Child of Earth

By Lumendea

Chapter Sixty-Four: Total Eclipse: Diamonds in the Sky

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.

AN: Thank you so much for the amazing feedback on the last chapter. The Jackie and Rose conversation was a long time coming and getting so many positive reactions really made all the work I put into it worthwhile.

….

The Doctor was taking stock of the ship as he walked along with Colonel Frost. She still wore a UNIT uniform, but it was slightly altered with a special patch for the Enterprise on her sleeve. It was a nice touch. The ship was sleek and while he recognised aspects of the technology used it had all clearly been altered and augmented for human use. At least they were taking the time to learn how it worked before throwing it into a ship. There wasn't much of a crew from what he could see, but they all looked alert and ready. Most were unarmed, but there were guards scattered here and there in the corridors. He did his best to ignore the weapons.

"We've had contact with Geneva," Frost said. She looked a touch nervous, but resolute. "However I hesitate to rely on them too much. The recent incident with 456, uh the Qreiz'elt proved that there are Eclipse agents active even at the highest levels."

"You were part of that weren't you?"

"Yes, I was Doctor." Frost's tone was even, but her chin raised a tiny fraction in pride

"Rose said you helped her against the Qreiz'elt," the Doctor said. His words were casual, but there was an underlying curiosity and worry in his tone.

"Yes well Rose saved my life, back at Downing Street," Frost said. She smiled sadly at the memory. "I was the only one who heard her warning in time. The aliens had electrified our identification badges in order to kill most of Earth's alien experts in one moment. That still haunts her a bit, but she was able to save me. When the Qreiz'elt came and Eclipse sent that wretched Bates to take over and Sir Alistair and Brigadier Benton both moved to help Rose I knew that there was nothing else I should be doing."

They finally reached their destination, a small office but with screens on one side that showed readouts from the Enterprise and the planet below. Some sort of briefing room, probably near the bridge, the Doctor guessed. Moving away from Frost the Doctor checked the first screen in less than two seconds and then moved to the next one.

"Any ideas Doctor?"

"Yes." He turned to look back at Frost who was in parade rest by the door. "I'll need your ship to make my idea work, though."

"You have your reputation Doctor and I know Rose. Whatever you need of the Enterprise you've got."

"Could hurt the ship."

"If there's time to evacuate the crew then I won't hesitate," Frost replied. "And if there isn't… well, Earth matters more. We all know that."

"Probably won't do that much damage," the Doctor said. He was watching her expression carefully, but she remained completely calm. "But could hurt your career."

"While I enjoy the fact that the first true Starship captain of humanity is a woman and I like the position I'd still do whatever you believe necessary," Frost promised. "I got a glimpse of how Eclipse works Doctor and me, this ship and even this crew aren't worth risking them getting the world." Frost met his gaze calmly. "I haven't got children, but I've got a younger sister and a niece. I know who I'm protecting."

"Rose was right about you." The Doctor smiled and nodded approvingly. "Alright then. This ship uses a radiation conversion engine, right?" the Doctor asked Colonel Frost. His expression was thoughtful. "That's why it was completed in space? You can't take it too low into Earth's atmosphere."

"Yes," Frost agreed. "The scientists theorised that the radiation conversion system would largely fail in Earth's atmosphere. The magnetic field protects the planet from the worst of the sun's radiation. That's why we have the transmat beam system and are working a viable shuttle for the ship to use."

"Yeah, but those engines can also give off some interesting energy of their own," the Doctor muttered. He stopped walking and looked thoughtful. "This machine Eclipse is a modified fabrication unit. It's designed to use elements in an alien atmosphere as building blocks. Used in terraforming and is outlawed by the Shadow Proclamation for any other use."

"So?" Frost asked.

