Notes: This part was influenced by the recently leaked deleted scene. I wasn't planning on writing the escape, but made it clear it would be a piece of cake for them!

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Chapter 2 – The Wait is Over

It felt suddenly cold. Dark and cold, yet it had been pleasantly warm before. Ayel stirred and opened his eyes seeing the damp walls of Nero's cell. He shivered as an icy draft blew against his naked body and he curled into a ball, his hands grasping his shoulders and his knees against his chest. It was so cold. Then he remembered; Nero. He turned over, but his Captain was nowhere in sight. He sat up and looked around, rubbing his eyes to correct his blurred vision. Nero was not with him. His clothes and drawings were also gone. The guards must have come for him during the night and taken him away for another long interrogation.

Ayel put his clothes back on to be prepared for when the alarm sounded to get them back to work. His body ached and he was still able to recall exactly how Nero made him feel. There were scratches on his sides that were still swollen and his ear still throbbed a little from where Nero had bitten into it. All of this was still so fresh. It was enough for Ayel to believe that his Captain would be coming back. It was enough to believe that the long nights of intense sex and the comfort of curling into Nero's hot body was not just his mind trying to shield him from the misery that was Rura Penthe. That Nero wasn't really dead somewhere and he had become lost in fantasy, desperate for someone to hold on to. Eventually, the alarm sounded and Ayel sighed as he left his cell to get back to work. He stopped for a moment, staring along the corridor.

"Nero," he thought. "Where are you now?"

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Nero heard the sound of the doors open as he lay there, strapped to the table. He didn't allow the smile to spread to his face. It was the right moment. He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the Narada begin to wake from her slumber. She was hungry, just like her crew and she knew Spock was coming. She would lead them to him. Then he searched for Ayel, who was busy working in the mines, waiting, worrying. His eyes opened to take in the surroundings of the interrogation room, darting around to count the guards. There were three, including his interrogator. He narrowed his eyes as he returned his gaze to the ceiling. Easy.

"I'm afraid to say Nero," the Klingon drawled. "But this will be your last interrogation."

Nero silently agreed. They'll never see it coming.

"We found these drawings in your cell last night after you'd fallen asleep in the arms of that..." he trailed off, sneering. "Cute first officer of yours. You say you are from the future and that you are looking for a man; Ambassador Spock. You say he has a weapon you want."

Nero remained silent, feeling the frustration building in his interrogator.

"Tell us of this weapon, Nero! What does it do? Why do you want it? After all, you're supposed to be miners. What would simple miners want with a weapon? In fact, what would simple miners want with a Vulcan Ambassador?"

Nero continued to stare at the ceiling, never speaking. After a moment of observing Nero with those cruel eyes shadowed under the helmet, the Klingon moved away to the back of the room. Nero tilted his head, watching his movements carefully. The guard came back over carrying a dish with a creature squirming around in the centre.

"Centaurian Slugs," the Klingon stated. "They're good at clawing their way out of dark places. With this, we will make you talk. You will tell us your secrets. Your long silence ends right here, Nero."

Nero glanced across at the creature before turning his gaze back to the ceiling, twitching his upper lip and narrowing his eyes. If it was just more pain, he would endure it. After all, he'd endured for almost twenty five years.

"Cooperate with us Nero," the guard continued.

He picked up the slug with a pair of pliers. "It will spare you from a world of pain."

No. Nero locked his gaze on the shadowy ceiling defiantly, hearing the other two guards close in on him. I will endure. His mouth was being prised open now, the taste of the damp, musty room rancid on his tongue. He looked over to his interrogator as he raised the creature in line with his mouth. He looked away again, forcing himself to look anywhere other than at the guards. He heard the Klingon say something else, but it didn't matter. He hadn't said a word to them in twenty five years and he wasn't going to start now.

He felt the creature drop into his mouth and begin tearing at the soft flesh at the back of his throat. He closed his eyes, feeling the pain sear through him, but he did not cry out. Never would he show his pain to his interrogators. The pain began to burn until he could feel nothing else, apart from the warm blood flowing down his throat. He focussed his thoughts elsewhere. He saw Romulus torn apart as she was hit by the force of the supernova, destroying everything that he had. He saw Spock's face appear out of the fire; the object of his rage. He clenched his fists. He's coming. The wait will be over. He heard the Narada echo those thoughts, feeling her systems come back online. Then he thought of Ayel and his crew. Revenge was coming.

