'Azrael'
27-Aug-2030, 0331R
LCDR Percy Jackson, US Navy, Son of Neptune/Poseidon
Joint Operation with Hunters of Diana, Camp Half-Blood
Bald Mountain State Forest, Angelica, New York, USA
Special thanks to @GeneralJesus and @ineedthedamsnackbar for the very interesting ideas!
"Death from above?" Seriously, Boss?
"Eh, it seemed like a good idea at the time," I replied with a shrug, admitting to my dramatics. "Sounded cool, at least."
If it's any consolation, I'm fairly certain at least one of those fools wet their pants. One of those silver arrow chicks, I think. To that end, I've seen some weird things, but this takes the cake, Boss.
"I assume you have questions."
Hell yeah, I do! One: WHERE THE HELL YOU BEEN? Two: WHAT THE HELL YOU WEARIN'? Three: WHAT THE HELL'S GOIN' ON?!?
"Good grief, you sure seem to love hell. One: I've been working. Two: I'm wearing what I need to wear. Three: we're killing monsters tonight."
"What you need to wear?" What are you, a US Army soldier that got disrespected by some monsters back in the day?
"I'm in the Navy, not the Army, Blackjack. I'm wearing AOR-2 for a reason. If I were Army, I'd be wearin' OCP! Or MultiCam, or whatever the hell it's called!"
... I don't even know what that means. Anyways, you've got a machine gun, a pistol, and—what the hell is that, a portable ranged Kool-Aid dispenser?!? A goddamn rocket-propelled vodka?!?
"A—what?" I asked, laughing at his description. "Blackjack, it's the M32A1, sometimes called the MK14—for reasons I still don't know... SOCOM is freakin' weird—and it fires 40-mm grenades, not Kool-Aid or vodka! As for the rest of my kit, I've got a MK46 and MK27 machine gun and pistol for making Swiss cheese."
Yeah, yeah! Enough with the jargon, Boss! So now, instead of slicin' and dicin', you're shootin' and scootin', right?
"Not gonna lie, brother, that's about right. What do you think?"
... eh. Like I said, I've seen weirder. What's the plan now, Boss?
"Pretty simple: Trivia's gonna divert a bunch of shadow-travelin' monsters to a clearing in the forest. Queen—Tyson and the rest—drops illumination rounds on their heads, eliminating shadows and blinding 'em. Knight—that's us—flies in and kills as many of 'em as possible. Finally, when I give the signal, Bishop—the Hunters and Ares kids—charge in on the ground, and we continue to provide close air support. Got it?"
Okay, so just to recap: we go full-God mode on these bad guys by bringing them light. While I'm flyin' around, you light 'em up with bullets and grenades while the fools on the ground slice n' dice the ones you leave 'em, with the latter two steps repeatin' til they're all dead?
"That... is a frighteningly accurate summary," I replied, patting his side in congratulation. "You should review films and literature, buddy. You'd do a lot better than those dumbass critics at the Academy or Rotten Tomatoes or whatever the hell the new thing is."
Sounds boring. But, I'd probably do better than all those fancy-dress freebooters in Hollywood.
"Hell yeah you would."
So... we're just waiting now?
"Yeah. Tangos are arriving on target at 0420. We've got around... forty-seven mikes."
Forty-seven... Michaels?
"No, minutes. Sorry, jargon just slipped through," I absent-mindedly replied, making my equine friend snort in amusement.
Turnin' into a nerd, Boss?
"Considering that I got a college degree, yeah."
Just promise me you ain't gonna turn into that blonde chick, Boss. She's alright, but she's... crazy, to put it delicately.
"On that, we can agree," I sighed, recalling the numerous "Athena-kid" moments Annabeth had throughout the years I knew her... even though it was less than seven years overall—with eight months of that time period spent dormant in gods-knew-where—I could still remember a good many of those moments. Though, in fairness, I've met only a few people in the mythological world who aren't nuts, so Annabeth is at least in good company in terms of craziness.
"Blackjack, set us down somewhere."
Uh, what now? Don't you need to keep an eye on the clearing?
"I chucked a UAV upstairs, bud. I can get the feed on my ATAK. You need to save your energy—and before you say it, I know you're a tough son-of-a-gun, but I need you feelin' good."
Whatever you say, Boss.
And with that, he began flying towards a hill some distance northeast from the target clearing. It was a cool night, which was intensified by the breeze felt from flying at least two or three hundred feet in the air—which only increased as we flew towards that peak—but it didn't bother me all that much. I guess growing up in New York and training in Kodiak certainly helped. Though, come to think of it, that's probably why I hated the Middle East so much, especially during the daytime: it was hot like hellfire.
Hey, Boss. We're comin' in for a landing'.
"Check," I murmured as we came to a halt on top of the hill. There wasn't much room to take off or land, but Blackjack made it work. He wasn't the best pegasus for no reason. Upon making sure that our own perimeter was secure and tasking Blackjack with listening for threats, I got on the radio to check in with the rest of our force. "All stations, this is Knight. Give me a SITREP."
"Uh, what do you mean?" one of the Stolls asked in confusion.
"Situation report," I sighed, forgetting that I wasn't back with my SEALs or any fellow troops.
Something told me this was going to become a recurring problem.
"Oh... yeah, Rook 2 just made it to the drop-off point with the Bishops. We're off-loading them now."
"Knight, this is Queen. We have just reached our drop-off point and are moving towards OP Abigail," Annabeth reported. "Rook 4's backing up his van now."
"Roger, Queen. Make sure you don't get yourself lost, alright? We don't need a repeat of what happened in the maze of doom," I teased, referencing the shitshow that was our Labyrinth quest.
