Blair took another step closer to O'Brien, she was a good few inches shorter but you could tell from her presence she was used to getting her way. She stared at him; eye to eye seeming to look for an answer, or the truth, in those deep honest eyes of his.
"And we need your help," Andreas said.
"Me?"
"Yes, you know the truth," Andreas paused, again O'Brien could only assume for emphasis. "You, know, the, truth," it was like he was pushing each word out, over pronouncing every syllable. "You've sought that truth, worked for that truth. Surely you want to see that truth come out?"
"I haven't been seeking anything, I kind of… well, stumbled upon it by accident," O'Brien admitted, all the expression of someone coming clean about taking credit for someone else's homework.
"You knew that man, the new recruit in Barrett's team was," Blair spoke now, pausing to choose her words, "was not supposed to be there."
"I saw him on the street a day ago. He was drunk, he was taken away."
"I'm not an Earth native," Blair admitted; he'd thought he heard a slight accent.
"Alpha Centauri is my birthplace, and I was raised on Deep Space K-5 along the Klingon border. I don't know Earth all that well, but typically do Starfleet security officers get drunk, on REAL ale, and are taken away by medical personnel?"
"I guess it could happen…" O'Brien conceded, he still wasn't 100% convinced he understood what he'd been chasing. Sure things had been a little odd, but; like Julian said wasn't there usually a reasonable explanation?
"I am an Earth native," Andreas spoke; "I've lived here my entire life, and NO, that doesn't happen here."
"We know of your prior engagement with our organisation Mister O'Brien," it was Blair again now. Maybe it was the lighting but her shoulder length brown hair seemed black to him now; in stark contrast to the fiery intensity of her blue eyes.
"Oh you do, do you? Well you'll know Sloan tried to recruit me once. I turned him down. What makes you think you'll have any more success?"
"We work, we have always worked, to protect the Federation Mister O'Brien from all threats. Foreign, and domestic. Just because we work in the shadows, beneath the din of normal life, does not mean our product is always of a heinous nature."
"This truth, whatever the heck it might be, I thought it was Section 31 doing it," O'Brien said, he begun the pacing. He didn't like being in a small room, especially one he couldn't identify the exit out of. His eyes had adjusted now and he could make out most of the details about the room, the beige walls, and where it met the browny-salmon floor. (Definitely a product of the 2360s) he thought.
"We keep the peace, we protect the Federation," Andreas said. Blair had turned her head as her comrade spoke and when she turned back to O'Brien she was nodding. "Whether you agree with our methods or not you cannot doubt our intentions," she said, she knew he was a patriot.
"So who the hell is doing this?" O'Brien asked.
"What the hell they are doing is of much more importance," she was shutting down his line of questioning; herding him in one direction.
"No," Andreas stood now, standing to face Blair, it was the first time he'd heard them disagree. "Who is just as important. This is a dangerous time for the Federation," he turned to O'Brien now. "There are enemies at the gate who came out of the war a lot better than we did. If this truth got out it could not only hurt the Federation domestically, but go a long way to damaging our reputation within the Alpha Quadrant as well."
"Then why are you so hell bent on this 'truth' getting out? If you're here to protect the Federation."
"Some of us believe in the Federation ideals you know," a few tears had appeared in Blair's eyes, she was passionate about her cause, she didn't enjoy having THAT questioned.
Her statement silenced the room. She paced back to the darkened corner from where she'd came, her back to Andreas and Miles. When she turned back around the tears were gone and that steely determined glare had returned. "Maybe, you could say we're not your typical Section 31 operatives. Or maybe we are, who knows, they keep us all apart for the good of the organisation."
A rare peak behind the curtain, even Sloan hadn't revealed that little tidbit when O'Brien and Bashir had been deep inside his mind.
"We believe in what the Federation stands for, and we are appalled by the actions of a few."
"But," Andreas interceded; "We disagree on the timing."
"But," Blair imitating Andreas; "We've conceded it's now or never."
Andreas was reluctantly nodding. Blair didn't just look like she always got her own way, she actually did apparently.
"Will you help us?" she did not want to waste anymore time, she delivered the ultimatum.
O'Brien didn't know what to say. (In for a penny, in for a pound), he thought as he nodded his agreement.
"I will, but what can I do?"
:::::::
"Do you think two people can be," he searched for the right word, "linked in some way across dozens of lightyears?"
Julian was sat up in bed. The lights in the quarters he shared with Ezri were low but he was wide awake; clearly struggling through the hour of the wolf.
Ezri, who had at least been making an attempt to sleep, joined Julian in sitting up.
"I know exactly what you mean," she said smiling, it had been the nicest thing he'd said to her all day. Julian was a genius, there was no doubting that; it was in his genes, but his skills in love only extended to the chase; not the aftermath.
"I always feel a connection to you." She reached around behind him and whilst holding him in an embrace gently lowered him back toward a prone position.
She stopped when she saw the expression on his face. It was that weird guiltly-I didn't quite mean that, kind of look men usually wore when they'd upset their other half; not complimented them.
"What?" she giggled.
"Ezri. I love you," he said; matter-of-factly, he was a Doctor and that was his diagnosis, "But I meant between Miles and me."
Ezri rolled her eyes, why oh why hadn't she seen that coming. She didn't resent the deep friendship her lover had with the Chief, and appreciated it was difficult now that so much space existed between them; further exasperated by the fact Bashir seemed unwilling to court any new friendships amongst the incumbent crew, but sometimes Julian did bring it up at the oddest times.
"Sorry," he said, realising his error.
"It's okay," Ezri was listened to Julian speak "doctorese" to her, now he would listen to her "counselorish". "Why is it you think that?" she let a smile tug at the corner of her mouth. Ezri was a beautiful woman, but this little half smile, made her quite possibly the most beautiful woman in all of the Alpha Quadrant. It was lost of Julian this time out though;
"Because I've got this horrible feeling he's gotten himself mixed up in something dreadful."