It was a beautiful but cold late afternoon.
After such a vicious storm the previous night, there had been a brief respite in the weather enough for the bare branches of the forest to begin to dry off. The crisp air was filled with the symphony of birdsong as they chatted amongst themselves without the unwanted presence of others to disturb them.
A most peculiar sound broke the tranquillity of this peaceful setting as it groaned and wheezed into existence. Growing louder with every passing moment, it took a while for the source of it to make itself known.
The TARDIS faded in and out of existence before the large blue wooden box solidified as the ancient engines powered down.
Striding out of the door and breathing in a lungful of the wonderfully fresh air, the Doctor smiled brightly as he surveyed the beauty of the unspoiled landscape. The high-pitched melody had returned now that the birds once again felt safe enough to talk to one another.
"Ah! Just smell that, Rose." He cried out. "Do you know what that is?"
Closing the TARDIS door behind her, Rose Tyler slipped on her denim jacket and pulled it around her shoulders a little tighter. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of damp trees and dirt as she shivered against the unexpected cold temperature.
"It's just a forest, Doctor." She replied. "Blimey, it's freezing."
"But isn't it fantastic!" The Doctor continued to cheer. "Do you know, I haven't smelt this yet. Not with this nose, at least."
Throwing his arms out wide as he twirled on the spot, the Time Lord's long overcoat was whirling around his ankles as he spun around.
"You brought us here to smell trees?"
Rose smiled as Doctor came bounding over to her like an overexcited puppy. They could have arrived on some distant moon or spaceship at the other end of the universe, and he would have shown the same enthusiasm.
"Why not?" He chirped. "Humans are the best and worse for appreciating nature. Yes, pollution is terrible and too many trees get chopped down, not to mention all that waste is really starting to piling up. I mean, talk about really not thinking about the future."
"Oi, we're not all like that." Rose intervened. "Mum's got a recycling bin at home."
The Doctor smiled at her fondly.
"Of course." He agreed. "Plus, think about things like the National Trust. I really must get myself a membership now that I think about it. But the bottom line is, if trees are your game, then Earth is the place to be."
"Okay, I get it." Rose laughed. "You like trees. So come on then, where are we? When are we?"
He paused with all seriousness, and the look on the Time Lord's face told Rose that he didn't have the slightest inkling as to where or when in the entirety of space and time they were. Given the Doctor's excited ramblings, they were almost certainly on Earth. After nearly a year of travelling in the TARDIS, however, she had learned not to judge anything based on appearance alone.
"Hold on."
The Doctor unpocketed the sonic screwdriver as he approached the nearest tree and began to scan the trunk. For good measure, he then leaned forward and licked the rough bark surface. "Oh, not good. Yuck!" He grimaced. "Bark does not taste nice."
"You think?" Rose chastised him. "Please tell me you at least know where we are now?"
"Of course I do." He answered as he rejoined her. "We are slap bang in the middle of..."
The two soldiers had appeared from out of nowhere.
Dressed entirely in black combat gear, the only other colour present on the uniform of the two young men were the bright red berets adorning their heads. Stitched onto their protective Kevlar vests was a white-winged symbol that was also present on the sleeves of their jackets.
They were also both holding SA80 battle rifles.
British-made and capable of firing forty-five-millimetre bullets from over three hundred meters away at nine hundred and thirty meters per second. It would take the space of less than the blink of an eye for the Doctor and Rose to be struck down should the soldiers decide to open fire on them.
Each of the thin, elongated carbine barrels were pointed straight at them.
"This is a restricted area!" The soldier to the left barked. "Identify yourselves. Now!"
"Now, wait just a moment." The Doctor commanded. "Who are you? Soldiers shouldn't be running around the New Forest. Is this a training exercise, or are you two just lost?"
Wisely, the Time Lord had risen his hands up to show he meant no harm to the two armed. Rose had followed in his example, but she couldn't help question the first mention of their current location.
"The New Forest?" She asked. "That's where we are?"
"Yes, late January at a guess." The Doctor whispered back. "Just over three weeks since your last visit home."
"Identify yourselves, both of you!" The soldier ordered again. "What are you doing here?"
Unswayed by the forceful tone or presence of the firearms being pointed at him and Rose, the Doctor chose to counter the order with one of his own.
"No, the question is, why are you running around pointing those things at anyone you come across?" He demanded to know. "We're just out on an evening stroll, aren't we, Rose? Why is this suddenly a restricted area?"
