Kalimar awoke and looked around at the ruins of the cottage, that once was standing. He felt a body beside him. As he looked upon the woman's face, he immediately jumped up. It was Katianna! He took two steps back. Quickly he gathered his clothes and pulled them on.
"Exit!" he shouted.
As the arch appeared, Katianna stirred having heard Kalimar's voice. She opened her eyes, just in time to see his form vanish out of the holosuite.
"Oh my god . . ." she whispered, as memories came back to her. "What have I done . . ." Tears misted her eyes.
Jayme looked deep into Nate's eyes and saw him smile as she laid on the bunk with his leg wrapped around hers. "What?" She asked when he just kept grinning and toying with her hair.
"Nothing," just noticing how beautiful you are after making love.
The blush started at her collar bones and ended at her eye brows, "Nate..." She looked around and noted they were in the sleep room in sickbay and not their quarters. She sat up, clutching the sheet around her, and said, "Shit! Shit!" She looked back down at him as he laughed, "You're on duty!"
"...So?" He said trying to hid his enjoyment of her discomfort. "They knew we were in their and if they needed me they'd have paged." He kissed her bare shoulder and neck. Gently he started messaging her shoulders and said, "Jayme, relax."
Jayme rolled her head on her shoulders and took several deep breaths before turning and sliding down to rest her head on his chest. She giggled and kissed him when he leaned over and kissed her.
Kassia finally made it to sickbay after rearranging about 10 couples and breaking up two fights. Her own thoughts about Tarik were strong, but she pushed them to the back of her mind. As she entered, sickbay was quiet. Too quiet she thought. She began looking around. She then saw some of the nurses making out in the shadows and she raised a brow. She then turned and went to where the doctors took time to rest. As she opened the door, she saw Jayme and Nathan together in a compromising position.
Jayme looked over Nathan's shoulder and started giggling..."uh, honey...I don't think everyone knew to page you." She dropped her head back down on the pillows and made eye contact with Nathan who looked over his left shoulder and saw Kassia... and yelled, "Oh shit!"
Kassia smiled and turned her back. "It's all right. I think I understand. If you two can manage, do you think you can come out here and help me . . ? OR are you two too wrapped up in each other?" she asked, making sure not to look at them, yet she couldn't help the smirk on her face.
"Uh, sure we'll be right with you." Nathan said as the door to the sleep room closed. He collapsed next to Jayme and took several deep breaths before looking at his wife, "If we ever have kids--there have got to be locks on the doors...any more interruptions of that nature andI'm going to die of heart failure." He slid out of the bunk and both jumped into and out of the sonic shower and into fresh scrubs. It was a real fight for both of them not to let their hormones take back over once the rush of being caught in the act started wearing off. They both stepped out of the sleeproom and then the lounge leaving their discarded lunch still on the table. Jayme still scarlet faced Kassia. "Uh, you said you needed help? What can we do?" She asked looking everywhere but at her friend.
"I think there's something wrong with everyone on the station," Kassia began. "I believe it's a virus and I need help in dealing with it . . ." She could sense that Jayme and Nathan were starting to lose their battle with the hormones out of control. But she did notice that for a bit they were fairly stable . . .
Jayme took a couple of steps away from Nathan and felt a little better and it gave her a chance to look around and find just about everyone amorously engaged...and said, "I think I'm starting to understand? When do you think this started?"
Kassia shook her head. "It could have started this morning, but it seems to have picked up this afternoon . . ." Suddenly, the sickbay doors open and in wandered Laurissa with her baby brother Daniel in his stroller. She had managed to get him changed and into the stroller all by herself. She looked pale and clammy. She was also coughing. "Oh my god . . ." She went to the little girl. "Laurissa, are you all right?"
"I don't feel good . . . and I can't Kara . . . and my momma's with . . . She might be . . ." she couldn't finish as she cried. "Kara disappeared and left us alone without even telling us where she was going . . . and I don't feel good!" She coughed again.
