The Warfighter, the Storm, and the Moon

Chapter 38: Boot

'Boot'

01-Nov-2030, 2300U

LCDR Percy Jackson, US Navy, Son of Neptune

Legio XII Fulminata (TDY)

Oakland, California, USA

I was going to hell when I died. Why, you may ask? Well, I was calling one of my men... in the dead of night... while we were on leave. Just like an asshole/dumbass commander/senior non-com.

Fan-fucking-tastic. I've become the very thing I swore to destroy.

But unlike a majority of those motherfuckers, I actually had a semi-valid reason as to why: I needed some serious help.

"Sir? Why in the hell are you calling me at zero-two?"

"Why in the hell are you even awake, Vader?" I countered.

"Eh... something's messin' with my head."

"Either you drank too much caffeine or you need to see a psychiatrist."

"Yessir," the sniper confirmed without missing a beat.

"God damn it, Vader," I laughed, rolling my eyes at his ever-so-slightly fucked up humor... probably the consequence of his career and marrying a nurse. "Well, I hope your memory's working."

"What's up, sir?"

"Tell me about bootcamp."

"... whaddaya mean?"

"I mean the one you went through for the Marines."

Remember what I said about Vader being a Marine before joining the Navy? While Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes was challenging (in everything but the water-based portions, to oversimplify it), I'm not stupid enough to think that it was the hardest. Every branch has its specialty, contributing to the military's combat capabilities in different ways, but the Marine Corps is well known for being—in Dad's own words—"tougher n' woodpecker lips" and having "the finest fightin' men in the world."

Yeah, you heard me right. Dad—who was an 82nd Airborne paratrooper, Army Ranger, and National Guard Green Beret (doing that last bit with a fucking prosthetic leg)—said that. He explained that while the Army has many elite warfighters such as the Rangers and D-Boys, the Marines are consistently solid and dishing out ass-whoopings just as good or better than soldiers. Granted, they don't have the same logistical support or manpower that's necessary for massive, long-term operations (such as locking down areas), but when it comes to pure, pound-for-pound combative prowess, it's difficult to beat the Marines ("there's a reason why they're called America's 911 force, son").

Hang on, now that I think about it, the 12th Legion is more like the Army in its traditional maneuvering, not the Marine Corps... eh, I'll let legion leadership work that out. Now, they just need some Marine-esque tough love.

"Why in the hell do you want me to tell you about bootcamp, boss-man?" Vader exclaimed, sounding incredibly confused. "You writing a weird-ass book?"

"Well, you remember how those two old friends of mine showed up at the hospital?"

"You mean the ones that seemed to just appear outta nowhere? About that: you said to get outta there... but while I was driving past that spot to leave the parking lot, you and your buddies disappeared... and your car was still in the parking lot."

Huh, guess he noticed.

"Well... long story short, they're running an organization and require a consultant," I explained, providing a half-truth. "There are some issues of skill, cohesion, and possibly morale. They knew about my time with the Navy, so they asked for my assistance. And I had to oblige 'em."