VI
Carde slammed is hand into the wall. He, the Doctor and Eilidh were in the Transmat chamber.
"The main computers locked out by a code!" he said. "We can't get through!"
The Doctor stepped up to the console and entered a ten digit code.
"'Rose Tyler'?" Carde said. "What is that?"
"The name of an old friend," the Doctor replied, sadly. "Anyway, to business."
"What are you doing?" Eilidh asked. "And why are we in the Teleport room?"
"I'm transmatting the Doctor and myself to the bridge," Carde replied. "We're going to eliminate the Admiral, and cut the head off of the invasion."
"Uh huh," Eilidh said. "How will that stop the invasion?"
"I'll take command of the fleet," Carde replied. "They'll listen to whoever's in charge on here. Simple."
"We're ready," the Doctor said. "Eilidh, press this button when I give the signal."
She got into position. The Doctor gave a thumbs up sign.
She pressed the button.
The Doctor and Carde slowly disappeared.
--
As soon as they rematerialized on the bridge, they knew something was off.
"What happened?" Carte asked, in a state of mild shock.
"It's safe to say," the Doctor replied, "that there was a lot of shooting going on."
There were bodies scattered around, blasted to pieces by laser fire. Some of them were grasping useless blasters in dead hands, and discarded on the observation deck was what looked like a rapid fire heavy blaster.
"The Admiral," Carde murmured. "I didn't think he would be this unhinged, but –"
"He is," the Doctor finished. He was staring at a slightly shot tactical display. The only words that could be made out were 'Se-f d-ruct sequence ac--d. D--t in twent- minut-s and co-nti-g.'
"Sefd ruct sequence acd?" Carde murmured. The Doctor shrugged, before it hit him.
"Self destruct sequence!" he yelled. "Admiral Sally boy's going to blow this ship up!"
Carde's eyes widened. This was impossible. A fizzing noise squawked out of his communications device.
"Cardeloniasderate here," he replied without thinking, holding the comm-device to his mouth.
"This is Lortaruiostrar!" a desperate voice yelled. "We can't hold out, sir, there're too many loyalists against us!"
"Pull back," Carde ordered.
"Can't sir," Lortaruiostrar replied. "We're cut off. It's been an honour."
"The honour," Carde murmured, "has been all mine. Honour in Death."
"Honour in Death," the reply came. "And glory in the next life."
"To you and all others," Carde whispered, before shutting the comm-device down.
"I'm sorry," the Doctor said, and he meant it. "I truly am."
"No," Carde replied. "It's the Admiral who'll be sorry. I'm going to rip him to shreds."
Without thinking, he ran off, leaving the Doctor alone. The Time Lord stared after him for a while, before sighing. He knew where the Admiral was.
"You can come out now," he said. "I'm ready."
A compartment on the floor popped open, and the Admiral climbed out.
"How did you know I was there?" he asked.
"I heard you're breathing," the Doctor replied, "and you're heartbeat. It's pretty easy to discern that there's one more heartbeat than there should be when there's only two people alive in the room. What I don't get is why."
"What do you mean?" the Admiral asked.
"Why would you stay here, risking life and limb, when you've only got twenty minutes to escape?" the Doctor asked.
"You," came the reply. The Doctor looked nonplussed at this, so the Admiral elaborated. "You are the cause of all my woes, and of the failure of this campaign. I will therefore absolve myself of dishonour, and destroy you."
"Mortal combat, is that it?" the Doctor asked. "Kill us all?"
"Death with honour," the Admiral replied. "We will die, but we will be remembered."
"Uh huh," the Doctor replied. "And the crew here?"
The Admiral sighed.
"I regret that. They were true Zagrites," he said. "But they have earned Death with honour, Glory in the Next Life."
"And you?"
"The same," the Admiral said, grimly. "I will die knowing that my duty is done and you are dead."
He took out two thin rapier style swords. He tossed one to the Doctor.
"Right," the Doctor said. "A bit low tech, isn't it?"
The Admiral pressed a button on the hilt of the sword, and blue light wreathed it. He swept it through a desk, and it fell apart in to pieces.
"Ah," the Doctor said. He flicked his own swords button, and raised it in defensive posture. "To the death?"
"To the death," the Admiral nodded, before leaping to the attack.
--