Alien Legion: Arrows of Artemis

By C.S. Hayden

Alien Legion is the trademarked and copyrighted creative property of Carl Potts as published by Epic Comics/Marvel Entertainment 1984-1993. This is a work of fiction loosely based on the characters of Alien Legion and is unauthorized by its creator Carl Potts.

Plot and additional original characters copyrighted 2002 to Christi Smith Hayden

Arrows of Artemis

XIII. Turning Point

Greelbase present, a few months later...

"So this is where you work," Sarivil said wonderingly as Sarigar escorted her through maze of buildings on Greelbase. "Or is it where you live?"

"Sometimes both," Sarigar commented. "I had no idea that you'd be coming for this symposium that the science division is holding." He nodded to a fellow officer passing them in the corridor. "Did you get my last letter?"

"Yes, and that's one of the reasons that I volunteered to come and present our findings." Sarivil eyed him speculatively. "What's this big favor you wanted to ask me?"

"First, there's someone I'd like you to meet." Sarigar steered her towards the shuttle bays. They came out onto an upper level walkway that rimmed the vast structure containing several shuttles. He narrowed his eyes as he searched through the people milling around on the floor until his face lit up with a smile. "There she is! Come along, Vil."

A slim Jentekian female came around the nose of a shuttle lugging at enormous gun over one shoulder and a box of ammo under the other arm. She was dressed much like the others but her grey shirt was too big for her so she had it knotted in front to show a bit of blue midriff. Sarigar whistled at her and as she came over, Sarivil could see that her shirt had "NOMAD" stamped across it instead of the arrow-and-bow Artemis design like the other females working around her. That, she realized later, should have been her first clue to her brother's intentions.

"Captain Jaikira," Sarigar said as he leaned over the railing to talk to her, "I'd like you to meet someone." He waved her over. "This is my sister, Sarivil. She's giving a report on her findings on Warworld for the science division tomorrow."

"Hi!" Jaikira called up to them, a smudge of grease marring her exquisite face. "I've heard a lot about you!" Sarivil could tell that in spite of her work clothes and general messiness, Jaikira was quite attractive. It was clear to her now that Sarigar had a considerable interest in her and his next words confirmed it.

"I was thinking of inviting Torie and Sarivil to dinner tonight. Would that be all right with you?" he asked Jaikira earnestly. "I know you'd rather it to be just us under the circumstances, but I'd like you and Vil to get to know each other. We might never get another chance like this."

"You've asked Torie?" Jaikira inquired. "Perhaps he could see her home afterwards?" She lowered her eyes demurely for a second. "You know what I expect from you later." She gave him a seductive hint of a smile.

Sarigar grinned in a boyish way that Sarivil hadn't seen in years. "I think that can be arranged, captain. Shall I come by for you at nineteen hundred?"

"I'll try to be ready, major." She waved up at them. "Nice to meet you, Sarivil! See you at dinner!"

Sarivil smiled and returned her wave. She watched Sarigar gaze fondly after Jaikira until she disappeared amongst the activity on the hangar floor. "Well, well," she said finally, "we're a foursome for dinner tonight, are we?"

"As you might have guessed," Sarigar said soberly, "Captain Jaikira and I have been seeing each other." He smiled sheepishly. "We've been together for nearly a full cycle now."

"Really?" Smirking, Sarivil nudged her brother as they stood together overlooking the activity below. "That would explain why she's wearing your shirt, wouldn't it?"

Sarigar cleared his throat and refused to look at her.

Fair-haired Torie Montroc was just as charming as Sarivil remembered from their earlier encounter on Warworld. He'd showed up at her guest quarters looking quite dashing in his dress greens to take her to dinner. They were having such a delightful conversation that they almost didn't notice when Sarigar and Jaikira arrived. Sarivil couldn't help but notice what a handsome couple the two blue-skinned Jentekians made as Sarigar proudly escorted Jaikira through the crowd. The tomboyish officer had transformed herself into an elegant Jentekian lady -- abet one who was wearing a Legion uniform with a thigh-length jacket of silver gray. Her hair had been swept back in a low twist with a few curls artistically arranged along her neck. "Major," Torie said as he stood up to greet them as they approached the table. "Captain Jaikira, always a pleasure."