"Screw you, Knight. Over and out."
"Please, for the love of all that is holy, never utter that phrase again," I groaned, cringing at her signoff. "Bishops, how're you doin'?"
"This is Bishop 2. We're all off-loaded and are making our way to BP Caroline," Jason said, rustling of foliage faint in the background. "We'll be there in... fifteen or twenty minutes."
"Solid copy, 2. Bishops, make sure you establish yourselves between 700-1000 meters away from AP Bethany."
"Uh, why is that?"
"600 meters is danger close for indirect. These are ILLUM rounds, but you don't screw around with this stuff. It may be more so to observe than burn, but it's still got a good bit of Willie Pete."
"Understood. We'll set up 800 meters away," Diana acknowledged. "Oh, and Knight? This 'Willie Pete,' is there a risk of it burning the forest?"
"Murphy's Law, Bishop 1. That's all that matters at this point."
"... what?"
"You have a lot to catch up on, Bishop," I sighed, remembering that despite sharing a body and some brain cells with Artemis, Diana had still been effectively cut off from several aspects of the changing world. "Anyways, everyone check in once you reach your set points. Be advised, it is now 0343. Thirty-seven mikes to showtime."
"Okay, got it," Jason replied, with the net going silent once again. With the rest of the force handled, I decided to check on the target area. After some fiddling with my ATAK, I got a live feed of AP Bethany, courtesy of the Raven in the air. By the looks of it, Nyssa had kept it in a steady orbit over the clearing. Initially, I wasn't sure how exactly she was walking to OP Abigail and keeping the UAV in the air simultaneously, but then I remembered that demigods have ADHD. If it wasn't multitasking, she was at least switching back and forth between walking and controlling quickly enough to do both.
But, then again, I had effectively forgotten about ADHD after the Giant War. You see, while you can join the military with an ADHD diagnosis, there are several factors to consider. When I lost my demigod scent—or aura, whatever the hell it's called—it got rid of some other typical demigod characteristics, with ADHD being one of them. My own senses were dulled, and I had much more difficulty processing Greek and Latin, though there was slightly less trouble with the latter.
As for any capabilities in the aquatic or equestrian categories, I still had them, but they were either the same or worse than their peak at the end of the Giant War. And remember that display of swordplay from the North Dakota op? Yeah, that ain't happening again. That was pure luck, and times have changed.
Because seriously, if the most range the enemy has is a damn bow, why the hell would you risk a swordfight when you can just shoot him instead? Indiana Jones got it right.
"Hey, Blackjack?" I asked, shaking myself out of my thoughts. "What have you been up to in the past... y'know, two decades?"
Oh, y'know, just wonderin' where the hell you were. I ended up lookin' for a while, tried asking everyone I knew. Not a damn thing.
"Seriously? Nobody found me? Look, I know all the letters I sent back somehow got lost in transit, but I know for a fact that someone has seen me. Hell, I remember encountering a shark once, but he swore to keep things quiet."
Well... there's this one other pegasus I know—Ramsey—he said he saw you with a bunch of dudes in camouflage runnin' on a beach in California, shoutin' some stuff while you carried boats on your heads. You were also swimmin', damn near drownin' yourselves, runnin' ragged, while some other fools were screamin' at you.
"... Blackjack? Where exactly was this?"
Uh... Coronado, or somethin' like that. I dismissed it as hogwash. Ramsey's always been full of it, but I thought he either hit his head or was being more of a jackass than usual.
"Damn," I muttered as I realized that Ramsey the pegasus had somehow witnessed me while I was at BUD/S. "How come you didn't think it was true?"
Lemme be frank, Boss. You were a kid when you had your first taste of real combat. Been fightin' since you were twelve. Been to literal hell and back. So why would you want to jump back into war? Why would a child soldier join the US Navy?
"Therein lies the rub, buddy. Well... ever hear of 9/11?"
I've heard those two numbers together a bunch of times... not really sure what it means.
"Long story short, this bastard by the name of Osama bin Laden organized attacks in which maniacs under his command hijacked planes and flew 'em into the Twin Towers. Nearly 3,000 Americans died, and many more injured. I was young, but to this day, I'll never forget it... some of it through the windows, all of it on TV. I heard news of guys going overseas to find him and kill him, and I wanted in on the action. I started reading about soldiers, warriors in America's past. Then, when Dad—Paul the mortal, not Neptune—came around, I began asking for his advice, since he's an old soldier himself.
"One thing led to another and I enlisted in 2010. Though, what's funny is that I was in the middle of training when in May of 2011, I heard about the news of our boys killing the sonuvabitch in Pakistan. So..." I trailed off, remembering both the joy and uncertainty I felt in that moment.
You were too late, in essence.
"Yeah," I mirthlessly laughed. "It felt good knowing that we put him in the ground, but I wasn't sure where that left me, considering that was the main reason I joined. The fact of the matter is that while people generally join the military for a wide variety of reasons—benefits, job stability, excitement, travel, and the like—there was definitely a higher percentage of people between 2001-2011 that joined for the sake of the nation. They all wanted their pound of flesh, however they were getting it. I had signed away around four years, so I was determined to make my deployments count and focus on bringing down al-Qaeda remnants and the Taliban that helped them."
But that begs the question, Boss: why the hell did you stay if you only had four years to give to the Navy? What made you disappear for twenty?
"Sometimes, I wonder about that myself. On one hand, I've got buddies that go overseas—'cause when you're downrange, there ain't flags or politics, just the men beside you—but on the other, it's 'cause I can't come home. I've met a good few dudes—and chicks—that stay in because they don't know how to come home."