Jayme picked the little girl up and carried her over to a biobed and Nathan grabbed his medical tricorder and started working on her while Kassia lifted Daniel from his stroller. Jayme grabbed her tricorder and started checking out Daniel. "Kassia, can you draw blood on everyone here in the room and run full scans on everyone?"
"No problem," she replied. "I'll get right on it!" After all, she was trained as a medic and she had enough skills to work as a nurse as well. Her photographic memory was definitely a gift she enjoyed and used a lot.
She immediately began drawing the blood, including from herself, Jayme and Nathan. As she ran it through the full scan, she immediately noticed something was wrong . . . "You two might want to take a look at this . . ." she said.
Nathan had medicated and treated Laurissa for symptoms of the Flu--"influenza C". He wandered over and looked at the sample of blood in the analyzer and said, "viral symptoms are explained, but why's everyone's pheromones and Neurotransmitters off the charts?" he crossed his arms over his chest and looked Kassia in the eyes, and asked, "Who's blood is that?"
"This one is mine," she said. Then she flipped to the next sample. "This one is yours." she said, as she flipped to yet another one, "And this is Jayme's . . This one is Laurissa's . . ."
Nathan blew out his breath and shook his head, as he looked around and then said, "yours is the lowest of the adults present ... and both children are lower then you ... but Jayme is higher then me...so its not a male/female thing but a child/adult variant and humans seem to be particularly susceptible...
"That would make some sense," she replied. "Whoever did this, since I don't think this happened on it's own, was specifically trying to hit humanoids that would be susceptible to it," she said. "I think there's something in my genetics that allows me to hold onto my sanity . . . Though by a finger nail," she smiled. "I suppose the big question is now that we've isolated what we're looking at, what do we do about it? I mean, this is for the science department to work in conjunction with us . . . However, I don't think anyone is there . . ." Kassia opened her mind up and searched, but found everyone preoccupied in one way or another. "No . . . we have no one . . Of course, there is the Ronin that's due back . . . Maybe they haven't been infected . . . Or maybe they have . . ." Kassia grew concerned. The last thing they needed was the virus to get off the station.
Jayme sat down and closed her eyes and thought about routes of exposure and she'd been fine, until... "Damn." Nathan walked over and started to put his hands on his wife's shoulder and pulled back and asked, "What...I was fine until I came here and replicated lunch? No, couldn't be or could it?"
"What?"
She turned in her seat and looked at him her hands clenched and fingernails biting into the palms of her hands, "something added to the food or replicant virus...I don't know." She closed her eyes and and forced herself to stay on track.
Kassia walked up with a hypospray. "Okay, this is going to seem strange, but I have an idea . . . You obviously can veto this is you don't want to try it . . But I was thinking of giving you doses of adrenaline. It will keep you pumped up, but for some reason it also clears you head . . ." She replied. "I was thinking about the comparison on when I startled you back . . . well . . In the back room . . . I think it might be helpful . . . And if it doesn't work . . . Well, you'll just feel wound up for awhile . . ."
Nathan looked at Jayme and bit his lip and took the tricorder Kassia had used and looked through he scans she'd taken when she'd drawn everyone's blood...he nodded and gave Kassia the order, "0.3cc formazine its a longer more stable acting form of Adrenaline and give it in combination with 0.25mcg of Rexalin." He watched as Kassia formulated the med ampule and set the dose. "Jayme, you ok with this?"
She nodded her head and then said through clenched teeth, "If this doesn't work then tranq me..."
Kassia set it up and went to her. "You're first," she said. She injected Jayme straight into the common artery in her neck, to make sure it got into her system quickly. She gazed at her friend with obvious concern. "Feel any different?" she asked. Just then the doors to sickbay slid open and half a dozen marines being carried in by fellow marines, all barring the signs of fighting and several women escorted in by a security team... Jayme stood to follow Nathan and Kassia but hesitated a moment when she felt a little light headed but after a moment was fine and rushed in to help triage and treat the incoming hoard.
"Guess that answers that," Kassia replied, quickly giving a dose to Nathan, then one to herself, just in case. It was a temporary solution to a big problem!!
