The Doctor is an amazing guy. And when I mean amazing, I mean just....outstanding. Insanely and brilliantly. I got the memory right after that one. Within the span of ten minutes, the Doctor goes from not even noticing the dead standing in front of him to yelling at...thousands of ships in the sky, all full with thousands of beings, through a communicator.
Now, it might have been part of the trap, but considering the lengths they all went to fool the Doctor, they wouldn't do something that wasn't a distinct possibility. And the Doctor isn't an idiot, even if he can be oblivious, he wouldn't fall for something that wasn't very possible either.
He got them all to stop and listen. He didn't lie, he didn't bluff, he said where we stood and we were at the disadvantage. He just told them to think, think of all the things he's done to them. And do the smart thing and let someone else try first.
And every single ship backed off.
And then he said we had thirty minutes while they argued, like he'd done something like it before. That he could scare off that many with his very presence.
So it’s kind of hilarious when that kind of guy doesn’t even realize you’re not supposed to exist.