Forgive my ignorance, but whaddaya mean, "don't know how to come home?" Sounds a little simple to do.
"When you're in a dangerous, stressful environment for a long enough period of time, you don't know how to react when it's all over and you're back home. This even happens to the ones that don't see combat, as weird as that sounds. I've even heard stories of guys that practically lost their minds because they didn't see combat. They trained, and trained, and trained, but for what? For guarding a patch of land in the middle of nowhere, waiting for an offensive that never came. All because SOF and/or airstrikes already took care of it."
Sheesh... that's tough shit, Boss.
"Yeah, that's about how I'd describe it," I sighed as I absent-mindedly scratched his mane. "Tough shit indeed."
And with that, we remained in silence for a bit. The only times we spoke was when I gave him some water and informed him that I was dismounting to take a piss. But apart from that, all we heard were the crickets and occasional birds, accompanying the shining moon in the night sky.
"Knight, this is Bishop 1. We have reached our... 'set point,' I believe it what you called it," Diana reported, her voice suddenly in my ears after many minutes of near-silence.
"Bishop 2 and 3 are in position as well," Jason added.
"Oh, yeah. Queen located the M224 and we just finished setting it up," Annabeth threw in. "This convenient user's manual with the stuff did the trick."
"Knight copies all," I quickly replied. "All Rook stations, gimme a SITREP."
"Rook 1, set," Argus replied, his deep southern accent reverberating through the net. Seriously, I couldn't believe that this was his voice. It was so damn smooth!
"Rook 2, set," Connor added.
"Rook 3's good!" Travis said.
"Rook 4 is ready to go," Larry finished.
"Excellent work, everyone. Be advised, we are now nineteen minutes from H-hour. Get yourselves situated, make sure there's nothing left to chance," I ordered as I began to ask everyone on the net if they understood their roles. After confirming they all knew, I ordered for radio silence once more, and we waited with bated breath.
"Knight, this is Torch," Trivia called on the radio when there were five minutes left on the clock. "Enemy forces are approaching your area ahead of schedule. ETA: four minutes."
"Roger, Torch. Blackjack, take us up," I ordered, with my friend getting us airborne with his normal efficiency. "Any new intel you can tell us?"
"Expect them to arrive in two or three waves to the target area. They're devious, these monsters."
"Good copy, Torch. Hey, Blackjack! Maintain an orbit around 800-ish meters from the target area, okay?"
Sure, Boss. "Danger close," right?
"You catch on quick, buddy!" I laughed as we approached the AO. Soon, Blackjack began banking left, maintaining an orbit over the area in a manner that reminded me of an AC-130 gunship. Though, considering the armament I had with me, that's basically what this was.
I had turned a pegasus into a gunship.
Oh, if my younger self could see me now.
"Knight, this is Queen. Be advised, we're locked onto the target area. Standing by to engage."
"Roger, Queen. Be advised, the sixty mike-mike ILLUM lasts for only thirty-ish seconds. When I tell you to, fire six rounds, with a ten second delay in between each. We need to maximize the length of the light over the target," I instructed Annabeth.
"Understood, Knight. Six rounds, ten seconds between each."
"Also, how long would you estimate it takes for the rounds to arrive on target?"
"Er, approximately... four seconds."
"Excellent. Bishops, stand by to engage. Do not move in until instructed to do so. And remember what Torch said: these guys are coming sixty seconds ahead of schedule in two or three waves to AP Bethany, so watch your fires."
"Got it. Bishop 2 is good to go," Jason acknowledged, with Bishop 1 and 3 sounding off in kind.
"Alright people...table is set. Stand by for the dinner bell," I murmured as I raised my NODs. I've been using them long enough to the point that the transition between NODs-up and NODs-down is almost seamless, but I didn't want to risk it unless necessary.
"All callsigns, sixty seconds until enemy force arrives at AP Bethany," Trivia warned.
"Roger, sixty seconds. Queen, when they're five seconds out, begin your fire mission."
"Got it, Knight," Annabeth replied. With her acknowledgement, I began assessing my own situation. After some consideration, I decided on using the M32. The MK46 was a fine weapons system, but frankly, I needed the group-email ability of the forty mike-mike.
Yes, I just compared a 40-mm grenade launcher to a group email. In my defense, as an officer, I have to use a crap ton of emails and PowerPoint, despite not having an office job.
"Fifteen seconds!"
"Blackjack, watch out for the light and any noises from back here. It's gonna get loud," I warned, with my equine friend responding with a snort of laughter, unfazed. "Queen, Knight. Send it."
"Firing!" Annabeth called, with the "thump" of the mortar audible in the distance. Four seconds later, the night sky was lit up by the ILLUM round, with another "thump" following six seconds after. Blackjack, meanwhile, was in awe of the display, and his superior hearing even picked up the monster force.
Whoo! That's awesome, Boss! I can just make out our bad guys, and they do not sound happy!
"That's just what we want, buddy! Get ready to move in! Keep us at least a hundred feet off the ground, but not too high!"
Gotcha, Boss!
Soon, the mortar fires had ceased, and the clearing was still illuminated. It was now or never.
"Blackjack, take us in!" I ordered as I readied my grenade launcher. Quick as a flash, he veered left, and we soared towards AP Bethany. "Queen, Knight! Good effect on target! We'll take it from here. Bishops, move up to blocking positions but do not enter the clearing!"
"Got it! Bishop 3 moving!" Clarisse acknowledged.
Here we go, Boss! Blow those fools up!
Getting myself in the zone, I raised the M32, aiming down the sight as we approached the illuminated clearing. Soon, I was able to make out movement on the ground: cynocephali, hellhounds, a goddamn canine convention down there.