The Time Lord's tone wasn't one of anger. But as he lowered his hands and casually placed them into the depths of his coat pockets, the Doctor slowly began to walk over towards the soldiers.
"That's far enough. Stay where you are!"
They were on edge and willing to use force to maintain order. This was no training exercise. They were here for a specific purpose, and danger was apparently and suddenly afoot.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about me." The Doctor assured the two men. "I'm not armed. I don't like guns, really I don't."
He stopped moving forward, however, as he really didn't want to shot again. The last time that had happened, he had woken up in a hospital morgue in San Francisco.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The second soldier had so far said nothing as the elder of the two men continued to demand information from the Doctor and Rose. It was he who first spotted the TARDIS. The bright blue wooden box stood out spectacularly against the earthy colours of the forest.
It was a sight mesmerising enough for the barrel of the younger soldier's gun to slowly lower until it was pointed toward the ground. He was no longer staring at the Doctor and Rose, but instead, he continued to gaze wide-eyed at the time machine.
"Gordon." He whispered. "Gordon, look over there."
But Gordon was focusing too intently on keeping the two strangers in his line of sight. Ignoring what was being said to him or the presence of the TARDIS, he continued to make his orders known.
"This is a restricted area. No members of the public are allowed here." He stated. "Identify yourselves, right now."
"Gordon! I know who they are."
The other soldier gave Gordon a slight nudge on the shoulder with his own to get his attention at last before he pointed out the TARDIS to him.
"Oh my..." Gordon gasped. "That's the TARDIS. It's actually the TARDIS, Hart."
Quite suddenly, the mood had changed entirely. The Doctor and Rose were no longer being treated as a hostile force who might attack at any moment. Instead, both soldiers had begun to whisper between themselves excitedly, as though they were a curiosity to be discussed.
"So is that him, sir?" Hart asked. "Is that actually -"
"Must be him," Gordon replied. "Who else would it be?"
The Doctor frowned curiously. It was strange for himself and the TARDIS to be so easily identified, let alone by a pair of humans from early twenty-first century Earth.
"Sorry, but have we met?" He questioned. "Because I think I might have remembered this happening. Or maybe it hasn't happened yet? Timelines can be a tricky thing to keep track of."
"I'm sorry, Doctor." Gordon apologised. "Lance Corporal James Gordon. This is Private Nicolas Hart. We both work for UNIT."
Of course! The red berets and the winged logo had looked familiar to the Doctor from the start, and suddenly he realised why. The United Nations Intelligence Taskforce had been set up as a military organisation decades earlier. Working under the guise of the UN, its true purpose was to protect Earth and the human race from alien threats in his absence.
It was of little wonder that Gordon and Hart had been so hostile towards them. In their line of work, a perfectly ordinary-looking man or woman might prove to be a monstrous alien underneath.
"Hang on," Rose asked. "You mean the people from Downing Street?"
"Oh, but this is brilliant!" The Doctor cheered. "Wonderful, in fact."
Running forward and shaking the hands of the two men, made somewhat difficult by their bulky rivals, the Time Lord greeted them with every enthusiasm.
"It's a real honour, sir," Gordon told him. "We've heard a lot about you."
The Doctor's grin widened considerably. No doubt there was a file somewhere with all his Earth-based exploits and adventures. His time in his younger days with the Brigadier hadn't been tiresome, to say the least.
"I bet you have. All good, I hope?" He enquired. "Yes, I'm the Doctor. But you already knew that. Oh, this is Rose Tyler."
"Hello." Rose greeted. "Nice to meet you."
Gordon and Hart nodded back politely. But both soldiers were not here simply to take in the fresh air. Their guns were not for show, and both men knew how to use them.
"Why have UNIT been sent here?" The Doctor asked them. "What's happened?"
The two soldiers visibly tensed up. They had shown great excitement in encountering the Doctor and TARDIS, but neither had yet disclosed why they were patrolling the woods in the first place. Now, when presented with an opportunity to do so, there was reluctance.
Hart was about to speak first when he promptly changed his mind and instead waited for Gordon to speak.
"We can explain everything back at our camp, Doctor." The lance corporal duly explained. "Our commanding officer can fill you in."
"I'm sure they will." The Doctor agreed. "But a first-hand account always helps, wouldn't you agree?"
