I spent a frantic few minutes hyperventilating and waiting for the first of five underground airlocks to cycle after leaving the contaminated zone.
Even after I'd run through three levels of decontamination and had shed the personal protection equipment I'd worn in the hot zone, I felt unclean.
The entire time I was crawling aft through kilometers of ducts and accessways, I felt like there was something at my heels.
I expected to get in all kinds of trouble when I got back to our ring, but no one had time for that kind of thing now.
Perri surprised me with a hug when she saw I was still alive, and I surprised myself by breaking into sobs of relief.
At least it wasn't for nothing-I guess I was the first to bring back samples of the contamination to test.