Star Wars: Crash on Kessel

Chapter 03: Exposure

Coming through the airlock, Miyari waited while the outer doors closed and fresh air was pumped inside. The dust picked up from the exterior surface was blown off of her suit by atmosphere rushing in. Miyari took off her helmet when the environmental indicator on the wall turned green as air pressure reached standard levels.

The instant the seals on her helmet breached, she started coughing as she inadvertently inhaled the dust lingering in the air. She tried clearing her throat to remove the irritation, but an intense headache drove a spike of pain through her temples, causing her to drop her helmet and the retrieved hull plating. The helmet clattered against the floor, but the piece of exterior hull clanged loudly, the noises intensifying her headache to the point where she nearly screamed in pain. Dizziness hit next, and she slumped against the nearest wall for support. Her heart was racing, and none of her training would make it slow down. Sweat beaded on her skin and a feverish temperature filled her body.

After a few moments, the pain and dizziness subsided. Miyari remained where she was, breathing slowly and methodically, mentally bracing for a second wave of symptoms. When none came, she carefully stood upright from the wall she'd been leaning on. She took a tentative step, but the pain and dizziness didn't return. Her rapid heart rate and feverish perspiration were still present.

She wiped her forehead with the back of her sleeve, leaving a rusty smear on her skin from the dust coating her spacesuit. A second wave of pain and dizziness slammed into her, and she missed when grabbing for the wall, collapsing to her hands and knees. She tried to stand, but her muscles had begun to quiver. Rolling over on her back, Miyari took great effort to remove the comlink from her belt and switch it on. Her hands were shaking so badly at this point, it was all she could do to hold onto the small device.

"Airlock," she gasped. "Help."

The comlink dropped from between her fingers, and she couldn't make her hands cooperate long enough to retrieve it. Pain filled her skull from one side to the other as if she'd been speared clear through, and it felt as if the entire room were spinning around her. Finally, everything faded to darkness as she lost consciousness.

"Miyari!" Rand called out as he turned the corner and found her lying on the floor. He ran to her side, but she made no response. Her eyes were closed and her breathing came in labored wheezes. Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her to the medical room.

A small space cramped into one corner of the ship, the medical facilities on the Starhopper were sufficient for treating minor injuries or the occasional deep wound, but they were far less than the capabilities of a larger ship or station.

When Rand placed Miyari on the single table in the center of the cabinet lined room, he didn't notice the dust transferred from her suit to his uniform and hands. He did take notice of the intense headache and vertigo suddenly coming upon him. He grabbed the edge of the medical table with both hands, his blue skinned knuckles going white. When the worst of it had passed, he took a step back and opened one of the cabinets to reach the sink concealed inside. A self-contained supply of water, vigorously recycled and cleansed, poured from the faucet, allowing him to wash his hands and splash some of the water on his face. As the cool liquid flowed over him, he began feeling better. Taking out his comlink, he called for Voz to join him in the medical room.

"What's the problem?" Voz questioned upon his arrival.

"I don't know," Rand admitted. Lingering symptoms of whatever had hit him were still present, and he leaned his head back against the wall cabinets. "Miyari called for help. I found her on the floor by the airlock, and after I got her here, I started feeling dizzy with a painful headache."

Voz approached and looked over his fellow crew members without touching either one of them. He removed a medical scanner from one of the cabinets and passed the hand-sized device over Miyari first then Rand.

"Both of you have elevated heart rates and increased blood pressure," Voz reported. "I'm also picking up a massive amount of adrenaline in your systems. Her condition is far more advanced than yours."

"Do you think it could be something caused by the black hole?" Rand queried.

"I doubt it," Voz denied. "Black holes have been encountered before, and they've never had this kind of effect. What's this dust on her suit and yours?"

"I think it's the asteroid," Rand speculated. "She was covered in it when I found her, and I must've gotten some on me as well when I moved her in here."

"It's worth looking into," Voz stated. He dug through three cabinets before finding what he needed. Better equipped medical facilities would've had access to advanced biologic scanners and environmental purification units, but the Starhopper had to make do. Utilizing a small probe, Voz collected some of the dust and put it inside the small scanner unit he'd retrieved from the cabinet.

The time it took for the scan to be completed seemed agonizingly slow to Voz and Rand, but when the computer report appeared on the data screen atop the device, they had their answer.

"That isn't good," Voz muttered.

"What?" Rand demanded from where he leaned against the cabinets.

"The dust seems to be a powerful stimulant" Voz reported. "I don't know its full effects, but the intensity seems to increase with the dosage."

Voz swept his portable medical scanner over Rand and compared the resulting data to what he'd recorded from Miyari.

"You've both been exposed, but she has more of it in her blood," Voz told Rand. "You'll probably recover on your own in due time, but if I can't find a way to purge it from Miyari, the strain it's putting on her system is going to kill her."