[BFF Verse - The ravens are all closing in / And there's nowhere you can hide]

[nyota_uhura24]

Uhura was in a good mood. The memory of yesterday's assignment, of all the fear in the Debulans' eyes, was enough to make her nearly giddy. It had been far too long since she'd had the opportunity to slowly create a blinding, debilitating fear, just as her father had taught her to.

There was only one thing that could ruin her excitement. Scotty. The moment she saw him, she had to fight the urge to clench her hands into fists, or to reach for her knife. Not the knife I want... She would get it back, of course, but it would take careful planning. The fail safe was most certainly a problem. She was certain that given enough time, killing him wouldn't even be necessary, even if it was the safest course of action. But thanks to the fail safe, murder was out of the question.

Instead she monitored the times at which he entered the code, laying down preparations and waiting for a day he entered it early in the morning, and then all would be well. Soon, she promised herself. He really ought to just give the knife back, and then all this could be avoided... Though she was too angry now to let the matter go, even if he did.

To her extreme annoyance, she realized that she and Scotty were headed for the same turbolift, but there was no way in hell she was going to turn tail and run, even if the sight of him did infuriate her. "Scotty," she drawled. "How lovely it is to see you, though I must say you were far more dashing with a scar on your cheek."

Comments

[reversedpolarity]

Uhura. The last person he wanted to see. Looking back, he had to admit that taking her knife, though entertaining, probably hadn't been the wisest course of action. But of course, he was committed to it now, and there was no way in hell he was going to give the damned thing back without a fight. Served her right for being so attached to it in the first place.

He kept his aggravation at having run into her at bay, settling for giving her a cool smile, even beckoning to let her go through the doors of the turbolift first. "Uhura. What a pleasant surprise." Not likely. The thought of being in the same turbolift, even for a few moments...

Her comment about the scar earned a twitch of his eyebrow, and another smile, although it didn't reach his eyes. "Such a pity it's gone an' healed, isn't it? But I'll thank you tae keep your hands tae yourself."

[nyota-uhura24.livejournal.com]

“Such a gentleman,” she replied, walking in to the lift in front of him but keeping an eye on him. She abhorred the turbolifts, but this whole frustrating encounter would be over in less than 30 seconds. Maneuvering the controls to indicate deck 6, she turned to face him fully. Turning one's back to Scotty was always a bad idea.

His eyebrow twitched when she brought up the scar, and her smirk widened a little. “Well that's no fun at all, Scotty. If you change your mind, my offer to carve the Enterprise on your face still stands,” she replied, tone light and conversational.

She wasn't going to bring up the knife. He would know she was thinking about it, but there was no need to remind him that he had power over her. Soon, she promised herself. Soon he'll pay.

[reversedpolarity]

He took a moment to check his knife in his sleeve; although going unarmed about the ship was dangerous, going unarmed around Uhura was doubly so. "As nice an offer as that is, love, I'm afraid I have tae decline," he replied evenly, fixing his eyes on the door of the lift. Just a few seconds, and he'd be free to go about his business.

He wasn't going to bring up the knife either - he was headed back to his quarters, and very much looking forward to making it there in one piece. He had a bottle of whisky waiting for him, and he was planning on getting nice and drunk, and more than anything else, he just wanted to spend the rest of his evening in peace.

But fate, it seemed, had other plans - the lift stopped, but the door didn't open, and after a moment, the lights dimmed, leaving only the emergency light on. He cursed under his breath, and went to the control panel, immediately trying to get the lift operational again. Not this. Anything but this.

[nyota-uhura24.livejournal.com]

“That's a shame,” she replied. “It would look so lovely, but think nothing of it. I was just trying to be... nice.” She just had to keep up this banter until he was out of the lift, and then she could go back to being angry and sulky, or better yet forget all about it and recall yesterday's far more pleasant events.

And then... No. No, no, no, no. Why weren't the doors opening? Why were the lights off? If they were trapped in here... Memories flashed through her mind at lightning speed, of shaking uncontrollably and clawing the walls and screaming so loudly it echoed in her skull until she could hear her own terrified voice even when her throat was too raw to make noise. This isn't happening.