He concentrated on Ayel for a moment. His first officer, always loyal and always eager, was the source of his strength. He spoke for him when sharing information with the other prisoners; he always nursed him back to health after long periods of interrogation. He needed Ayel, and knew that he needed him. Knowing that fact always kept him in control, but that was the way Ayel wanted it. But Nero was brought out of his thoughts as rough hands grabbed him hard, the interrogating pulling off the straps binding him down. He was dragged from the cold surface and at this point, he fell limp, making sure the Klingons were off guard.

"Throw him into isolation," the interrogator snarled. "He'll speak to us soon enough."

The Klingons dragged him towards the door. Now! With a cry of pure rage, Nero tore free from their grasp using all the strength he had saved up over the years. All the strength he had because of Ayel's support. He punched one in the jaw where the helmet exposed his face and kicked the second one in the solar plexus. He rushed at the interrogator, elbowing him in the stomach and taking the disruptor from its holster. The two guards ran at Nero, but he shot them down quickly before turning on the interrogator and repeating the action. He stood still for a moment, breathing heavily as he observed the dead Klingons, his eyes wide and his heart thundering with adrenaline. Nothing would keep him from his revenge. Nothing.

He bent down and took a second disruptor before he left the interrogation room and ran along the dark corridors. He reached out with his thoughts to locate Ayel, who had returned to his cell to rest. The rest of his crew were in the common room. This was a good setup. It would be easier to call a riot with the crew in one place and the Narada would know where not to attack. Eventually, he reached his first officer's cell and he opened the door, still keeping watch for any guards that were aware of his escape.

"Ayel!" he called.

Ayel turned round to look at him with surprise. But then he smiled.

"The wait is over," Nero told him.

Ayel got to his feet, Nero rushing into the cell and searching through one of the cracks in the wall. He found what he wanted and pulled out more papers, on which was a very detailed sketch that was heavily labelled. Ayel glanced at it over Nero's shoulders, watching as his Captain made some modifications.

"Is that the complex?" he queried.

"Yes Ayel," Nero replied.

"So that's what you've been doing all this time! That's why you disappeared for such a long time every so often!"

"I had to map the place slowly in order for the guards not to guess what I was doing."

Ayel would have kissed him, but it wasn't the time for that. "You should have told me."

"I'm sorry Ayel, but this was something I had to do alone. But believe me, you were of more help than you realise."

Ayel smiled. "I know when I'm needed, sir."

"Listen carefully. This is what we need to escape and we can do that here..."

He pointed at two spots on the map. "Or here. Now, this situation is ideal. The crew are all currently in the common room, which is an ideal place for a riot. We have two disruptors, but we have strength on our side. We cause a riot and then let the Narada do her work."

"The Narada?"

"Yes, not only did I work on communicating with you, but I perfected the ability to talk with the Narada. I told her when I needed her and she woke up. She's waiting for the riot to begin so she can start bombarding the surface, aiding our escape."

"Impressive, Captain Nero."

"Take this Ayel."

He handed him the disruptor.

"Can we make it?" Ayel queried. "You've tried escape so many times before."

"I know, to make myself appear weak," Nero explained. "They won't expect this."

No wonder Nero had been so distracted of late, if he was working on such an intricate plan which started twenty five years ago since they were first incarcerated. Ayel's respect for Nero could only grow. With all the sorrow and the rage he carried with him, it was incredible that he had been able to think so thoroughly.

"He's coming, Ayel," Nero stated. "The Narada knows where."

"Then once we get out of here, we'll find him? Spock?" Ayel replied.

Nero's eyes looked dangerous. "You know Ayel; I've been waiting for this day my whole life. This day of reckoning."

"We all are, Nero."

"We will have our vengeance. This I promise you."

Ayel shrugged and shook his head. "No, I promised you, Nero."

Nero looked at his first officer, appreciating the sincerity of his words. There was no doubt in his mind that he needed Ayel. But perhaps, he didn't always realise how much. He leaned into Ayel, who gripped onto his shoulders and moaned a little as Nero's teeth grazed his ear tip.

"Then keep that promise to me, Ayel," he whispered.

Ayel chuckled. "As if you need to tell me that."