"Look at the instruments," Willows said.
De Hooch ran a practiced eye over the console and swallowed. "What were they running?"
"Mercury 203," Willows said. "Half-life forty-six point five days. Beta and gamma emitter. Converts to Thallium 203, stable."
"What did they want with a kilogram of the stuff?"
"Special order. Shipment to Earth for some reason."
"Have you checked the end-point? She's building up fast."
"No. No. I haven't." He wet his lips with the tip of his tongue.
"Check it," said de Hooch. "Do any of the controls work?"
"I don't know. I didn't want to fiddle with them."
"You start giving them a rundown. I'm going to get into a suit and go pull those two out of there—if they're still alive." He opened the locker and took his radiation-proof suit out. He checked it over carefully and began shucking his vac suit.