'Attack'
23-Jun-2030, 2315S
LCDR Percy Jackson, US Navy, Son of Neptune
Joint Operation with Hunters of Diana
Killdeer Mountains, North Dakota, USA
I think I may have insulted the Fates one too many times. Why else would I be grouped with a bunch of misandrists for the team Thalia and I have to lead?
Hold on, let's back up for a second. My name is Lieutenant Commander Percy Jackson of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, otherwise known as DEVGRU, or as like the public calls us, "SEAL Team Six."
Yes, I lied to Thalia and the rest, but it's for the sake of OPSEC—operations security. It's one thing to say you've worked with SOF. It's another to say you're part of DEVGRU or even just a SEAL. We don't talk about it much. Even my own family is unaware of the fact that I'm in DEVGRU, and all they know is that I'm a SEAL. They also follow the rule of not talking.
Anyways, I command 1 Troop of Blue Squadron—one of DEVGRU's four assault squadrons—under the callsign "Blackbeard."
In regards to my mythological side, I'm a son of Neptune and Poseidon. As it turns out, my mother managed to unite my father's Roman and Greek forms. I prefer the Roman forms, despite having originally grown up as a Greek, and this may actually be due to my longstanding interest in a military career. However, while I prefer the ways of Camp Jupiter and New Rome, Camp Half-Blood will always be a home away from home.
Speaking of which, I returned home after two decades of almost non-stop service to be on leave for two years. According to my commanding officers, I need a break. So, I'm taking the time to visit my mom, stepdad, and little sister. At least, I was until Father showed up...
SEVERAL HOURS EARLIER...
It was during the afternoon in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I was at home playing chess with Paul Blofis when there was a knock at the door. I turned towards him, only to find an expression that mirrored my own confusion.
"Are you expecting someone, Dad?" I asked. Yeah, I call Paul "Dad." He may not be my father by blood, but he has been a true parent to me.
He shook his head. "You?"
"No," I said slowly. We got up and walked to the door and opened it to see none other than...
"Father?" I said, surprised.
"Neptune?" exclaimed Dad.
You may be wondering why Dad isn't addressing him as 'Lord.' Well, Father ended up getting over Mom, since he still loved Salacia, his wife, and became good friends with my mother and stepfather. For this reason, Father requested for him to drop the 'Lord.' He was actually Estelle's godfather, per my request, and Mom and Dad heartily agreed. Now, as to why Dad referred to him as Neptune, not Poseidon like he did originally... we'll get to that in a bit.
"Hello, son! It's good to see you again!" he said as he brought me in for a hug. I hugged him back. It was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
He then released me from his arms. "Paul! How's it going?" he asked as he raised his right hand. Dad responded in kind, the two clasping each others' hand in a firm shake, followed up by a brief hug. A bro-hug, if you will.
"Sweet mother of mercy," said Dad as he grinned. "It's been a long time!"
"Likewise, Paul. How are Sally and little Estelle?"
"Don't let Esty hear you say that, otherwise she will scold you into oblivion. Same thing for when we use our nickname for her. I swear, teenage girls and teenagers in general are a handful," muttered Dad.
"That explains a lot about you, son," Father quipped.
"HEY!" I shouted indignantly as the two older men chuckled.
"All right. The girls are out for a couple of hours. Anyways, won't you come in, Neptune?" Dad offered, opening the door wide.
"Thank you. I wish this were a social call, but it isn't. It's about Percy," he responded as he stepped inside.
Dad turned towards me with a 'what did you do this time' look.
I raised my hands in surrender. "Dad, you know the game better than I do. I haven't ticked off any immortals recently. Better yet, how could I have done so?"
"Ah, fair point. Why do I have the feeling that you're getting deployed?"
Dad knows about deployments not only because I've been getting deployed for the last twenty years, but also because he's a veteran himself. While his service in the US Army was extensive, the highlight of his career was serving in the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. Given this fact, it's not surprising that he prefers Father's Roman side.
