had experience. Their allotted time was almost up, and there was no doubt this proved a successful opening, vital to a live show wishing to hold the attention of viewers into the remainder of the programme.

The banter on stage continued, but Jahrae held the honour of the last line, which she delivered loudly and with physical emphasis, pointing her finger at llhaesa as she called out, “Llhaesa ahrella, you are Irreverent!”

On air, the show segued into its opening credits, while on stage llhaesa and Jahrae bowed to the audience, and then made their way down into the crowd, shaking hands and hugging as they went. They needed to move quickly in order to get backstage, but also to avoid distracting the audience from the doings on stage.

Their next appearance was in the second skit of the show, a skit the staff privately debated whether it was appropriate, not in terms of viewers, but for llhaesa.

The skit involved reprising elements of Brellian’s rape and later torture by government officials here. At one point, Brellian, played by an actor half of a metre shorter than llhaesa, interrupts the rape to get a step stool in order to continue. In the scene featuring torture on this world, the interrogator is looking for some perceived key to successfully picking up women on every attempt.

The assistant producer called and asked Jahrae, who suggested they speak with llhaesa, directly, but that llhaesa would likely sanction the script. Llhaesa agreed, and performed without incident, though Jahrae later confessed her role as play-by-play announcer covering the rape proved personally difficult emotionally.

Twenty minutes into the hour-long broadcast, the programme came out of a commercial break to llhaesa and M’traliel ready to perform at centre stage.

With Jahrae and Khahishra watching from just beyond the curtain off to the left side of the stage, llhaesa opened with a sweet run of piano play, M’traliel joining in with her electric violin after the first phrase.

Astute observers noted that llhaesa wore but open toed socks on her feet, something that would prove important later in the performance.

The two played expertly together, the music tempo accelerating, the melody becoming ever more complex, suggesting an increasing urgency, perhaps of one harried and attempting to outrun closing adversity.

Playing without a supporting band, including a tempo-setting drummer, the music nonetheless had a strong rock feel, yet listeners felt it wreak havoc with their emotions.

Llhaesa’s vocals were superb, carrying a hard edge and great angst, the lyrics speaking of insecurity, of hopelessness. Yet as the song wound down, the lyrics shifted toward hope reacquired, toward achievement, toward ecstasy.

M’traliel demonstrated her peerless skill with the violin, throughout accenting the emotion, redirecting interest, making use of soaring notes and stunningly melancholic strokes during the height of implied tragedy.

Llhaesa pushed the piano bench away, but instead of engaging in her classic manic but brilliantly controlled skater’s spin, she made use of the gentle pirouette used in the programme’s opening dialogue, turning thrice as she moved along the length of the piano, playing the closing notes. She closed out the song by making use of her long legs and athleticism, her unbundled toes providing extra spring as she jumped up into the air, coming down to strike the final note with her feet.

Her balance precarious given her feet were on a short porch that was the keyboard, llhaesa nonetheless held her position for a few seconds, as if a gymnast. She jumped down and hugged M’traliel, and then the two left the stage, arms around one another.

To those observing, the first question spoken post performance was rhetorical: she… is pregnant?”

The second performance twenty minutes later was quite different. Llhaesa at on the edge of the stage, feet dangling over the side, foregoing the piano for vocals only.

M’traliel stood a few feet behind llhaesa, playing slowly, sometimes not at all. Llhaesa sang Forever, Wherever with all of the emotion that went into the song when she first wrote it, and as the song finished, half the audience was either in tears or close to tears.

This earned the musicians a standing ovation, an acknowledgement given to the three Arrhazonans at the end of the programme.

The ride home proved lively, the two couples discussing the music, the skit, and the opening dialogue. Reaching the east coast, llhaesa held her hand up for everyone to quiet, and as they did, each heard a report of a fishing vessel out of Portsmouth that as in trouble in the severe nor’easter blowing up the Eastern seaboard.

Llhaesa radioed the Coast Guard, who quickly indicated the distressed boat and crew were hours away by rescue vessel, andt their helicopters were grounded by the worst storm of the decade. Sharing only that Chekresu could fly out, but needed a rescue team, llhaesa promised to be at the US Coast Guard Sector Northern New England in South Portland, Maine in five minutes.