Gordon and Hart once again chose to withhold the information they were guarding so closely. Perhaps they were not allowed to, however. Rose understood that soldiers had ranks for a reason, and orders were always to be obeyed.
"The boss is the best person to speak to, Doctor." Hart reiterated. "It's his operation."
"Besides," Gordon added. "We can't have you or Miss Tyler wandering around these woods unaccompanied. Right now, it might not be safe to do so. If you know what I mean."
The Doctor did know what he meant. Something dangerous was on the loose within these woods. If UNIT were involved, then it was almost certainly a threat from another world. They wouldn't be here for anything else.
"I do understand, lance corporal." He agreed. "Right, let's go and have a chat with your boss. We'd love to meet him, wouldn't we, Rose?"
"Oh definitely," Rose replied. "Besides, I'd really love a cup of tea. It's freezing stood out here."
It couldn't be any later than five o'clock in the evening, but the sun was already beginning to dip below the horizon. There was just enough light left to make out a growing billow of black clouds that were heading their way. Soon darkness and poor weather would be upon this part of the New Forest. Rose really didn't want to be stood outside when it arrived, and that was without the threat of whatever alien menace UNIT were hunting down.
"I'm sure we can put the kettle on when we get back," Gordon said kindly. "Come on, our base is just on the other side of the woods. Hopefully, we'll be in time to beat the weather."
The storm was upon them less than ten minutes later.
All remaining traces of sunlight had disappeared just as quickly, and Rose could no longer see her own hand in front of her face as she felt the first droplets of rain begin to fall. Gordon and Hart led the way by torchlight through the densely packed trees and tangled bushes of the undergrowth. Both soldiers were in excellent spirits despite the danger they had been sent to face and the increasingly declining condition of the weather.
Rose could tell that they wanted to make the most of their time with the Doctor. Much of the journey to the base camp had been spent discussing his numerous encounters with the alien lifeforms that had come to Earth in more recent years.
"No one suspected the Slitheen," Hart declared. "I read the report. It all was very clever when you think about it. Those compression devices fooled everyone."
"Horrible for the people who died, of course," Gordon added obligingly. "Not to mention Downing Street getting blow up."
"Yeah, but it was still really clever, sir." Hart continued. "You have to admire their ambition."
"I suppose if the technology behind it could be harnessed. It might have proven helpful to us. Maybe even medically so."
Lance Corporal Gordon had explained that he was a combat medic who had served with UNIT for just over four years. More of a paramedic than an actual doctor, it was primarily his job to aid the team should they get ill or injured in the line of duty.
No older than thirty, he was a relatively short and stocky man with light brown hair and eyes the colour of the forest had it been summer. In direct contrast, Hart couldn't have been any older than Rose. His fresh face and curly blonde hair made him look like a schoolboy playing dress-up.
As they neared the end of the woods, he fell into step with Rose.
"I only started working in the field six months ago." He told her. "You can't believe some of the things you see."
"Tell me about it." Rose agreed. "First few trips with the Doctor, I thought I was going mad half the time."
"You saw the Sycorax, didn't you?" He asked. "I heard they were like these big cow-head warriors who fought with swords."
"Yes, I lost a hand that day." The Doctor called back over his shoulder, waving the mentioned limb. "But it grew back."
"Oh, don't remind me," Rose responded with a shudder. "That still gives me the creeps."
They had finally reached the fringe of the woodland and emerged out into the open countryside. Ordinarily, there would be nothing to see even in daylight but miles of grass and a few drystone walls.
But the vast and rural New Forest was abuzz with activity tonight with its newly acquired military presence. Strategically placed spotlights surrounding the base had created an illuminated perimeter and allowed Rose to see the three large tents which made up the encampment.
Parked just on the outskirts of the temporary settlement were two standard army issue Land Rovers and a large transport van.
"That's our base," Gordon announced. "Come on, we'll take you to see -"
"Actually, I wouldn't mind going over there first."
The Doctor was pointing towards a fourth tent, one that Rose had missed entirely. Its purpose, however, became immediately apparent, as did the reason why it was stood so far from the rest of the base. Rose had seen a similar structure on television shows.
Whilst the other three tents were made out of heavy canvas material, this smaller one had been constructed out of heavy-duty white plastic. A large, luminescent yellow stripe ran around the bottom half of it.
It was what the police used to cover up a dead body that had been discovered.