Ba'el had told Saavik that she would rest, but after taking a quick sonic shower, she put on a fresh uniform and went directly for her computer terminal to verify the information Garak had given them; she did not investigate much.

She was very worried; she had noticed the amount of strain Saavik was under, and she was not one to be easily stressed. Besides, the reason for her distress was unknown; obviously, something else that had not been shared bothered her, a lot. And for that reason she could not focus; she wanted to know everything that was going on, and so be able to really help her. Sadly, directly addressing the matter to her was not an option; she had tried that before and Saavik had not being receptive. Ba'el still resented that, even if her admiration and loyalty to her had never diminished; she realized her decision to remain silent did not mean she distrusted her at all; it was just the way Saavik was, always so private.

But Ba'el had shared everything with her, even the details of her childhood she was supposed not to disclose. When Worf left Carraya IV with the other children, she felt distraught. First, because it was obvious he did not return the strong love she had developed for him, and second because then she knew she had no place outside the prison camp where she had been born. She had kept learning about Klingon culture, now helped by her mother and the other adults who finally taught her where she came from and what being a Klingon really was; and it was this way, learning their history, when she had first heard of Saavik. A hero to the Klingons and a half-Romulan. And then in her heart again hope had shimmered. She had learned of the Federation and other hybrids like her who also had a fullfiling life there. She had discovered with certain shock that Worf was actually a Starfleet officer too. And she had decided she wanted to travel to the Federation and meet Saavik. That was all. She had just wanted to meet her new found hero, and maybe wished secretely to get in touch with Worf again too, if it was possible. Surprisingly, her parents hadn't opposed her. They just wanted her to be happy. And when they had said good-bye to her they had warned she should never reveal their names or her home planet. At first she had not, but Saavik was someone she trusted implicity, someone she knew would understand and never betray her, so one day she had told her everything, absolutely everything, about her past.

Saavik had talked her about her own past too, one that had not been a happy one, with paralelisms to her own story but also painful differences. But it was clear that she had left something unsaid. At least, her denial gave Ba'el a very small clue. She knew the name that caused her so much discomfort, even if she had no idea why. Admiral Ajeya. What is the matter with her?

Ba'el frowned. She was staring at the screen even if her mind wandered somewhere else. She paid no attention as the computer researched about the Cardassian scientists whose names she had spoken up. It actually made no sense to her. At that moment, she just really did not care.

Admiral Ajeya. That was the only name that was in her head, the only one she really wanted to know about. She ordered the computer to stop and start a new search. Soon all the information available showed on screen.

"Who are you?" she mused aloud, and this time focused, she played the data on.

Ajeya was a noteworthy officer, that was the first thing she learnt; her career in the Romulan Imperial Fleet was impressive. Starfleet's Intelligence always kept an eye on her, and so she could read a decently detailed profile, but still it was not much.

But then came the sudden revelation. Ajeya had been once under Starfleet's custody, even if only briefly, since she had escaped soon after that. The U.S.S. Armstrong had taken her prisoner. When Ba'el took on the name of the ship, her heart raced; Saavik had served on that ship as first officer. Before continuing reading further, her mind compared the dates; they matched. The next piece of information came in, and she bristled. Ajeya had attempted to murder Saavik.

So that's why Saavik hates Ajeya.

Or maybe not. For Ba'el's surprise and frustration, she found that the actions of the by then Commander Ajeya didn't make any sense. Apparently, Ajeya's assault had not been part of any sneaky military operation, she had kidnapped and attempted to kill Saavik on her own, for some not confessed private reason. It was a personal matter. Inwardly, Ba'el shuddered.

Something had happened before.

But the data obtained by Starfleet told her nothing. There was no other reference remotely related to Saavik, nothing that could explain what had sparkled the two women's obvious animosity. Something big enough to make Ajeya risk everything to try to eliminate Saavik. Something big enough to make Saavik actually hate Ajeya, and have a very hard time every time she thought of her.

Something of their past that remained concealed.

And that's when Ba'el realized. What's the part of Saavik's life that I always find difficulty learning about? The one that she rarely talks about, and when she does it is always in general terms? Her childhood, of course. And Ba'el's was close enough to her to know that Saavik had spent her early childhood somewhere in the Romulan Star Empire, just like her. In a prison camp, just like her. But one that had been hell to her, one where she had hardly been loved.

That's when they met. That's when everything happened, whatever happened.

Because then Ba'el also had to resign to the fact that she would never know what it was, unless Saavik finally decided to tell her, and that was not very probable if she hadn't already confided in her.

Was she one of the guards? One of her tormentors?

She would have to remain in the dark, and that was not good, for she knew, she knew, that that knowledge was vital.

And Ba'el desperately wanted to protect her, from Ajeya, from Koval, from the Cardassian scientists and their mad projects. From whatever evil that could threaten her. Saavik was her living hero, she was family to her, almost as close as her own parents. She needed to know all that was going on.

It was a futile attempt, but Ba'el was not about to give up. She ordered the computer to repeat the search, to look again for all the documents available with the key word, Ajeya.

To her astonishment, a new item appeared first: a report that had just been sent to their attention from Deep Space Nine; the base's commander had just passed it in. Ba'el blinked hard twice, when the reference continued to be there on her screen, she ordered the computer to show her the report.

Now Ba'el thought that maybe blinking wasn't enough, and checking with a doctor in case she was starting to have hallucinations was actually a good idea. The report was difficult to believe, but if it was true, and yes, it was true, then they finally were getting an answer.

Ajeya was alive. She had just crossed the wormhole in a Romulan ship, saying she was meeting Raghnill. Another Romulan ship had crossed soon after her, apparently also part of her wing. None of these appearances had been forewarned; that was the reason why Deep Space Nine had considered it strange and had forwarded the information to them.

They had news from Ajeya, and that was good since they were searching for her. But now that she had learnt at least a little about Ajeya's past experience with Saavik, Ba'el understood that, as her own daughter had crudely said, she, just like her commanding officer and friend, wanted her dead. And her sudden reappearance was not good news at all.

They had found her. She was heading towards Raghnill's ship. Was that enough? Could they forget the issue and go back to their usual tasks? Because Ba'el, for one, had lost all her previous interest in Koval's and Ajeya's turbulent affairs. She just wanted to finish it off.

The lieutenat realized it was late, and she knew Saavik needed very much to rest, but she also was sure she would not appreciate if she did not inform of the new situation at the double, so she ordered the computer to reach her.

Hopefully, this will be ended now, she told to herself. However, she was unaware of Saavik's own discoveries, and the implications of them.