"So everything," the Doctor scoffed. "This lot don't really know what they've got and the machine was barely working. It's got only one program running it seems. Be grateful for that, these machines if fully operational can alter the core of a planet, rewrite aspects of the atmosphere and help establish magnetic fields." Frost's eyes widened in alarm and the Doctor nodded. Good, she needed to know what they were dealing with. "Thankfully this Eclipse hasn't got a big one or it's too damaged. It's using mostly the carbon from the CO2 to build a thin barrier. Very thin, but enough to impact things." The Doctor's frown deepened. "But there are ways to disrupt something like that, they're very delicate."

"So an attack may be our best option," Frost said firmly.

"And in the meantime, they activate the machine again," Rose's voice said near the door. Turning quickly, the Doctor fought back a smile as Rose entered the briefing room with one of the crew on her heels. The crewman saluted the Colonel before withdrawing. The Doctor relaxed when she moved over to join him. She looked a bit sad but determined and he couldn't deny that he was glad she'd chosen to join him rather than Frost. It was an odd stray thought he didn't want to dwell on. "And do who knows how much damage."

"Exactly," the Doctor agreed. He turned his attention back to Frost who was watching them both. "No, we have to make it so the machine can't work at all." Then he started to grin. "And we've got what we need for that."

"Doctor," Colonel Frost called. "What is your plan?"

"Enterprise's engines," the Doctor said. His grin was manic and Rose felt both hope and worry at the sight of that expression. "Combine that with the sonic modulator technology and we can lower the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere."

Frost looked over at Rose for a translation, but Rose was a bit lost as well. The Doctor didn't seem to notice and moved over to one of the computers. Frowning, Rose looked after him as she turned over the bits of the conversation that she'd heard over in her head. She glanced towards Frost and gave her a small nod before moving closer to the Doctor. He was studying a set of reports intently.

"Doctor I'm not completely clear on your plan, but I think that you're thinking to… force the CO2 out of the atmosphere?"

"Yeah," he replied with a manic smile.

"But that will just cause acidification of the oceans if we dump too much at once," Rose said. "That will have major environmental impacts."

"Not if I force it into a stable form," the Doctor replied simply. ".04% is all the carbon in your atmosphere, but it's enough. You can thank industrialisation for that."

"Yes well we can also thank industrialisation for a commonly used goods too," Rose said. "So let's not get into that right now. So you're going to lower the carbon percentage so the fabrication machine has nothing to use. How exactly?"

"Like I said: Enterprise's engines are just what I need. Combine that with the proper sonic modulation and I can force a reaction in the CO2 and force it into a solid form. It falls to Earth and the fabricator can't use it." He looked over at Frost. "You should alert those you trust, make it Alistair, that we'll be ready to keep the machine from firing up soon."

There was a vaguely alarmed look on Frost's face, but she nodded. The Colonel then looked at Rose. "Tyler, you remember the location of the engine room?"

"Yeah, I'll see him down there."

"Very well, I'll alert Sir Alistair and Brigadier Benton of your plan. They can alert UNIT US."

"And Section 13, Eclipse is almost in their back yard," Rose added. "They can help too."

"As you say, Tyler," Frost said. She turned and gestured to the crewman who'd brought Rose in. "Stay with them and get the Doctor whatever he needs."

….

Enterprise's engineering control was just as Rose remembered it. There were a pair of windows on the ground level that looked out into space and towards the thrust control, probably for last resort visual checks. Several levels high there were catwalks overhead and lots of thick piping connecting various machines. The largest of the machines were in the middle of the room with a soft blue glow surrounding them. The Doctor headed straight for them, leaping up onto the platforms surrounding the engines. Rose waited for a moment, unsure as to what she should do.

Her eyes moved over to the engineers who was at their stations in the semi-circle of sleek control stations. Walking over to join them, Rose looked over the shoulder of one at the touchscreen which was monitoring the engine output. The engineer herself was watching the Doctor nervously.

"It'll be okay," Rose said gently. "He knows what he's doing." Rose held out a hand to the woman and smiled. "I'm Rose Tyler."

"Mathilda Higgins," the woman replied, shaking Rose's hand. "Uh… let us know if you need anything I suppose."

