Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who
The Girl Who Died – Part One
"Um, are you alright, Flavia? You look really tired" Emily commented over breakfast the next morning.
Her godmother took yet another sip of strong, black coffee and gave a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Oh, I'm fine…I just had trouble falling asleep last night" she explained. That was somewhat of an understatement; she'd lain wide awake for hours in a maelstrom of thoughts and emotions.
"Something on your mind?" asked Romana, giving her a concerned look. Flavia hesitated, and then opened her mouth to reply. Before she could say anything, the door slid open, admitting the Corsair. It struck Flavia immediately that he looked as worn as she did. Serves him right if he couldn't sleep, she thought a touch resentfully. How could he just drop a bombshell on her like that and then walk off?
For a second, a split second, their eyes met – the Corsair quickly glanced away and went to fetch himself a mug of coffee. "Morning" he said without looking at any of them, seemingly distracted by something. The Doctor was oblivious as ever, muttering a greeting back as he tried to eat cereal and write equations at the same time. Romana didn't mention anything, but she glanced between Flavia and the Corsair, wondering why he looked so tired and what she wanted to say.
"You look tired too" Emily noted. The Corsair just shrugged, pouring himself a bowl of cereal. A few moments later he deigned to reply, "I went out last night". The tone of his voice made it clear that asking for further information would be pointless.
Flavia felt irritation rise within her chest…Who does he think he is? He can't just…just tell me something like that, and then he goes off on an adventure, like nothing happened…stupid, insufferable git, thinks he's so clever and charming…handsome…honourable…Flavia caught her wandering thoughts, chided herself and hoped that she wasn't blushing. The Doctor was saying something, she tried to concentrate – they were trying to figure out where to go that day. Flavia honestly didn't care, so long as she didn't have to be around the Corsair.
In the end, the Time Quintet headed off to Japalaya, right at the end of the rainy season. Flavia was too distracted – no, exasperated by the Corsair that she barely noticed the copious amounts of mud…and she barely paid attention to the large and colourful blooms that filled the tropical jungles of the planet. It wasn't long before the five of them had to split up, in an attempt to bring peace between two tribes; the Doctor suggested her and the Corsair team up, and she didn't know how to refuse without arousing suspicion…fortunately, Romana offered to go with her instead.
The two of them were welcomed by the chief of Tribe Eqeunchu. He told them of his people's struggles to keep Tribe Archa from taking their lands and their resources, and the two Time Ladies did their best to work out a peaceful solution…it didn't take long for Romana to notice that Flavia's hearts weren't in the endeavour. The other Time Lady seemed distracted and unfocused, which just wasn't like her, especially when it came to matters like this. She asked if they could retire for a private discussion, to which the chief gracefully accepted.
He guided them to an empty hut. Romana waited until she was confident that nobody was listening, and then looked at Flavia, both of them sitting cross legged across from one another. "What's wrong?"
For a moment, Flavia's eyes widened; she quickly schooled her expression and answered, "I, err, I don't know what you mean, Romana".
Up went the sceptical eyebrow. "You couldn't sleep last night, and it's obvious something's bothering you, Flavia. Please, tell me what's wrong…we're friends, you can trust me".
Seconds passed…then Flavia sighed, quickly relenting. "You're right…it's just, I don't really want to think about it, let alone talk about it…oh, but I suppose I need to get it off my chest. Better you than anybody else…" she cleared her throat and explained, "Last night…I was making a cup of tea, and the Corsair came in to get a drink as well.
"He teased me a bit, I teased him back…long story short, he basically said that he's…always found me attractive, and he, um, implied that…well, that is to say, he, err, wanted to…" Flavia couldn't bring herself to say it out loud, but Romana could easily guess from her blush.
"Really?!" she asked, eyes widened in surprise. Flavia nodded, still blushing, and Romana took a minute to try and mull it over…a task easier said than done. "I'd never thought…if that's true then he hid it exceptionally well…okay, maybe not that well, he does flirt with you. Then again, he flirts with a lot of people. Still..." she frowned, puzzled, "If he's had these feelings for you for this long, why wouldn't he bring it up sooner?"