I felt a sting of regret, considering Brutus and Mrs. O'Leary, but they were at least good dogs. These on the other hand... not so much. Burning away any doubts I had, I fired an HE round at a cluster of enemies, making them go up in smoke.
"Tangos down."
Focusing on similar targets, I kept firing, the thunks reverberating through the air as I expended all six rounds and—despite my fires not exactly being accurate—eliminated a decent portion of the enemy force. I moved to reload with the rounds on my person, but the ILLUM rounds were burning out.
"Dammit. Bishop squads, where the hell are you?"
"We've already engaged!" Jason shouted. A closer look downstairs revealed brief flashes of lightning, both south and west of the clearing and slowly advancing inward: the Grace siblings and Clarisse were evidently at work.
"Attaboy, Bishop. Keep it up, but be prepared to move away from the clearing!"
"Gotcha!"
"All stations, second wave, second wave!" I warned as another group of monsters emerged from the shadows of the northern treeline into the light of the ILLUM round, keeping them in place. I could just make out arrows—both from the Hunters and Ares arbalists—dropping tangos one by one. Some monsters tried approaching the shadows towards the south to escape, but were cut down by Clarisse and Jason's squads.
"Knight, Bishop 2 is moving into the clearing! We've got 'em!" Jason said jubilantly.
"Negative, negative! All Bishop stations, stay out of the clearing!" I ordered as I finished reloading. "Forty mike-mikes coming down!"
"What?!? But... okay, we're pulling back."
"Bishop 1, keep up your fires. Any runners, you drop 'em."
"Understood, Knight. Wait, there's a few moving towards the northeast section of the clearing. I don't have a good shot!" Diana replied. Looking down, I quickly located a dozen monsters that seemed to be trying to escape from the light.
"I see 'em! Engaging!" I fired towards the group, but my first round exploded to their right, only taking out one or two by the edge. I tried adjusting, but Blackjack suddenly bucked, making my round land several meters to the left of the group.
Aw, crap! They're shootin' us!
On the ground, several enemy archers were taking potshots at us, trying to down Blackjack. I couldn't quite make out what they were, but they looked reptilian in nature. Furthermore, they were being escorted by some sort of giant insect... or arachnid.
"Knight, there are dracanae archers and some sort of scorpions escorting them! Watch out!" Jason warned a little too late.
"I know! Someone kill those sons of bitches!" I shot back, simultaneously noticing that we were running out of light. "Blackjack, evasive maneuvers! Queen, Knight! Do you have any more ordnance?"
"Uh, hang on... yes, we have six more ILLUM rounds," Annabeth replied after a moment of searching.
"Charlie Mike on same position, five second delay in effect, on my command!"
"Wait a sec... 'continue mission?' You guys are right there, that's well inside danger close!"
"That was not a suggestion! When I tell you to send it, you send it!" I shouted before focusing back on the firefight at hand. "Blackjack, prepare to get us outta here! All stations, get off the X, NOW! Rook 1, 2, and 3, AP reinforce Bishops at AP Bethany!"
"Okay, we're coming your way," one of the Stolls replied. "Give us ten minutes."
"Hustle up! Bishops, keep up your fires, but get off the goddamn X! Indirect incoming!"
"Okay, we're pulling back! Keep shooting!" Clarisse shouted, the latter phrase likely being directed towards her arbalists.
Boss, we're bankin' right! Hang on!
Grabbing the saddle tight, I braced myself as Blackjack veered right, flying away from the clearing. I could just make out the chaos on AP Bethany as the dracanae shifted their attention from us and joined the scorpions in pressing their attack against the Bishop squads. We flew over the northwest corner of the clearing, but my targets from earlier had disappeared.
How far you want us away from the clearing, Boss?
"You gotta be ready to re-engage, so keep it around three, four hundred meters. It's danger close, but there's a lower chance of that stuff getting near us," I replied as I opened my ATAK. While the foliage made it damn near impossible to see the IR strobes through the UAV's cameras, the GPS systems allowed me to track the positions of the fighters on the ground. Bishop 1 seemed to have gotten most of itself around one hundred meters from the target. But most were still within seventy meters—well inside danger close.
If I ordered Annabeth to send the rest of the ILLUM rounds immediately, we could keep the monsters trapped. But the fighters on the ground were still at risk, particularly the campers. It was the stereotypical standoff of the priorities of leadership: the men and the mission.
"Crap... Bishops, be advised, indirect fires are coming your way, danger close. Find cover. Queen, fire six rounds, five second delay in effect," I ordered.
"Are you sure?" Annabeth responded, her tone one of doubt.
"Affirmative! Send it, NOW!"
"Understood... rounds incoming."
Once again, the "thumps" of the mortar rang through the air five seconds apart as the clearing was lit up as the last of the previous ILLUM rounds fizzled out.
"Bishops, Knight. Send SITREP now!"
"Bishop 1 is completely fine," Diana replied with a tinge of curiosity and confusion—likely from the modern weaponry being utilized.
"Bishop 3 is good!" Clarisse shouted.
"2's good to go!" Jason added.
"Knight, Queen has completed the fire mission," Annabeth reported. "All rounds expended."
"Good copy, Queen. All Bishops, consolidate and counterattack!"
"Copy that. GET 'EM!" Clarisse bellowed, somehow loud enough for me to hear up in the air.
Boss, that chick is craaaaaazy.
"She would've made a fine Marine," I chuckled with a shake of my head. "Get us back in there, brother!"
Hell yeah!
With a triumphant whinny, we flew back in, arriving in time to see the monster force being backed into the center of the clearing. Acting quickly, I raised my M32 and fired two rounds in rapid succession, both impacting the cluster of monsters and smiting them with the wrath of 40-mm HE.