"We will," Rose promised. Behind her back, the hum of the sonic screwdriver filled the air and she braced herself. "Uh just be ready to run if he tells you to."

"Is that likely?" Mathilda's face went a bit pale.

"I'm honestly not sure," Rose admitted. "He's operating at a higher techno level than I used to."

Rose turned her attention back to the Doctor. In the corner of her eye, she saw the crew keep moving around and doing their jobs, but all of them gave the Doctor space. Some stopped to watch him with that familiar look of awe, curiosity and uneasiness that so often followed him. The Doctor adjusted the sonic modulator settings, eyes dark with concentration. Suddenly the whine of the engines changed and Rose's heart skipped a beat. She was moving towards the engines before she even thought about if she should.

"Doctor, what is going to happen on Earth?" Rose stepped closer to him and eyed the settings in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"This is happening because they have the right tech," the Doctor said. "We need to get rid of that chemical combination."

"Right and this will do that how?"

"I'm going to make another reaction," the Doctor answered. "The radiation engine absorbs the radiation in space and uses it as power."

"Sort of like the TARDIS and the rift, then?"

"A bit like that, but not nearly as advanced. Using the sonic I can adjust the frequency just enough to cause a small chemical reaction and release some gases and a pressure wave. Those gases will react with the CO2 and draw the carbon together."

"Drawing the carbon together…." Rose blinked as her brain provided several problems and solutions too quickly for her to properly process. It nagged at something at the back of her mind in a familiar way that Rose was certain wasn't from this life. "A carbon dump, getting rid of the excess CO2 and leaving the oxygen behind in the atmosphere."

"Good girl," the Doctor praised.

"But the pressure wave-"

The engines hummed dangerously as the Doctor adjusted the cables and the sonic screwdriver's pitch changed. Rose lingered by the engines and licked her lips nervously. All the hair on her arms were beginning to stand and her skin itched. A sudden creak from the walls made Rose jump. She looked worriedly at the windows.

"Doctor?"

"Pressure waves bouncing back," the Doctor said. "Don't worry we're too high to affect the wildlife."

"Okay… I'm more concerned about the falling carbon," Rose said. "Even with terminal velocity-"

"The pressure waves will help slow everything down," the Doctor assured her. He gave her a manic grin, but Rose could see the worry in his eyes.

"You're not sure if this will work, are you?"

"Course it will work. The chemistry all checks out. Radiation conversion engine pressure wave plus sonic modulation-"

"Yeah but it's a living planet, not a chemistry lab," Rose said. She saw the Doctor tense and nod. Reaching over, she grabbed his free hand and squeezed it. "It'll be fine. You're brilliant."

"Let's hope so," the Doctor said. "Cause here we go."

The pitch of the engine's whine suddenly changed again. It was higher this time, a strange sharp smell filled the engine room and alarms began to blare. Rose slammed her hands over her ears and her teeth ached. Around them, the ship shuddered and Rose felt a rush of fear for them and her for her mum. The crew were rushing about the engine room and she could distantly hear a voice on the intercom, but the words were lost in the high sonic whine.

Then the shaking stopped and the Doctor released a triumphant laugh that Rose wasn't sure what to do with. She glanced towards Mathilda who was unstrapping herself from a chair and rushing back to her control station. The woman smiled in relief and said something into the com as Rose released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Rose looked at the Doctor who was eying the engines carefully like he was braced for something to go wrong, but then he grinned manically and looked towards the nearest window.

Rushing over to the window, Rose blinked as a faint blue glow rippled through the air around the ship. The strange ozone smell was still lingering. All around them the high pitched hum of the sonic modulator echoed through the engines, but it wasn't so painful now. It took her eyes a moment to really see anything amongst the ripples of blue through the pale upper atmosphere. Tiny translucent pebbles were forming in the sky around the ship and beginning to fall to Earth. The Doctor laughed loudly from his place by the engines.

"It's raining… I'm not sure what," Rose gasped. She turned to the Doctor. "You solidified the chemicals?"

