Omi hesitated but finally nodded, and he went down the hall toward the engine section.
“Well?” Marten asked.
Circe waited.
“I thought you wanted to speak to me in private,” Marten said.
She nodded.
“Look, if you’re worried that Omi is coming back….” said Marten.
Circe took several steps closer, and she smiled. “You are unlike Jovian males,” she whispered. “You are so strong, so militant and dominant. Do you know that your authority is strangely compelling? I have tried to resist the impulse, but you excite me on some primitive level. It begins here,” she said, touching her stomach. “And it wells upward,” she said, sliding her hand up between her breasts. “Why does this occur, Force-Leader?”
Marten’s mouth opened as he stared at her. He’d never expected such words. She took two small steps toward him. Her eyes, her throat, breasts, the flat belly, her thighs….
“I am deeply attracted to your masculinity,” she whispered.
“Wait,” Marten said, backing up. “I-I’m married. I have a wife. You shouldn’t say these things to me.”
“Such a powerful barbarian as you must be capable of multiple engagements,” she said. “Surely you can dominate females with…simian ease.” Her hand reached toward him.
Then Marten felt a momentary sting on the top of his hand. Jerking his hand back, he saw a tiny mark there. Something seemed to flush up through his arm then, hitting his chest and exploding outward through his body. It particularly struck his groin, seeming to make it swell.
“Ah, Marten Kluge,” whispered Circe. Her smile seemed wicked, full of sexual promise.
“You drugged me,” Marten said.
“Kiss me,” she said. “Feel what true ecstasy is like.” Her other hand darted toward him.
At the last moment, he caught her wrist. Her skin seemed to burn like fire. As his groin throbbed, he wanted to yank her near and shower kisses upon her. That gown, the charms beneath—yes, he’d rip off her gown and here in the corridor he’d do her.
“You drugged me,” he slurred. He couldn’t seem to let that go.
“I can do so much more,” she said, and she used her free hand, touching him so he groaned with pleasure. “I can bring you sweet release,” she whispered.
While still gripping her wrist, Marten shook his head. Feeling her grope him—suddenly he wanted to use her, to lay with her and have her. But he was married to Nadia. He wasn’t supposed to cheat. That was the whole point of marriage.
“Force-Leader,” Circe whispered, and she pressed her yearning body against him.
“Drugged,” said Marten.
“I’ve wanted you from the beginning,” Circe said.
Marten grinned. Her body, her face—his grip around the trapped wrist tightened as something elemental surged within him. She’d drugged him. Now she sought to use him, to control him in some Callisto fashion. With a savage twist, he bent her wrist around so her clenched palm faced toward the ceiling.
“Oh!” she cried.
He gripped even more fiercely, and her hand opened. There on her ring was a tiny spike. No doubt, she’d meant to stab him with the spike and pump him with even more powerful drugs.
“Let me touch you,” she whispered. “Learn what it means to love me.”
“Snake,” Marten said.
“Embrace me.”
Instead, Marten twisted her arm harder. She was so small, so helpless against his strength. He slapped her open hand against her other arm so the tiny spike pricked her flesh.
“No!” she wailed. “What have you done?”
“That’s what I want to know,” Marten slurred.
This time Circe screamed as Marten twisted her arm. Now with her arm behind her back, Marten forced her down the corridor.
“No, no,” she said. There was panic in her voice. “You must inject me with the antidote. I will become an animal soon. This is horrible, a crime against purity, against one of the highest orders of thought.”
“We’ll see,” Marten said. It was hard to think anymore. He wanted to rip off her gown and madly couple with her. Instead, while keeping her hand high against her back, he pulled out a com-unit. He pressed a switch.
“…Yes?” asked Nadia.
“Hurry,” Marten said. “I need help. Bring Osadar.”
“The antidote!” screamed Circe. “I must have it before you turn me into a creature.”
“What’s going on?” Nadia asked over the com-unit.
“The Sub-Strategist tried to poison me,” Marten said. “Please, Nadia, you must hurry. I need your help more than I ever have.”
“I’m coming,” Nadia said. “Keep your link open so I can follow the signal.”
“Send for the antidote!” Circe wailed. “This can’t happen to me.”
“You wanted it to happen to me,” Marten told her. And he found that he enjoyed holding her wrist like this. Reaching around, he grabbed one of her breasts, squeezing hard.
Circe moaned in pleasure, and she writhed against his hand.
With an oath, Marten snatched his hand back. What was he doing? He was married. “You viper,” he said. “You drugged me.”
“You’re only a barbarian, but such a vital and—oh, touch me again. I beg you. I’ll do anything for you, Marten Kluge. I must have you. You must take me and do whatever you desire.”
Steeling himself, Marten kept marching Circe forward. He had to keep going. If he stopped, there was no telling what would happen.
“…The antidote,” Circe whispered.
“What was in your ring?”
“Don’t you understand?” she moaned. “The dosage was set for you. I’m so much lighter. This is unprecedented. You mustn’t let this happen to me. Please, give me the antidote.”
“Keep walking” Marten said.
-25-
“Our situation is deteriorating,” Osadar said.
It was two days after Sub-Strategist Circe’s attempt to poison Marten. She was in medical, strapped down and heavily sedated. The doctor still ran tests, baffled at her inability or unwillingness to engage in communication.
“It’s as if an area of her brain has shut down,” the doctor had told Marten yesterday. “Or maybe another area is so highly motivated that it controls her thoughts.”
“Haven’t you learned anything?” Marten remembered asking.
“By accident, I have. When she heard your voice over the ship’s intercom, she became tense. Noticing that, I showed her a video shot of you. It induced extreme behavior.” The doctor had shaken his head. “I believe she has imprinted on you in a most sexual way. In a word, she desires you above all else. And I think she will do anything to achieve…ah…union with you. With your permission, I would like to run further tests while you’re present in the chamber.”
Marten had declined. He’d had a hard enough time explaining everything to Nadia.
He presently stood with Osadar outside the fusion core, near the formerly cracked shell. The engine’s thrum was heavy so the entire area vibrated. Touching his ribs, Marten could feel them shift. His voice sounded funny here. Dried construction-foam sealed the cracked shell. The foam was a dirty gray color, with intensely white pieces. Technicians with sprayers had poured the foam, which had hardened instantly. The technicians had been experts and had formed blocks, making the wall easier to build.
Osadar moved closer to the dried foam, taking out a Geiger-counter. The clicks sounded ominous, but Osadar