She wouldn't give in to the fears. She was stronger than that. “What's going on?” she asked, voice low and dangerous, all attempts at sarcastic banter gone. “What the hell did you do?”

[reversedpolarity]

He turned his head to look at her, his expression flat. "I did this, then?" With a sneer and something that might have been a laugh, he turned back to the control panel, cursing silently. This, he decided, was the last time he'd take the turbolift anywhere for anything. First he'd been trapped with the Orion, and now... Someone wanted him dead. Granted, people wanting him dead was nothing new, but he couldn't help but wish that whoever it was who kept trapping him in the lift would find a more creative method of disposing of him. Unless... they didn't want him dead, and just got off on watching him be trapped.

"An' why the hell would I want tae be stuck with you for any length o' time?" he added, still digging around in the controls. "Don't flatter yourself, love." It was no use; the controls were absolutely dead. Whoever had done this had made damn sure that he and Uhura would be in here together until.... Until what?

He turned, leaning against the wall, and crossed his arms over his chest, shrugging. "Looks like I'd best get used tae your company, then."

[nyota-uhura24.livejournal.com]

She watched with narrowed eyes as he worked on the control panel, letting her anger show freely because it drowned out the fear. Most of the time she barely felt anything at all, occasionally joy in causing fear, or anger when someone got the best of her, or the sharp stab of ambition. But this... the walls seemed to waver around her and her eyes darted about the small space, trying to reassure herself that it was merely an illusion. She knew enough about fear to know exactly what was happening to her mind, but that didn't change it. Reason was no good here.

She needed a distraction, and fury towards Scotty was as good a distraction as any. Still, she glared in silence until he turned and leaned against the wall. His words sent another sharp spike through her, somewhere between terror and fury. “I don't want you to get used to my company,” she hissed. “I want you to get us the hell out of here. You're Chief Engineer, aren't you? I thought you could fix anything.” Her words dripped with sarcasm and disdain, hopefully enough to cover the desperation.

She marched over to the control panel herself, hating the fact that it was only a few steps, and glanced down at it, keeping an eye on Scotty as she did so. Main power and backup power are both off. Her mind quickly cataloged everyone who might want her dead... but there were more efficient ways than locking her in a turbolift. "Who the hell have you pissed off now?" she asked as she confirmed that they weren't going anywhere.

[reversedpolarity]

He watched her, his expression flat, as she examined the control panel herself, and came to the same conclusion that he had. They weren't getting out of here until whoever had stopped the damn thing decided they'd had enough. He shrugged easily at her question, carrying on the charade that this was practically just a walk in the park for him. "Dunno, love. Same fucker who decided it'd be fun tae lock me in the lift with the Orion, prob'ly." He trained his eyes on the wall opposite him, watching Uhura out of the corner of his eye.

"Can't fix what's not really broken," he added coolly, his tone a sharp contrast to hers. He'd already decided that he wasn't going to try provoking her. She was a dangerous woman, and although he had no qualms about provoking her on his own turf, he didn't fancy the idea of having to fight her off in such close quarters. It would be all too easy to slip a knife through his defenses here, if he let her get too close.

[nyota-uhura24.livejournal.com]

He reacted to her angry taunting with calm, conversational words. It made he even angrier, and she turned to glare at him. "You really have a knack for pissing people off, don't you? And now, once again, I'm inconvenienced because of you." Her control was tenuous, but still in place for the moment; the words were cold and still undeniably angry. "And I've heard all about the time you've been spending with the slave. She is quite... talented, isn't she?"

Trying to provoke him was likely to be unsuccessful, and even if it was it was most certainly unwise. In this small space, her speed would be less of an advantage than usual, and his strength would hold greater leverage... That knowledge didn't erase the temptation. Besides, it was really a toss up, even in here. She kept her focus on him, trying to forget the fact that her own screams still seemed to be echoing in her head.

[reversedpolarity]

"I'm so sorry," he sneered, glancing over at her for a brief moment. "O' course you're the only one inconvenienced in any way by this. I certainly didn't have any plans." He ignored her comment about the Orion; for one thing, what he did in his own time was his own damn business, and for another, if he could keep up the illusion that he was under the Orion's influence, it gave him an edge he might not have otherwise had. Let Uhura think whatever she wanted, as long as the idea was there.