"I asked him that. He said it was because I would've said no, that there was no chance someone like me would wish to be… intimate… with someone like him. What does that even mean?" she huffed, "Someone like me? Just because I prefer to be cultured and he's so…so…not" she said tersely, eloquence failing her entirely, "He just assumed I wouldn't be interested and then he finally mentions it and then he just walks off, like it doesn't even matter and goes off to have an adventure whilst I'm trying to work out what the heck just happened…"
Romana raised an eyebrow again at Flavia's mutterings… "Are you interested?" she asked, stemming the flow, "In the Corsair, I mean".
"What?" Flavia stared at her, incredulous. "Of course not!" she exclaimed, "And even if I was, after this…I don't even want to look at him! He's nothing but trouble and the last thing I'd do would be to sleep with him" she declared firmly.
"So he was right".
"Yes! I mean, no…oh, that's not the point, Romana! Him being…him has nothing to do with why I'd turn him down" Flavia snapped, before sighing and rubbing a hand over her face. "I shouldn't be taking this out on you…let's just focus on figuring out a peace treaty between the Equenchans and Archans".
"In a minute" Romana insisted calmly, "Flavia, I know you won't want to hear this…but you need to talk to the Corsair. This is something the two of you need to work out together".
"I doubt he'd listen. It doesn't really matter, anyway…he thinks I'm not interested, and I know I'm not interested…I'm sure if we just wait a while, this will all blow over".
"Don't you think he deserves to get a straight answer? Please, promise me you'll at least think about talking to him".
"…Fine. I promise".
/
I suppose I've been in worse predicaments Flavia mused as she floated in space, one hand gripping Clara's, who was also drifting untethered. Thank goodness they'd been wearing spacesuits when that alien pushed them into the airlock turned teleport… "Clara? Can you hear me? Don't panic".
"Trying not to!" came the breathless reply, "Where're the others?!"
"On our way!" Romana called through the comm., "Just a tad busy!"
"Could you be busy later, perhaps?" asked Flavia.
"Yes, you two are next on the list!" the Doctor replied that time, "We're under attack from four and a bit battle fleets, in case you think we're slacking".
Clara suddenly gasped. "I, I think there's something in my spacesuit".
"Yes, that's possible, actually. You were too long in the spider mines".
"Okay, explain?!"
"It's possibly a Love Sprite. Sucks your brain"- a loud bang sounded over the comm., "Sucks your brain out through your mouth, hence the name".
"Ugh!" Flavia winced in disgust, "What sort of twisted person names a vile creature like that a Love Sprite?!"
"Who cares what it's called?" Clara huffed, "It's halfway up my leg!"
"We're trying to get a lock onto your position, but somebody scrambled the teleport feeds!"
"Hey, I was trying to hide our position! How was I supposed to know Clara and Flavia were off on an impromptu spacewalk?" the Corsair demanded.
Well, on the bright side, if she died here she could blame the Corsair and not feel guilty about it. "Anything we can do to help speed things up?"
"Yes, actually!" the Doctor answered, "Describe the four most interesting stars you can see".
Flavia wanted to ask how in Omega's name that would help, but Clara was already talking. "There's a blue one, quite big. Two little yellowish ones just below"-
"Colour of whisky, smaller one blinking?"
"Yes! It's on the back of my neck, I can feel it".
"Great! I thought asphyxiation would kill you first. Can you see a nebula? Can you see a nebula in a sort of wing-shape? Bit green at the end?"
"Yes! Yes, we can!"
"Great, I've seen it too. I wondered where it was".
"Doctor! Would you stop messing about and"-
Flavia was cut off by the sound of the TARDIS materialising around them; as her feet hit the floor, she stumbled backwards, off balance. Someone caught her from behind and helped her stand, taking her helmet off. "Thank…you" she said awkwardly, seeing who it was. The Corsair just gave her a mirthless smile and handed the helmet back to her. "No problem" he replied.
Meanwhile, Romana had gotten Clara's helmet off and the Doctor had pulled away the parasite, stomping on it repeatedly. Clara coughed and asked, "How did we do?"
"Oh, not a word about my spot-on materialisation skills" the Doctor mock-complained. After some pointed clearing of throats, he sighed and amended, "The rest of you helped a bit as well".
"What about all the Velosians? Are they safe?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Well, I lured their attackers halfway across the universe and drained their weapons banks" the Doctor explained, "Not to mention, I also saved a school teacher and a Time Lady from having their brains devoured and/or being asphyxiated in deep space. So, now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go outside and wipe my boot on the grass". The TARDIS had landed, and without checking the co-ordinates or environment, as usual, the Doctor walked right out. Since he didn't immediately dart back in, the others assumed it was safe to follow.
