"I designed the decon system myself," Choi said. "I guarantee you, nothing short of a human in a PMS could survive the process."

Willard shifted his weight. "You designed the decon?"

Choi appeared stymied for a moment. Willard wondered if her involvement in the decon system was supposed to be public knowledge.

"I uh, yes. I designed the system."

Willard became more curious. "Forgive me for asking, but what do you know about decontamination? Is that standard astronaut training?"

Choi looked at the floor and then sighed. She returned her eyes to Willard's and took a sudden casual demeanor. "I was with the CDC for a few years before moving to the GEC."

"CDC…" Willard said, letting his mind fill in the full phrase. "You were with the Center for Disease Control?" He didn't hide his rising apprehension.

"My history with the CDC had nothing to do with my qualifications for this mission," Choi said.

Willard wasn't sure whether to believe her or not, but he felt certain he wouldn't get an honest answer if there was more to the story. "A lucky bonus then?"

"Very lucky," Choi said, regaining her relaxed posture. "Their previous decon system had several flaws. The crew and the alien environments will be safer from contamination than ever before."

"How's that?"

"Decon consists of an alcohol solution spray down—three variants,  an O2 wash down, an anti-bacterial mist to kill anything that survived the alcohol, a second O2 wash and exposure to low level radiation and extreme heat at the end. We'll be comfortable in our PMS's the entire time. Won't feel a thing. And anything that survived would also have to withstand the vacuum of space. Nothing, microbe or otherwise, could survive. We pass through decon on the way out for the environment's protection and on the way in for ours."

Willard chewed through the information and came up with only one question. "What about the germs inside the suit? You can't decontaminate our bodies."

Choi's eyebrows rose. "Good for you, Mr. Willard. The solitary remaining risk of contamination lies in the rupture of our PMS suits or face masks. The decompression of the suit will pull air out of the suit, still protecting the suit's wearer from contamination, but exposing the environment to any germs the wearer might be carrying. So as far as crew safety goes, we're in no biologic danger."

Willard wasn't sure if he felt better or not, but she had answered his questions and then some. "Guess it would be bad if any of us had an infectious disease then, huh?"

Willard wasn't expecting the response he got to his off-hand comment. Choi's casual demeanor vanished and was replaced by a steely gaze. "Very bad," she said before turning and walking away.