The armored figure slipped into the small room, quietly closing the door. After taking a deep sigh, the figure slipped off their helmet, revealing a weary female face, her blue eyes framed by sweaty black locks. Tossing the helmet to the side, she moved to the solitary bed in the room, looking at its current occupant. For a few seconds, she stood there beside his head, watching his chest rise and fall with his breath, his expression free of the worries that faced them in waking life.
Still, it had to end, as all good dreams did.
"Percy," Thalia whispered, gently shaking his shoulder. With a snap, he shot up to a sitting position, his eyes wide and alert. Seeing that it was only the armored Thalia that was in the room, he slowly breathed out and unclenched his readied fists.
"Shift's up already?" Percy yawned out, rubbing his eyes as he placed his feet on the ground.
"Mhm," Thalia intoned back, having moved over to the small dresser at the foot of the single bed. She began taking off her armor, pulling each piece off and placing it on the top of the dresser. After that, she grabbed a towel and quickly entered the small en suite bathroom, the shower turning on almost immediately.
By the time Percy finally got to his feet and had rubbed most of the sleep out of his eyes, Thalia had stepped out of the bathroom, a towel tied around her body and her hair still damp from the shower. Silently, Percy slipped past her into the bathroom. When he was finished showering, he quickly dried himself off and turned off the bathroom light, stepping into the darkened room. On the bed, Thalia was already asleep, softly snoring with her blanket half draped on her.
Percy quietly suited up in his armor. Standing beside the bed, he leaned over and gently kissed Thalia on the forehead, before leaving the room and locking the door behind him.
Outside, it was a raucous affair, with monsters from all corners of Greek mythology inhabiting the Princess Andromeda. Between them, the occasional squad of demigods moved about, as well as messengers and other human mercenaries. A motley crew of people, none of whom had friendly countenances.
"Fenrir!" a harsh voice yelled from across the deck. Percy's head snapped to see a tough human mercenary waving him over, his other hand resting on a M16 rifle. The man had a nasty-looking scar running down diagonally across his face, and his chest was accentuated by a bandolier of bullets and grenades. Quickly, Percy ran over, snapping a salute as he reached the man.
"You're late! Why aren't you at your post?" the mercenary yelled, his spittle flying from his mouth, with not a small amount falling onto Percy's armor.
"Uh..."
"What are you still doing here? Get to your post!" the man roared, and Percy quickly ran off, heading to the storage room that he was supposed to guard. It was a mind-numbing job, watching people go to and fro, as well as checking the occasional request form for some supplies.
As he finally made it to his spot, Percy sighed and turned around, back to the storage room door as he adjusted to his usual routine of watching monsters and humans alike walk past while hoping that his knees still had some semblance of blood flow to them.
He and Thalia had lucked out – "Fenrir" and "Fangorn", the two guards that Zoë had eliminated and they had replaced, were fairly new recruits, and as such, were so disconnected from the social circles of the Princess Andromeda that no one batted an eyelash when "Fangorn" turned out to be female. The two simply shared a small cabin on the ship, rotating out for two separate eight hour shifts in a single day. Unfortunately for the both of them, this meant that they rarely had time to interact with one another, usually doing no more than waiting for the other to finish showering or cleaning up and then switching who was in the bed. Five days had already passed like this.
They did, however, leave notes for each other. With such mundane tasks like running messages or standing guard in front of a room, they had plenty of time to take note of everything that they saw. As such, they each kept a running tally of how many monsters and humans they saw onboard, to better keep track of how large this contingent of Kronos' army was and the disposition of enemy forces. They also made notes on priority locations, like weapon storage facilities and command centers, as well as important people such as commanders.
Zoë, on the other hand, had gone completely native. In the near-week that he and Thalia had been onboard the Princess Andromeda, Percy had not talked to the former Hunter a single time, and had only seen her twice from a distance, both times in the company of mid-ranking people on the ship. Evidently, she was working her way up the intelligence foodchain. There had been zero contact between them and her, but both demigods trusted that Zoë was working on something.
A passing-by soldier bumped into Percy, nearly elbowing the wind out of him.
"Hey!" Percy grunted, annoyed at the hit. He looked down at his armor, noticing it a small white slip that had been slid into the crack between his torso armor and pants. Quickly looking back up, he caught a glimpse of dark brown hair turning around the corner, gone before he could even reach out or mutter a cry to.
Zoë, Percy realized. He grabbed the small slip of paper, unfolding it to read its hurried scribble.
Staff meeting. C103.
-Z
Innocuous and to the point. Percy looked back up. That person was definitely Zoë. If he was reading the situation correctly, she wanted him to sneak into the meeting or eavesdrop in on it. That meant it could be something important, like the plan for an attack on the Camp. Percy got ready to start heading down the decks but stopped as he realized his position. He couldn't. He was a lowly guard, and if he left, he would be hunted down as a deserter or a traitor – which, in all fairness, he technically was, unless never being loyal discounted being a traitor.