They'd landed in a forest at night, with crickets chirping away in the undergrowth around them. Clara wondered, "What's to stop them re-arming and trying again?"
"Nothing, unfortunately" Romana answered, "But next time, the Velosians will be ready for them".
"It's the best we could do, Clara" the Doctor added, "We're not actually the police, that's just what it says on the box" he said, gesturing at the 'Police Box' sign on the TARDIS.
"You're always talking about what you can and can't do but you never tell me the rules".
"Well, here's a quick rundown" the Corsair remarked casually, "Rule one, don't cross your own timeline except for emergencies and cheap tricks. Rule two, don't interfere with fixed points in time. Rule three, don't go back in time just to change something in the present/future. Trust me, it gets messy".
"We're time travellers, Clara. We tread softly. It's okay to make ripples, but not tidal waves" the Doctor explained solemnly. The grave tone was somewhat lost on Clara, who sniggered and remarked, "You are a tidal wave".
"Don't say that" he frowned, annoyed...with what felt like no warning, the six of them were suddenly surrounded by flickering torches and sharp weapons. "How the heck did these guys sneak up on us?" the Corsair complained at the sight of a party of Vikings, of all people.
"No, no, not Vikings" the Doctor moaned, shifting so he was in front of Romana and Emily, "I'm not in the mood for Vikings".
A Viking with a red beard and large horns on his helmet informed them, "You're coming with us".
"No, we're not; and do you want to know why?" The Doctor ignored the angry mutterings of the Vikings, and put on his sonic sunglasses, gesturing to them. "On my face, right now, more advanced technology than your species will manage over the next nine million years" he boasted, in an attempt to intimidate them. The Vikings were singularly unimpressed…the leader reached out and snatched the glasses off his face, snapping them in half.
"Oh for"- Flavia rolled her eyes and bravely stepped towards the Viking chief. Before she could attempt to smooth things over, the Corsair primed his blaster and fired a shot off into the air, startling them all. "See that?" he asked smugly, "Unless you want to be on the receiving end of one of those blasts, I suggest you just keep walk- hey!" he yelled, struggling, as one of the Vikings lunged forward (moving surprisingly quickly for such a heavy set man) and prised the blaster from his fingers. "Give that back!" he snapped indignantly.
"Seize him!" the Chief commanded, "Seize all of them!"
The Doctor turned to the TARDIS, trying to open it and get them back inside – but two of the Vikings dragged him away, as they were dragging all the others away, and frogmarched them in single file through the forest. Flavia ended up behind the Corsair, with Clara behind her, and she glared so hard at the back of his head it might have begun to smoke. "Oh, this is just peachy. Well done, Corsair! Once again your utter lack of a sense of tact has ruined everything".
"What do you mean, 'again'?"
"You know what I meant" she snapped, "We could have dealt with this peacefully and sensibly, but no, you just had to bring out that stupid gun of yours!"
"I was trying to get them to leave us alone! How was I supposed to know they'd nick my blaster – which I will get back, by the way" he warned the Vikings, who paid no attention.
One of the Vikings who had captured Flavia inquired, "Chief, if these two are married should we leave the wife?"
"I'm not his wife!"
"Well, shut up, then" the Viking ordered bluntly. Flavia gaped at him – words could not express her indignation, to the point where she did stop speaking, and resumed simply burning a hole through the Corsair's thick, self-centred, weapons obsessed skull with her gaze.
/
All of their attempts to convince the Vikings that they weren't planning to attack failed; it turned out Vikings were incredibly stubborn. The longboat beached near a small settlement; a horn sounded and the other villagers came to greet their returning villagers…and stare curiously at the six manacled prisoners, who either looked resigned or annoyed. One girl in her late-teens, wearing boy's clothing, ran up to the trudging Vikings with a look of relief. "You're back! All of you! Are all of you back?" she asked worriedly.
"I suppose so, I haven't counted" the raid chief, who was known as Nollarr, replied a bit exasperatedly. He'd stuck the Corsair's blaster in his belt and was wearing half of the Doctor's sunglasses like an odd square eye-patch.
"I'm back!" one dark haired Viking, younger than the Chief, exclaimed happily, hugging the girl.
