A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR: Sorry I've been away. I'm trying to get back into my writing grove.

Chapter 1: Boot Camp

POV: Spartan 333

Every life has at least one moment that changes who we are forever. For most Spartans it is when we are assigned numbers, rather than names. For me though, it was when I met her.

I was twelve years old and just came out of augmentation. A sergeant came to me and told me I was selected to be part of a recon unit. So I would be brought to boot camp and trained with another Spartan that would become my partner in the field.

So I said goodbye to my old training squad. They all wished me luck with puns about my nickname. My number was Spartan 333 and they say luck comes in threes. I have three, threes in my name. To them my name was "Lucky".

Before I was kidnaped and augmented my name was Percy. But I didn't understand the point of holding onto that name, I would never get that life back anyway.

So I climbed onto the pelican and was brought to the boot camp for Special Forces Recon, called Camp Half-Blood.

When I got off the ship I was met by a man in a wheel chair. He seemed friendly enough but I had been a solder since I was five. Always trained and disciplined. I was more rebellious than most Spartans but that didn't mean I couldn't stand at attention.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood" The man greeted me. "I'm Colonel Chiron. You will be staying in barracks three with your partner Spartan 311"

I nodded.

"Before you settle in however we should get you some armor and a weapon." He continued. "So follow me and I'll get you all set up."

And so I followed him to the armory where Spartans were making armor and weapons. Spartan 235, also known as beckandorf (sorry if miss spelled) set me up with armor. I chose a standard armor set that was painted blue with a black visor.

Once I had my armor on I went over to the weapons wrack and picked out an AR and a combat knife. I strapped the knife to my left side, near the lower aria of my chest. Once I was satisfied with my setup I followed the Colonel to my Barrack.

"Well, here you are." He told me as we approached the Barack amongst others in a horse shoe shape. "Just head on in, Spartan 311 should be in there."

I nodded and entered the building.

Inside were about ten Spartans in full combat armor, each loading their weapons.

"What's going on?" I asked out of surprise.

They glanced up at me before continuing their tasks. One however stood up off of the bed and walked over to me.

"You must be the new guy." She said, extending her right hand for me to shake.

I took it and nodded.

"Are you Spartan 311?" I asked her.

She tilted her head when I spoke. I couldn't see her face through the helmet but I got the feeling she wasn't too happy.

"The name's Annabeth." She told me. "What's yours?"

"Spartan 3…." I began but she cut me off.

"The Colonel told me your number." She said in an annoyed tone. "But I didn't ask for your number I asked for your name."

I studied her for a second before responding. She looked intimidating in her storm grey recon armor with a grey visor. Her whole setup was grey other than a brown owl that was spray-painted on the top right part of her helmet.

"Well?" She demanded, clearly annoyed.

"My old squad called me Lucky." I told her.

"You're not going to tell me your name?" She asked.

I shook my head.

"I haven't gone by my old name since I was about five." I told her. "The person I am today, it would just feel wrong to use that name."

I could feel my face turning red so I was grateful for my helmet's dark visor.

Annabeth nodded when I spoke.

"So why Lucky?" She asked me.

I chuckled.

"They say all luck, good or bad, comes in threes." I told her. "My number is triple threes."

She chuckled at that.

"Alright then Lucky." She began nodding. "Start prepping for combat. Capture the flag tonight and Barracks three hasn't lost in over a month, don't kill our streak."

I nodded.

"I'll do my best." I told her. "But I don't have any recon training yet."

She just chuckled.

"Think of it as a trial by fire." She said. "If you don't get shot you might stand a chance in this place."

She then led me to the bed next to hers.

"This one's yours." She told me. "Drop your non-combat gear and load up."

I nodded and proceeded to load my AR while sitting on the edge of my bed.

"So, you're an Assault Rifle man?" She asked me. "Interesting choice."

"And why is that?" I asked her.

"We have access to any weapon we want and you pick the most ordinary one that's not even the most effective in most situations."

"I could say the same to you." I pointed out as I gestured to the pistol in her hand. "What's with the pistol?"

"I prefer CQB to open fields." She told me. "Plus I find the pistol is more versatile."

She then put the pistol on her right thigh and pulled out a second one and proceeded to load it.

"You ever do a combat jump before?" She asked me after a few minutes.

"Only practice ones." I told her. "Why?"

"We're deploying by pelican tonight." She told me. "Fifteen hundred feet up at five hundred MPH."

I nodded.

"Sounds like fun." I said, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.

I always hated flying in general, but combat jumps like this scared the shit out of me. Falling through the open sky, being held there by a jetpack. My old CO used to say I was ballzy for always deploying my jetpack at the last second but the fact was I only did it to minimalize the time I spent in the air. It just always felt unnatural to me. Like I was never supposed to do it.

Time Break!

The pelican shuddered as it hit another pocket of turbulence. I wanted to scream but I bit down on my lip instead.

'Dam it Lucky!' I thought. 'Get it together, you've done this before!'

But this thought didn't help me to calm down when every shutter and groan of the aircraft terrorized me.

"Thirty seconds till drop!" The squad leader, Luke, Called out. "Get ready!"

Suddenly the door in the back of the ship opened.

"Go! Go! Go!" Luke ordered as two by two the whole squad jumped out into the black night air.

As the two lines approached the door I looked over to see Annabeth next to me, ready to jump.

"You ok?" She asked me.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak calmly.

"Are you afraid of heights?" She asked. "You haven't said a word and you seem very tense."

I was about to say no when she cut me off.

"Look, Lucky." She said. "We're partners so we have to watch out for each other. Help each other where we are week and use each other's strengths. So if you're afraid of heights just tell me, I'll get you through this."

I hesitate before I nod.

"I'm about to shit myself." I confide in her.

She nods and offers me her hand.

"We're next to jump." She says as I take her hand. "On three we jump together. I'm right here, ok?"

I nod as she starts to count.

"One, two, three!"

And so I step out the back of the aircraft and begin to fall.

"Fire your pack on three!" Annabeth yells to me through the mic. "One, two, three!" She fires her pack but I don't.

I continue to fall, using my normal strategy of firing at the last second so I spend less time in the sky.

"Lucky!" She screams after me. "Fire your pack!"

I wait another second before I fire my jet pack. It stops my fall two feet above the ground.

Once my pack shuts off I collapse to my knees, breathing hard and trying to calm down.

I hear footsteps in back of me and my first thought was that it might be an enemy that saw me land so I whip around as I pull out my assault rifle, ready to shoot but I stop as I recognize the owl on the helmet of the Spartan emerging from the trees.

"God dam it Lucky!" Annabeth screams at me. "I thought I just saw you die!"

"Sorry." I mumble, very embarrassed. Once again I was grateful for the armor.

"Are you hurt?" She asked.

"No." I say. "I always do that in jumps. I can't stand being in the sky. It messes with my head so I wait on deploying my pack until I'm close to the ground."

"Close to the ground?" Annabeth asks in disbelief. "You deployed you're pack at fifty feet. You're lucky you even lived! You know dam well you're supposed to deploy at onehanded and ten feet to prevent injury's."

She sighs.

"Please don't pull that stunt again." She says after a minute. "Now come on, the squad's waiting for us."

I nod and get up to follow her.

"Stay on guard," She warns me. "Remember we're behind enemy lines. They could be anywhere."

'Great!' I thought sarcastically. 'This is going to be fun!'

A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR: Well? Not bad after a Hiatus right? Post a review if you want more of this and yes, I do intend to update my other stories.