“You’re the first person I’ve spoken to in ten years.” The Prisoner said sitting up on the exam bed.
“Ten years is an awfully long time to be alone.” The Doctor said analyzing the beeping machines. “Why were you even out there?”
“I didn’t have much choice. It’s what the government deemed an appropriate punishment.”
“For mail fraud? That seems a bit extreme, but I did hear that when the penal shuttles were implemented, the powers that be went a little crazy with launching prisoners for everything.”
He shrugged, “yeah...”
The Doctor nodded thoughtfully as he continued to check vitals and numbers.
“How long have you guys been out here?” The Prisoner asked.
“We launched 3 years ago.”
“Why?”
“Oh, the usual, the search for intelligent life, the search for habitable planets, etc.”
“Any luck?”
“No. The only intelligent life we’ve come across was you when we spotted your prison shuttle drifting by.”
“I appreciate you stopping to get me.”
“Well, it seemed like the thing to do. No one should be left to die alone in space.”
“How many are there on the shuttle?”
“Five in total. The Pilot, the Scientist, the Engineer, the Captain, and of course me, the Doctor.”
“And where are they now?” He stood and started to stretch as he walked around the sickbay.
“Oh probably at their stations. One or two might be in the dining area.”
“This seems like a small crew. Can the shuttle be operated with one person?”
The doctor thought for a second, “Well, I suppose if the one person knew the different jobs, I guess it could be operated with one person if it was necessary.”
“Good.”
The Doctor looked back at the man who had walked to where the emergency surgical instruments were laid out and ready to go. He seemed particularly fascinated with a scalpel.
“Why?”
“Oh, I just wanted to make sure I could fly this thing myself once I kill all of you.” He stated.
The doctor took a step back and opened his mouth to shout, but his voice was severed with a scalpel so fast all he could do was gurgle on his own blood as he fell to the floor. The Prisoner leaned over him. "By the way, I wasn't launched for mail fraud. I actually killed 14 people on earth." He walked away to let the Doctor die.
He made his way out of the sickbay and found himself in the dining section. No one was there, so he continued down the long shuttle.
He turned down a hallway off to the right. There he entered a large room filled with samples, beakers, and test tubes. The scientist’s attention was focused on whatever she was looking at through the microscope.
He walked silently up behind her. He grasped the back of her head and pushed it violently into the microscope before yanking her head back and cutting her throat. He dropped her and watched as she bled out. When she went still he made his way in another direction.
He found himself just outside the cockpit door. He could hear the pilot singing to himself. He stalked tiptoed his way through the door. Just as he was about to strike, something large hit him in the back of the head and everything went black.
He woke up in the bay area. The air hatch was closed on one side, and the bay doors stood on the other side.
He stood up and looked through the small window into the shuttle. The Pilot and Captain were standing on the other side talking. They noticed him staring at them.
The captain stepped up to the window, “You killed two of my crew.” He said through a tight jaw.
He shrugged, “So. I wanted your ship and supplies. Can’t blame a guy for trying.”
The Captain growled and stomped back to the pilot. “What do you think?”
"I don’t know. We can’t have him loose on the ship, but we can’t keep him in the bay either.” The Pilot responded. Frustration marked the Captain’s face.
The Prisoner smirked. He knew the type. They were boy scouts. They would eventually let him out. He just had to wait.
The Captain and the Pilot continued their conversation trying to brainstorm options.
The Engineer’s face suddenly appeared in the window blocking the Prisoner’s view of the two men. The Prisoner took an involuntary step back. He smirked at her as she stared at him. She stared at him for what felt like forever. He continued to smirk. Then she smiled. It was not a pleasant smile and the Prisoner’s instincts suddenly flared.
The Engineer continued to smile. Her arm snaked out to the side and hit the button for the bay doors. The Prisoner’s eyes widened in disbelief as he was sucked into space. His face froze that way and the Engineer laughed.
She closed the doors and turned around and was confronted with two wide-eyed men.
“What?” She asked. “You guys weren’t coming up with any solutions.”
The Captain and the Pilot watched her go back to her station. "Remind me to not piss her off.” The Pilot finally said. The Captain nodded.