"What do I do," Percy muttered to himself, before he saw another guard walk past him. This one, he recognized, was Darv, a son of a minor god that had his own grievances against Olympus. However, from what Percy remembered of Darv's interactions with other guards onboard, he was something of a pushover.
"Yo, Darv," Percy greeted, moving slightly and waving out an arm to keep the demigod from going too far. Darv turned a suspiciously looked at Percy, not recognizing him.
"Fenrir," Percy supplied, anticipating the reaction. "Anyway, I really gotta go... you know, use the can. The little demigod's room. And I'm really not supposed to leave this post. Can you cover?"
"I-I'm not sure if that's allowed," Darv quietly replied, his timidity showing through his thin veneer of toughness and roughness. "Maybe you should ask your commande..." Percy waved him off.
"Just this once man, I'll seriously owe you one if you cover me here." Darv looked down for a few moments, before he nodded.
"Good man," Percy praised, slapping a hand on Darv's shoulder as he took Percy's former spot. For his part, Percy just ran down the stairs that led to the lower decks.
C103. That means it's two decks down. Percy quickly turned the corner and rushed down another set of stairs, arriving on Deck C. Unfortunately, he didn't expect to see a gated corridor, complete with two guards standing at the end. Quickly moving to avoid them, he slipped into a restroom right beside the staircase.
"What do I do?" Percy whispered to himself, staring as his own visage in the mirror. He had taken off his helmet, letting it sit on the sink as he splashed his face with cold water. Looking up, he blinked as he saw an air ventilation duct above the leftmost mirror in the bathroom.
A duct that was fairly large.
"No way," Percy quietly muttered, his mouth creeping into a smile. Quickly stripping off the rest of his armor, he stashed it and his helmet in a stall, locking it to ensure that no one walked in on it at an inopportune time. He then took out the bottom two screws of the ventilation duct, letting them fall to the ground as he lifted up the grate. It opened with just a hint of screeching.
Percy climbed onto the sink, and with a grunt, heaved himself into the ventilation shaft. He could feel his lungs constricting slightly as he coughed slightly, blowing dust away from him. He stifled the sound as much as he could, and with the conviction that he needed to do this, he moved forward, letting the grate swing closed behind his feet as his entire body moved into the shaft.
Not my greatest idea, Percy thought to himself as he grimaced. He was crawling through what felt like inches of built-up dust and cobwebs, and it only felt like the ventilation shaft was getting thinner as he moved forward. By no means was he claustrophobic, but the shaft was also by no means comfortable to be in.
His foot accidentally brushed against a built-up pile of dust, and covered with cobwebs as the bottom of his foot was, it slipped and banged against the side of the shaft.
"What was that?" one of the guards standing out in the corridor by the metal gate asked. There had been a banging sound above them that had startled him.
"Probably just another rat. Damn ship is filthy and infested."
"Sheesh. You'd think that they could at least hire a janitor or two for this place. Or get those mercs to do it for us."
Percy quietly sighed as he heard no yells or other indications that he had been exposed, so he continued onwards, though this time at a slower pace. The crawl seemed nearly endless, given the relative darkness, but eventually, he began to hear indistinct voices. As he moved forward, they grew louder and more distinct, so he slowly came to a stop. Peering through one of the side grates of the ventilation shaft, he saw a conference room, complete with projector and PowerPoint presentation, filled with at least two dozen people. Some were monsters, but others were human of the demigod variety. None of the human mercenaries were there, and Percy could only imagine that it was because this conference was about the more "Greek" side of things.
The main presenter was a human, though judging by the sword strapped to his back, the scars on his face, and the general angry countenance he seemed to hold himself with, Percy would've guessed the man to be a son of Ares. It was somewhat less common for children of the twelve Olympians to align with Kronos' side, with Luke being the most notable defection, but it did happen.
"Moving on," the presenter said, clicking onto the next slide in his PowerPoint. "Operation Tentpole is on schedule. Both groups are moving into place and should be ready to begin by the end of next week. Victor, is your regiment ready?" Percy saw one of the human demigod leaning on the wall stand up straight as his posture stiffened. Unlike the vast majority of demigods Percy had seen in his life, Victor was an adult, closer to forty than he was to twenty. Like the presenter, he had a large blade strapped on his back, and his previously-relaxed posture was contrasted with his current straight-backed and proper form. Something about him screamed out at Percy's instincts, but he clamped down on them to listen.
"The human mercenaries are onboard, though the Mist probably won't cover the second phase of Tentpole," Victor said, his smooth voice not at all what Percy expected from someone on a ship like the Princess Andromeda. "We can cross that bridge if we get there. Either way, after the latest batch of recruits are finished up, we'll be ready to go. I'd recommend leaving port in a week, max."
The presenter nodded, before turning to somebody else. The flow of conversation in the room continued, but Percy's job was done. They were planning a major attack of some sort, and Percy could only assume that Camp Half-Blood was the target, as obvious as it was. It was also, more or less, the only viable major target against Olympus. Perhaps most importantly, Percy now knew the timescale of the attack – they were moving out within a week, and the attack would be within two. There wasn't much time to waste.
