Chris had one other quirk. He was always well groomed. Never a hair out of place or a button undone. Which made David very aware of the absolute mess that stood in front of him. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, nor shaved in as many. There were food stains on his wrinkled shirt and expensive silk tie. But worst of all was the red rimmed haunted look in his eyes. Like he had seen the end of the world.

Chapter 68 End of the World

"David, I've got to talk to you. You're the only one I trust. You have to look at my data. I've gone over it many times and I can't find the flaw. There must be a flaw." Chris grabbed David by the front of his shirt. "Please! You have to come with me now. You have to show me where I'm wrong!" "All right Chris. Take it easy. I'll come with you." The two men went downstairs to the parking lot and sat in the transport.

"Chris, What is it? What's gotten into you? You look like hell. When's the last time you slept?" Chris just stared ahead and said, "I don't know." David did not like how his friend was acting. "Where to?" Chris showed no sign of emotion, "The university." It was rush hour traffic and it took longer to get there than normal Chris was nearly catatonic when they arrived. They got out and headed to his lab.

The lab was an absolute mess of books, reports and carry out containers with old cups of coffee on every table. Chris had always been meticulous in his lab. It could have been graded for contaminants as a clean room. David looked around with horror "Ok buddy, now you're scaring me. What's going on?

Chris silently began to pile up all the data he had in front of David. When he was done he just sat in his desk chair and waited. It was quite a mound of information and David knew it would take some time to sort and assimilate. Clearly whatever it was would be of epic proportion.

David sighed and began. First were reports from other observatories around the planet about a smudge that could only be seen at certain intervals. Not unusual considering the solar system they were in, which had a very thin asteroid ring both in front and behind their planet on the elliptical plain. Then, more reports of a large dark object passing by their outer solar system. It would miss them, but the gravitational pull of this object would cause those asteroids to leave their normal orbits.

David continued to dig through the reports and the math to see where this was going. The dark object was a stellar core fragment. Incredibly dense with an enormous gravity well. It will skirt past their system like a broom, sweeping and pulling on everything in its path. Causing currents and eddies of gravity that would toss the asteroids about like marbles. They were about to live in a shooting gallery. David looked up from the data. Chris was staring at him, praying for someone to tell him he was wrong.

But he wasn't.

Just how do you cope with the news that your world is doomed? So far Chris had said nothing to the authorities yet, although it would be obvious to anyone with access to this data. The other scientists around the planet that had seen it would come to the same conclusions.

"Ok Chris," David ran his hand through his hair. "As usual your findings are rock solid, and it looks like we're in for a rough time. We need to get this to the right people, right now, if we're to plan a defense." Chris looked at him and choked out a laugh. "A defense? Did you say a defense? You know as well as I do, there is no defense against a stellar core fragment. The very best we could throw at it would be about as effective as a spitball!" David was aware of how bad it was, but the family motto, Never give up, Never give in, was second nature. "Yea, ok, not the fragment. But can we do something about the resulting shotgun blast?"

David was trying to reason with it out loud. "The good news is the planet is going to be on the other side of the sun when it arrives, which should shield us for a time. It will take a week before it passes far enough away so as not to have an effect on our system. It's passing behind us at that point, so any debris will be following it away from us. The gravity of the other planets and moons in our system will take in the majority of the hits. The bad news is coming out on the other side we're going to catch everything that got away.

We're going to need some sort of breakwater to shield us. Something to make them burn up before they can get through." A light began to glow in his mind as he whispered softly, "a transduction barrier, sky trenches." "A what?" Chris was looking for any sign of hope. David continued, "All we need to do is protect the planet from an overload of the small stuff. Anything bigger that makes it through can be destroyed by fighters, if there aren't too many of them.

He needed to talk to dad. "Chris, I think I've got a possible plan. Can you sit on this until I get back? I need to check something out. If I'm right, it will save our butts. If not we'll need to go to the president and start an evacuation." Chris had his head in his hands. "Dave you know there's no place to go. Our closest neighbor is three weeks away. They can't take us all, even with every ship they have. And a second trip would be pointless. What are we going to do?" David grimaced a bit. "I have to go home."

David hopped on the next flight to the capital and was home in an hour. He walked up the familiar stone path and knocked on the door. His mother answered with a look of surprise on her face. "David! Why didn't you tell us you were coming? And why are you knocking? You know you can just come in anytime you're here." "Hi Mom" David said sheepishly, dropping his bag inside and getting the stuffing hugged out of him.

Rose was gushing with joy, "How have you been? Are you eating well, you look thin. You're so tan." "I'm fine mom." She continued with her examination of him and was pleased with what she saw. "Well, Come in and sit down. Your father and I were just having a drink after dinner. Can I get you something? There's plenty left over." "No mom, I ate before I came." "So how's life in the desert? Is the job still working out? Are you still seeing that nice girl Lori?"

He was still standing in the doorway. "For goodness sake Rose. Let the poor boy sit down before you give him the third degree." The Time Lord stood next to the Tardis in the foyer. "This wouldn't happen if you called a little more often you know." "Hi dad." Rose stepped aside and watched as father and son hugged and slapped one another on the back. "Good to see you David. Come in and take a load off." They all trailed into the family room and sat down.

The Time Lord poured him a glass of wine. "So what brings you home now? It's not my birthday yet." "Husband! He just got here. And he can visit us whenever he wants to. If this is the way you greet him it's no wonder he doesn't come home often." He lightly pinched her cheek with a smile, "David knows what I mean. Neither one of us can tolerate small talk. Now out with it."

David smiled and picked up his glass, drinking a good portion of it. "You still have the best wine cellar on the planet dad. The Tardis hasn't lost her touch." He sat back in the chair trying to figure out how he was going to say this. Looking at the floor he decided on the facts. "The planets in trouble dad and I need your help." The Time Lord leaned forward and put down his wine as David continued. "There's a stellar core fragment coming our way. It's still in the outer reaches but should be here in just over two months. It's going to be a glancing blow, but with all the asteroids it will make a mess of our system."

Rose and the Time lord listened very carefully without interruption until he had given them all the facts. "We are going to be the target of every piece of rock out there that gets disturbed, and we need a planetary shield if this world is going to survive."

The Time Lord nodded in agreement, but was curious what his son needed from him. David was in a much better position to get action from government officials since his retirement. "Dad, I want to try to set up a transduction barrier like you had on Gallifrey." The Time Lords eyes widened in shock. "David, The technology for that hasn't existed in over three hundred years. It's not like we can jog over and borrow one. The amount of energy it takes to create it, is beyond the abilities of this planet to produce. And even if you could, you have how long to do it? Two months?"

"Dad, we don't need to keep out Daleks, just a few hundred meteors. And we don't need to cover the whole planet, just the side facing the worst of it at any one time. We will have fighter patrols on the back side to see that nothing gets through that way. Your barrier was generated from the ground. Ours will have to be small satellites in orbit so they can move as the planet orbits." The Time Lord was shaking his head, "What you are asking for is just not possible." David stood up angry at his refusal, "I know you don't like to share Time Lord Tech, but how can you refuse to help us? This planet will die along with anyone left on her. It's as simple as that!" He left them to grab his bag and go upstairs to the guest room.

Chapter 69 Father Knows Best