After completing several tours of duty, he returned to school to pursue another passion: literature and history, which is how he ended up as a teacher. He's retired from that life, and now works as a part-time firearms instructor and volunteers in a local veterans' group therapy nonprofit organization.
Fun fact: for one of his dates with Mom, they went skeet shooting (it's a lot of fun, really), which is how she was able to use a shotgun during the Battle of Manhattan. He even picked up an NYPD SWAT officer's AR-15 when he lost his sword, firing on monsters to weaken them and allow allied demigods to strike the killing blow, all while watching Mom and Nico's backs.
Moral of the story: don't be fooled by his age or mild-mannered appearance. Rangers lead the way, after all.
"Because he is getting deployed," Father answered.
Since Dad's a retired special operations soldier, he's no stranger to OPSEC. It's actually thanks to him that I've managed to keep a low profile, as he's helped me come up with cover stories for when I've had to deploy. Trust me, it's very hard to know that your sister hugged you goodbye when she leaves for school in the morning, only for her to come home and be surprised to find out that you've left for "work," and won't be back for several months or longer.
Dad's also ensured that no mortals, save for him and Mom, know I'm a SEAL. Even Estelle only knows I'm in the Navy, but nothing more. People don't generally go beyond that, but if they do, he simply adds that I'm a diver. This isn't wrong, considering that all SEALs are qualified divers, although we aren't as skilled or specialized as dedicated Navy divers.
As for Father, he simply doesn't talk about me, which has probably saved me from a lot of problems in the mythological world.
"Uh, Father? I'm supposed to stay home for two years, and I've only been here for three weeks," I replied.
"No, you're getting deployed in our world," Father said.
"Okay... with who?"
"The Hunters," he responded solemnly.
I grimaced, and Dad seemed to do so as well. The Hunters were good fighters, and I respected Artemis's combat skills as well, but their misandrist ideology was so messed up. However, since they were arguably Olympus's best direct action team, nobody really seemed to try and argue.
"Oy vey," I muttered. "What's the mission?"
"They're going to have to eliminate a gathering of monsters in North Dakota."
"Neptune... they're called Hunters for a reason. Isn't this the kind of operation they normally carry out?" Dad queried.
"Yes, but Pluto and I noticed something odd. So did Trivia. This gathering is rather powerful, greater than most engagements the Hunters had in the past. Jupiter, of course, believes his daughter can handle it alone, even though all three of us insisted that she needed backup. He finally relented after several hours of arguing."
"All right, now I'll ask this: why me? Why not Frank, Hazel, Reyna, Annabeth, Nico, or literally any of the immortal or partially immortal heroes? I'm no better than any of them!"
You might be wanting an explanation here. After the end of the Giant War, the Seven plus Nico and Reyna received immortality. The Titan War veterans of both camps were granted partial immortality. All were to help train future legionnaires and campers. As for me, I declined (successfully ticking off the Lord of the Sky again, and allowing Lord Mercury to win his bet with Lords Apollo and Mars, the latter two of which were certain I would take immortality), asking for some favors instead. However, at my father's insistence (along with that from my friends and mortal family), I took partial immortality. These favors were giving Lord Pluto and Lady Vesta their thrones back on the Olympian Council, Olympian support on Jason's minor god recognition initiative, freeing all peaceful Titans that swear an oath to Olympus, proper funeral rites for all friendly KIAs, receiving permission to be in the sky domain, and the ability to blend in with the mortals. The latter two were specifically meant for me to be able to become a Navy SEAL and not have to worry about getting knocked out of the sky or hunted by monsters.
Trivia (Roman goddess of sorcery, witchcraft, and crossroads) solved the issue of my demigod scent. I also received training from her in Mist control. While I could change my appearance with this, this was more of a short-term solution, and a Mist disguise can't hold up indefinitely. For the sake of the mortals' sanity, I also received the Blessing of Juventas (Roman goddess of youth and rejuvenation), which allows me to alter my full appearance by changing my age, so I wouldn't look like a baby-faced seventeen year-old was conducting operations with men twice my age. Learning to use the tools the two goddesses provided allowed me to get to know both of them better, and we are now good friends.
