Sam woke up and moaned. He wasn't back. He would have heard something, not this silence. He sat up and looked around. Strange. He was in a white room cluttered with stuff, and there wasn't a soul around. It was refreshing, really.
He stood and looked down. Good heavens! He must have been over six foot! He saw a full length mirror on the wall and looked at his new form in it; long white hair, large hard nose, and a wrinkled face.
He decided to try and explore, so he got dressed in some kind of flamboyant colorful mess and headed out. That was a mistake. He had no idea where he was, and there was no one in sight. And what was worse was the apparent labyrinth thing the designer of this place had leaned on.
Somehow, he managed to get to one room with a large central console in the middle as a hexagonal island. Sam decided not to touch anything. There was a set of double doors on one wall, but he couldn't figure out how to open them.
He heard a crisp knocking suddenly, and he jumped, throwing his hands against the console as he lost his balance. His hand pushed down a large-handled lever, and he steeled himself in case something exploded.
But to his surprise, the doors opened. Eager to get out of this prison, he hurried out.
A strong military type was waiting with his hat tucked firmly under his arm and a pretty civilian girl at his elbow.
"Doctor," the man said crisply. "We have received a package, and it's giving off the strangest noise. We would like to ensure it isn't a threat."
"Of course," Sam replied, hoping he was in character. He followed the strange man and woman as they turned and walked out of what was a high-tech lab, and he attempted to memorize the turns to get back. They turned a few corners, and they reached an office marked "Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart," and judging by the way the man ordered some of the others around, he was the brigadier.
There was a heavy crate on the desk, and it was humming loudly.
"Well," Sam said hesitantly when it became clear he was supposed to take charge. "Let's have a look." It was the stupidest thing he had ever done, considering he had no idea what happened when he died in another body.
It was an object roughly the size and shape of an American football but perfectly smooth, pitch black, and shiny.
"What on Earth is that?" that familiar grating voice demanded behind Sam's shoulder.
"I have no idea," Same said and looked back at Al, who was standing next to the brigadier.
"You have no idea?" the woman asked surprised.
"No," Sam replied.
"What's up with that outfit?" Al ironically demanded as Sam turned around. It probably didn't help he was in leopard suspenders and a Technicolor blue suit.
Sam shrugged.
"Well, let's take it down to the lab," the woman suggested.
"Good idea," the brigadier said. He called in a lieutenant and sent it to the lab. "You take Miss. Shaw here and start analyzing it," Lethbridge-Stewart said crisply to Sam, who nodded.
"Alright." He followed Miss. Shaw out, but he said, "Excuse me; I need to use the restroom."
She looked surprised but nodded. "Alright."
Sam turned down the nearest hall with Al behind.
"Anything?" Sam asked desperately.
"No. This guy doesn't say much for all the talk. I came to find out stuff from you."
"Well, I have no idea where I am, and now I've been given some kind of weird job!"
"Looks like you're military, in some way," Al observed. "British military."
"Great."
"Do you have any idea what the date is?" Al asked. "The guy on this end isn't being very cooperative."
"No. I'll look around."
"I don't know if this is a joke, but apparently your name is 'the Doctor.'"
"The Doctor?" Sam asked incredulously. Al shrugged.
"That's all I got." Al suddenly stopped and turned his head as if he was listening. "I gotta go. Sounds like he's gotten out."
"How did he do that?!" Sam demanded.
"Beats me. I even had someone watch the door" Al snapped out of existence, and Sam sighed. It was going to be great day.