Operation Mannequin

The 2005 Nestene invasion of Earth was an attempted invasion of Earth, centered in London, in early March 2005 by the Nestene Consciousness. (TV: Rose, PROSE: Rose)

From the perspective of Londoner Elton Pope, it marked the point where his "perfectly normal life" had "all went mad". (TV: Love & Monsters) Indeed, several more high-profile alien incursions would appear in London over the following years, threatening the Earth. (TV: Aliens of London / World War Three, The Christmas Invasion) Jackie Tyler also made note of this string of incidents, which began with the arrival of the Ninth Doctor in the life of herself and her daughter Rose Tyler. (AUDIO: Wednesdays For Beginners)

Donna Noble, however, was oblivious to the invasion as well as several other alien incidents which occured over the following years. (PROSE: Rose, TV: The Runaway Bride, The End of Time)

Origins
The Nestene Consciousness's food stock had been destroyed in a war, with all its protein planets rotting. As a result, the Nestene came to Earth, a planet it had invaded at least twice in the 20th century; (TV: Spearhead from Space, Terror of the Autons) the Earth's smoke and oil, combined with toxins and dioxins in the air, would have made the perfect source of food for the Nestene. To achieve its purpose, the Nestene infiltrated Earth using warp shunt technology and based itself in London. (TV: Rose)

Invasion
On 4 March 2005, the Ninth Doctor was in London pursuing the Nestene Consciousness. His investigations took him to Henrik's department store. Though H.P. Wilson had already been killed by the Autons, the Doctor was able to save Rose Tyler. He then blew up the building. (TV: Rose, Aliens of London)

On the following day, Rose Tyler investigated the Doctor, talking to conspiracy theorist Clive Finch about his website on the Doctor at whoisdoctorwho.co.uk. Rose's boyfriend, Mickey Smith, was abducted by the Autons and replaced with an Auton duplicate. Using the head of this Auton, the Doctor tracked the Nestene Consciousness' signal to the London Eye.

Addressing the Nestene Consciousness according to Convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation, the Doctor intended to resolve the situation peacefully, though he brought a vial of anti-plastic with him as a precaution. The Nestene Consciousness, however, detected the Doctor's anti-plastic as well as the presence of the Doctor's TARDIS, which terrified the Nestene to the point of commencing a full-scale invasion, taking control of all plastic objects from London, (TV: Rose) extending at least as far as Cardiff. (AUDIO: One Rule)

During this commotion, Cardiff's city centre was brought to its knees. (AUDIO: One Rule)

In London, Clive Finch was killed when he was shot in the head by an Auton. (TV: Rose, PROSE: Rose) Elton Pope was out shopping in the city centre at the time, and survived the incident. (TV: Love & Monsters) Jackie was also in the city centre at the time, survived the incident and when Rose rung to check on her after it was over, she warned Rose not to go out. (TV: Rose)

The Nestene Consciousness planned to absorb the Ninth Doctor, so it could gain knowledge on how to pilot the TARDIS, so they could invade other planets. (PROSE: Rose) However, Rose Tyler managed to defeat the Nestene by knocking the anti-plastic solution that one of the Autons had confiscated from the Doctor into the vat of molten plastic which housed the main bulk of the Consciousness, causing it to explode. (TV: Rose)

Aftermath
Later on the night of 5 March, Rose Tyler joined the Ninth Doctor in the TARDIS as his companion, travelling through time and space. (TV: Rose) Eventually, Rose stopped back at her home in the Powell Estate, where the Doctor told her she had only been gone for twelve hours. However, due to an error on the Doctor's part, she had actually been absent for twelve months, returning in March of 2006. (TV: Aliens of London)

The invasion would subsequently be covered up as a "terrorist attack". (AUDIO: One Rule) Barry Jackson used the attack as a cover for his murder of the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Roy Llewellyn. (AUDIO: One Rule)

Behind the scenes
In the video game NOTVALID: K9: Deja Who, it is K9 who thwarts the Auton invasion instead of the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler. To that end, he fights through the Autons in London. After defeating the Auton Mickey Smith, K9 acquired the anti-plastic vial and used it to destroy the Nestene Consciousness.