He resumed his study of the opposite wall, looking for all the world like he was perfectly relaxed, like this hadn't really ruined any plans he might have had. Uhura was deliberately trying to provoke him, but she was being unusually heavy-handed about it, and he wanted to know why. "An' where was it you needed tae be so badly, then?" he asked off-hand, shifting his attention to picking at a stray thread in the sleeve of his uniform.

[nyota-uhura24.livejournal.com]

"Not any that I'm interested in," she replied, waving a hand airily. "Not since you've already entered your fail safe codes today." He didn't respond to her comment about Gaila, and she smirked, deciding to push it just a little further. She had never thought of Scotty as weak enough to actually be attached, but stranger things had happened. "Though I suppose I can't blame you if you want to rush off to the Orion. She looks so exquisite with tears and fear in her eyes." The memory truly was a pleasant one, and Uhura let her mind relive the moment of power.

Scotty's question was as casual as anything else, but it set off warning bells in her head. The worst thing that could happen was for him to discover her fear. "That is absolutely none of your business. I must say, Scotty, that you seem far too interested in things that really don't concern you." As she spoke, she felt her hand tremble slightly. Shit. She covered it stretching her hands as if she was contemplating reaching for her knife. I'm stronger than this...

[reversedpolarity]

Once again, he let the comment about Gaila go without a retort of his own. He was only using the Orion woman as a pawn in his plans. There wasn't any danger of becoming attached, thanks to his discovery and subsequent use of the hormone suppressors he'd stolen from Medical, which allowed him to keep a clear head when dealing with the Orion. Granted, there had been a few times when he'd run into her without the suppressors as backup, but he was certain that he wasn't in any danger of falling prey to her. Of course, there was the troubling matter of the fact that he was beginning to suspect his interest in her was perhaps a shade more than simply seeing her use as a tool, but he wasn't going to dwell on that. Not here, not right now.

He caught the movement of her hands out of the corner of his eye and tensed slightly, his own hand twitching slightly in preparation of pulling a blade of his own. Was she really going to pull a knife on him here? It would end badly for both of them, she had to know that. "Just a friendly question, love," he replied, his tone at odds with the way he was flexing his fingers now. One wrong move, and he'd have a knife in his hand in a flash. "No need tae get so defensive about it."

[nyota-uhura24.livejournal.com]

Once again he ignored her comment about the Orion. Interesting. She wondered if he was ignoring it in the interests of not escalating the provocation, or if he really was beginning to see her as more than the animal she was. She really was amused by the Orion woman, and by the effect she could have on unsuspecting men, but she was still dangerous, in her way.

He tensed when her hand moved, and she actually laughed softly. That's more like it. "You look so jumpy, Scotty. I just seem to have a bit of a kink in my hand. And I'm not being defensive, just trying to give you a bit of friendly advice. And that is that I am not all fond of your friendly questions. But if you must know, I was going to see my new lover." This was always the answer she gave when he asked what she was up to, and it was so transparent that she might as well have said, I am lying to you instead.

Her hand continued to stretch, seemingly in idleness, though her heart was beginning to beat faster. The walls of the lift seemed to phase in and out, as if revealing their true nature, as if revealing that she was really back in a small white room in Africa. Deep breaths, wide open spaces, deep breaths. She leaned back against the wall, hoping it would disguise how weak her knees felt.

[reversedpolarity]

He kept his attention on her hands, shifting into a slightly more defensive posture than before. There was no way in hell he'd believe that Uhura just had a kink in her hand - if he believed that, he'd be dead in five minutes, guaranteed. Although not prone to claustrophobia himself - he'd spent much more time in much smaller spaces, voluntarily, on occasion - being trapped in such an enclosed space with one of the deadliest people aboard the ship was unnerving.

"Every time I see you, it's a new lover," he replied, and if he didn't say it outright, the tone of his voice left no doubt that he was thoroughly disgusted by the idea. Whether she was lying or not - and he had no doubt that she was - he had no qualms about letting her know exactly how he felt about that particular excuse. "Do you keep several at once, then, or just discard them the minute they don't entertain you anymore?"