Suddenly the doors opened again. In walked Piccolo carrying Arianna and Corran walking beside Zac, his hand on the boy's shoulder. Arianna was limp. Zac was coughing and shivering. Kassia immediately noticed that Corran and Piccolo seemed to be fine. She knew why Piccolo was, most likely, but Corran she was surprised about. She grabbed her tricorder and ran it over him. He wasn't infected. "How is that you aren't infected?" She asked him.
"Because I'm El Aurian," he smiled back. "Can I help you here?"
Jayme was on one side of the large bay working to triage patients which she then sent over to Kassia to be seen by Nathan or over to the two marines to be treated and released. She moved the children to a separate ward where they could be kept warm and had Pikachu watch over them...
Katianna finally pulled herself together enough to get dressed. As she walked out of the suit, trying to keep herself composed, she found it curious that no one was at the counter. As she looked around, she noticed another holosuite was active. She made a decision to check it out to make sure all was well.
As the door slid open, she saw Kara standing there with her dark hair loose in ringlets down her back. She was wearing make-up, something Katianna rarely ever saw the woman wear, and she was dressed in one of Katianna's sexier black mini-dresses.
"Oh, Commander!" Kara said with a smile. "Or should I say Queen?" She curtsied.
"Kara, what's going on? What are you doing here?" Katianna asked.
"Oh, testing my limits," she replied with a giggle.
Katianna leaned in far enough to see what looked like the interior of an Irish Pub. There were nine marines in total. Several were keeled over in their chairs. Some were asleep on the floor and one was sleeping on the bar.
"For all their cardio, they still couldn't keep up with a simple Temounite girl," she giggled again.
"Did you just . . ." Katianna asked.
Kara laughed. "Oh yes!" she smiled, then she walked over to Katianna and leaned into her whispering into her ear. "Several times. Had they lasted longer. I would have again!" She stood back up and walked back into the suite smiling. She then turned. "Oh! There was something I had come here to tell you! It was important!" Kara said. Her brow furrowed. "Only I can't seem to remember what it was now."
"Have you seen Kalimar?" Katianna asked her, hoping her green eyes didn't betray her upheavled emotions.
"Maybe . . ." She smiled. "Well, I saw someone . . . Only I'm not sure who now . . . Hmmmm . . . I think it was someone that we all use to be close to . . Only now we're not . . . Oh, I don't remember! Anyway, I'm thirsty! I hear the party's at Soma. Do you want to come?" she asked.
"Well, I don't know . . ." Katianna said.
"Oh, come on!" Kara replied. "It'll be fun! And you need some fun in your life!" With that she took Kat's hand. "And I won't take no for an answer, your highness!"
With that, Kara led Katianna out of Holo Pursuit.
Kassia was trying to keep her mind in the game, but she was beginning to worry. What about the Captain? She hadn't heard anything from the Captain . . and surely the Captain knew something was wrong by now, which meant that she was probably infected . . . and Troy was probably with her . . . She searched out telepathically and sensed them . . . They were together, but there was something disturbing, Just as she was about to probe to find out what was going on, her attention was pulled away by another patient.
Kassia had medicated the rest of the medical staff that was on duty and they were once again working efficiently. Jayme frowned and left the patient she'd just finished treating and walked over and placed a hand on Kassia's shoulder and asked, "Are you okay, Kassia?"
She shook her head. "There's something happening with the Captain . . . I don't know what . . . I got distracted. It's harder for me to concentrate right now . . ." she said. "With this virus, who knows what's happening . . and do you think it will hurt her unborn child?" This was a thought that had just occurred to her.
Jayme pulled the other woman into a hug, handed her a tricorder, and a hypospray and said, "We can control everything here at the moment...why don't you go check on the captain and medicate all of the command staff and security that you can find."
Kassia nodded. "Thank you . . ." She grabbed the items and then left.
Unfortunately as she made her way to Kitty's quarters she didn't find many of the command staff. In fact, she found no one! But as she neared Kitty and Troy's quarters, she heard loud voices.