Damn, Boss! Now that's how it's done!
"C'mon, man! Get us back on those guys in the northeast corner!"
Aye-aye, Cap'n!
"I'm just a lieutenant commander, bucko," I sassed back with a grin, eliciting a snort that sounded like it could be the audible version of an eye-roll. My last two rounds went into dispatching the group trying to rabbit out of the northeast treeline.
"These bitches are running! We got 'em on their heels!" Clarisse laughed. "Mikey, keep up the fire! Bishop 1, get your asses in the fight!"
"We're coming, we're coming!" Diana tersely replied. Moments later, I could make out arrows flying in from the west side as the Hunters finally re-engaged.
Boss? You gonna use that machine gun?
"Nah, bud," I sighed as I shoved the spent grenade launcher into a saddlebag, but kept the MK46 at the ready nonetheless. "They can handle it. And they need the exercise."
Not like us, huh? We're a coupla stallions, you n' me!
"Damn right we are."
As predicted, our people on the ground were able to resolve the situation with little issue, and silence fell over the battlefield after a minute, with the ILLUM rounds finally fizzing out.
"Guys, Nyssa isn't seeing anything on the UAV's cameras. Does anyone see anything?" Annabeth asked, prompting me to lower my NODs and assess the situation downstairs. I could see a lot of movement from the clearing from our guys, but nothing stood out.
"All stations, this is Knight. No visual on enemy forces at AP Bethany. All targets eliminated."
"Hey guys, this is Rook 2. We are around three minutes out from AP Bethany," Connor reported. "Are there any casualties?"
"Hunters have no losses," Diana reported, making me roll my eyes. Of course they wouldn't, considering that they only engaged from a distance.
"Yeah, three of my guys took a hit," Clarisse replied. "Two are fine, Mikey can't walk out on his own."
"Okay, we're on our way with stretchers. Just sit tight."
"Knight, this is Torch. We may have a problem," Trivia suddenly said, though I wasn't surprised in the slightest. The day an op goes off without a hitch is the day pigs fly... scratch that, the day the mainstream media doesn't publish lies... wait a second, that wouldn't work either.
Actually, I don't know... the day satyrs stop eating random crap? Yeah, the day satyrs (and fauns, whatever) stop eating random crap like silverware and tin cans (seriously, what the hell is in their stomachs? Carborane acid?).
"Define 'problem,' Torch."
"There's a third wave coming, but the real issue is that I have no idea what it is. Shadow-traveling may be magic, but this... there's something dark surrounding this. Something I can't work around. Wait... no, no, no! Back away! Back away from the clearing, now! There's a—" she began raving frantically before she was cut off by the arrival of the third wave from the shadows.
And hoo boy, it was a problem.
"HYDRA!" someone on the ground screamed, loud enough to negate the need for comms. Lo and behold, the black, nine-headed monster stood below us, having emerged from the shadows that regained their hold from the ILLUM rounds. Its roar reverberated through the night sky as it pressed its offensive, spewing what appeared to be acid and... fire?
Holy—Boss, what the hell?!? Hydras don't breathe fire!
"I know man, I know!" I shot back before I took aim with my MK46's IR laser and began firing on the monster. To what extent several bursts of 5.56 would work, I had no idea, but I was hoping that I could draw its attention and give our guys on the ground a chance to counterattack.
But of course, they counterattacked in the worst possible way. I could now make out ten heads, indicating that someone forgot how hydras worked.
"Everyone, do not cut off the heads! I repeat, do not cut off the heads!" Jason warned too late. "See if you can take it down from a distance!"
"Bishop, Knight! You all have some form of electricity! Shock that bastard, now!" I ordered. "Rook, we need you up here, now!"
"Hang on, we're almost there!" one of the Stolls replied. "What exactly is going on!"
"There's a goddamn hydra on the ground! Ten heads! Center two and outer heads shooting fire, the other six spitting acid!"
"What—do those even exist?!?"
"No clue! Torch and Anvil, are you seeing this?!?"
"I have visual, Knight," Vulcan replied, his gruff monotone possessing a hint of confusion. "Hold on, hold on... Torch, any ideas?"
"It has traits from what I think are... the black and spider hydras! The former alludes to its color, the latter to its ability to extend its heads to attack in all directions!" Trivia rattled off. "But I have no idea as to how it shadow-traveled here! I've seen shadow-traveling hydras before, but they went extinct millenia ago!"
"Knight, this is Rook 1!" Argus suddenly boomed over the net. "I was young, but I do recall seeing such a beast. Hydras are susceptible to incendiary and explosive weaponry, but the ones that traveled by shadow were more so. But those were all shadow hydras, their own species. This one appears to be a cross between the shadows, blacks, and spiders! Expect greater offensive and defensive capability than normal!"
"Wait a minute... I have some munitions that could be helpful. Stand by, Task Force Socrates," Vulcan called after a minute, the sounds of rummaging audible in the background.
"This evening just gets better and better, doesn't it?" I grumbled before focusing on shooting the monster below. Blackjack and I were undoubtedly drawing his fire—literally—but I knew my pegasus had only so many fancy maneuvers before the hydra scored a lucky hit.
AAAAAAGH, DAMMIT!
My eyes widened with horror as I realized three things: first, the hydra had scored a lucky hit, its flames—and likely some acid—made contact with Blackjack's port-side wing; second, his flight pattern had become erratic, and we were losing altitude; and third, his pattern was so erratic that I got thrown off, with him spiraling into the trees somewhere north of the clearing while I fell towards the west side.
BOSS! NO!