Now that the explanation is over, let's get back to what Father was talking about. Specifically, why literally anybody but me isn't being called in.
"Son... Artemis hasn't gotten to meet any of the male heroes you mentioned. Most male heroes, including the ones you know, are decent, but of course, she won't think that. Even if we only called in a female for backup, there is the issue that all of the immortal heroes are a little busy at the moment regarding their own domains, and the semi-immortal ones are providing support," Father explained.
"Training maneuvers?" Dad asked curiously.
"Yes, Paul. Besides, if I were to send only one warrior as support, it would be you, son, as you are the greatest one I know of."
"So I'm the backup... alright, I'll do it," I responded.
"Percy, are you sure?" asked Dad, concerned. Despite being a mortal, he knew the mythological world well. Added to the fact that he was a battle-hardened Army Ranger and a father, his worry was quite logical.
"Don't worry, Dad. You and I have faced far worse," I said with a smile. "Besides, it'll be nice to see Thals again. I'm just going to be killing the monsters and keeping the Hunt alive. Providing, of course, they let me do my job and don't kill me on the spot."
"Okay. I don't suppose there's any stopping you, Percy. I'll inform your mother and sister. Just make sure you do come back. Am I understood, Commander?" he asked firmly as he gave me a hug.
I hugged him back. "Lima Charlie, sir." I may stick around in the Navy long enough to get stars on my uniform, but in my book, experience outranks everything. Besides, he's my father in all but blood, so of course I have to listen to him.
He released me, then gave me a crisp salute, which I returned in kind—perhaps a bit cringy, but it was still meaningful.
"Take care, son. Neptune, watch over him," Dad said.
"I will. Are you ready, Percy? We'll go to Vulcan first, for any equipment you may require, then you'll be going in."
"I'm ready. Let's get this done," I replied. He nodded and placed his hand on my shoulder, and we flashed up to Olympus.
BACK TO THE PRESENT...
While we were at the forges, Father explained that he actually didn't plan on visiting me until a week or so later, wanting to let me spend time with my mortal family in peace. Then, perhaps after meeting up with some friendly gods and goddesses , I'd go to Camp Jupiter or Camp Half-Blood to visit my friends (of course, all of these depended on my training schedule and meetings for DEVGRU). However, I was the only asset available to assist the Hunt for this kill mission.
I was a bit surprised that I was being called in for a mission the Hunt was supposed to handle on their own, but based on my father's words, they needed some backup. When we were at Lord Vulcan's forge on Olympus, I requested for him to provide me with arms and equipment that matched my gear in the SEAL teams, which he managed to make within a couple of hours.
The binocular AN/PVS-31 night-vision goggles, the M4A1 carbine with its under-barrel M203 grenade launcher, the Glock 19 Gen4 sidearm, and the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) weren't all part of my normal kit, per se, but it would do, as I was grateful for his rush job.
I was then dropped into North Dakota's Killdeer Mountains, where I reconnoitered the area and found the monster camp. After taking notes and mapping out the enemy camp and a plan of attack, I moved to the rendezvous point (RV). When I arrived at the RV, I was still in the trees, but the Hunt noticed me.
I was pleasantly surprised when I didn't see Artemis, but Diana, when I linked up with the Hunters. I suppose addressing her that way paid off. Based on the limited interaction, Diana seemed considerably nicer and, dare I say, fairer than her Greek counterpart. I was a bit puzzled as to why she appeared, considering that her man-hating Greek form had been dominating for the last couple millennia.
Anyways, we had our little briefing, and I shared the intel I had. One thing led to another, and I ended up with Thalia and five man-haters, sneaking through the woods to attack the far side of the enemy camp. Our objective? To serve as a diversion and allow for the rest of the platoon to move in and more easily dispatch the monsters.