"You can't have her! She doesn't want you, Jonas! Go away!" Troy yelled. "If you so much as touch her I'll wipe the walls with you!"
"I'd like to see you try," he replied smugly.
"Jonas, I don't love you!" Kitty said. "After what you did to me? How could I ever love someone like you?" Her green-brown eyes were glaring. She grunted a moment as the baby gave her a swift kick. Troy, for a moment was able to regain some control.
"Are you all right?" he asked. "Is the baby okay?"
She smiled. "We're fine. We'd be better if Jonas would just leave!"
This is not good she thought. She might have to tranq Jonas, she thought. Just to get him out of the way. She changed ampules in the hypospray and began approaching Jonas from behind. Both Kitty and Troy had seen her, but didn't let on. Suddenly, she tranqed him. He spun around on her.
Jonas whirled and saw that dark haired, spotted busybody had a hypospray in her hand. He stepped into her and with his left hand batted the hypospray out of her hand and across the room. "Why, you bitch..."
"Ambassador, you're not yourself," she said, thinking that he was just worse than himself. "I'm trying to help you . . ." She was trying to be as calm and as placating as possible.
"Likely story!" he raged at her. He then turned and pointed towards Captain Mallory and Troy, and screamed, "You've bought the garbage that this conniving bitch has been saying behind my back...so much for a fair hearing by anyone in Federation space." He gasped for breath andrubbed his forehead with his hand and leaned against the wall, and when Kassia moved in he thrust his hand out to stop her, "No...don't come any closer..."
"You're getting delusional," Kassia said. "You can't have Kitty . . . She isn't yours anymore . . . She doesn't love you . . ." Kassia said, sensing her words really meant nothing to him. She looked at Troy, warning him with her eyes that Jonas was going to be unpredictable . . . as if they didn't know that already. But now he could be dangerous. She had to tranq him somehow!
From a table in the living room Troy picked up an old fashioned glass bottle that was Kobol colored and had a sprig of flowers sticking out of it....With the neck of it in his hand he swung connecting with Jonas' head. A loud, wet thwack was heard! He fell unconscious to the ground at Kassia's feet.
Kassia shrugged. "I guess that works . . ." She tranqed him anyway to be certain.
"Well, I couldn't have him hurting my sister or my wife, could I?" Troy smiled and winked at her.
Kassia changed the ampules again and ran a scan on both Kitty and Troy as they kissed passionately. She tapped Troy's shoulder.
"Excuse me, I don't meant to interrupt . . . But I need to inject you two with something . . . You're both infected with a virus . . . It's hit the while station . . " she explained.
"Really?" Troy said, "I don't feel all that different. I have always loved my wife passionately," he said as he looked into her eyes for a moment and caressed her face.
"Oh Troy . . ." she smiled and kissed him. "I love you so much . . ."
Kassia sighed and just took the opportunity to inject them. She then waited a few minutes. As they stopped kissing, they looked at each other and around.
"What was just happening?" Kitty asked.
"Seems like love is in the air, Captain . . ." Kassia replied.
Troy looked at her. "I was at the bar . . . Some woman was doing a striptease on the bar and . . . I had to come to you . . ." he said looking at Kitty and caressing her face.
"That's what this virus does," Kassia explained.
"We've got problems," Kitty said.
Kara and Katianna entered Soma. Troy was no where to be seen and there were several people making out around the establishment. Music was still playing, adding to the mood. The lighting was dimmed and lights were swirling on the dance floor in an array of colors. Kara decided that dancing was in order and pulled Katianna to the dance floor. As Kara danced, Kat almost walked off the floor, but something about the music caused her to stay. Slowly, it took her over and she found herself dancing to the beat of the loud sounds pouring from the speakers. She shut her eyes as she danced, blocking out everything else except the music. Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her. Then she felt hands on her hips and the warmth of a body pressed up against her as she danced. She could feel her senses doing overtime as she lost herself to the experience of the moment.