Jaikira nodded graciously to both Torie and Sarivil as she took her seat. Serendipitously, Sarivil took this opportunity to observe how Jaikira and Sarigar acted towards each other during the course of the dinner. She and her brother had not been on the best of terms over the past few years but she still knew him well enough to tell that he was seriously enamored with the attractive D.I. captain. The looks the two traded told her that they were probably twining tailtips beneath the table, even though they were both entirely engrossed in the conversation at hand.

At one point, the leader of the band that had been playing came over and asked Jaikira to sing. Sarivil was startled when Jaikira accepted and even more stunned when she launched into a popular love song making the rounds on Jentek, accentuating the melody line with a subtle croon.

"She's very good," Sarivil commented to her brother who was gazing raptly at the stage. "It takes years of training to croon like that -- what is she doing in the Legion?"

"I've often asked Kira the same thing." Sarigar laughed without looking away. "She says that she'd rather sing when she feels like it rather than to turn it into a job." He closed his eyes as a particularly pleasurable set of tones filled the chorus. "She'd be like a songbird in a cage, not the nightingale that she is."

Sarivil turned her head and glanced back at Torie with one brow ridge raised to see if this was normal behavior. Hiding a smile, Torie cast an amused look at Sarigar and raised his eyebrows in agreement. Intrigued, she applauded with the rest of the audience and waited as Jaikira made her way back to their table.

Sarigar took her hand the minute Jaikira sat down. "Well done, darling!"

"Oh, I flubbed the middle line," Jaikira said deprecatorily. She paused to take a long drink of water. "Tyra sent me a holo-vid of her last student concert and she did a much, much better job of it." She smiled across the table at Sarivil. "My little sister," she explained. "She's in her third year at the Conservatory of Music."

"I've never heard that song done better," Sarivil commented, "and I've heard several different singers attempt it. It's a delight to hear it so well done."

Jaikira lowered her eyes modestly. "Thank you." She glanced at Sarigar who smiled and squeezed her hand gently.

Sarivil made a great show of examining her wristo. "Dear me," she said with a sigh, "I'm afraid I must cut this evening short. There's a ton of data that I need to review for tomorrow's presentation."

Standing up, Torie took her cue and said, "I'd be very interested in hearing what you've discovered since Nomad was on Warworld." He nodded at Sarigar. "If you'll excuse us, major, captain?"

After exchanging good nights, Torie escorted Sarivil through the restaurant, now more packed as people drifted in to be entertained by the band. As they tried to circumnavigate the crowd, Torie asked, "So, what do you think of the major's lady?" He laughed. "That's what Zeerod dubbed her when she and Sarigar first started dating and the title just stuck."

"I like Jaikira very much," Sarivil commented, "but is she always so formal?"

Torie laughed. "Trust me, Sarivil, normally Jaikira is a real live wire." He paused at the bar and tilted his head at the mirror behind it. "Just wait a minute."

Sarivil eyed the mirror. "What are we looking at?"

"The funny thing about your brother is that he has to be the perfect officer in public. It would go against his image to do anything improper." Torie looked up and grinned. "And yet, Jaikira has managed to get him to do ... this."

In the mirror, they watched Sarigar talking earnestly to Jaikira when he reached over and caressed her cheek, drawing her in for the tenderest, most lingering kiss that Sarivil had ever seen outside of a tri-vid romance. She gasped and stared in astonishment as her strait-laced brother continued to kiss Jaikira with such passion that it was like they were the only two people in the room.

"Oh-kay...," Sarivil said slowly, "who was that and what have you done with my brother?"

"You should ask Jaikira that one," Torie chuckled as he deftly steered her from the restaurant. "Ever since he met her, Sarigar hasn't been the same."

"But even as a child, Sarigar was so serious -- he rarely showed his emotions in public."

"I know -- I've served with him for over eight years." Torie slowed as they walked down the concourse. "Jaikira irritated Sarigar so much when they first met that he put her on report."

"No!" Sarivil cast a sly look at him. "And now?"

Torie grinned roguishly. "Let's put it this way -- Artemis is shipping out in the morning. The next time you see Sarigar, he'll be sleepy and chugging massive amounts of coffee."