Fantastic. What could go wrong?
Well, everything. I felt the Hunters' glares on my back, but it didn't bother me. While the military tends to be 95% sheer boredom and 5% sheer terror (unless you're in special operations, in which the boredom still holds a majority of the time, albeit not as much), that sheer terror is second only to my time in Tartarus. And even that is by a small margin (as hyperbolic as it sounds, there have been a couple of experiences that felt worse than that hellhole).
The only thing that makes the sheer terror of my time in the SEALs better than Tartarus is that there was never a powerful omnipresent being (i.e., the primordial Tartarus himself!) constantly trying to kill me. For that reason, a few insane Hunters aren't a threat in the slightest.
Back to the operation. While the Hunters didn't listen to me, Thalia did, and she kept them in line. We crept through the forest, staggered in a "V" formation five meters apart. I took point, while Thalia provided rear security. Everyone else was either looking forward or securing the patrol's right or left flanks.
Finally, we were in position, concealed by the trees, and approximately forty meters from the camp. We were met by the sight of at least a platoon's worth of monsters, milling about. Some looked like they were sleeping, others were grumbling and sitting around a campfire.
"Thals, bring a bolt down on the largest cluster of bad guys. Everyone else, engage all other targets from the treetops," I whispered. "Keep me and Thals covered as we go in."
"You don't give the orders here, boy," Karen hissed.
"Well, girl, your Lieutenant agrees with me. So shut up before I shut you up myself, got it?" I responded angrily. We didn't have time for this stupidity.
This combined with a hard glare from Thalia made the others back off. They began climbing the trees to get a better vantage point of the area of operations (AO).
We looked out on the enemy encampment, then I held up my hand to Thalia, counting down.
Five... four... three... two... one...
I then pointed at the camp, and Thalia nodded. A massive lightning bolt came crashing down on a dozen dracanae, incinerating them.
I decided to cause some explosions as well, firing an explosive 40-mm round from my M203, blowing a few hellhounds to bits. Thalia rushed into the fray, barely getting ten feet before she engaged a monster with her spear and shield. On the other hand, I moved laterally, shifting between positions I opened fire on any monsters approaching her from behind.
Meanwhile, the Hunters provided overhead fire from the trees, shooting the monsters with deadly accuracy.
Thalia, by now, was engaged in a duel with a particularly powerful empousa. A second one was sneaking up on her from behind. I aimed down my sights and squeezed the trigger. The godly metal round hit the vampire lady right in the head.
Thalia whirled around, having just defeated her empousa. "Nice shot, Kelp Head!" she shouted.
"Get down!" I yelled, aiming not at her, but at the hellhound rushing at her back. Luckily, she obeyed and dropped flat on the ground, and I fired a quick burst at the hellhound, killing it.
"Reloading!" I warned as I released the magazine in my rifle and pulled out a new one. Thalia kept me covered in those few precious seconds, taking down a cyclops. Meanwhile, the five Hunters in the trees kept providing fire support, keeping the monsters away from us (or, more likely away from Thalia, and I was just lucky to be in close proximity to her).
"Thalia! Come to me! We're going to advance! Keep your shield up and cover both of us!" I ordered, thinking of an idea. She nodded and raised Aegis as she came back to me, keeping her shield pointed towards the fight. She and I then both crouched down to ensure that we had as much cover as possible.
Thalia, I hope you'll forgive me for how much your ears will be ringing after this.
"Slowly now... forward!" I shouted as I raised my rifle, with us effectively duck-walking forward for maximum cover and mobility. Falling back on muscle memory from shooting-while-moving drills, I shot at the biggest threats, dropping four of them. As we advanced, Thalia watched out for any enemies that got too close, impaling them with her spear or zapping them with small bolts of lightning from above, enough to incinerate a smaller monster.
