When Uhura mentioned the Orion woman yet again... This time, he shifted slightly, as though the subject was one he wished to avoid. Let her draw her own conclusions from that almost imperceptible movement. If he could get a few rumors going around the ship regarding him and the Orion... It would be entertaining, for one thing, and it would be interesting to see what his enemies made of that 'information'. He didn't mind rumors about his activities around the ship - especially when he had a hand in starting a good number of those rumors himself.

"Then perhaps we can both agree that that particular discussion is over," he said after a moment, his voice intentionally tight. "I suggest you get comfortable," he added abruptly, trying to make it seem as though he was desperate to change the subject. "We might be in here a while." He was tempted to try calling a truce, but Uhura was unpredictable, and might take advantage of his lowered defenses if he suggested such a thing. Not that he'd lower his defenses quite that much - he was far too paranoid - but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was readying herself for an attack. Whether it was truth or his own paranoid fantasy, he had no idea, but he hadn't made it to being chief of engineering on the Enterprise by ignoring his intuition.

He shifted again, inching away from Uhura, although it was next to impossible to move completely out of her striking range. Still, the farther away he was from her, the better - dealing with a shallow gash on his arm or other extremities was far preferable to letting her near enough for a decent hit.