Echo

Chapter 25: Toeing Lines

Author's Notes: This chapter was brought to you by pizza. :)

- -
Leonard

When Hikaru and Jim materialized upon the pad by themselves in the transporter room, Leonard was immediately concerned that something terrible had happened to you and the others, and a bubble of fear grew in his stomach.

That terror was allayed as soon as he realized that the pilot and the captain were laughing so hard they could barely stand. They stumbled off of the glowing circles and out into the central area of the room, struggling to recover as they remained doubled over with mirth.

"Mr. Scott, please seal the entrance and commence with the quarantine procedure before you beam up the Ensigns," Kirk ordered the engineer, struggling to get the words out.

At that, McCoy realized with a measured sense of amusement that one of you had failed to take his advice and stepped on a pod. Fortunately, the goo in the pods was not poisonous in that it would harm any of you, but it was filled with a sort of bacteria that could cause illnesses if not properly cleansed from the skin. Thus, Scotty dialed the code that would close the plastic entrance to the pad, prepped the sanitary hoses, and beamed the three of you off of the surface.

The little glowing lights circled around your figures until finally your solid bodies came into view, and as predicted, the three of you were drenched in mucus-colored fluid that was the consistency of glue. Leonard chuckled at the sight of it, and upon seeing the three of your miserable figures again, Jim and Sulu's composure failed once more.

Mr. Scott, grinning, spoke into the microphone, "Please remove your clothing and toss it on the floor, you may keep on your undergarments."

He could tell which one you were since you appeared to the shortest, but that was really the only distinguishing feature, because all that could be seen of any of you were a few glimpses of your grey jumpsuits and some pockets of flesh where you had tried to wipe the concoction off.

Fortunately you had all managed to get your noses free so that your breathing was not obstructed, but you couldn't see, and therefore had a hell of a time trying to wriggle your way out of your uniforms, which were sealed against your bodies due to the weight of the sludge.

He watched you simply for the pleasure of seeing you vulnerable and incredibly angry, two things you seldom were, as you dug ferociously through the gunk coating your body to find the zipper of your uniform. With laborious effort as the roomful of Starfleet officers roared with laughter, you managed to pull it down to your hips, and then fully off, kicking your boots away as well. Sadly as a result, some of the remaining fluid dripped down your bare flesh to occupy the new space, covering your upper and lower body before anybody could even see it.

You shuddered and emitted a low-pitched but audible groan of pure misery, fruitlessly trying to pull more of it off as you waited for the others. Unfortunately the fluid was like paste; it could not be removed with your hands, it had to be washed off, and the more you attempted to clear it away, the further it spread. Nevertheless, as funny as it was to watch the three of you standing there fuming, looking like large green blobs, he did pity your predicament.

"Commencing decontamination," Scotty stated, and with that, the hoses upon the walls began to spray water at the three of you.

Leonard knew for a fact that they didn't heat it for your comfort, the water and sanitizing fluid inside of the transporter was ice cold. The three of you stood there, being blasted forcefully by the jets as you shuddered and trembled, unwittingly drawing together for warmth.

However, as the water cleaned you off, making chunks of the pus smack against the floor, Leonard's smile faded.

As soon as it began to clear away, glimpses of your bare flesh beneath the pod fluid could be seen, and the longer you stood there, more became revealed. The hoses hit you with highly pressurized bursts of water until finally the last of it was cleared away, and the three of you were finally clean, soaking wet from head to toe, shivering in your underpants.