By now, we certainly had the attention of every last hostile in the encampment. It was time to call for reinforcements. "Cover me!" I shouted as I dropped to my knee, lowering my M4A1 and bringing out my flare gun. I loaded a flare into the gun, pointed it up into the air, and pulled the trigger. A bright red fireball flew into the night sky, signalling for the rest of the platoon to move in.
Meanwhile, Thalia and I stood our ground, shooting, impaling, and electrifying every monster in our sight. Hellhounds, cyclopes, empousai, dracanae—it didn't matter, as they were all going down.
"Thals, watch your left!" I ordered as I aimed right, firing at a hellhound charging at us. Thalia complied, spearing a couple of empousai. Something I noticed throughout the fight was that while empousai were able to magically break the will of men through seduction, they didn't affect me nearly as bad as they did others. They would waste time trying, only for me to put bullets in their skulls.
Come to think of it, empousai haven't affected me the same way as others. I wonder why? Maybe it's some fancy gene or something... or maybe I just see them as a bunch of crazy vampire chicks.
After five more minutes of fighting, the number of monsters seemed to be dwindling. By the time I put a round in the last monster, we were face-to-face with Diana and the rest of the platoon, who had engaged the enemy force from behind.
"Blue! Blue! Hold fire!" I yelled, forgetting I had slipped into military jargon again. Thankfully, the Hunters understood and didn't kill us. Diana stepped forward to meet us.
"Anything else?" I asked.
"Nothing more, Perseus. My Hunters have cleared everything from our end," she replied. "Job well done," she added with a small grin.
"Geez, Kelp Brain. I'm still having trouble hearing after that stunt you pulled!" Thalia all but shouted.
"Sorry, Spark Plug, but you knew the risks when you joined up," I replied with a shrug. "Anyways, yes. The AO does seem clear, but... I have a feeling that there's something wrong. It almost felt too easy. Father said this would be way worse."
"Perce, to be fair, you were an elite soldier—sailor, whatever—for about twenty years. Plus, you had the Hunt on your side. Hunting monsters is what we do. Maybe that's why?" Thalia queried.
"No... it's as if this was a trap..." I mused. Suddenly, I heard a faint "whoosh" sound before part of the forest a few hundred meters to the northwest was destroyed. My eyes widened as I realized what was to come.
"Incoming! Get down!" I shouted, but it was too late. Explosions rocked the camp, as what appeared to be incendiary ordnance launched by a catapult or a mortar rained down from the sky and left craters and flames on the ground.
Damn! They had indirect fire! Agh, my head...
My ears and head were ringing as I struggled to regain my bearings.
"Ambush! Move to egress!" I ordered as I started looking around for hostiles. I saw several Hunters that got knocked around by the explosions, while others were trying to help them.
Panicked screams and fires filled the camp as I furiously looked around. I raised my night vision goggles, knowing they would be useless with flames everywhere. As I turned towards my 9 o'clock, I saw an arrow flying right at Diana. I grabbed her by her shoulder and dropped the two of us down low. She let out a surprised yelp as we hit the ground, the bronze-and-black arrow barely missing her head.
"Keep your head down!" I yelled as I raised my rifle and dispatched the monster that shot the arrow. A few cyclopes emerged from the woods, barreling towards our position. She overcame her shock and opened fire. With my bullets and her arrows, all targets were destroyed before they could reach any of the Hunters. The explosions had ceased, and the area was quiet for the time being. I turned towards her.
"Get the Hunters out of here, now!"
"Perseus—" she began.
"You have got to go before the artillery opens fire again! MOVE IT!" I bellowed, grabbing her collar for added emphasis before shoving her back and going back to shooting. Was it disrespectful? Of course! Was it necessary? Absolutely! Half of the Hunt was WIA (wounded in action) and while there were no KIAs (killed in action), they would be dead if they didn't leave immediately.
I had no idea why I even cared, considering that Thalia was the only Hunter I even gave a damn about. Was it my fatal flaw? Altruism? Or just me being stupid?