"I had a dream you'd all died" she told him, "It was so real, I thought I'd made it happen".
"Well, if it ever does, I'm sure you'll a find some way to blame yourself" Nollarr commented, tossing her the pieces of the Doctor's sonic sunglasses. He had no use for them and that girl was always looking for and thinking about odd things.
"I wish none of you had to go!" the girl lamented to the younger Viking, who might have been her father.
Emily was more concerned with how they were going to escape. "Dad, you do have a plan, don't you?"
"Of course I have a plan" he insisted, for the umpteenth time.
"He's been saying that for two days straight now" Flavia grumbled.
"How did you expect to escape from a long boat? Jump off and swim in manacles?" asked the Corsair. Flavia glared at him and retorted, "We wouldn't have been on the boat if it weren't for your"-
"Children" Romana interjected, "Do you mind?"
"…Sorry" the two of them muttered in unison. Up ahead, the Doctor was walked past the girl who'd been given his sunglasses…or the pieces, anyway. He glanced at her, then stopped and stared for a moment, until the warriors pushed him on.
Behind him, Emily curiously inquired, "What was that about? Do you know her?"
"Never seen her before in my life" he answered.
"Then why were you staring?"
"I don't know. Nothing, probably. Too much time travel, it happens".
"What, you think you've seen her before?"
"Not exactly" he shrugged, "People talk about premonition as if it's something strange. It's not. It's just remembering in the wrong direction".
"Okay…so what is the plan? We're all dying to hear".
"We meet the boss man and do the usual".
"You're going to pretend to do magic and convince them to make you the leader" Emily guessed…very accurately, as it turned out.
"...Essentially, yes" her father admitted.
They were stopped by the Vikings as Nollarr was greeting the elderly village Chieftain. "Father" he bowed, and the two men began to converse. "We have travelled far and fought"- Nollarr began.
"That's his plan?" Flavia hissed, having heard it from Romana, "Doing parlour tricks for them?"
"Apparently" Romana shrugged. By this point she'd given up trying to convince the Doctor not to enact some of his plans…or things, as he used to call them. Perhaps eventually he'd learn that they would rarely work out the way he'd intended.
"He's gonna use the yo-yo again, isn't he?" Clara surmised, with a mock-long suffering sigh. Sure enough, the Doctor had managed to get out of his hand-cuffs…somehow…and taken a yellow yo-yo toy out of his pocket.
"Miracle, and much treasure"- Nollarr was saying. The Doctor tossed the manacles up into the air...being made of iron they quickly fell, striking the white bearded Elder in the chest. Immediately, swords and axes were drawn in anger, and Nollarr glared furiously at the Doctor. Flavia wished her hands weren't restrained so she could face-palm; there went any chance they had of convincing the Elder that they weren't a threat.
"How dare you attack our Chieftain!"
"I am very, very cross with you. I am very disappointed" the Doctor blustered, "I have taken human form to walk among you!"
"Who are you, old man?"
"Do you not recognise the sign of Odin?" the Doctor demanded, unleashing his secret weapon…the yellow yo-yo. Now Flavia really wanted to face-palm; a sentiment shared by the rest of the time travellers.
"You are not Odin, and that is not Odin's sign".
"Oh, and you would know that how, exactly? Have you met Odin? Do you know what Odin looks like?"
"We know he doesn't look like you" the Corsair snarked, "If you wanted an Odin, why didn't you ask me? I do a great Odin impression" he boasted. There was a sudden clap of thunder - with no storm clouds in sight – and the sound of a booming horn. A giant, clearly holographic face appeared in the clouds, a weathered visage with a winged helmet and a Virtual Reality style eye-piece. "Okay, I admit, that one is more impressive. Still not accurate, though".
"Oh, my people" the face bellowed, "I am Odin, and now your day of reward has finally dawned!"
"Do not believe this foolish trickery!" the Doctor shouted; he tried to flick the yo-yo back up the string, but it just stayed dangling there, stuck at the bottom. "It's supposed to do that" he insisted.
"Your mightiest warriors will feast with me tonight in the halls of Valhalla" declared 'Odin'. Five large armoured beings, with obviously alien weaponry, teleported into the village. The warriors went to face them, or accept their so-called reward, leaving the Time Quintet and Clara unguarded. The six of them backed away, now trying not to draw attention to themselves…at least, the Doctor was; the others had already been doing that.