"SHIIIIIIIIT!" I bellowed as I plummeted to the ground, my mind in panic mode. Falling back on my training, I tried to execute a PLF (parachute landing fall): balls of the feet, side of the calf, side of the thigh, side of the hip, and side of the back.
My PLF instead ended up being—for the most part—the right sides of my right foot, leg, torso, and head, in that order. Much of the blow was cushioned by my attempt at the technique, but consequences were still present in the form of pain shooting up my right leg and my throbbing head.
I groaned in pain as I raised my NODs, wiped the dirt from my eye pro, and tried to take stock of the current situation. From what I could tell, my right ankle was broken. My MK46 remained slung around me, but the barrel and attached suppressor were in the dirt. Slowly, I reached for the machine gun and began pawing at it, cleaning off any dirt or debris that could hinder the weapon's performance.
"Urgh... all stations, this is Knight. We have a fallen pegasus. I say again, Blackjack down, somewhere north of AP Bethany. Requesting CSAR," I groaned into my comm.
"Can you repeat that, Kni—woah!" one of the Stolls gasped as he came into view in front of me, along with the rest of the Rook 1 through 3. "Jeez, bro! You okay?"
"Blackjack's down! You gotta launch CSAR!"
"What does that—"
"Combat search and rescue, damn it!"
"Okay, okay... Travis, can you and your team find Blackjack?" Connor asked.
"We'll handle it. We'll try to lob some Greek Fire at it, too," Travis replied before motioning for his teammates to follow him. The rest of the group moved to reinforce the assault force, save for Connor and three others.
"Damn! What happened to you?" a son of Apollo exclaimed as he ran up to me, medkit in hand.
"Broken ankle. I gotta get to the front to provide fire support," I hissed as the son of Apollo knelt to work at it. "What are you doing? No medicine in a gunfight!"
"Just get ready to move and shoot! I'll have your ankle splinted in no time," he shot back.
This kid's got guts... not bad.
Sure enough, by the time I got my MK46 ready to go and checked the rest of my gear, he had finished splinting my ankle.
"Grab his arms... three, two, one, heave!" Connor ordered as his team began dragging me backwards towards the battle. I raised my right leg the best I could while kicking with my left to help the campers out. After being dragged through the forest, we finally arrived at the Hunt's defensive line. It was mostly shrouded in darkness, despite the full moon above, and around thirty meters from the clearing.
"Friendlies, friendlies!" I shouted in warning as we came in behind them. A blonde Huntress noticed us and shouted the warning to her compatriots, ensuring our safety as we took cover behind trees and rocks. I ended up sharing a position behind a rock with Piper and Diana while the campers scattered.
"Dude, did you fall from the sky? Where's Blackjack?" Piper asked as I lowered my NODs.
"I'm fine! Blackjack went down north of the clearing! CSAR team should be on its way!"
"I'm not even gonna ask! That thing has eleven heads now! It lunged too close to someone, they had to cut off the head!"
"Great! Watch your eardrums!" I shot back as I rolled into a prone position and activated my PEQ-15. Upon acquiring the hydra with the IR laser, I opened fire on the eleven-headed monster. Not only did I fill it with enough rounds to turn any man into Swiss cheese, but sudden explosions indicated that Travis and his team successfully threw their jars of Greek fire.
But somehow, all of that only seemed to piss the hydra off as it counterattacked with greater force. In the distance, I could hear screams of shock and pain from those that were unlucky enough to get caught in its attacks.
"Rook 3, Knight! What's the status on your CSAR?" I called over the comm as I took cover to switch out the nutsack. Yes, soft magazines for the machine guns are called "nutsacks."
"Knight, we found him! He's pretty beat up, but he's still got a fight in him!" Travis responded.
"Roger that. Do you have any more incendiaries?"
"No, nothing left to use? Shouldn't this thing be susceptible to fire?"
"Yes, which is why you have angered it," Argus cut in. "Given the strength of this beast, you'll need greater firepower, Knight!"
"Queen, this is Anvil," Vulcan interrupted. "I have sent a package of one dozen sixty-millimeter HE rounds near your position. That should be able to help you out."
"Understood, Anvil. We're looking for them now," Annabeth replied.
"Perseus, I hope you have a plan!" Diana shouted before she leaned around the rock and fired another arrow towards the hydra. "That monster will not let anything get close to it! Most of the demigods are useless in this engagement!"
"Hang on, hang on... do you have any explosive arrows?"
"No, those are my brother's specialty!"
"Damn it!" I cursed before I finally got an idea. It was incredibly risky, but we had few options at this point. "All Rook and Bishop stations, this is Knight. Move your teams back at least one hundred meters from the clearing! I say again, break contact and back up one hundred meters!"
"What?!? We can't turn tail and run!" Jason argued.
"That was an order, Bishop. Now move your men back! Cover them with lightning if you must!"
"... okay, I've got it."
"LT!" I shouted towards my right, making Thalia jerk her head towards me from behind her tree a dozen meters away. "Get ready to move back at least one hundred meters! Use lightning for cover!"
"Okay!" she acknowledged before she began barking orders at the rest of the Hunt detachment. "C'mon, we're moving back!"
"Queen, Knight. What's the status on your HE rounds?"
"Uh... wait, we just found it!" Annabeth replied. "What's the plan, Knight?"
"Ground teams are moving back one hundred meters from AP Bethany towards the west, south, and north! On my command, fire for effect on the action point, danger close!"
"'Fire for effect...' Wait a minute, that could level everything in the area!"
"That's the idea, Queen! When I pass 'Armageddon,' you send it. Do you understand?"
"... understood. Fire for effect when pass 'Armageddon.'"
