Soulbreakers

Streams, Dreams and Reunions

The streets around the National Defense Academy were almost empty. The exception was the two friends sitting on one of the park's benches.

The tall raven-haired girl surveyed all the building's doors and windows, verifying all were closed. "We arrived too early," Danita concluded.

"I couldn't sleep..." Viatriz rubbed her eyes.

"And didn't let me either..." Danita's gaze chased the end of the street. The venue almost met the ocean.

The Academy and the park were at a seasteading island. It was one of the many artificial islands that were part of the United Nation's capital. The city's status as the capital of a transcontinental country, though, didn't change the emptiness of its streets on that Sunday. Not a surprise, either, being afloat in the middle of the Atlantic.

Viatriz straightened her back and stretched her arms. The youthful blonde stared at the Academy, wondering how would be their new jobs. "Do you think they'll send us to space?"

"Dunno," Danita pouted. "The Earth Team's jurisdiction goes only till the exosphere."

"It's not that I dislike space missions," Viatriz pondered. "It's just that I think they have too few people and too many machines for my tastes."

"Too few investigations, also," Danita said.

"There aren't many people in space."

"Nor crimes..." Danita replied. Later, she would find out that it was quite the opposite. Now, both were just naively happy about their new gig.

"Why do you think they called us?"

"Not sure. Any idea?"

"I think it was the Astro Pack," Viatriz replied, with a proud smile.

"The Mad Pack."

"The Astro Mad Pack."

"With so many cases, you choose the unsolved one..."

"Maybe we advanced further than anyone else."

"We discovered they were all former astronauts," Danita remembered. "And just that."

"Not at all! We also uncovered that all of them participated in the same mission!" Viatriz replied, enthusiastic.

"The same mission we don't know why, when, or where it occurred..."

"The Feds know. That's a clearance problem. Not an investigation problem," Viatriz argued.

Danita conceded. "Maybe it was that. They have this clearance."

"They called us, maybe, not for what we know, but for what we want to know," Viatriz said, enthusiastic.

"Okay. But the keyword here is 'maybe'."

"Anyway, whatever we investigate, the Feds pay way better than regular Legis," Viatriz said.

"True." Danita paused, thinking about Viatrix's last phrase, and fancied a wish list on her mind.

Viatriz and Danita were longtime friends, and already had their fair share of adventures. The first serious one was when they tried to be professional streamers – Danita streaming video games while Viatriz reviewed anime. Unfortunately, just because they streamed together eight hours a day, that didn't mean they could make a living with it.

They then tried to find conventional jobs, hopping from gig to gig, always together, until they did an interview and were accepted by the Legionnaires.

In the next three years, each one followed a different path inside the agency. Danita became a field agent and weapon's specialist, while Viatriz graduated and became a forensic psychologist. They usually worked as complimentary partners during whichever investigation they were assigned. A month ago, both were invited to become Federal Legionnaires.