"Oh, no!" Sarivil was both shocked and thrilled, unable to hide a delighted grin. "Twisting tails already?"

"They always spend the night together before either one of them goes off on a mission. Sarigar tried to keep it private for a long time, but after Jaikira bullied him into going to Ryssa with her, that changed. He stopped worrying about being affectionate in public and she started being a little more conservative."

"What happened?"

"You know, they've got been a little vague on details, but it involved a red bikini and an aquaball tournament." Torie laughed. "Sarigar has the trophy in his office but otherwise, that's all we know about it. Even her closest friends couldn't get it out of Jaikira and that's unusual."

"Well, well -- sounds to me if my brother wants this big favor from me, he's going to have to tell me the WHOLE story."

* * * * *

Torie had been a little off in his predictions; Sarigar did make his appearance well into the morning but otherwise he seemed perfectly normal. Sarivil managed to hide her surprise as she let him into her guest quarters.

"Can I interest you in some breakfast, big brother?" she asked brightly.

"I had a bite with Kira before she shipped out," he said congenially, "but thanks for offering."

"In that case, perhaps you'd like some coffee?"

The look on Sarigar's face was priceless. He scowled for a moment while she giggled at him. "Despite what you might have been told," he said dryly, "sometimes all Kira and I do is sleep. She just shipped out and we wanted to spend the night together."

"Oh, come on, Gar! We're both adults, and besides, Torie had to tell me something when I looked back and saw you two kissing in the restaurant like that!" Sarivil neatly curled up on a wide sofa and patted the seat besides her. "I had been wondering why you'd insisted on having her meet me. You love her, don't you?"

Sarigar sighed as he sank down next to her. He looked at his sister ruefully. "It shows, doesn't it?"

"Well?"

"I love Kira so much, Vil, that right now it hurts to breathe." He turned his head to look towards the shuttle terminal. "Every time we have to separate because duty calls, I feel like a part of me is missing."

"I'm glad that I got to meet her."

His eyes were sad but he laughed. "You made her so nervous. Kira is normally more outspoken and unpredictable. You have no idea what an effort it was for her to behave like a proper Jentekian lady."

"She's had some etiquette training," Sarivil said approvingly. "I could tell by some of her mannerisms."

"Yes, I think so too," Sarigar agreed. "She doesn't talk much about her family because they disowned her when she joined the Legion but I think they're fairly high caste."

This was an intriguing twist but Sarivil decided to file that tidbit away for later and continue her original line of questioning. A new thought occurred to her. "Why would she be nervous?" she wondered out loud. "You'd almost think that she was being presented as a betrothal prospect."

Sarigar shifted uncomfortably. "You're all the family I have, Vil," he said finally, "but I'd really like your blessing."

"How serious are you?"

"Well," he looked down at his hands, "I think a certain family heirloom would look stunning on Kira's left wrist, don't you?" He looked over at her wistfully.

"Oh, my -- you're that serious?" Sarivil sat back and studied her brother. "I'd heard about your broken courtship years ago through friends and that you'd swore you'd never go through that again. What happened to change your mind?"

"Ah." Sarigar made a face. "Kira has ways of getting me to do things. When we'd been seeing each other for seven or eight months, she talked me into meeting her for a holiday on Ryssa"

* * * * *

Flashback, Ryssa past ...

"Please, Gar? It'll be so much fun!" Jaikira was giving him that gamine look that always melted him. Sarigar was grateful that crooning didn't carry over the comlink or she'd be trying that too.

"Well, I do have leave time saved up," he admitted reluctantly, "but Ryssa?"

"It's great! I was there a few years ago -- water sports, spas, lots of relaxing and best of all, it's located right between us so we don't have to waste so much of our down time traveling."

Sarigar looked at her dancing eyes and considered the idea. Artemis and Nomad had been re-assigned to different bases in the sector for the past three months. Whenever they could, he and Jaikira had made time for each other but a few hours stolen in transit just wasn't the same as being able to wake up with her in his arms. The decision wasn't that difficult to make.

"All right -- when?"

"In two weeks -- Trillian says that he'll kick you off the ship personally."

"You... spoke to General Gokk about this?"