For an instant, she opened her eyes and saw Kara approached by a young woman and they both began dancing together, but soon her eyes were shut again. Suddenly the hands that were on Katianna's hips began moving to her waist and around to her stomach. They explored her and she began to burn with excitement. Her breathing became ragged.
Suddenly, the man's face was beside her ear. "What is it about women? One moment they hate you. The next moment they want you."
It was Kalimar.
She turned around suddenly, with surprise in her green eyes, yet she didn't step away from his arms. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her heart racing, but unsure why. Was she afraid or was it desire? Suddenly, she felt something from him . . . was it possible she thought? She felt him want her . . She just gazed at him, waiting. Unsure what to do.
"I don't really know anymore," he replied, confusion lacing his own voice as his gaze raked over her body. Then he looked beyond Katianna. "That's Kara, isn't it?" he asked.
Katianna turned to see Kara and the girl in an intimate embrace. This was a side to Kara she had certainly never seen before and for a moment, she raised her brow, but then shrugged. Kara was her own person. This was just something new for Katianna to learn.
"Well, I guess Kara has other interests I didn't know about. Good for her," Katianna said, turning away, feeling as if she were intruding in a private moment.
"It goes further than other interests. There's a big difference between the Kara you know and the Kara that wants to be let out," he said.
"I wonder why she hasn't let this part of herself out before," she said softly, more to herself than to Kalimar.
"Who knows why we do anything that we do," he said. "Which brings me back to what we're doing."
She turned around to face him. "And what are we doing?" she asked, looking at him with her green eyes as innocently as possible, yet there was fire burning beneath.
"I was trying to kill you, but somewhere along the line I got distracted," he said.
She took a breath and bit her lower lip as she dared to take a step closer. Part of her was afraid, but another part was filled with need. She wanted him. "I think I might know what distracted you."
Kalimar placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back. "Are you sure you want to be seen with me? I'm not exactly known around these parts for my friendliness and good natured personality," he said with a smirk on his face.
She took his hands off her shoulders and into her own, lacing his fingers with hers. It felt good, she thought. She smiled as she moved toward him again, until she was practically against his chest. "I think I'll take my chances," she said, as she moved to kiss him.
Paul had decided to check Soma for Katianna. He knew it was one of Katianna's usual hang-outs and he had to find her. As he began to enter he ran into a pair of women holding each other by the waist. He instantly recognized one of the women.
"Kara! Eez zat you?" he said with surprise.
She laughed. "Hello, Paul. Meet my friend, Mia. Isn't she beautiful?"
"Yes, very beautiful, just like you, ma cherie," he replied and watched as her smile brightened further. "Tell me, eez Katianna inside?"
Kara smiled. "I left her on the dance floor. I have not seen her since. But I have been preoccupied," she said with a soft giggle as she turned to Mia.
"Zhank you!" he replied and walked into Soma.
He walked through many couples making out until he reached the dance floor. There he found Katianna. Only, to his surprise and dismay she was in Kalimar's arms. They were kissing passionately. He cried out and charged Kalimar. He wasn't going to let him have her, he thought. He was the one who loved her.
Kalimar was instantly taken by surprise. In that moment, he accidently pushed Katianna away. She lost her balance and fell down on her bottom, stunned. Kalimar then grabbed Paul and threw him twenty feet. Paul landed on top of the bar and rolled behind it, disappearing from view. Kalimar began to walk toward the bar.
Katianna immediately jumped to her feet and ran in front of him. "No! Don't! Leave him! He doesn't matter to us . . ." she said as she reached out to him. She tenderly touched his face. "Please. Come with me . . ."
Kalimar smirked. "If you insist."
She smiled and took his hand. "We can go somewhere more private," she said, leaning in to kiss him just once. She had to kiss him just once more before they left Soma.
In sickbay, Jayme and Nathan worked to treat a variety of complaints and at one point she looked at him and winked, and said, "You know, I'm on suspension and shouldn't be working here..."
"Don't even think about leaving!" he said. He said kissing her briefly and heading back to treating a laceration.
"Fine, when the colonel and Dr. Cherrin have a fit don't say I didn't warn you..."
