---    Trust

Ironically it turned out to be much easier for Shannon to get her identification updated and accepted by Internal Security than it did with the security system for her own apartment.

"Voice print and retinal scans do not match current record", intoned the access panel.

"Of course they don't. Its a new body", grumbled Shannon after the third failed attempt, "Request resync with official database."

"Next database synchronization is scheduled in sixteen hours.  Please contact Internal Security if you continue to experience difficulty with your identification", it recited.

Shannon looked as though she was about to start breaking things again.  "I am with Internal Security!" she growled.  "If I had my network access, I'd...", she began before Dro placed a hand on her shoulder and held his ID against the terminal.

"Security override, Crwydro Amddifad", he stated, followed by a rapid series of numbers.

"Security override approved", replied the panel as the door locks disengaged.

"Still haven't changed your passkey?", asked Shannon as she pushed the door open and entered.

"I see no need", Dro replied.

The skunk was half way down the hall when she looked back and saw the dragon still standing outside in the hallway.

"Are you coming in?", she called to him.

"Not without your permission", he replied.

The skunk rolled her eyes and shook her head.  "Please come in.  Make yourself comfortable", she said before continuing to the bathroom.

Dro ducked his head and entered her apartment, shutting the door behind him.

---

True to her word, Shannon went immediately into the bath, and while she did not spend a week, she did take an inordinately long one.

Dro was working on his report, documenting the activities of the last several days when he heard an exasperated scream from the bedroom.  "Are you alright?", he called down the hallway.

The sound of tiny angry feet came pounding toward him.  Shannon emerged, fur still ruffled and unbrushed from the dryer fans, wearing only a simple shirt which hung lopsided on her body.  The neck hole sagging open over one shoulder, and the bottom hem reaching her knees.  "None of my clothes fit!", she blurted, raising her arms and letting them drop to her sides.

Tilting his head, he assessed her current attire. "No, they don't", he confirmed.

"There is also a stranger staring back at me from my mirror", she grumbled as she crossed her arms and pouted.

"That stranger may be with you for some time, I am afraid", he said while placing his tablet on a table, "However, new clothes should be arriving within a few hours."

"What clothes?", asked Shannon with some apprehension.

"The clothes Celine is sending over, based on her estimation of your current measurements", he replied. "I asked her to send a new uniform, along with a selection of civilian clothes that she felt would be appropriate."

"So YOU didn't choose them?", she asked, giving the dragon a sideways glance.

"I did not", he confirmed.

Shannon let out a sigh of relief, then brushed her hair back with her fingers and smiled.  "Thank you.  To both of you."

---

Dro glanced over his report, mentally ticking off the details he knew, and noting all of the gaping voids left by the things he did not.  He then turned to Shannon and asked, "Is there anything else you can, or want to tell me?  Anything I should know about what happened out there, before the council starts asking questions?"

"You think the council will get involved?", she asked with a worried look.  "Its not like I did it on company time."

"Shannon, you detonated military ordinance at a remote mining outpost, killing yourself and nine other people", he replied while fixing her with a look.  "Even if you weren't an agent, it would still warrant an investigation.  There WILL be an inquiry, sooner or later."

Shannon sighed and dropped into a chair.  "Let me know when they schedule that so I can be mysteriously unavailable."

"That would not be a good plan.  The council may be full of pompous bureaucrats with delusions of grandeur, but requests for official inquiries come down from the Director himself", said Dro.  "They would probably send someone out to bring you in, forcibly if necessary."

"Ha, let them try", she said with a mocking grin.

"What if they sent me?", he asked solemnly.

Shannon's smile vanished.

"So, can you please tell me what is going on, before this hypothetical series of events occurs, and I am required to hunt you down?", he asked.

"I can't tell you", said the skunk sadly, looking down at the floor.

"So it is so important that you can't even trust me?", asked the dragon.

Shannon's head snapped back up in surprise, shocked that he might think she mistrusted him.  "Dro, I trust you more than anyone, but I can't think of anywhere I would feel safe discussing it", said Shannon in serious tones, as a look of worry began to appear on her face.  "There is not a single place in the entire Federation that I can be sure someone is not listening in.  Not this room, this planet, or any ship in space.  I don't even like to think about it too hard, in case Internal Security is monitoring my internal processes without my knowledge."