"Clara, stay still" Flavia warned her, not taking her eyes off the aliens.
"That's not really Odin, is it?"
"No, Clara, they're aliens".
"So this is an invasion".
"It's a harvest. They only want the mightiest warriors, remember? Everyone else will be left behind".
"We have to help them" Clara insisted.
Flavia sighed and said, "There's nothing we can do…Clara?" she looked over to see that Clara had rushed over to the girl from before, crouching down in front of her. "Clara, come back!"
"Have you still got the eye-patch thing?" Clara asked the girl urgently; she nodded and held the pieces up.
"Clara, what are you doing?!" the Doctor called when he turned and spotted his companion.
"Point it at my chains and think the word open. Say it with your mind" Clara instructed hastily. Several warriors had already been teleported away, including Nollarr; then one of the aliens scanned the two young women, and detected the advanced technology of the sunglasses.
"Clara, look out!" the Corsair called, rushing over as fast as he could in hand-cuffs. The girls were teleported away just as Clara's manacles unlocked; the alien scanned the Corsair as he approached, decided he fit the bill of 'mighty warrior', and teleported him away too. Then all the aliens and Viking warriors were gone, and the face of 'Odin' disappeared. Flavia stared in alarm at the spot where the Corsair had been standing… "What was he thinking?"
/
The Corsair had, in fact, been hoping that the alien would 'harvest' him as well. He and the girls appeared in a cubed, metal chamber, lit by fluorescent lights. The other Vikings were already there, making the space a little cramped. "Welcome to Valhalla" greeted one of the Vikings, the same one who had hugged that girl.
"Mate, if you think this is Valhalla, then you've been whacked in the head one too many times" the Corsair informed him, before turning to Clara and the girl, who by now had gotten to their feet. "Clara, my sonic's in my left inside pocket, d'you mind?"
She quickly pulled out his sonic and unlocked his manacles; the Corsair looked at the young Viking girl and asked her, "What's your name?"
"Ashildr" she replied.
"Nice name. Oi!" he suddenly spun around and marched up Nollarr, who was prising the door open with his axe. Clara followed him, tugging Ashildr over as well. With both his hands on the handle, Nollarr could do nothing to stop the Corsair from plucking his blaster out of the Viking's belt. "I'll take that, thanks. If we're gonna get out of here alive, you'll want me to have it" he warned.
Nollarr stepped out into the passage beyond, and declared, "There is nothing to fear, strange warrior" Nollarr declared, boldly walking out into the passage beyond. Fans on each side of the room began to whirr… "We are Odin's chosen!"
Seconds later, the Viking raider was disintegrated in a burst of energy, his helmet and axe clattering to the floor. To make matters worse, there was a thudding sound and the wall behind them began to slide forwards. "The wall, it moves!"
The Corsair bit back a swear and swept his sonic over the room of death, then grabbed Clara's hand and shouted, "Run!"
He, Clara and Ashildr ran down the passage to the other door; some of the Vikings followed, but most futilely attempted to block or jam the advancing wall with their weapons and sheer bulk. "Hurry up, open it!" Clara cried, panicked.
"Working on it!" the Corsair snapped back, flashing the lock. Unfortunately, this meant he could no longer keep the disintegration beams deactivated…the fans started up again as soon as he'd unlocked the door. The Corsair scrambled out, Clara and Ashildr managed to get out (much to his relief), but the door slammed shut again before any of the Vikings could get through.
"Open it again!" Ashildr urged him.
"I'm trying! It's been deadlocked!" he growled in frustration, reaching for his blaster. Before he could simply shoot the lock, light flashed from beneath the door and they heard spine-chilling screams emanate from within…then everything grew deathly quiet. The Corsair thumped his fist on the door. It was too late.
/
Back on Earth, the villagers were trying to get their heads around what had just happened. "They took half the village" remarked one man, with a plaited blond beard.
"Yeah, and it was the good half" another complained.
"They went willingly to Valhalla, as would we all" a third Viking declared bravely.
"I wouldn't" the second replied, "Well, I wouldn't. I'm not good with heights".
"Oh, stop it!" the Doctor suddenly exclaimed, "All of you, stop it right now. Homo sapiens, you're an intelligent species. Stop lying to yourselves".
The third Viking glared at him warily. "Choose your words carefully, false Odin".
