If anyone had been standing near the abandoned laboratory between the tics of a second at 18:00 hours, they would have heard a strange sound, a sound like a hundred million engines, or an asthmatic giant who has just ran for miles.
It wasn't actually either of these things, of course. It was simply the sound the TARDIS always made as it chronologically readjusted itself for a landing. The blue box's pilot stepped out triumphantly, only to have his expression quickly melt away from excitement to disappointment.
"Well, dear, it looks as though you've taken a wrong turn once again," the Doctor said to his ship as he scanned the room trying to place just where he was, "I do not remember waking up this morning and thinking 'gee, filthy old science lab sure do need to take a trip back to that ol' chestnut."
The Doctor ran his finger through a thick layer of dust and popped the filthy finger into his mouth for inspection.
"I know this dust" he muttered. It took a moment, but the memories came crawling from the crevasses of the past. Keep track of over a thousand years of memories was no simple task, but the right sensory detail was all it took to dig even the deepest remembrances out of the mind: Autons and the Master; Silurians and Sea Devils; Ms. Shaw and the Brigadier; Jo and Sarah Jane; the thoughts of his time at UNIT overwhelmed the Doctor. The old lab looked exactly how he left it on the day he flung his scarf over his shoulder and finally returned to wandering the stars.
"Good memories," the Doctor said to a silent companion, "some of the best…some of the few."
The Doctor started back to the TARDIS, when a flashing red light accompanied by a piercing alarm broke the silence that hung in the room. He thought for a minute about ignoring it, he had an appointment to keep with Amy and Rory, but then again, he did have a machine that could travel through time…
"And I never could resist an ol' fashioned warning signal."
The Doctor marched through the doors of the lab. From every direction, military voices could be heard shouting orders over the thunderous march of boot heels against linoleum floors. A platoon of seven or so soldiers, all wearing red berets with the UNIT insignia pinned on to them, came from one of the hall, heading in the Doctor's direction.
"At ease, chaps," the Doctor said with a half-mocking salute, "would one of you care to-"
The two soldiers leading the pack grabbed the Doctor under the arms and dragged him away from the lab and the TARDIS.
"Right, I'll just let you lot escort me to wherever I am most needed."
After being dragged around a few corners, up several flights of stairs, and down who knows how many corridors, the Doctor began to get annoyed.
"I'm perfectly capable of walking myself, you know!" he shouted, to no response, "the heels of my shoes are going to wear out if we keep this up! Anyone? No sympathy for footwear, then? Fine. See if I ever help again next time some spooky, spacey monster comes to this planet and starts breaking everything."
"That's quite enough, release him at once!" a stern, but familiar voice ordered. The soldiers released the Doctor, dropping him onto the floor.
"Ow!" the Doctor stood, rubbing his bottom, "well, glad to know someone around here has got a bit of sense."
And that someone was Kate Stewart. She didn't appear much different than the last time the Doctor saw her. The piercing eyes that could crack a diamond, csame as her father's, stared right at the Doctor, and her usually stoic face couldn't help but grin at seeing him.
"It's good to see you again, Doctor," Kate said, "you'll have to forgive this overly eager bunch. There have been a few changes at UNIT since we last worked together."
The Doctor walked alongside Kate to an industrial lift. The pair crammed in to the tiny room with three soldiers that kept their guns at the ready.
"Lovely to see you too, Kate. But I could do without the trigger happy bunch you've surrounded yourself with," the Doctor delicately pushed the barrel of a soldier's gun away from his face with his pointer finger.
"It's been about four years since the cube invasion, Doctor. The brass was not pleased that so many of those cubes managed to make their way into civilian homes. They felt as though my lack of military background was the reason for avoiding a more…aggressive approach. As such, I now have an "Assistant Head of Military Affairs."
"Quite a mouthful," the Doctor said, "and let me guess, he's the picture of military intelligence."
Kate rolled her eyes.
"Exactly," she said, "and in this case, that means wanting to blow up anything that comes close to the upper atmosphere. I keep him on a short leash though. I'm sure you'll find him just as charming as I do."
The lift came to a halt and opened at the central hub of UNIT. Soldiers and scientists were running security checks and biological scans across dozens and dozens of monitor screens that were spread in rows throughout the room. On the far wall, directly across from the lift entrance, was a massive screen showing a map of the United Kingdom.
"I'm sure you recall the Zygon invasion that took place in Scotland during your time at UNIT?" Kate asked.
"Of course, not to be a namedropper, but I did defeat the Loch Ness monster that day," the Doctor turned to an impressed looking soldier on his right, "you think that's good, you should see the rest of my resume."
"You may also recall," Kate continued, "my father killed one of the Zygons as you were taking care of said Loch Ness monster?"
"I remember."
"When that Zygon was brought back to HQ for an autopsy, our scientists discovered it was still alive and, as near as they could tell, comatose," Kate handed the Doctor a file of medical records for him to review.
"This creature," the Doctor said, "this poor creature has just been rotting here all these years?"
"I had the same thought when I first began my tenure here, Doctor. I brought in experts in of every type of biology from all over the world to try and revive the Zygon. Nothing worked."
For all the value the Doctor placed on his friendship with the Brigadier, he was always frustrated by his stubborn refusal to think of anything but the protection of the human race. He was glad to see that was not a trait that had been passed down into his daughter.
"And now," the Doctor said, "the creature has finally woken up and vanished."
"Precisely."
"The Doctor thought for a moment, and then clapped his hands together. He had a plan.
"Kate, gather everyone in the building up in a room where we'll all fit and I can address everyone: a briefing room, the mess hall, anywhere. How long ago did the Zygon escape?"
"It was first reported forty-five minutes ago, so I would estimate at least an hour. Not nearly enough time to get passed every level of security while we're in full lockdown, but…" Kate trailed off for a moment, "oh, I see exactly what you're doing."
"Knew you would, Kate," the Doctor said with the smirk that all perpetrators of evil had come to fear throughout the cosmos, "knew you would."