Reuben yawned, his grip on the plasma-rifle loosening. When he signed onto the expedition he had been anticipating adventure or at least some form of work besides the mind-numbing task of manning the watchtower.
The real work, hunting the danger-beasts, was left to veterans and professionals. Even an inexperienced rookie like Reuben knew he would just get in the way of the hunting. They weren't just hunting any beast, the team was out tracking a snow dragon.
It wasn't a real dragon, more of an overgrown lizard if anything, but that's what the locals called it. Lizard or not, it was still a danger to the general populace. Reports stated that it was seen inching closer and closer to New Belzan.
Gradually, it would find it's way to the city, and Reuben could only imagine the chaos that would follow.
"Slouching on duty? You're brave for a rookie."
Reuben whirled to the side, saluting at the sound of the voice. It was Watch Commander Baylor, a lax, well-mannered man well-liked by the men under his charge.
"No need to salute, we're hardly an army, more like a bunch of ragtag militiamen," Commander Baylor said, stroking his graying beard.
"But you used to be in the army right? The Red Surge! My father told me they had operations everywhere, even in other star systems! It was a pity they disbanded, I've always wanted to enlist," Reuben jabbered on, unaware of the approaching snow cloud outside of the encampment walls.
By the time Reuben noticed the approaching force, the Commander already had his binoculars out.
"What should we do, Commander?" Reuben was a rookie, and one eager for action too, but he still had the sense to consult his commanding officer.
Commander Baylor threw his binoculars aside. "Shut down the electro-gates, they're back," he said with a wide grin forming on his usually flaccid face.
"Yes sir," without a moment's hesitation, Reuben pulled the switch.
The electric currents running through the gate dispersed. Reuben could see it now, the large transport was on caterpillar treads, a trail of black smoke chugging behind it, and on its' back was the snow dragon.
Reuben, with the Commanders' permission, rushed down the tower to meet the hunting party. Shoving and elbowing his way through the crowd, he caught a glimpse of the heroes. The Twin Star Duo was the first to touch down.
The Twin Star Duo, or so they were dubbed, were the hottest rising stars of New Belzan. They were siblings, or so the rumors said, but one thing was undeniable, their overwhelming strength when working together.
"What do you think, I told you we'd be celebrities," Libra said, blowing a kiss to the crowd. It had been three years since they last met, enough time for their relationship dynamic to change greatly.
They had grown to trust each other over the years. It wasn't an absolute bond, more of mutual assurance they had each other's backs. Trust was hard to come by in New Belzan, so Cyne was grateful for the presence of Libra, although he would never admit it out loud.
Cyne had changed over the years. He was not the same angry, frustrated youth he had been years ago. He was more confident now, not arrogant, but slowly learning to trust himself. His long. black hair was tied up in a loose bun, and he had the semblances of a growing mustache.
Libra was different too. Her happy-go-lucky personality was still the same, but somewhere in between those three years, she had chosen to cut her hair short. It fell to her shoulders, giving her a somewhat mischievous charm.
"I hate that mustache, you're shaving it when we get back to the city," Libra said, waving the crowd off as they walked back to their tent.
"Why?"
"It's ugly and I hate it."
"All the more reason to keep it," Cyne said with a faint smile. His sense of humor had also grown over the years much to Libra's delight.
"Was that a joke I heard," she teased, elbowing Cyne in the gut.
"No. Not a joke," Cyne grumbled flipping open their tent flap.
"The Twin Star Duo! I mean, Cyne and Libra, the Commander would like a conversation. Oh! And I'm Reuben," a young redhead blurted, standing at attention meters away, his plasma rife leaned against his shoulder.
Cyne raised his eyebrow, his head tilting to the side with a puzzled expression. "Twin Star Duo?" he echoed, lost for words.
"Come on, the Commander wants us," Libra said, pulling Cyne along by the elbow.
"Twin Star Duo? Seriously?" Cyne hissed, shaking his head.
"What? It's catchy," Libra replied, shrugging her shoulders.
"It's stupid."
"You think everything is stupid."
"That's not true."
As Reuben led the way through the clusters of tents and shacks, he hummed a popular tune, oblivious to the spat between Cyne and Libra.
"I hear a lot about you guys," Reuben said, reverence in his eyes.
"Really? Do tell," Libra said, intrigued on what manner of outlandish tale the young soldier could conjure up.
"Is it true you guys took down the prince of Wolves nest?"
"Well, it was more luck than anything," Cyne replied, his answer curt and devoid of any mirth.
"He's just being humble, I saw him slay the prince in single combat with my own eyes," Libra said with a faint grin.
"That's amazing! I heard the prince was an expert with the spear."
"Well, my Cyne was even better with a sword."
Reuben nodded, his eyes shining with reverence. "Well, we're here, the Commander is waiting inside," Reuben said, his smile fading.
"Don't worry kid, we can talk later," Libra said, giving Reuben a friendly wink.
The redhead nodded eagerly, opening the tent flap for the duo.
And with one last friendly wave to the boy, Libra went in, Cyne following close behind.