[reversedpolarity]

Under normal circumstances, she would have struck at him long since, and he'd be back on the other side of the lift nursing yet another wound, but this... This was a side of her he had never seen before. She curled away from him, and he watched as she pressed the knife harder into her skin, and after a few moments he spoke again, in that same soft tone. "You dropped your knife, love. You never let go of a weapon, not voluntarily." He settled back on his heels again, opening up a tiny bit of space between them, his attention apparently focused on the knife he'd picked up. On impulse, he reached for the other knife, testing her reactions. He didn't try to take it, just reached for it, just to see what she'd do.

[nyota-uhura24.livejournal.com]

His words penetrated the haze of her fear, and warning bells sounded in her head. Scotty couldn't know this. Knowledge was power, and she never wanted to give anyone this power over her. He can't know. He can't know. But she couldn't hide her terror, and even though she was pressing the knife deeper into her arm it wasn't really registering anymore. He settled back a little, and she felt as if she could take shallow breaths, but then he reached for her knife, and she let out a soft cry of panic. She turned the knife towards his hand, but she was shaking too hard for it to be an effective defense. She opened her mouth to tell him to get the hell away from her, but that's not what came out. "Get us out of here," she blurted, and then bit down hard on her own lip to keep the words from spilling out. Shit. Shit, shit shit!

[reversedpolarity]

He watched the tip of the knife wavering in her hand, and then smiled, a soft gentle smile that looked utterly out of place on his face. He closed one hand around her wrist, pried the knife from her fingers with the other, and tucked it and its twin into his belt, just out of Uhura's reach. By now, he was fairly certain that he'd figured out the source of her fear, and her words only confirmed it. "The walls are closin' in, love," he whispered, leaning in just a little closer, his eyes locked on hers. "How much longer until there's no space left?"

[nyota-uhura24.livejournal.com]

He wrapped a hand around her wrist, and she couldn't even try to pull away as he pried the knife out of her shaky grip. The knives were out of her reach now, and though she had a more she didn't have the inclination to reach for them. Scotty was no longer important, any concern she had for what he might do drowned out by the screaming in her head, by the walls wavering around her. Her hands clenched and unclenched uselessly. She let out a soft sound of fear at his words, eyes darting around the turbolift in growing panic. "It's too small," she choked out, too afraid now to remember that she couldn't let Scotty see this. "We'll be crushed if we don't suffocate first. I have to get out..."

[reversedpolarity]

He leaned in closer, feeling a small rush of adrenaline course through his body. He had, by now, completely forgotten about the knife wounds, and not even the constant dull throb of pain could distract him from the events unfolding before his eyes. He had to suppress the urge to grin, licking his lips briefly as he leaned in closer still. "It's too late," he told her, speaking so softly it could hardly be called a whisper. "It's too late, love. No one will hear you scream for help, love. You'll die in here, love, just you an' me, alone in the dark, in this box..." Oh, but this was fun. How long would it take, he wondered, until she was so consumed with fear that she couldn't even speak, couldn't even move? "It's startin' tae get a little stuffy in here, love, don't you think? A pity there's no window tae open... Do you think is what bein' buried alive feels like, love?"

[nyota-uhura24.livejournal.com]

It's too late. She whimpered softly at the words. There was no escape, no way out, no one to hear her scream for help. She was going to die in here. She had always been here in this tiny room, and even the terrifying man in front of her was probably just a figment of her imagination, a taunting demon she'd dreamed up in the darkness. She would never get revenge on her father. She would never board a starship to take her far away from everything she hated. She would always be a terrified little girl who wasn't strong enough. Her eyes squeezed shut, and she shook her head against his words, not wanting to listen, not wanting to believe him. "No. No, we have to get out... I have to kill him. I won't let him live for doing this to me." She shifted uneasily, nervous energy coursing through her.

[reversedpolarity]

"There's no way out," he replied, utterly fascinated by the sudden transformation of the woman sitting in front of him. This was Nyota Uhura, one of the few people aboard the ship he actually respected as a threat, reduced to a cringing, cowering mess by the small space of the turbolift. This was information far too good to share; he wanted to keep this revelation to himself, to store the knowledge away for future use. And he was already plotting, already planning. If she truly wanted that knife of hers back... It would be so easy to plant it in a small, enclosed space on the ship, to lure her to its location, and simply trap her there. Or, if he were feeling particularly generous, he could simply devise a maze of small, tight spaces, with the knife as the prize at the end - but she'd have to go out the way she went in. The possibilities were absolutely endless.

