Armageddon (audio story)

 was the fourth and final story in the audio anthology Extinction, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Matt Fitton and featured Jemma Redgrave as Kate Stewart, Ingrid Oliver as Petronella Osgood, James Joyce as Josh Carter, Ramon Tikaram as Vikram Shindi, Warren Brown as Sam Bishop and Tracy Wiles as Jacqui McGee.

Publisher's summary
As Autons swarm across the planet, the human race faces its darkest hour. Simon Devlin has helped his alien masters gain a global foothold and their scheme is almost complete.

As UNIT leads the fightback on every front, every continent, against an implacable army, Kate Stewart must look to the past for some clue to defeat the plastic menace.

The Nestene Consciousness is growing in power. It has plans for the human race, and when it achieves its ultimate form, it will be unstoppable. Only UNIT stands between humanity and total extinction...

Plot
War has begun between the Autons and human military forces, whose weapons created by the 3D Futuretech Model 1s have fallen apart or self-destructed, and the Autons call for humanity to surrender on pain of death. Devlin checks on the developing body of the Nestene and sends Josh to kill Kate and neutralise UNIT.

Kate leaves Jacqui at the Tower of London with Osgood, who is working on a directed energy beam. Colonel Shindi informs Kate that UNIT are only just managing to keep the Autons from taking Tower Bridge and London Bridge and that they seem to be heading for the Tower. They receive a call from Sam in Puerto Rico HQ and are told that there is something that could be of use in Black Archive 5 in the South Downs. Kate and Shindi head there by helicopter and use an infrawave field receiver to contact Sam again.

Josh gets access to the Tower and Osgood frees him from Nestene control by using a low intensity, self-powered crystal emitter to cancel out the Nestene signal. Shindi returns to assist them and they take directed energy beams capable of microwaving the Nestene polymer to the cordon around Futuretech, but they lack the power to charge the weapons. Josh manages to get around this and, helped by Shindi, he electrocutes himself to boost the power of the crystal emitter. Rather than help, Jacqui runs away out of fear.

Kate goes to Futuretech to discuss term and is permitted to enter the plastic dome, having her miniature pistol confiscated, and meets with Devlin. The Nestene tells her that it plans to encase the Earth with a plastic bubble and demonstrates how the printers can turn humans into liquid polymer to be used to make said bubble. It confiscates the anti-plastic in her jacket and orders her to be plasticised.

Osgood uses the directed energy beam to destroy several Autons and damage the dome, making it malleable enough for Josh to push his way through and for Osgood and Shindi to drive through in a truck. Josh saves Kate and his crystal emitter clouds Devlin's mind, temporarily weakening the Nestene's control over him. Josh drops the anti-plastic into the tank containing the Nestene and Kate disrupts the network of energy units before they flee, taking the unconscious Devlin with them. Shindi is apparently killed by an Auton and the Nestene attacks, but Osgood hits it with her directed energy beam.

With the defeat of the Nestene, the Autons across the world become inert and Osgood suggests that they turn them into crude oil to help with the energy crisis. Kate intends on having a memory agent put in the world's water supply and covering the invasion up as a breakdown in Futuretech systems. Devlin remembers nothing of his time under the Nestene's control and Osgood, who intends on filling in his memory of the past six months, keeps him under observation for a few days before he returns to work, but he decides to streamline and focus on biofuels and the like. She also plans on running tests on Josh due to his plastic skeleton.

Orbit TV News reports that Futuretech's machines went amok and that the headquarters were destroyed by an industrial accident. Jacqui knows that these are lies, however, and reports the truth as "the Eyewitness", disguising her face and voice and speaking out against UNIT. She warns her viewers not to drink the water.

Cast

 * Kate Stewart - Jemma Redgrave
 * Osgood - Ingrid Oliver
 * Lieutenant Sam Bishop - Warren Brown
 * Colonel Shindi - Ramon Tikaram
 * Captain Josh Carter - James Joyce
 * Simon Devlin - Steve John Shepherd
 * Jacqui McGee - Tracy Wiles
 * The Nestene Consciousness / Autons / News Presenter - Nicholas Briggs

Continuity

 * Anti-plastic was previously used to destroy the Nestene. (TV: Rose)
 * Shindi mentions the Doctor being UNIT's scientific advisor. (TV: Spearhead from Space)
 * The Nestene Consciousness notes to Kate that it is familiar with her bloodline. (TV: Spearhead from Space, Terror of the Autons)
 * Osgood says the phrase "do you think for once in your life you could arrive before the nick of time" to Colonel Shindi. The Doctor once said this to the Brigadier. (TV: The Mind of Evil)