Jaikira gave him that devious grin that made him wonder what else she'd been up to. "Don't worry -- he's a big teddy bear. Just toss some civvies and a swimsuit in a bag and meet me on Ryssa! Love you!!"

Sarigar blinked and stared at the blank screen for a few seconds. He saved the message in his personal files with all the others and slowly made his way to General Gokk's office just off the bridge of the ship.

The ursine behemoth looked up and called out jovially, "Sarigar! It's about time you came by to pick up your travel papers. They've been ready for days!"

Sarigar leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms. "I can see you've been talking to that force of nature I'm romantically involved with."

"Hur-hur-hur!! I couldn't have described her better!" Trillian Gokk pulled out two goblets and began to pour the grogh. "She came up to me when I was last on Starbase Fourteen and asked me as sweetly as you please if I could spare you for a week or two."

"Oh, Ayal..."

Gokk held out a goblet. "Here you go -- drink up."

For once, Sarigar didn't refuse and tossed down half the glass as he stalked across the room. "Why does she do these things?" he finally exclaimed. "Going behind my back like this?"

"Don't ask me," Gokk chuckled. "I've been married four times and females still baffle me. However," he said as he refilled Sarigar's glass, "I'd say Jaikira knows you very well, old snake. If you were left to your own devices, you'd never take shore leave. Torie is more than capable of leading Nomad in your absence and frankly, I was shocked at the ridiculous amount of shore leave you've got coming."

"But still -- Ryssa?" Sarigar sighed and stared out the window. "What on earth am I going to do there?"

Gokk leered at him. "I daresay Jaikira already has designs on what she plans to do with you and I seriously doubt either one of you will get past the bedroom the entire time. Hur-hur!!"

Soft rain was falling when Sarigar disembarked from the Legion shuttle onto the tropical world of Ryssa. He had to unzip his jacket before he'd gotten halfway across the tarmac as the full force of the planet's humid heat took effect. It was not too unlike his homeworld of Jentek and Sarigar actually began to look forward to his vacation.

"Gar!" A flash of blue broadsided him and twirled him around as Jaikira made her presence known by wrapping her slim body around him and kissing him until he was breathless and dizzy.

When he could see straight again, Sarigar gasped, "Nice to see you again, dear. Have you been waiting long?"

"I managed to occupy myself." She slid back and turned around. "I decided to go native -- what do you think?" Jaikira had traded her uniform for a sleeveless white tunic over a brightly-colored wraparound skirt.

"You look ... amazing as always." Sarigar saw a brief glimmer of disappointment in her eyes and took steps to head it off. "Delicious, in fact," he murmured as he pulled her back in for a kiss of his own, nudging aside her hair so he could zero in on the spot on her neck that was so ticklish. "I like it."

Things promptly got out of hand from there and Sarigar barely remembered how they got from the spaceport to the hotel room. The need for making up for three months of being apart was more immediate than conversation and it was early the next morning before either one of them felt the need to talk.

Jaikira stretched underneath him, languidly lifting her arms overhead. "Mmm, you have NO idea how much I've needed this."

Shifting from where his head was pillowed between her breasts, Sarigar smiled up at her. "Oh, I think that I can relate. This was really a very good idea." He snuggled in. "Thanks for thinking of it."

"I am a genius."

"No arguments here." He reached out and lazily traced the curve of her breast, spiraling up to her pert nipple. "This certainly beats chasing Harks and Orries all over the sector."

She laughed. "So glad to be of service."

"Or is that to be serviced?"

"It was mutual, dear." Jaikira combed through his disorderly hair. "I think I'd like to go for a swim. Want to come?"

Sarigar laughed at her inadvertent slip but let it pass. "No, but you can go on without me if you like. You know the old saying -- 'males sleep when they're empty; females sleep when they're full.'"

"Poor sleepyhead," she teased as she rolled him over on his back and kissed him. "You rest up and you can catch up with me at the pool later."

"Sounds--" he yawned, "--good." He was asleep before she left their suite.

