Saavik sat coolly on her command chair at the bridge; she had already decided that she would speak with Raghnill in front of her crew whenever possible. However, her calm was about to be shattered. When finally the Rhian'Unrr accepted her call, she was thrown back, and only her mental disciplines prevented her from physically reacting at the unexpected sight. She tensed, nevertheless, and her eyes turned to ice.

"Admiral Ajeya," she acknowledged with clenched teeth.

Her Romulan counterpart was seated at her ready room's table, the Empire's emblem dominating the background. Her legitimate daughter stood by her side; she kept a neutral stance that Saavik tried to read for an instant, before her eyes focused on Ajeya again. She had aged considerably since the last time they had seen each other, but she looked at her with the same cold hate, and with the same old contempt she turned to her, "Admiral Saavik."

Saavik had to wonder for a second what had happened when Raghnill had jumped away to pursue the Avenger; obviously it had been a mistake to remain fending off the other Tal Shiar ship. Whatever had occurred, Raghnill had done her job well and now Ajeya was back at her ship and in command, and withholding the information she relished, if Garak had been right. Raghnill could be counted as an ally, Ajeya, obviously, could not. If any, Ajeya could be counted as a formidable enemy.

Ajeya was serious, though, she did not dedicate to her any of her disdainful snarls. After her initial words and hardly pausing, she added, "You and your Federation have nothing to do here."

She was not open to discussion, nor was Saavik. "You are very wrong. I am here to meet you, and I am not moving away." Her tone equaled in coldness to that of the Romulan commanding officer.

This time Ajeya allowed herself to smirk, "What the hell do you want,-" she halted herself, and left the question in the middle of the intonation. Half-bred, she had wanted to spat, and all the many insults that came to her mind when thinking of Saavik. However, she silenced her own words.

Saavik did not miss the detail; she knew the words that came next even if they had not been pronounced. However, they had no impact on her; she was no longer the child who would get deeply hurt at the others' cruel disregard of her heritage. She had had to suffer bigotry most of her life, and that of her own biological mother did not hit harder.

"I want the same you want," she answered.

Actually, Saavik realized, she was calmer, more self-assured than before.

Ajeya tilted her head and looked largely at her. "Hold a second," she said abruptly, her voice as harsh as ever, and the Romulans' projection on the bridge vanished immediately.

Saavik disliked the sudden interruption, but took the time to review her crew instead. Ba'el was worried, both her eyes and her body language gave her away; Saavik realized that Ba'el was also the one who could read her better, she had probably noted her reaction to Ajeya's appearance. Garak seemed amused; he flashed her a smile when their eyes met, however she could sense how his inquisitive gaze probed her; she revealed nothing. Lieutenant Houity had looked puzzled, but had quickly turned to his station when their gazes had met; Saavik smiled to herself, she had seen too many young officers do exactly that. The tactical officer had monitored his console during all the exchange, only listening to their words, and he continued focused on its readings; his grim face only showed his determination; Saavik appreciated his professionalism. Their captain had watched them, though; she sat upright at her station, and when Ajeya shut off the communication, she stared at her, deadly serious, awaiting her orders; as only Saavik's cool gaze answered her, she nodded to her and turned to her post.

The Romulan flagship requested to open a channel again, as was expected. When the two high ranking officers appeared once more, there had been subtle changes. Raghnill continued flanking her mother in a tense parade rest, and Ajeya was still on her chair, but her eyes burned in a cold fury that would make anyone recoil, anyone except Saavik. And there was something on the table, an object that took immediately Saavik's attention: a knife, Ajeya's Honor Blade. Saavik stiffened, and inwardly some of her own inner fire showed in her eyes.

"I will never trust you," Ajeya practically spat her words.

"Neither will I," Saavik's voice was steel. With the traditional blade in the middle of both of them, their sentence had a very dangerous, and violent, meaning.

Saavik had to drag her next words; she did not really want to come to a compromise with her oldest foe; she just did not have much of a choice. "We have a common enemy, though."

"We have a common goal," Ajeya conceded, loathing her own words.

Inwardly, both women tilted their head at the same time, mirroring each other. It was just a second, both noticed, startled. They were both disgusted to share the same mannerism; they did not want to have anything in common. And, however, they had more in common than their blood. They had a common past, and a consequent common enemy, as Saavik had stated.

"I am here to meet you," Saavik repeated. She doubted, but at the end she was blunt, "I had arrangements with Commander Raghnill. I expect them to be respected."

Ajeya did not appreciate the Federation admiral's tone. She had already found out Raghnill had spoken way too much with her half sister, and she figured there was more to come; she could not say she was happy. On the other hand, she would use any help in defeating one foe, and she could go after the other later. Her unsheathed Honor Blade stated her intentions.

The Romulan commanding officer dedicated a dry smile to her adversary before accepting, "First thing, first. The Firebird is calling. I'll handle them, and we'll meet. An interesting encounter, don't you think?"

There it was, the predator's grin, so very Romulan. Saavik preferred to keep her better Vulcan face. "Indeed," she calmly replied. She looked at Raghnill, who kept quiet; obviously her more reliable half sister would honor their agreement if given a chance, but undoubtedly she would obey her mother and superior officer first. She wondered if Ajeya would keep her word even if only for the convenience of it; her sharp mind made the calculations, and she decided. She was silent for just an instant, then she went on, "There is a Federation citizen aboard the Firebird. His name is Luther Sloan, a Human working for a rogue organization. His actions are not legitimated by the Federation in anyway." Saavik realized that last sentence was not entirely true; she could not be sure.

Ajeya looked surprised for a moment; she had not expected Saavik to reveal her anything. "I know of his presence," actually, she could just suspect of it, "but don't try to fool me telling me he isn't one of your spies. I know better."

Saavik decided to went further away, "You may want to know even more. Mr. Garak," she turned to look briefly at the Cardassian as she addressed him. "You surely have a complete report on agent Sloan. Would you share it with our Romulan allies?"

Ajeya and Raghnill did not miss the hint of irony in that last word. Garak, on his part, was just too puzzled to catch it. His mouth formed a silent "oh" before composing himself to dedicate a cheerful face to his sudden audience. "Of course," he found himself agreeing. Next, he looked pointedly at the Vulcan admiral; he had been outmaneuvered, and he disliked that, not that the reports he could have on Sloan were so confidential.

Ajeya nodded. Garak was outside of her vision and she just heard his voice. The presence of the Cardassian controvert spy was another disquieting surprise, but she was not about to let it show. With her nod, both parts ended the conversation.