She took the hint and made the call: "Girls! We are leaving! Get to the earlier meetup point!" she yelled as she fired a flare arrow into the air, lighting up the sky with a silver-white fireball and signaling for evacuation.
"Yes, Milady!" they replied. The Hunters that were still standing started half-carrying, half-dragging the injured ones up the slope, moving southeast.
"Provide security for the Hunters, and get Lord Apollo down here fast!" I told her. I think I saw some reluctance flash in her eyes, but she nodded nonetheless.
"Be safe, Perseus!" she said before she ran up the hill towards the rally point. I then turned towards Thalia.
"Thalia, we're going to cover the platoon's retreat! Get the squad—" I started, before I was interrupted by loud growls and roars from the north.
"I'll draw their fire! Keep me covered!" I said, raising my rifle and moving towards the sounds despite her protests. Two hellhounds came out from the treeline, but a few shots took them both out. A dozen or more Lastyrgonians and dracanae followed, but they weren't getting too far. However, I had quickly used all thirty rounds, and there were still two dracanae closing in on me, preparing to impale me with their spears. Acting on instinct, I dropped my rifle, letting it hang from its strap as I drew my G19 and quickly shot two rounds at each of the snake demons, turning them to dust.
More monsters entered my field of vision while I was changing mags for my M4A1. But before I had the chance to shoot them, they were cut down by silver arrows. I turned around to see a smirking Thalia and five angry Hunters.
"Saved your butt again, huh Kelp Head?" she asked.
I rolled my eyes, but couldn't keep myself from smiling. Oh, how I miss lighthearted combat like this.
"Late as usual, Lieutenant!" I quipped. "Now come on, we've got monsters to kill and a Hunt to protect!"
"There's more!" shouted Mary as more monsters entered the battlefield.
Wow! That's the first useful thing she's said all day!
"Take 'em out! Shoot 'em til they don't get back up!" I yelled as I opened fire on the incoming hostiles. The Hunters followed suit, while Thalia dropped lightning on the monsters' heads and speared any that got too close to us.
It became a bit of a daze for the next couple of minutes: aim, shoot, get down and reload, repeat, all while keeping distance and staying alive. I ended down to two 40-mm rounds for the M203, two 15-round mags for the G19, and three 30-round mags for the M4A1. Oh, and 200 rounds for the SAW, which I still kept concealed on a paracord bracelet (Vulcan had the bright idea that I conceal the weapon in an easy-to-carry form, similarly to Riptide... he spent so much time on his little brain-child, that's how I got stuck with an old carbine).
Anyways, we began backing up the hill, maintaining our position on high ground as the monsters just kept coming. Weirdly, the artillery that made up the first part of the ambush never fired again. Was this poor tactics on the monsters' part or were they... testing us somehow?
Finally, my worst fear for this operation came true. Thalia had engaged a dracanae with her spear, but an empousa was creeping up on her.
"THALIA!" I warned, raising my rifle, but it was too late. Thalia dissolved the snake lady, only to get slashed in the upper thigh by the empousa's blade as she failed to dodge. She yelled in pain and tried to impale the demon, but the empousa sidestepped her spearhead and knocked my cousin unconscious with a strike to the head. Before the monster could do anything worse, I shot her four times in her center mass, making her scream and turn to dust.
Now, thanks to a severed femoral artery, the Lieutenant of the Hunt was bleeding profusely, and she was going to die if I didn't help her quickly.
Just in case anybody got confused, Percy addresses Paul as "Dad" and Neptune as "Father." He may mix them up from time to time (because humans aren't perfect), but he does consider Paul to be his second father, and thus willingly calls him "Dad."
Also, "LCDR" is the abbreviation for "Lieutenant Commander."
The mission was a trap, and now, Thalia is injured. Can Percy and his squad of Hunters save her in time? Tune in next time on "The Warfighter, the Storm, and the Moon" to find out!
As always, questions are welcome if you've got them!
The next chapter should hopefully be ready within a week.
Until we meet again. Stay safe!
- ADF-2