The simulation paused as Inigo was midway through bowing to a pretty young stoat. All of the figures in the scene froze in their places, indicating that someone was about to give him a talking to. Sure enough a familiar face popped up in a window projected above the mustelid's motionless head.

"I'm going to stop you there, Commander. That gesture was too conspicuous."
It was the voice and visage of the Verisimilitude Advisor, Katerina, though the face wasn't quite as familiar as it used to be. Kat had recently jumped on the bandwagon brought about by the falling price of quintessence and turned herself into a gerbil. The look was surprisingly fetching on her.

"Can you elaborate?" Inigo replied, only barely disguising his annoyance at his session once again being interrupted. "I thought the action situationally appropriate."

"Tip your hat to a lady, but don't bow. Remember, the point is to blend in with the populace. Being charming to them is acceptable, charming them is not."
"Oh, but for a hare as handsome and possibly eligible as myself, wouldn't it only stand out more if I didn't try to woo her?"

The rodent rolled her eyes.

"If you're having trouble remembering the finer points of local etiquette we can give you a conditioning chip. There's no shame in it, and it violates none of the Alitherian Edicts."
"It violates my personal edicts. You don't cut open a classic, Kat. This hare had dozens of missions under his belt when you were still taking your entrance exams."

Times have changed since then, Commander. I've certainly heard stories about the stunts field operatives pulled in your era but these days the government tends to frown on us being cowboy cops.
Inigo couldn't stop his nose from twitching at the irony of her comment. The involuntary reflex pleased him, as it meant "the rabbit" still fit him like a glove. Meanwhile he gestured to the getup he was wearing. "Please stop me if I'm going too old-fashioned."

"With pleasure. I also have issues with the persona form you submitted."
She motioned to an unseen terminal and a holographic window unfurled next to her that listed Inigo's description of his own character. A duplicate of it displayed inside the simulation so he could see what she highlighted.

"For example, for 'occupation' you wrote: 'A sort of soldier of fortune. A dashing desperado with a twinkle in his eye, a spring in his step and a predilection for daring deeds done with a demeanor débonnaire.' Commander, I realize you haven't been out in the field for a while, but this is..."
"Too many subtleties?"

"I'm going to put down 'Retired Sheriff's Deputy.' Do you think you can handle that? Or is that too little flair for you?
The lagomorph tsked. "Do I detect a hint that I'm ready for retirement? If that's your idea of being charming—"

"It's a hint that you're not ready for this mission! Not unless you can put away your bag of tricks and get serious for once!"
"Kat, if there's one thing I'm serious about it's my bag of tricks. And pulling a rabbit out of a hat is the oldest one there is."

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Artwork by DaggerLeonelli