Caveship

17 || The Challenge

Once they are through the small door, the floor begins to slowly move like a conveyor belt. Nicholas steps on after Darius and Tah-Kuell, noting that the floor is warm and soft. He can still stand properly, but it has some give to his weight, making standing more comfortable than on the earlier cold metal floor.

Slowly, they're conveyed through a hallway, hit by gentle flashes of light and the occasional spritz of air from some unknown place. "What is going on, Tah-Kuell?"

"It's okay. We have to hit you with a light electric jolt to destroy any spores or unwanted organic hitchhikers you might pick up from planet to planet," Tah-Kuell explains. As if on cue, they feel a shock of electricity flow through their bodies from their feet. It's only mildly painful, if a bit surprising, and it forces their hair to stand on end. Tah-Kuell chuckles at the sight but says nothing to tease them.

Once on the other side, a door opens and allows them to step through to another nondescript rectangular room. This one, however, is host to several outlined circles settled on the ground. "Okay. Here's where we acquire our new apparel. I haven't received one in quite some time, so this should be exciting." Tah-Kuell steps forward to demonstrate, standing in one of the circles. Nothing happens, leaving Darius and Nicholas standing behind, waiting for anything to occur. "Come on, this won't work unless all three of us are on. Just be sure to stand as still as possible."

Moving to stand in the circles themselves, Nicholas and Darius try to stand perfectly still and tall. Out from the floor and the ceiling, two brilliant blue rings of light ascend and descend, narrowing until they perfectly touch and hover over their bodies, following every single contour perfectly. From seemingly nothing, the lights create fabrics and begin to materialize new clothing: a greyish-silver, skintight uniform; like the kind a scuba diver might wear. Embedded within the material are darker lines, almost organic circuitry that can be seen on the surface. Over their shoulders, elbows, knees, or other vulnerable areas, the uniform is thicker, and padded. Though the uniform lacks traditional shoes, they still have obvious padded soles to protect their feet.

"Wow..." Nicholas blinks in surprise, looking himself over once the light has disappeared. "I figured we'd get something strange but nothing like this. It's like I'm not really wearing anything. Which I guess is still sort of awkward." He tugs at the uniform. It relents when he does, but snaps back into place once he releases it. "Feels tight. Like a second skin."

"I wonder what the girls are going to think of theirs. Sophia is pretty body-conscious, so I'm thinking she's not going to like it," Darius speaks as he feels himself over as well. "You know what's weird? When I touch the suit, it still feels like I'm touching my own skin."

Tah-Kuell looks himself over as well, clearly pleased with the upgrade to his original uniform. "Oh, these must be one of the newer models. Very well-made. I'll be able to go over with you what they can do once we get back to the ship, but for now you'll probably discover it as you go." He steps forward to open the door leading out to the new hallway, but the girls are already waiting for them on the other side of the door. "Oh, it seems the other group has beaten us."

"Here I figured we were being quick," Nicholas chuckles, looking over the other women to see how they have handled their uniforms. Like the men, their uniforms are the same skintight silver suits, clinging to the girl's curves. Though the chest has thicker armor plating as opposed to the men, as well as over their hips, lending them greater amounts of modesty. Even so, without the normally modest clothing they had been wearing, the girls look much more developed, with Sarah being the one benefiting the most out of the transition to the new uniform.

Sarah blushes, though it's unclear if it's from the looks from the boys, or from the fact that the uniform leaves considerably less to the imagination than her old hoodie. "I don't mind the uniform, but Sophia," She chuckles, looking over toward the smaller girl, who's busy tugging at the uniform to try to get it off of her.