The dragon put his tablet down and leaned back into the couch.  The look on his face could only be described as smug.  "I have always said that you were one of my finest students", he said with genuine admiration.

Shannon quirked an eyebrow.  "Who have you ever said that to?", she asked.

"Myself mostly", he replied, "Though I may have mentioned it in a few of my reports to the Director."

The thought of him praising her to their boss made Shannon smile.

Dro's ears suddenly flared as he turned his head to the door.  "Your clothes have arrived", he announced just as the door chime sounded.

---

Shannon opened the door to find a tall male Raccan from Internal Security, pushing a metallic case as tall as she was.  The agent swiveled the case around on its embedded wheels, and let it stand on one end.  The raccoon looked at the skunk sideways. "I was told to deliver a new uniform and clothes to this address", he said, rechecking his tablet.

"Yes, we've been expecting it", replied Shannon with a smile.

"Good!  Is your mother or father home so they can sign for it?", he asked.

Shannon's ears flattened against her head and her smile melted away.  Fighting to maintain her composure, she closed her eyes slowly and took a deep breath.  "Just one moment", she whispered as she leaned her head back into the apartment.  "DAD!  It's for you!", she yelled, then stood and waited patiently.

The Raccan waited impatiently, bouncing on his feet as he heard motion from inside the apartment.  Then he felt a tingle.  A tiny tickling itch at the back of his neck, making his fur stand up, followed by a feeling of dread, as if something horrible were just behind the door waiting to pounce.  He glanced around nervously, his breath quickening as his adrenaline began to spike.  His right hand was instinctively reaching for his pistol just as the door opened and the dragon's head poked out.

All at once the feeling vanished, leaving the poor raccoon feeling exhausted as though he had been running.

"I'll sign for that", said Dro, snatching the tablet and pressing a thumb to it while the Raccan recovered from the effects of his social avoidance field.

Shannon grabbed the handle on the case and rolled it through the door while the dragon returned the agent's tablet to him.  "Sorry about that", said Dro, as he patted him on the back.

"It's OK", replied the agent.  "I've had the training, but it has been a while since I have had to face it in the field.  I certainly was not expecting it here", he said gesturing to the hallway.  "That was also a lot stronger than any of the training."

"I may have over done it", admitted the dragon, "I usually keep it dialed back."

"How high does it go?", asked the agent.

"I don't know", replied Dro, "Want to find out?"

"NO, no.  That's quite alright", replied the Raccan, as he began to feel the prickling at the base of his neck again. "I only have the one pair of pants."


---

Wheeling the case into the main room, Shannon stood it on end and released its catches.  The case unfolded along its vertical axis, displaying two halves of a portable wardrobe.  A new uniform and official clothing on one side, and non-work related civilian items on the other.  At the bottom of the work side, under a pair of boots was a small metal box.  Opening it, she found her new sidearm, and several rounds of ammunition.

"Is this a joke?", she asked, holding up the pistol.  "My little finger wont even fit in the barrel.  I suppose I could put out someones eye with it if I got lucky."

Dro looked at what was effectively a child's toy in her hand.  "I'm sure I can find you something more suitable in my personal collection.  Something that wont make you walk with a limp while carrying it, or knock you over when you fire it."

Tossing the pistol back into the box, she continued to rummage through the case.  Selecting various items of clothing and holding them up to her body to check for size.  "These look like they will fit", she announced as she began changing into her new uniform.

A few moments later, she stood before her mirror, turning this way and that, still unaccustomed to the face peering back at her.  "I cant wear this", she said, as she turned in place, the long maroon coat flaring outward as she spun.

Dro looked up. "Why not?  That's a standard issue field uniform."

"But I look like a child's doll!", she complained.

"You always have", he replied.

Shannon growled as she returned to the case, sorting through the clothing, pulling out shirts, vests, various undergarments, and finally sleepwear.

"Ahem?", said Shannon with a hint of annoyance.

Dro looked up from his tablet to see Shannon holding up an ankle length night shirt.  Emblazoned across the front was a child's depiction of a mythical one-horned creature, with the text 'My Best Friend Is Imaginary' encircling it.

"Ok, I may have picked that one", he said, returning to his report.

"Perhaps I need to re-evaluate the level of trust I have in you", she said with a sigh.

Dro nodded his head. "My finest student", he reiterated.