The cabin trembled under the stress when the ship jumped once more out of warp, the integrity force fields hardly holding.
Ajeya woke up, disoriented. She tried to open her eyes, but blood blurred her vision. She passed her hand over her face. Flashes of what had happened came to her mind. Again, she fluttered her eyes open. Her head hurt; her back ached; she still could not feel her legs. Around her, the scarce and well designed furniture, welded to the cabin's structure, was still in place. However, remembering the torpedo that had hit them, Ajeya figured there had to be a huge hole in the hulk just below her quarters' level, where she suspected it had hit.
Ajeya made an effort to sit straight, her head still pounding. She was covered in blood, and she palpated her body looking for injures. She relived again the moment she had seen the torpedo coming. That had been a Romulan weapon, she was sure. And then, dryly, she could take a guess on who had fired upon them: Koval's people.
She wondered how much time she had remained unconscious and what had happened during that time. She doubted the Jem'Hadar would be more prone to answer her that time. She was going to try again anyway.
As she came to that decision, her gaze idly turned to the window. And then Ajeya saw the ship outside, her silhouette unmistakable in spite of sharing the same design of all D'Deridex class warbirds. The Rhian'Unnr's feathered body was after all unique, and followed strictly the beautiful pattern of Ael, her most beloved pet during her childhood. Raghnill had made her ship to be adorned that way for her, knowing how special the bird of prey had been to her.
Ajeya's heart was full of joy, and for an instant she forgot all her sorrows and pains. Then her own ship swirled, the starboard side of the Rhian'Unnr came closer and she was shocked when she saw the disruptor fire targeted towards her. They flied over her daughter's vessel and she could not see if the beams connected or not. Her heart fell; she could not believe her own fleet was attacking them. Of course, Ajeya realized her people could not know she was traveling in that ship.
She finally opened her communicator, and with rage, she called out, "Bridge, cease fire! Cease fire!" At first Ajeya had thought the Jem'Hadar were simply ignoring her; now, she contemplated the possibility that they had cut off the communication with her and were not even hearing her. "First, damn you, if you are listening to me, that is my ship! You're fighting my own ship! Are we allies or not?!"
But the battle continued outside, she could tell by the way the ship maneuvered, even if she did not have the Rhian'Unnr on sight; and it was a fight her daughter was not going to lose. In frustration, Ajeya punched the wall with all her strength. If only I could walk…It was an honor to die in battle; it was not an honor if she was killed by her own ship while she was powerless, trapped in that room. Ajeya cursed her fate.