Kitty had decided to go to her office and see what was going on. Troy was reluctant to leave her side, even when he was stabilized. Kassia knew her brother and knew this was his protective streak jumping into overdrive. However, with some talking, he had decided to return to his bar and see what was going on and see how much damage he was looking at. He was sure, at this point, there would be some. He kissed Kitty and left. Kitty walked away and Kassia headed back to sickbay. She had a feeling she was needed more there . .
Kalimar and Katianna kissed passionately in front of the door to her office. She fumbled as she pushed in her code, but before the door could open, she jumped up on him, her legs encircling his waist. Immediately, his hands held her tightly to himself as they barely came up for air. He walked into the office and dropped her onto the desk.
She smiled. "A bit rough," she said. "I think I can handle that." She reached for him and began pushing off the Starfleet jacket.
In a whirl of motion they began undressing each other, though they didn't get farther than their jackets, as they continued to kiss passionately. He then pushed her back onto the table with him. He caressed her cheeks and kissed her again. Slowly his hands moved from her cheeks to her throat. Then he began to squeeze.
Instantly, she felt the pressure. Though she was lost in this fog of want and desire, part of her began to feel fear. She sensed that her oxygen was being cut off. She brought her hands to his in an effort to pull his hands away. Her green eyes looked at him and watered. She didn't say anything. There wasn't anything to say. She knew that . . . But she wanted to fight him . . . She wanted to kiss him and fight him at the same time. She was confused and she was feeling the lack of oxygen.
He squeezed her neck even harder. "I don't know what you and your witch-friend are up to, but it's not going to work. I'll be damned if I'm going to let two little girls ruin what we worked so hard to achieve."
~We haven't done anything!~ she cried out telepathically, having no other card to play. ~You've seen what I've done! Does that look like I can hurt you? And Kassia hasn't cast any spells that I know of, and she would have told me. And she's too precise to have it effect the whole station! Kalimar . .~ But her oxygen was growing low and her thinking was getting fuzzy . . She was going to die by Kalimar's hand after all. But at least as her last moments she had felt passion . . . even if it had been with Kalimar, her executioner . . . Tears trickled from the corners of her eyes as her peripheral vision began turning gray. Her eyes closed for a moment, as she felt herself begin to lose consciousness, but she fought it and opened her eyes once more. She wanted to see death as it came at her. But as she looked into Kalimar's eyes, they were different. They were white and glowed. Then for a moment, she sensed Jovan.
"Help me!" Kalimar cried forcefully.
Suddenly, he pushed himself off her and landed on the floor on his backside.
Air filled her lungs as she took several deep breaths. Once she was ready, she sat up and looked down to see Kalimar. His eyes were no longer white. They were black once again. But as he looked at her, she could sense that he was definitely unsettled. Suddenly, Kalimar was on his feet. Quickly, he vanished out the door. Katianna watched as the doors shut. She had sensed more emotions from him. What did any of it mean, she wondered. Tears filled her eyes again as subconsciously, her hand went to her neck, but didn't touch it. Pain still radiated from where Kalimar's hands had almost taken her life . . . but hadn't. She quickly pulled herself together.
"Computer, locate Lt. Commander Jovan Kalimar and beam me directly to him!" she said.
<Cannot comply. Lt. Commander Jovan Kalimar has entered a restricted area> the computer responded.
"Okay . . . Beam me to just outside the restricted area," she called.
She felt the tingle of the transporter beam and was encompassed by it's light. As it faded, she found herself just outside an airlock as it closed. She put her hand on the glass.
"Kalimar!" she cried.
Kalimar lifted his hand as if to place it on the glass opposite hers. Only before he could, he pulled it away and waggled a finger at her as if waving good-bye.
"Next time, babe. Next time," he said.
Suddenly, the other side of the air lock burst open and he flew out, doing several back-flips in the process. Then he disappeared in a flash of light. As Katianna watched, she wasn't sure how she felt. But suddenly, all the events to the day burst into her mind and suddenly, she found herself on the floor, curled up and weeping.