Crawling backwards slowly, Percy ignored the pain in his back and legs from the cramped position he had been in for the prolonged period of time he had spent spying. Still, he ignored it as he moved backwards through the shaft – what he had learned was more important than the amount of physical discomfort he endured. Painstakingly, he quietly lowered himself back into the bathroom, which was as deserted as he left it. Snapping the air duct's grate shut, he grabbed his armor and helmet, put it on, and strode out into the hall.
Both of the guards that were standing down the hallway by the metal gate looked at him strangely as he strode out of the bathroom, which, to them, he had been in for nearly an hour.
"Don't know what to tell you guys," Percy spoke up, rubbing the back of his helmeted head in an embarrassed fashion, "but whew, those burritos did not agree with me today." One of the guards chuckled slightly, and using the moment of levity, Percy quickly went up the stairs, not wanting to be risky with staying in a place he shouldn't have ever been in normally.
Lost in thought, Percy made his way to his post, only to have his heart freeze as he saw that Darv, who he had left there under the pretense of using the bathroom, nowhere to be seen. Instead, all he saw was the glaring expression of his commander. Unlike Victor, Percy's commander was a particularly physically-intimidating man, one that could have given someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime a run for his money in terms of size.
"And where the hell were you, Fenrir? Mind explaining why you deserted your post for an hour?"
Percy's brain went into overdrive trying to think of a plausible excuse, but none of them seemed even remotely believable as he felt the commander's harsh gaze bore into him.
"Oh, Andrew," a female voice floated past Percy, "I'm sorry. I requisitioned this guard for a special task I had earlier." Percy turned to see Zoë, nearly unrecognizable in her disguise, standing behind him. "It was an important task, and I had impressed upon him that he had to keep it secret."
"Aeris," Andrew grunted. "When did I ever give you permission to take my soldiers for your purposes?"
Zoë smiled, grabbing Percy by his shoulders. "Sorry – it won't happen again. I'm going to need to take him for a bit to clarify some things." As she led Percy away from his original post, Andrew's glare narrowed with suspicion, but he said nothing.
Zoë led Percy into a small unused storage room one deck down from where he originally had been. Once in, she sighed and removed her helmet, letting her hair fall out. Percy sighed.
"That was close," he murmured, unfolding one of the stacked chairs and sitting on it.
"Indeed," the former Hunter replied. "What did you learn at the meeting? I was unable to attend it myself."
Percy looked directly at Zoë. "There will be an attack. They're calling it 'Operation Tentpole', and I'm not entirely sure what the target is, but I think it's Camp Half-Blood. There are two separate groups they're using for this attack. We should be leaving within a week, and the attack will happen by the end of next week."
Zoë leaned against the wall, her brow scrunched up in thought. "This is concerning. I have heard very little of these movements, but they are accurate with what little I do know. You may not have noticed because you are still new to this ship, but for many weeks now, groups of troops have been shifted off-shore. They have been using the highways to move forces to unknown places, while leaving the Princess Andromeda here as a decoy. Still, the commanding staff is here."
Sighing, she pushed herself off the wall. "Do not worry about the past movements for now. I will contact Chiron with this information and try to find out more about this Operation Tentpole. In the meantime, talk around and see if you can figure out where each group is being transferred to." She checked her wristwatch. "Take the rest of the day off and recuperate tonight. I will make sure that you and Thalia are included in tomorrow's shore leave so you will have a chance to gather information from the other guards."
Zoë pulled her helmet back on and opened the door.
"Fenrir, you have your orders." She left.
Percy gathered himself, refolded the chair and placed it back in the stack, and left as well. He made his way back to the small room he shared with Thalia. With a knock, he slowly and quietly opened the door. He could hear murmuring inside.
"That's all I have for now. I'll contact you when I have more, dad," Thalia's voice rang out in the darkness as Percy walked in. She sat on the bed facing away from him, with one of those small handheld fans that came with a continuous water-spray function. After the light illuminating the Iris message faded, the room was cast back into darkness.
"Thalia?" Percy asked, coming up to the bed.
"Oh, Percy?" Thalia said, turning around. "You're back early."
"Yeah, Zoë got me off early today. We also have shore leave tomorrow. What were you doing?"
Thalia held up the little mist-sprayer. "Just called my dad. I've been giving him updates on our quest so far."
Percy looked at that a little oddly but nodded anyway. He supposed it was a good thing that Thalia was feeling that she could get closer to Zeus, and it was also a good thing that Zeus seemed to be making an effort to get closer to his daughter.
"Are you going to sleep?" Thalia asked, cutting through his thoughts.
"I suppose. Did you?"
"Not really. We could squeeze?"
"Sure."
The two climbed into the small bed, shoulders brushing against each other as they pulled the blanket over themselves.
"Good night," Percy whispered.
"Night," Thalia replied, her voice getting quieter, so much so that Percy almost didn't hear her last words. "Love you."
"Love you too," Percy replied, gently kissing her forehead before turning and letting himself sink into the bed and into sleep.