"There's no way out," he repeated, shifting a little to sit on the floor in front of her. He wasn't much for torture - not physical torture, at least - but he would take whatever advantage he had over Uhura, and gladly. If their positions were reversed, he had no doubt that she would do the exact same thing to him. "Can you feel the walls closin' in, love? Can you see it? Seems tae me they were a little father apart just a moment ago..."

[nyota-uhura24.livejournal.com]

There's no way out. She cowered against the wall, hands wrapping around her knees to hold them to her chest. At his words her eyes flew open and darted around the lift. "They're getting closer," she whispered, not quite sure if she was talking to him or herself. At this point it didn't matter, as she was fairly certain he was merely a dark figment of her imagination. I can't die here. She blinked furiously, trying to hold onto the part of herself that hated too powerfully to disappear. "I can't die yet," she managed, fear and determination mixing on her face. "Not until he's dead." Her eyes locked with the man in front of her, needing to communicate her last fragmented thoughts, because this was important. Very important. "I'm going to kill him with his own knife," she whispered. "But I'll wait until the day he hands it to me, wait until I've earned the right to hold it in my hands, and then I'll drive it into the place where his heart would be, but there will only be blood. I don't even care if it's quick, as long as he sees, as long as he knows that I'm the one who killed him."

[reversedpolarity]

He watched her a moment longer, unblinking, filing away what she said so he'd remember it later. But this was getting boring, and he needed a way to entertain himself until the lift started working again. "Whose knife, love? Who is it that you have tae kill?" He wondered, briefly, if it was him that she was talking about, but if it was... No, that didn't make any sense, because she was talking about whoever it was handing her his knife, which he would never do. Not unless he had a death wish. "An' what makes you think he'll be there, when you get out? If you get out? You won't, you know." What would happen, he wondered, if he drew a knife on her now, while she was like this? Would she fight back? It wouldn't be any fun if she didn't fight back.

[nyota-uhura24.livejournal.com]

Who is it that you have tae kill? Her lip curled back in fury, respiration increasing further as a wave of anger crashed through her. "Alhamisi." The name was infused with every ounce of hatred she possessed, because while Uhura hated plenty of people, the only one who would ever earn this blinding rage was her father. "He'll be there, she whispered, "He'll..." But the next words drive the anger back as fear takes over again. She can't lose her hatred, but now all she can think of is the walls getting closer and the fact that it's getting harder and harder to breathe. She shook uncontrollably now, shifting uselessly, legs sliding back and forth and hands clenching uselessly. "No," she breathed out, and suddenly it felt as if all the air was pushed out of her lungs. Her mouth opened but she choked on the air. No

[reversedpolarity]

He stood suddenly, retreating to the far side of the lift, leaning back against the wall, one hand dipping to his stomach to prod at Uhura's handiwork. Watching Uhura like this was all well and good, but there was little satisfaction in it, and he was losing interest. He had no interest in her in this weakened state; he respected her as an opponent, maybe even feared her, but like this... His lip curled upward. She was weak. And Scotty played by rules of his own devising, and watching Uhura squirm, though initially satisfying, was quickly becoming mundane. Besides, he knew what he needed to know, now.

"Get up," he said flatly. "You're embarrassin' yourself."

[nyota-uhura24.livejournal.com]

The presence in front of her suddenly backed away, and she was able to draw a shaky breath. She hadn't thought there was room for him to do that, but she still couldn't speak, still could barely move. It wouldn't be long now until there was no space at all. The walls of the lift had vanished, replaced by the white walls of that room where she must have spent her entire life. Everything else that happened was a dream, a fantasy made up to pass the time. She was here. She had always been here. She would die here.

Get up. You're embarrassin' yourself. The words registered in her brain, and she didn't understand because it was not the voice of her demons. Her eyes searched out the voice's owner, but she couldn't remember who he was. Her legs pushed at the ground but she didn't rise. Her heart was racing too fast, her breath coming in short, almost painful bursts.