"Good, stand by," I ordered before turning towards Diana and Piper. "I might need a bit of help!"
"Grab his other arm," Diana ordered as she grabbed my right arm and torso, lifting me as Piper copied her on my left. Once we were clear to move, they began dragging me backwards while I kicked with my left leg and raised my MK46, shooting as we moved back with the rest of the assault force.
"Over here!" Thalia shouted somewhere behind me. Not long after, what appeared to be an electrified arrow arced up and flew towards the hydra that was starting to slowly burn through the forest to get to us. After some more haste on the goddesses' parts, we finally reached and took cover alongside Connor's team and the rest of the Hunt detachment. "What's the play, Percy?"
"Stand by, LT!" I responded as I was sat up against a tree. I flipped my ATAK down and opened the application that let me view the positions of the transponders of each individual fighter. "Almost everyone is good. We've still got some guys on the south side, eighty-something meters out."
"Bishops and Rooks, you need to get at least a hundred meters back, now!" Conner shouted on his comm.
"Working on it, working on it!" Clarisse testily replied.
"C'mon, we have to draw fire!" I barked before rolling into the prone position and opening fire on the hydra. The Hunt and Apollo kids joined me, but Piper and the remainder of the campers were helpless at the range we were at.
Again, we were around 100 meters from the target, and from what I'd heard from a few SEALs in my troop that tried bowhunting themselves, shots were generally made no more than 50-60 yards away. Despite the relatively low accuracy of the archers (save for Diana), the hydra was distracted enough to focus more on us than our guys to the south.
"Knight, we're all secure!" Jason reported after around thirty seconds.
"Armageddon! I say again, Armageddon! Danger close fires incoming!" I warned on the net, eliciting shouts to take cover.
"Okay, danger close fires incoming," Annabeth acknowledged. Seconds later, sixty mike-mike HE plummeted from the sky and impacted the hydra, making it roar in pain under the sheer firepower. We were well inside danger close, but the plan seemed to be working nonetheless.
Though, once the barrage ceased, "seemed" became the operative word. The hydra was undoubtedly weakened, and seemed to even be limping, but the danger still loomed.
"What the—no goddamn way that thing is still up!" Clarisse exclaimed over the net. "Knight, what the hell do we do about this thing?"
"We gotta hit it again. Queen, Charlie Mike on same position!"
"We have nothing left to use!" Annabeth protested.
"Knight, this is Anvil. Unfortunately, I have no more mortar rounds. However, I do have a recoilless rifle: M3E1 MAAWS, eighty-four millimeter. Does this sound familiar?" Vulcan asked.
"Hell yeah!" I all but cheered. "Get that thing down here, preferably with HEDP! That'll blow this bastard to hell!"
"Understood. I'm delivering the package to your position soon. Be ready to receive it."
"Roger that," I acknowledged before turning towards my confused-looking compatriots as I once again swapped out the nutsack on my MK46. "M3E1 MAAWS, AKA the Carl Gustaf. This sonuvabitch packs a punch, and that HEDP is a bunker buster!"
"I'll take your word for it! When's it getting here?" Piper asked as the hydra roared in the background.
"Soon. All stations, keep up the fire!" With that, everyone continued to attack the best they could. The hydra was weakened to the point that its acid and flames didn't get near us, but very few of our own attacks seemed to even reach it. It was, effectively, a stalemate.
"Knight, be advised, the weapons package is arriving on station now. It contains the recoilless rifle and two HEDP rounds," Vulcan reported. "It is all in a large duffel bag. I've placed a transponder inside, along with red and infrared strobes on the outside."
"Roger that, Anvil. Everyone, look around for a red strobe!"
"Uh, is that it?" Thalia asked, pointing not behind us or to the sides, but in the woods between us and the hydra. Between its volleys of flames, I could just make out the IR strobe and the duffel bag around twenty meters away.
"Damn it! The package is in No Man's Land!"
"What the hell do we do now?"
"Uh, I could try making a run for it—" Connor began before Diana cut him off.
"What the—the hydra is cannibalizing itself!" she exclaimed. "It's destroying some of its own heads!"
Sure enough, the hydra had turned its acid, flames, and teeth on itself, bringing it down to seven heads in less than a minute. Before I could register what was happening, it suddenly unleashed another volley of flames and acid—with some of it coming as far as five meters from our defensive line, forcing us to take cover.
"It's concentrating its energy! Setting the damn forest on fire!" Clarisse shouted on the comm.
"Aw, hell! What now?" Connor asked.
"Wait a minute... we could use this to our advantage," I realized. "It's burning a path: a straight shot for the Carl Gustaf!"
"Marvelous plan, but we still need that weapon!" Diana replied as she peered around our cover. "The bag seems to be intact, but it won't be long until the hydra has good fortune!"
My brain went into overtime as I tried to process the situation: we had no fire support, we had wounded, we needed to evacuate, and while we had a weapon that would (potentially) work, someone would have to go into No Man's Land to get it. We had fast runners, but they would almost certainly perish should the hydra score a lucky hit. There were only two potentially good options.
"McLean, ma'am," I said, tapping on the shoulders of Piper and Diana. "You two gotta go in."
"WHAT?!?" they exclaimed in unison.
"You've got the best chance of surviving this thing's attacks if it nails you, and let me tell you, the Carl Gustaf is a heavy sonuvabitch. You've got that godly agility and strength, right? About time you used it!"
"Are you insane, boy?!?" one of the Hunters—I'm fairly sure she was one of the ones that shot me in North Dakota—screeched. "Are you trying to kill Our Lady?"
Mother of Go—
"HEY!" Thalia barked, grabbing the girl's shirt and slamming her into the rock they were hiding behind. "Shut the hell up!"