Hours later, Sarigar was rudely flailed awake by dozens of tiny beaded whips falling all around his face. If it hadn't been for his lover's familiar taste on his lips, his first impulse would have normally been to hurl his assailant across the room. Instead he merely groaned and blinked his bleary eyes. "Kira, what are you doing?" He struggled to his elbows and got his first good look at her. "And what did you do to yourself?"

Jaikira tilted her head to one side making a faint tinkling sound. Her long dark hair was now divided into dozens of cornrowed braids tipped with tiny crystal beads. She smiled impishly. "I treated myself to a day at the spa," she answered cheerfully. "It's usually the first thing I do when I go on shore leave." She flopped down on the bed besides him.

"Why?" Sarigar didn't want to spoil what was clearly something she enjoyed but he rather preferred her hair the way that it was -- lovely loose curls he could run his fingers through.

"Sometimes I just need to be all girly and feminine," she replied. "I've never been crazy about wearing the uniform all the time."

"I suppose that makes sense." Sarigar fingered a braid that was hanging loose across her shoulder. "These aren't exactly regulation, you know."

"So I'll get rid of them when I go back." She shrugged. "Every so often you have to try something different, otherwise life gets boring. Speaking of which, are you rested yet? It's nearly time for dinner."

Sarigar writhed, stretching his body all over and pulling the sheets off the bed. "I think so. A quick shower and I'll be ready." He leaned over and kissed her soundly. "That sleep did me a world of good. It beats having to stagger around swilling caffeine."

Jaikira laughed. "At least we know the shots are working when only you get sleepy."

"True," Sarigar agreed, but he had a wistful expression as he turned away.

That night at dinner, Sarigar couldn't understand why so many people were glancing their way. Admittedly, Jaikira was spectacular in a strapless red dress and the way her new braids glistened against her azure shoulders was captivating. She was listening raptly to the band, and while there was music was playing, a troop of dancing Harkilons could have paraded through the room and Jaikira would have never noticed.

A pair of males had been watching them from a nearby table. They were wearing matching sports uniforms in purple and green -- a handsome humanoid with long brown hair tied in a ponytail and ornate tattoos on his forearms and a Jentekian halfbreed with olive-brown skin and a red-dyed scalp lock running along the top of his head. Jaikira had gotten up from the table earlier to request a song from the band leader and the breed had been riveted to her swaying form the entire time. Sarigar narrowed his eyes at him and flicked his tail spikes irritably.

"Gar?" The noise had diverted Jaikira's attention from the music. "What's wrong?"

Sarigar lifted his glass and pretended to drink. "There've been some people watching us. Something's up."

Instantly, Jaikira was on the defensive. To the untrained eye, she merely laughed and fiddled with the bangles on her right wrist but Sarigar knew that she was actually fingering the bracelet containing her favorite garrote. She looked around casually but her reaction to the two suspicious males was not what he expected.

"Turco! Rex!" She smiled and waved at them. "Come and meet my boyfriend!"

"You know them?" he hissed urgently.

"Of course! I got into an aquaball game at the pool this morning while I was waiting for the spa to open." Jaikira grinned. "I haven't played in ages, and you know, I'd almost forgotten how fun it was!"

"Oh." Sarigar rolled his eyes, relieved that it was just typical fallout from associating with Jaikira and not something more serious. It wasn't the first time her impulsive nature had attracted attention. He wasn't comfortable with it, but he was slowly getting used to it.

"Hi, hope we aren't disturbing you guys," the human said nervously as he and the breed came up to the table. "I'm Rex Bruna and this is my partner Turco. We're here to play in the aquaball tournament later this week."

Turco smiled at Jaikira. "Hey, love the braids! Who's this, your father maybe?"

Sarigar fought the urge to belt the ignorant little punk and merely bristled at his insinuation. It was true that he was nearly a decade older than Jaikira but years of Legion training had made him more fit than most males of his generation. He decided that Turco's absence of facial markings indicated a severe lack of intellect as well as breeding.

Jaikira took steps to defuse the situation and snuggled up next to him, resting her head against his shoulder in an adorable pose. "No, you big goof, this is Gar. We're here on vacation together," she said with a giggle, establishing their cover as civilian vacation-goers. They had decided not to use their full names since the tri-vids often identified them as Legion officers. "After we broke in the room, he needed a nap, poor baby. That's why I decided to take a swim this morning."

