Trust

by drakkynfyre47 (TwoMenAndAGuava)

Summary:

A series of short, introspective oneshots that I decided to write for some of my fandoms.

Chapter 1: DS9

Trust was dangerous, when you were in the espionage business. But he wasn’t in the Order, not anymore. His loyalty to Tain didn’t matter; if he returned to Cardassia or even attempted to contact certain people there, he’d be a primary assassination target.
Garak sat alone in his quarters, bent over his embroidery. Since his exile, he had had a difficult time adjusting to the new role he had to play. He’d never had this trouble before, but then again, this really wasn’t a role.
Though he’d been playing this not-role for years now, he still had trouble with some things. But now, with Julian as his teacher, perhaps he could learn to trust.

Chapter 2: Hogan's Heroes

“Trust” was another one of those words that Newkirk didn’t like, right up there with “love” and “honor” and “respect”. In his experience, when people said those kind of words, they just wanted to make it easier to betray you, or con you out of something.
But that was before. Before the war, before Stalag 13, and most importantly, before Colonel Hogan. The colonel was different from any officer or authority figure he’d met before. Hogan always listened, always had time for Newkirk, a smile for Carter, a compliment for LeBeau, made sure everyone treated Kinch and Baker fairly.
These missions, now, the sabotage operations, were different too. Hogan was counting on them all to do their part, and they did it. Not because they were ordered to, but because Hogan told them it would make a difference, and they believed him. They respected Hogan, and, in turn, Hogan respected them. Newkirk smiled to himself. No matter what it took, he was going to prove Hogan right. His commanding officer had given him a gift greater than anything else. Newkirk was going to give something back, and justify Hogan’s trust.

Chapter 3: Grimnoir Chronicles

Trusting people was hard. Heinrich had worked at it, and worked at it, and he still just couldn’t do it, for the most part. But Dan Garrett was a Mouth, either loved or loathed. Heinrich had been especially suspicious of him at first, because you could never turn your back on a Mouth. Dan had worked harder to gain Heinrich’s confidence than anyone else, harder even than Francis, but it had been worth it.
Two months into Heinrich’s association with the Grimnoir Knights, he’d been involved with his first firefight with the Imperium. It wasn’t as bad as some of what he’d survived in Dead City, but at that moment, he concluded that there was no one he’d rather have at his side than Dan Garrett, because Dan Garrett was someone he could trust.

Chapter 4: Chronicles of the Raven

Trust was the most important thing about the Raven, other than the Code- Kill But Never Murder. No other mercenary band was so respected, because of the Raven’s adherence to the Code, but the Raven wouldn’t be where it was today if there was no trust. The Unknown Warrior ensured that they stuck to the Code, but it was Hirad who made sure they were confident in each other. Ilkar knew he was a very important part of that, knew that without his SpellShield, the Raven would probably all be dead by now.
Being sure of what the others would do was vital. That was why only Hirad ever carried Ilkar when the mage was casting. Ilkar knew he was most vulnerable when he cast, and he also knew that Hirad would protect him at any cost, because Ilkar was also shielding the rest of the Raven. Hirad was there to make sure he didn’t fall, and it was in him that Ilkar would always place his trust.

Chapter 5: Sharpe

Trust was a bigger part of the army than Harper had ever thought it would be. Not only did you have to know what you were supposed to do, you also had to know what everyone else was doing too. Being a sergeant gave him authority, but it also gave him responsibility, and he took that responsibility seriously.
He felt responsible for both the men under his command, and for his commanding officer. Sharpe could be… difficult at times, and Harper had to know what, exactly, to do when Sharpe came staggering back to camp reeking of cheap alcohol, sweat, and women. But when it came time to fight, Sharpe cared deeply for everyone under his command, and counted on Harper to do what needed to be done.
Harper’s lack of respect for most officers had lent him a bad reputation, but he had been surprised to find that he and Sharpe had an almost symbiotic relationship. It worked, and it worked well, because they functioned as a unit, and they could never function this way without a strong bond of trust.