Choi put all her strength into her legs and sprang forward with high arcing leaps. If she were attempting the run in full Earth gravity, she'd have already hit the dirt, but in the low gravity of Europa, she might have a chance. With every landing, the Europhids at her feet slid away, avoiding a messy death.

She wasn't sure how far she had gone…or if she was moving in the right direction, but she knew she was making good time. As long as Peterson remained distracted by the dead Europhid, she was free to run.

With each ragged breath, a burning sensation swelled in her throat. Is this just physical exhaustion, she wondered, or is something else happening? She nearly toppled over when she realized she could be miles away from her ATV, from the Lander and from TES, all of which provided the life sustaining electromagnetic shielding. Six minutes…if she were outside the shielded area, she'd only have six minutes to run. She needed to figure out which way to go.

She stopped and scanned the area, looking for any hint of where she was. But the edges of the field were slightly raised and if Peterson had extinguished the lights on the ATV, it would be invisible in the near dark.

Peterson…

She changed her focus and searched the field for any sign of her body-snatched crewmate. He was gone.

A shifting shape fell from the darkness above. The impact struck Choi in the chest and sent her sprawling backwards. She toppled over and landed on a group of Europhids that didn't have time to move. She felt them turn to mush beneath her weight and ooze out from her sides as her weight pushed down.

"No!" Peterson shouted as he landed. He roared loud enough to make his voice hoarse and charged forward.

"What do you want with me?" Choi screamed as she pushed away from Peterson, slipping on the Europhid gut-covered ice. Her chest tore with pain with every move.

"Decontamination," Peterson said, standing above Choi. "You understand the concept."

Choi paused. "Yes."

"You will be studied. With understanding comes efficiency. You understand this as well."

Choi realized that Peterson was expressing the basic concept of, "know your enemy." But he was relating to her field of study and it made sense. The Europhids, the stupid little spongy cucumbers, were going to study her so they could kill human beings better. "Yes," she said, "I understand."

"Then you will understand this as well." Peterson raised his hands to the dark sky and smiled.