I open the sliding metal doors, entering the room with our newest one. The room is stark and spartan, white walls and a chrome floor, a beige curtain with light spilling out from behind it, all in my opinion a very good piece of work considering what we have to go on. He’s a tall, rough man with shoulder-length, unkempt hair. I think they said he was a farmer. He’s locked to the table by each of his limbs, and you can still see the marks from when we had to subdue him. A fine specimen this one is. Well, let us get to work, shall we? Picking up the scalpel and activating the device in my ear, I am suddenly and violently pushed to the ground, knocking over my stand of tools. Looking back, I see the specimen over me, breathing heavily and putting the hairpin back into his hair. I crawl backwards and slowly stand to my feet while picking up one of my larger tools. The specimen looks rather confused by this surgical equipment I wield as though he had never seen anything like it. We enter a kind of stalemate.

-Where am I? Who are you? Why did you take me?

I need to act as calmly as I can. These ones always get angry too easy.

-Now, now one question at a time, you. My name’s David Davidson and I’m your doctor. You’re in a hospital room and you’re making a scene just around 9 AM. And we “took” you because your family called us.

-I don’t have a family. Tell me who you are or I’ll skewer you with your own tools!

Dammit, the family line usually works. I force a fake laugh but feel a sharp pain in my lower back.

-C-come on, you’re overreacting! That’s just the suppressant talking. You do have a family, and you just don’t remember.

Putting my hand on the wound I feel some blood wet my fingers. Nothing much, but this still isn’t good.

-Fine, if you know who I am, what’s my name? If my family called you, and I was admitted to a hospital, you would have to know my name. so, what is it “David Davidson?”

I panic and dash towards the gauze in the corner by the sink, wrapping it around my midsection. I’m not going to be the first doctor to mess this up for everybody. They’ll kill me if I am. The specimen takes this opportunity to pick up one of my tools and run towards me. I try to swing with my tool but this farmer, both bigger and stronger than me as they always seem to be, parries my attempted blow and puts the tool to my throat.

-Give me some answers or you’re going to be needing more than just gauze, David. Let’s begin with the first question. Where the hell am I?

-This place? I guess you could call it a doctor’s office.

He tightens his grip. I’ll give him everything without telling him anything. Misdirection!

-Fine, you got me. This is the H.M.S. Delver and I’m David Davidson.

-Where are we sailing?

-Nowhere in particular. We’re in, uh, international waters right now, so what’s your plan if you keep threatening me like this?

-I don’t think that’s the first thing on my list right now. What were you going to do to me?

-That’s not really something that important, I don’t think. Don’t you want to know—

He grips me tighter. When I move I feel a solution in one of my lab coat pockets. If I could just reach that weapon I would be able to solve this whole thing. But I need to find a way to reach it.

-Fine then, you really want to know? We were going to steal your kidneys. Happens all the time, and you were one of the unlucky ones. Now if you’ll please unhand me, what in the world am I going to do? I’m unarmed and you have a surgical tool to my throat. In all truth I just do this for the currency. I just want to provide for my wife and children and dog.

That’s believable, right? I was never very good at this part. He unhands me but keeps the tool pointed firmly at my neck. At this moment I hear the others coming. I can’t let them mess this up for me. The metal sliding doors begin to open but I throw a metal vessel at the close and lock button across the room. The doors slide shut with a calm ding.

-What was that for?

-That was just some guards. I didn’t want them doing anything rash, you know? I want to explain the whole situation to you without resorting to violence. I realize I’m saying this minutes after swinging at you with a surgical tool meant to remove your kidneys, but that’s beside the point.

I feel something running down the back of my leg and realize that my wound from before is still bleeding. As long as I keep my back turned everything will be ok.

-What’s that?

He points to the floor, to the liquid beginning to drip off the bottom of my pants. I’m shaking

-T-that? It’s nothing, I just spilled what was in the vial was all, no issue there. Absolutely fine.

-Are you bleeding?

-What? No, are you c-crazy? It’s the wrong color, haha.

HE KNOWS. After ten seconds of silence I sprint to the window and draw my weapon, firing it. He blocks the bolt of energy with the surgical tool and it ricochets, tearing a smoldering hole in the curtain, making the light spilling out from behind it go out, and knocking me to the side. Dumbfounded, he slowly walks over to the window and tears the curtain the rest of the way open, flooding the room with a red glow. He is confronted by a sea of stars surrounding a cloudy, crimson planet many times the size of his. Metal ships flit to and fro about its surface and he backs away from the sight. One of the metal appendages of the ship reads Higeros Morlach Ship, Delver. The H.M.S. Delver. There are three bangs on the doors which begin to dent inward. Injured from the blast I try to prop myself up and address him.

-I am the one who makes the holes in the specimens. You ruined this for everybody, it’s not my fault. But they’ll still punish me for this. If I’m going to die, I have two conditions. Do you want to know what they are, human?

-What are you? What is this? What’s Happening?

He drops my surgical tool in dumbfounded terror. There are three more bangs on the door, they’re almost open now.

-One, I want to die on my own terms, and two, I want to die in my true form.

I remove the device from my ear, transforming my human visage into what must seem to him a mass of red tentacles. This looks like too much for him, and he begins sputtering and going mad.

-It’s a shame, really. It doesn’t work if you know the truth. And now they’ll use me for the purpose you were supposed to serve. I’m not going out like that

I fire at him, sending his body across the room with a thud against the far wall. The final bang of the door sends them soaring and the guards begin to flood in and shout at me in my native tongue. Knowing what my fate is, I turn the blue iridescent gun on myself, gifting to myself a merciful death.