"What?!? You are defending this... male?!?"
"I don't see you having a better idea! News flash, we are fighting for our lives, and this 'male,' as you put it, is the only one with an actual idea, and it's not one that'll unnecessarily risk the lives of the campers and Hunters present! Now shut up and don't do anything I don't tell you to do, got it?"
When the girl didn't reply, Thalia shoved her away and turned towards me.
"Perce, Lady Diana, and Piper I guess, it's your call."
"Roger, LT. I'll get La Rue and Grace to draw fire, give you two a window. You ready?"
"Well, as ready as I'll ever be," Diana replied, moving to a kneeling position and preparing to move. As for Piper, she looked oddly nervous and was even... hyperventilating?
"Okay, this is fine... this is fine..." she mumbled to herself as she rubbed her neck, fidgeting with unease like she had been throughout this entire operation. Suddenly, it all clicked: while she proved herself as a good fighter during the Giant War—at least, from what I remembered—she didn't have the same DA capability as someone like Jason or Frank, opting to fight in a more unconventional sense. Furthermore, she hadn't seen combat in two decades, and while she could undoubtedly fight, she didn't have the same warrior mindset (so to speak) as someone like Clarisse.
"Hey, McLean!" I said, grabbing her shoulder and forcing her to look at me. "Just take a deep breath and work the problem. Got it? Work the problem, do not get emotional."
"Deep breath, okay..."
"Okay, just get in, grab the package, and get out. Simple enough. You got me?"
"Okay... okay..."
"Alright... Bishop 2 and 3, we need you to draw fire so that we can retrieve a supply drop," I requested. "Can you buy us some time?"
"How much time you need?" Clarisse asked gruffly.
"All of it. Thunder, lighting, shock and awe, whatever you got, but get its attention off of us."
"You got it. Give us a second to get ready."
"Roger that. Everyone hold your fire! Retrieval team's going out, and we can't draw any attention towards them! McLean, Lady Diana, watch for the hazards."
"We're ready," Diana replied, her tone resolute and determined.
"We're ready. On your go," Clarisse reported.
"Three, two, one, execute!" I ordered. Seconds later, I could see large flashes of lighting from the area south of the clearing, and even some thunder as the force of campers gave it their all. The hydra took the bait and focused its attacks on the group, but we all knew they wouldn't last long, no matter their valor.
"Go, go, go!" I hissed, making the goddesses dash out from behind cover and hustle through the destroyed woods, barely dodging flames and acid pools alike. Within moments, they had made it to the bag.
"Okay, they've got it. Get ready!" I ordered the group with me before getting back on the net. "Bishop, keep holding its attention!"
"We can't take much more of this!" Jason replied.
"Just hang in there, 2."
"Oh, crap! One of the heads just turned our way!" Thalia shouted, with two other heads following after her sentence. As for the goddesses, they were carrying the bag together, but were ten meters out.
"Everyone, fire on my command!" I shouted, reading my MK46. Right when the hydra unleashed its volley, Piper and Diana leaped into the air, vaulting over the rocks and crashing on the other sides with the bag.
"Damn! You okay, My Lady?" a blonde Huntress—one of the friendlier ones, I think—asked as she ran to them.
"Fine, just fine," she muttered. "Perseus, this had better work!"
"Bring it here!" I replied. "All stations, attack!"
While everyone else kept the hydra busy—and in place, interestingly—I worked on preparing the M3E1, recalling my own memories of operating the recoilless rifle. Within moments, I had it fully prepared and had found a clear line of sight, courtesy of the hydra itself.
"Stoll, a hand?" I asked, with the son of Hermes quickly pulling me to my feet as I raised my NODs to more properly operate the recoilless rifle. "Over there. It's a bit away from everyone else, and a straight shot to the hydra! And get someone to grab those rounds!"
"I got 'em!" a son of Apollo said as he carried the case of rounds to me and Conner, where I had gotten into a kneeling position to fire the M3E1.
"Okay, just open the back, slide the round in, and close it. Then, stand away from the backblast and let everyone know to get down and cover their ears," I ordered. Despite some confusion, I was able to get them to load the round without killing themselves and help stabilize me (without being in the backblast, of course). "Good?"
"Backblast area clear!" Connor said from my right as he helped stabilize the M3E1.
"Firing, firing, firing!" I warned before depressing the trigger and sending the HEDP round hurtling towards the hydra. There was then an explosion—one a bit bigger than usual for this kind of round—and then silence, as nothing remained of the ferocious beast.
"Woah," Connor gasped. "That was... damn."
"Knight, this is Torch. I'm not detecting any more enemies," Trivia reported.
"Same on the UAV. Nothing to report," Annabeth added.
"Perce? What's the deal?" Thalia asked from her position behind cover. I replied with naught but a smile and a message on the net as I lowered the M3E1.
"All stations, this is Knight. All objectives completed. I pass Checkmate. I say again, Checkmate."
It's been a while, hasn't it?
This chapter, while not particularly long, had two things that were tricky to write: first, there was the conversation between Blackjack and Percy. I'm hoping that I did at least an okay job in describing different aspects of military culture, especially the post-9/11 era.
Second, there was the combat itself. Like with the first couple chapters, it's interesting to try and gauge how modern weaponry stacks up against monsters and armament of the mythological world. Also, yeah... Percy turned Blackjack into a gunship. As in, if a demigod tried to make an AC-130 but all he had were a few modern weapons and a flying horse.
"This is Pegasus 1-1, arriving on station..."
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Make sure to leave your feedback, good and bad.
Take care of yourselves and each other, and Happy Easter! Until next time,
- ADF-2