"Yes, I am a false Odin" the Doctor nodded, "That's exactly right, I lied. The big fella in the sky, he lied too. You all know it. Because what's the one thing that gods never do? Gods never actually show up! Guess what? You got raided. Guess what else? We lost two people who matter to us".
The Viking glared harder. "I lost someone too".
/
The Corsair, Clara and Ashildr were now in what looked like some sort of processing plant, with vials being filled with some sort of green liquid. They hunkered down behind one of the machines; Clara glanced at the Corsair and whispered out of the corner of her mouth, "Now what?"
He pressed a finger to his lips, warning them to keep quiet. He was about to crane his neck and see if the coast was clear, but then the voice of the fake 'Odin' called, "I know you're there. Come on out".
The three of them slowly emerged from behind the machine, holding their hands in the 'surrender' position. 'Odin' stared at the Corsair and inquired, "How did you escape?"
"Easy, I opened the door and stepped out. I wasn't expecting you to deadlock it, though I am pleased that you waited until my friends had gotten out as well".
"The maidens would have been spared either way".
"Ah, but I wouldn't have, would I?" the Corsair said knowingly, "Except that you've already scanned us all and you know we have access to advanced technology. Also, Clara here is wearing a spacesuit and you may have noticed the binary vascular system I have. We're not local, and we didn't come alone. Killing us would have started a fight – which believe me, you wouldn't have won" he informed 'Odin' coolly.
Before 'Odin' could reply, an armoured alien stomped forwards and handed him a vial of green liquid. "Is that medication or something?" asked Clara, trying to lighten the mood.
"Adrenaline" explained 'Odin', "Testosterone extracted from the finest warriors". He drank it in one gulp and said in satisfaction, "Ah, nectar!"
Clara grimaced slightly. "Okay, you mash up Vikings to make warrior juice, nice".
"They what?" asked Ashildr, confused and alarmed. She wasn't ignorant, she'd seen what that room did to Nollarr and it must have killed the other warriors too…but mashed up to make juice? She didn't understand.
"I'd have thought the Mire would have enough of that on their own" the Corsair remarked casually; if 'Odin' was surprised that he knew the name of their species, he didn't show it. "Why fake being a God?"
"What is a god but the cattle's name for farmer? What is heaven but the gilded door of the abattoir?"
"What you call 'farming', I call murdering. For drugs" the Corsair scoffed, eyes narrowed.
Ashildr frowned. "I don't understand, what are drugs? What did these…Mire want with them?" she asked.
"They wanted a pick me up and they got it" he replied, without taking his eyes off of 'Odin', "Now I'm ordering you to leave. This planet is protected. There's plenty of adrenaline and testosterone out there in the universe, go and steal some of that".
"Wait" Ashildr interrupted, finally putting two and two together, "You mean that all our warriors were slain, that my uncle was slain, so that he could feel good?" she demanded, glaring angrily at 'Odin', "You'll pay for that!"
"Ashildr, shut up" the Corsair ordered immediately; but the headstrong young Viking refused to listen.
"Do not silence me! This false god must pay for what he has done" she declared, boldly stepping forward. "I am a Viking. Ashildr, daughter of Einarr. You have mocked our gods. Killed our warriors. And we will crush you on the field of battle" she threatened.
'Odin' smiled wide and cheered, "That's better!"
The Corsair grabbed Ashildr by the shoulder and turned her to face him. "When I tell you to shut it, you shut it! They were about to leave!"
"You almost had me talking. Talk is for cowards".
"She lost her uncle, she's distressed. She doesn't know what she's talking about!"
"Nevertheless, I accept her challenge".
"We will crush you!" Ashildr repeated fiercely, pulling away from the Corsair's grasp.
"Ashildr, you're just making it worse!" Clara told her desperately.
"Shall we say this time tomorrow? Ten of my warriors versus the best of your village".
"No".
"Yes, and you will beg for mercy!"
'Odin' laughed. "I will send you back. You can inform your people of their impending destruction".
"Why are you doing this?" Clara demanded of Odin.
"Why else? The joy of war! Can't you see it on my face?" he asked, pressing a button. The humanoid face flickered and vanished, revealing a visage that rendered even the indignant, headstrong Ashildr speechless in horror. "Goodbye. I look forward to seeing you on the field of battle" he finished, before motioning to his followers to have them sent away.