So Don't Let It Kill You by jane_potter (NC-17)

[aprilleigh24.livejournal.com]

Fandom: STAR TREK:REBOOT
Characters/Pairings: Nyota Uhura, Jim Kirk, Christopher Pike, Gaila
Length: ~14,000
Author on LJ: jane_potter 
Author Website: also at AO3

Why this must be read: Uhura's life is never about winning. It's always about not letting somebody else win. Not surrendering. Not letting them beat her, figuratively or literally. This is a good thing, because life's not a game. There are no time outs, no rule books, no umpires, and nobody wins. They just survive. Or not.

This story is part the The Riotverse- one of the best and well thought out alternate universes that I have read in Star Trek. In a universe where first contact with Earth in the throes of World War III repulsed Vulcan too much for them to consider an alliance, the Terran-Orion Union is the terror of the black, their Starfleet branch maintaining relations with a facade of neutrality while Syndicate ships raid and kidnap slaves. Smaller worlds hide in the so-called Free Space behind Vulcan's blockade, but 250 years isolated from any kind of emotional influence has left Vulcan law stagnant and cold to the plight of other peoples. It's a smidge Mirror in that parts are quite dark, and the characters may be changed because of what they've experienced, but they still remain true to the ones we know and love.

This story is the first (chronologically) in this verse, and it is my favorite. This is the story of Uhura, strong, smart and capable; someone who survives despite and because of what happens to her. This is one of the best representations of Uhura I have ever read, and it is clear that the author did her research (if you have the time, read the links in her note) and was very aware of her characterization.

(I do want to stress that there are warnings on this fic for good reason. This is an amazing fic and a compelling story, but even I - someone without a history of violence or sexual abuse - found some parts difficult.)


Serving aboard the Farragut is the worst experience of Uhura's life.

It's a Syndicate ship. When Uhura boards, this means nothing to her except that most of her crewmates will be Orion. She's far from the xenophobe it would take to be bothered by this. In fact, she looks forward to the opportunity to study the etymological development of military and naval slang in Low Orion, as opposed to the sexually oriented dialect commonly spoken by Orions outside of Starfleet.

Uhura is serving with a temporary rank of lieutenant for the duration of the training, as though it were an extremely extended simulation. Only eight other students are boarding with her, six "ensigns" and two "lieutenants". The rest of the crew are students from universities on Orion, save for the senior officers, who are actually officers. It's a bit intimidating at first, the rush of chirps and clicks that resound in the corridors during boarding, the foreign body language that flows in the clusters of chatting Orions students. Nobody shrugs or nods or waves; instead there are twitching noses, winking eyes, and booted toes tracing circles on the floor.

The nine Academy students have cabins together in one hallway. They double up, granting Uhura the single in a subtle gesture of respect for her vaguely known past that she finds surprisingly touching. Despite herself, she finds the smell of the Farragut's recycled air vaguely comforting. Earth air might have all kinds of tones and tastes that are never found in space, but she will always be most familiar with climate-controlled, carbon-scrubbed shipboard oxygen.

Launch goes well. Uhura doesn't conduct the Farragut from spacedock, but she gets to watch it from her station at the back of the bridge. For a long moment after the inertial dampeners disengage, the Farragut floats, her nose wheeling gracefully about to face open space. The star clusters of their destination come into view on the main monitor, and Uhura's heart leaps. Then everything smears into white blurs at 240 times the speed of light and the captain twitches his nose approvingly at the pilot.

At the end of their first ever shift on board a starship, the Academy students retire back to their cabins as if they're walking on clouds, all of them nearly giddy. Uhura can't stop grinning as she strips for sleep.

Five hours later, the lights in the corridor go out and a mob of howling demons descends on their cabins.

So Don't Let It Kill You