"Exactly, concentrated carbon collecting on the particle matter and falling to Earth. Lowering the CO2 levels through the atmosphere."

"By how much and is it enough to stop the fabricator?" Rose asked. She wasn't worried though.

"Oh only by about .02 percent," the Doctor assured her. "Roughly half the current carbon didn't want to do too far." He jumped off the top of the engine chambers, still grinning like a madman. "That machine isn't going to work through that atmospheric condition. Way too much interference."

"You sure?"

"Positive!" The Doctor looked almost offended.

"Rose it's raining pebbles outside!" Jackie burst into the engine room, her eyes wide. "What did he do!?"

"Uh altered Earth's atmosphere so that the fabrication machine can't work," Rose answered. Blinking, she listened to the Doctor laugh and her mum made a noise of alarm. "And I now realise how mad that sounds, but honestly it's okay. Probably will be good for the environment in the long term." She couldn't help smiling even as she realised how mad it all sounded. A giggle escaped her and the Doctor's smile softened as he looked down at her.

"It's raining rocks outside!" Jackie shouted. She glared at the Doctor. "Honestly think of the damage!"

"Wait a tic," Rose said. She turned to the Doctor who was eying her mother distastefully. "High pressures, carbon and heat as they fall…" Rose looked back out the window as the side of the ship creaked again. "Doctor… is it raining diamonds?"

"Yep," the Doctor said. He grinned at her, looking oh so pleased with himself. It was bit adorable. "Told you they'd take a stable form. Coal or graphite just wasn't going to do it."

"What?" Jackie rushed over to the rear window and actually whimpered as she looked out. "Diamonds!? Let me out of here! I need to get some!"

"Mum not all of them will even make it to land," Rose pointed out. "And the price of diamonds is about to take a swan dive."

"And these formed around particle matter," the Doctor added. He was grinning almost evilly at Jackie as she spun back to them. "Imperfections."

"But diamonds!"

"They're just rocks," the Doctor scoffed. "Honestly you apes fussing over little shiny rocks without any special properties."

"To be fair they are hardest naturally occurring substance on our planet," Rose pointed out. She eyed her mum who was turning red. "And pretty expensive."

"Because the diamond companies have trained you lot to buy them and they create artificial shortages," the Doctor said.

"Doctor," Rose said. Her mum was crossing the room.

The Doctor drew back and Rose stepped forward to intercept her mum. Then the doors opened and Colonel Frost strode into the room.

"It worked Doctor," Frost said with clear relief in her voice. "Ground forces are in position. They'll handle the rest. It will be a bit drawn out, but we have time now. Sir Alistair is heading to Geneva to report to the Security Council." She chuckled a little, her shoulders relaxing. "Apparently people are finding diamonds on the ground."

Jackie groaned again, stomping back to the window. The Doctor looked too amused and Rose gently nudged him in the side.

"Hopefully they'll head inside," Rose said. She nibbled at her bottom lip. "Terminal velocity or not getting hit with a rock going that fast will hurt."

"Most should be small," the Doctor assured her. "Shouldn't be too bad."

"Thank goodness this is a one-time thing," Frost said. "I wouldn't want to make a habit of this." She looked towards the nearest wall. "The ship was not built for this."

"Rooossee," her mum whined. "It's raining diamonds and I'm stuck up here!"

"Mum diamonds aren't worth much." Rose walked over and put an arm around her mum. "It's okay. Really, it's okay. Besides everyone is going to have some. The best thing at least is that they won't just dissolve in the ocean."

"Diamonds!"

Squeezing her mum's shoulder, Rose held back a laugh and kissed her cheek. Some of the tension had eased. It wasn't all gone, but Rose could at least breathe again. While her mum kept groaning about diamonds, Rose looked back at the Doctor and gave him a wide smile. He returned the smile, leaning lazily against the back of the controls.

…

AN2: Yes a calmer resolution at least from Rose's side of things, but I wanted the focus to be Rose and Jackie. There is one more chapter so stay turned for chapter 65 coming soon!