The significance of this was lost on Rex, but Turco sank back on his coils with a slight frown. Sarigar smiled at them pleasantly but he kept his tail spikes extended for the breed's benefit. The subtle message was a simple territorial warning that he hoped wouldn't be lost on the younger male. Jaikira cut him a vaguely amused look but didn't comment on it.

Rex held out his hand. "Glad to meet you, Gar," he said pleasantly. "Maybe you can help us talk Kira into playing in the tournament. We signed up for the pairs competition but if we can get her to join us, we can compete in the mixed teams category too. From what we saw of her playing skills today at the pool, Kira's our best chance to win big."

Sarigar smiled as he looked over at her. "It seems you had a busy day while I was asleep."

"It's all your fault," Jaikira quipped, hugging his arm, "pumping me full of energy like that."

Leaning towards Turco, Rex asked, "Do I wanna know?"

"Later," Turco replied sourly. "Why don't we let them talk it over? I wouldn't want Kira's boyfriend here to get his tail in a twist."

"Well, okay, sounds good." Rex grinned sheepishly like a schoolboy. "If you want, Kira, we'll be practicing in the morning, same place, same time. Even if you don't want to join the team, we'd welcome the extra player to practice against. That goes for you too, Gar."

"Sorry for disturbing you," Turco said dryly. "Have a good evening." He gave Jaikira one long last look and smiled cockily as he turned away.

Sarigar managed to keep his tail spikes from rattling but it was a near thing. He glared at Turco's back as he finished off the wine in his glass. Catching motion out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Jaikira who was vibrating with barely contained excitement. "What?"

"I had no idea you could be so primitive," she said gleefully. "Male dominance posturing over me?"

His face grew hot and he shrugged. "Why not? You're worth it."

"I've never seen you act like this!"

"Well, I couldn't very well pull my hel-gun on him, could I? I had to check it at the spaceport," Sarigar snorted. "Stupid little bospor doesn't know what kind of trouble he's asking for." He refilled his glass. "You weren't seriously thinking of playing, were you?"

"I thought about it," she replied. "I used to play all the time, the whole family did. One of my cousins even went professional." She put a hand over her mouth and giggled. "He's the other black sheep."

"As a rule, Central Command frowns on officers engaging in activities that might reflect badly on the Legion." Sarigar crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. "Besides, I really didn't like the way that Turco character was looking at you."

"Why, major!" Jaikira exclaimed. "Is there a regulation against other males looking at me too?"

He sighed. "No, captain, I suppose not." Searching for the right words, he finally blurted out, "It just bothers me when I catch people like that Turco undressing you with their eyes right in front of me. They think that they have a chance at you because an old snake like me doesn't have anything to offer you."

Jaikira's mouth was twisted in a quirky smile. "Now this is interesting," she commented. "Jealousy? Where did this come from? Gar, you're the most self-confident male I've ever been with."

"Why are you surprised?" he retorted. "It's not always easy being carried along in your wake, Kira. You're young and attractive and the center of attention wherever you go. I caught more than just those two looking at you and it was getting on my nerves."

"You don't mind when the guys from your squadron look at me."

"That's different. There, you're the major's lady." He flicked his spikes. "Here I'm just another male."

"You are most certainly NOT just another male." Jaikira tilted her head and her tinkling braids slid off the back of her neck. She crooked a finger at him. "Come here."

"Kira, this is not the place," Sarigar said in a low voice, mortified that she would bare her neck promiscuously in public.

"No, not that. Just come over here and take a whiff."

Glancing around discreetly, he leaned towards her and sniffed. His eyes widened and he stared at her with an astonished, widening grin. Her pheromones had changed to a more provocative aroma.

She shook her hair back in place. "See? You may be older and you may be a worrywart but somehow all your male posturing has made me receptive without you ever touching me." Glancing at him demurely under her eyelashes, she smiled. "I think my old snake should make all these other males jealous and take me upstairs to our room."

There was nothing that Sarigar could possibly say to but to accept the invitation.