Paul had not given up on Katianna. After he had recovered himself from behind the bar at Soma, and had had a few drinks, he had decided to have the computer locate Katianna. When it did, he beamed to her location. He had expected to find her with Kalimar and he expected another fight. But instead, he found Katianna, curled up in a ball, crying inconsolably.
Whatever thoughts he had had, were suddenly pushed to the back of his mind. He knelt beside her and touched her shoulder. As her hair fell away, he saw the clear red marks around her neck that were quickly turning a dark purple.
"Sacre Bleu!" he cried. "Ma cherie! What has he done to you?" With that, he gathered her in his arms and held her tightly. She didn't reply, she only continued to cry. Immediately, Paul tapped his commbadge. "Two to beam directly to sickbay!" he said urgently. They disappeared in the shimmer of a transporter beam.
Paul and Katianna appeared in sickbay. He quickly helped her to a biobed and began looking for a doctor. To his surprise, he found Kassia. She scanned him. But immediately she sensed his concern, which was overriding the Love Virus in his system. But just to be sure, she injected him with the adreneline.
"Paul, what is it?"
"Eet's Katianna!" he said and guided her to her friend.
Katianna was still crying. Tears streaked down her face. But around her neck was bruising. It was getting darker by the moment. Soon, her whole neck would be black and blue.
"Zhat bastard Kalimar! I bet he tried to kill her!" Paul said with anger.
"Is it true?" Kassia asked as she looked at her friend.
Katianna nodded and cried more. So many things were going on in her mind. Kassia could feel it and knew that there would be no talking with her unless they sedated her a bit. But to sedate her a little and not all the way was inviting the virus to come back . . . But Kassia wanted answers.
She turned to Paul. "What do you know? How do you know she was with Kalimar?"
"I saw zhem wizh my own eyes," he replied. "Zhey were togezher at Soma . . . He was . . . kissing her," he said, a tone of anger in his voice. Suddenly, he looked around. "Why eez everyone on zhis station acting so bizarre?" he asked.
"There's a virus working it's way through everyone," she explained. "It makes people want to be with the one they love . . . or they fall in love with someone near them . . ." Kassia looked at him then at Katianna.
The virus was still strong in his system, though for the moment was controllable. It wasn't hard to figure out who he was in love with, she thought as she gazed at Katianna's weeping form. Her neck was now almost purple. She sighed . . . The virus made one go after the person they loved so she had to wonder just what had brought Katianna and Kalimar together. Did he just take advantage of her to try to kill her? She wondered. But something nagged at her overworked senses. Finally deciding, she grabbed a different hypospray that contained a tranquilizer. She set it for a low dose and injected it into Katianna's common artery in her neck. She then turned to Paul.
"I need to speak to her a moment alone, Paul. You can come back to her side in a few minutes," Kassia explained gently.
Grudgingly, he moved away. Slowly Katianna's tears stopped, but her green eyes remained just as troubled as ever.
"Kat . . . what happened between you and Kalimar?" she asked.
Tears misted her eyes, though they didn't fall. Katianna's was more calm, but still confused and upset. "He came to kill me, Kassia . . . He was here to end my life . . . But he couldn't . . . Even this last time . . . he could have squeezed the life out of me. He should have . . . But he stopped . ." She was quiet for a moment. "I heard what you said about the virus . . I suppose it explains a few things . . . Why Kalimar and I . . ." She didn't finish the sentence. She couldn't even look at her friend.
For a moment, Kassia was quiet. Not sure how to tell her friend this, or how she would take it. She couldn't even be sure, but she suspected she was right.
"Kat . . . Kalimar is a demon. The equivalent of a god . . . When was the last time you heard of a god getting sick with anything?" she said.
Realization set into Katianna eyes and more tears came. Why then had things happened? Why? She wanted to know? Why hadn't he killed her when he had the chance? She didn't understand any of it. Before she could start sobbing again, Kassia gave her the rest of the injection. She slipped into unconsciousness. She never felt Paul sit next to her and take her hand, or tenderly brush the hair from her face . . .