Epilogue
'
The Doctor sauntered along the well-trodden corridor of the preliminary base, an affectionate smile gracing his lips. Sarah would be back in spite of her token protests to the contrary. He knew the type, an adventurer to the core, strong-willed and quick-witted. It would be a pleasure to explore the wonders of the universe through time and space together.
Out of the corner of his eyes he caught a glimpse of Captain Mike Yates being accompanied down an adjacent hallway. The sight, a stark reminder of recent events, sobered him instantly and his smile faltered. It seemed vastly incongruous to reconcile the image of the bedraggled figure being marched off the premises with that of the smiling and companionable captain he had known for years. The Doctor had always been quite fond of the easy-going, kind-hearted officer and considered him a friend. It was a shame to see him leave with hunched shoulders that spoke of how much the conversation with his superior had rattled him.
Although the Timelord could hardly dispute the brigadier's sound assessment of declaring Yates at present unfit for service, he was grateful that Mike was being spared the humiliation of a court-martial. Despite the man's misplaced loyalty towards a scheming extremists' shady cause, not for one moment had the Doctor entertained the idea that Yates would have acted on his threat when pulling a gun on them. His heroic intervention saving UNIT's resident alien from the predicament with the Tyrannosaurus Rex at the risk of his own life had proven as much. Still, this manner of dismissal from UNIT, even if not quite dishonourable, did not do justice to everything the bright young officer had endured and sacrificed in the name of duty.
The Doctor had always thought of Captain Yates as a reasonably intelligent, if at times somewhat impressionable chap, whose concern for Earth's environment and the planet's future was well founded and admirable. A sentiment UNIT's scientific advisor shared whole-heartedly. The methods employed by the group behind Operation Golden Age, though, had been altogether appalling. Therefore, the Timelord had been profoundly saddened to learn that his suspicions about Mike being the inside man working against them had turned out accurate. Whatever lies and empty promises from General Finch and his cohorts the man had fallen prey to, in his floundering state, he had evidently lost the ability to recognize how disturbingly warped his world-view had become.
No one knew better than the Doctor how delicate and fragile the human mind could be, and succumbing to the brute force of mind-altering alien devices was certainly no sign of a lack of strength or fortitude. His friend's subsequent mental decline and slow descent into depression had pained the Doctor greatly. He had sombrely witnessed the young man become ever more withdrawn and lose himself by increments. Captain Yates had valiantly tried to trudge on while adamantly refusing to admit to any weakness, as was the current time's distressing convention.
Military organisations of this specific time had little consideration or tolerance for struggles of a psychological nature and were even less equipped to offer appropriate assistance. Even though outwardly disagreeing on many occasions, he knew his dear friend Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart for the caring man he was, who took his soldiers' well-being to heart. Well-intentioned as the leave of absence the brigadier had granted his subordinate had been, it had obviously done more harm than good, leaving the ailing man to fend for himself rather than actively supporting him in finding his footing again.
The Doctor had told the commanding officer as much in no uncertain terms but had been met with impatient irritation at his incessant meddling. Disciplinary action, as Lethbridge-Stewart so kindly reminded him, fell squarely outside of his responsibility. So, with his TARDIS still out of commission, he had been impotent to aid in any meaningful way, ultimately resigning himself to hoping for the best. A world of good that had done!
Instead of recovering from the mental abuse and its destructive consequences, Yates had merely become better at hiding its devastating effects. The growing apathy in his friend's eyes had been clear enough to detect for anyone who bothered to pay attention. In his boundless delight at finally being able to travel off-world and through time again, the usually perceptive Doctor had missed the telltale signs of Mike's decreasing rational stability, too. And now a good man was paying the price for their negligence.
Throughout their years of acquaintance, the Timelord had gleaned that Mike Yates, though well liked by his peers, was not particularly close to his family. The man had fully committed his life to UNIT and his fellow soldiers. Now that this very life was collapsing around him like a house of cards, the Doctor worried that being cut off completely from UNIT and his support network would set an already desperate man even further adrift. He fervently hoped that Mike would persevere and prosper once again. Yet, only time would tell whether his friend was going to drown on his own or eventually swim.
FIN