The next morning, Sarigar awoke to find a note on Jaikira's side of the bed saying simply that she'd gone swimming. After the intensity of their mating the night before, he was feeling rather mellow and didn't give it another thought; after all, swimming was one of Jaikira's favorite forms of exercise. In fact, he thought a swim followed by a leisurely morning reading at poolside sounded like an excellent pastime.

When he arrived at the pool, quite a crowd had gathered. An impromptu aquaball match was underway, and Sarigar had to fight his way through the crowd to find a good spot to read his book. He managed to ignore the noise for the first few pages but a name being chanted by the onlookers soon got his attention.

"Kira! Kira! Kira!"

Sarigar stood up and rose on his tail to see over the crowd. Aquaball was a popular sport combining volleyball, water polo, and unarmed combat -- it wasn't unusual for inexperienced players to be injured or drowned in the course of a fast-paced game. In the midst of it, he spied Jaikira diving under one of the defenders and coming up with the ball. She shot up into the air with a powerful stroke of her tail, spraying water in an explosive trail. Looking for an opening, she spotted Turco down field and lofted it high to spike it with a powerful overhead stroke. Turco grinned and rose on his tail to intercept it and pass it to Rex for the goal.

The eight-armed being serving at referee blew the whistle. "Goal!! Set and match to Team Rex!!"

Rex and Turco high-fived each other by the goal. Kira swam over and joined them, grinning and talking excitedly to them. Sarigar shook his head and went over to their side of the pool.

"I see you decided to play after all," he said wryly. "Nice underwater steal, dear."

"You saw it!" Beaming from ear to ear, Jaikira swam over to the side and took his hand for a lift out of the pool. "Wasn't that great? I haven't done that in years and I wasn't sure I'd remember how, but Rex explained exactly what his strategy was, and--" She blinked mildly at him. "Gar? What's wrong?"

Her swimsuit, or lack thereof, had Sarigar furious beyond words. It was one thing to wear something that scanty in the privacy of their bedroom; it was quite another to bare that much of her azure skin in full view of everyone else. To know that Jaikira had been down here parading around in a red bikini top and a matching leaf-shaped loincloth was almost more than he could bear. Turco was leaning on the rim of the pool, leering them with malicious glee.

Years of dealing with bureaucrats and diplomats took over before he made a complete spectacle of himself. Sarigar took Jaikira firmly by the arm and escorted her away from the leering mob at the pool to a more private spot. He whipped off his robe and covered her with it.

"Are you insane?" He ground out forcefully. "How can you be out in public, much less in a pool, in what you're NOT wearing?"

"Excuse me?" Jaikira gaped at him, looking remarkably waiflike as the water dripped off her. "This is the latest fashion, Gar. Everyone is wearing it. I don't have to follow uniform codes out here in the real world."

"That's not the point! Kira, you can't just go wearing things like that! It's just asking for trouble!" He lowered his voice. "That damned Turco was practically drooling over you!"

"Trouble? TROUBLE!" Her eyes flashed. "To hell with Turco, major!! You haven't seen trouble yet!"

"Kira..." Sarigar took a deep breath. "You're not being reasonable. Try to see my point-of-view on this -- wait a minute, is this what you wore yesterday?"

"Yes, what of it?"

"Gods, no wonder everyone was staring at you!!" He shook his head. "Do you even care about what people think when you wear something like that? Kira, you've got to stop doing this!"

"What? Dressing like a normal female with a nice figure?" Jaikira pulled off his robe and threw it at him. "And where do you get off issuing ultimatums like I'm some sort of subordinate? We agreed that when it's just us, there wouldn't be any rank."

"This isn't an ultimatum. All I'm asking is that you show a little modesty and a little common sense."

Jaikira tossed off a phrase in vulgar Jentekian, whipping her tail viciously as she stalked off with Sarigar in her wake. She paused only once when she passed Rex and Turco and snapped out, "What time is practice?"

Rex looked stunned. "Um, three this afternoon?"

"Fine." Jaikira glared at Sarigar. "Not one damn word." Her tail slapped the wall viciously as she turned the corner, and a small vase wobbled dangerously on a shelf.

"Whoa." Rex gave Sarigar a pitying look. "I hope she calms down by then."

"Don't count on it," Sarigar said curtly. "She's at her best when she's pissed."

To be continued in "Part XIV: Game, Set, Match"