Percy's POV

I wake up with a start. I suck in a deep breath and exhale. It was cold enough to see my breath in this freezer. I shiver and glance around through the frost covered glass.

Damn it was cold in here.

It didn't help that I had to sleep nude to avoid blistering. Like the rest of Crusader, we were placed in Cryo sleep when we boarded this ship for the duration of the trip. I try to move my arms to push the cover off, but my joints felt like they were frozen solid and all I could do was wiggle my finger. I try to shift around but the cryo pod was so small that my shoulders keep hitting the side.

There was some muffled voices coming from the outside that I couldn't discern what they were saying.

A pipe above me begins to depressurize the chamber. I roll my head aside to avoid the steam brushing against my neck. I focus on the frost on the glass as it begins to melt and turn into water.

The lid slides upwards and the cold air is gone. "Sorry for the rude awakening sir." A voice apologizes from the speaker. "But the General wanted to see your team. We're taking them off cryo now."

Even though there was no one there, I still nod from instinct as I step out of the cryo tube. I wince slightly and rub my temples. The throbbing pain in my head was on full attack. Cryo sleep always gave me a terrible headache. "No signs of freezer burn. There are clothes on the rack beside the door.

The rack was filled with black bodysuits that were worn under my SPI armor. Along with that there were boots and undergarments. As I dress, I hear a hissing sound behind me that was the sound of the others being thawed out.

All of them stumble out of their pods, squinting their eyes as their vision is still adjusting to the drastic change in light. Sam gags and begins to vomit out bile. "God I hate that shit they feed us." She growls, referring to the Bronchial surfactant and spits on the floor.

I knew what she meant. The drug was used protect the lungs on stasis for long periods of time, though always left a bad taste in my mouth days after being awakened.

"Don't forget to spit." The tech on the speaker add dryly. "And please use the bucket." A panel slides opens to reveal a stainless steel bucket. I grab it and proceed to spit up before passing it around.

The others do the same. "Can we please get dressed now. I don't know what freaky shit you guys dreamt off in the freezer, but mine didn't involve a room full of naked Spartans."

Nathan chuckles and pats his shoulder. "Awww come on big guy, it's nothing we haven't seen before."

"I once walked into the guys shower by mistake," Persephone picks around at some of the clothes. "I saw everything."

Sam adopts a hurt expression and strikes a pose. "What's the matter? You don't like what you see?"

Even though my sister joined in on the teasing, I didn't fail to notice the way she blushed when she saw Nathan. I suppress a smile but don't call her out on it.

That would come later when they were alone.

Andrew looks scandalized and avoids making eye contact with anyone and just look at the ceiling. "You guys are sick." He chuckles and begins t dress. By the time they all finished dressing, all of them seemed to have gotten over their initial cryo sickness. Even my headache subsided.

"Everyone set?" I ask and head to the bridge of. I recall the internal design of a Paris-class heavy frigate and jog through the halls. The techs and naval personnel moved crisply past us, none of them stop to talk us or offer to help. But I could tell the way there by the signs and right past them.

The bridge was filled with a variety of naval officers, all hunched and glued to their consoles. Even though there was no battle at the moment, all of them remained stoic and empathic. Ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.

The Captain of the ship was standing near the main tactical display. But he wasn't the person Pi was suppose to meet.

General Athena Chase was leaning by the Holo-tank, studying a 3-D diagram of the planet below. She was without a doubt one of the UNSCs most capable generals. General Athena had a reputation of being masterful strategist that often lead her to he referred to as the bane of the Covenant. In over a dozen engagements she had decisively beaten the Covenant army, two of which had saved a planet.

Not just held. Saved.

I take a step closer and salute. "You wanted to see us ma'am."

Athena turns from her work to face us. "Yes," She looks both sides to the crewmen. "Not much of a warm welcome eh. Welcome aboard the UNSC Paris. I'm guessing Commander Ambrose didn't brief you Spartans on your new assignment after your graduation. "

"Thank you ma'am." Persephone nods. "And no, he did not."

I actually hadn't seen him at all during our Headhunter training. After our first mission against the Insurrectionists we were immediately shipped back to Onyx. Though instead of returning to our old camp, we were sent to some far off facility at the other end of the planet. The only ones there were Mendez and a couple of trainers who seemed intent on making their lives a living hell.

Those thirteen months of hard training had been some of the most difficult things I ever had to endure. But it was all worth it.

Athena doesn't seem surprised. "That's not surprising, because this mission is far above even his pay grade." She leans in closer to make sure we're all listening. "What we're doing here is strictly off the books. Do you all understand.""

"Crystal ma'am." We reply.

She nods. "Good, now I suppose I should start on where we are. This is Tuarus system. Now if you give me a minute." She turns around to the map and begins to enhance it.

Andrew scrolls through the after action display on his data pad. He discreetly passes it to each of us. The systems colonies were the latest victim of the Covenant destruction.

Over two divisions of battle hardened marines under the command of General Athena stood in the way of their advance. But despite even her abilities and seasoned troops, the aliens technology and numbers won out in the end.

Casualties are still coming in, but it seemed the UNSC Paris was all that's left aside from a handful of scattered ships.

"I see you're reading the battle report." The General says without turning around.

I quickly turn my attention back to her and toss Andrew his tablet back. "Sorry ma'am."

Her eyes shine with approval and she nods for us to continue. "Go ahead. The search for wisdom is always an admirable quest Spartan. Now on with the mission. Annabeth if you please."

As if born from the shadows, a figure steps out of from the darkness. Annabeth looked exactly like a younger version of the General. She was about my age and a few inches shorter than me. They had the same curly blonde hair and stormy gray eyes. Was she the Athena's daughter.

What was more surprising was that she was was wearing an ONI uniform.

She was pretty cute though. I flash her a subtle wink which causes her to blush and turn away. Annabeth hands Athena a disk which she plugs into the Holo table. The planet zips into a highly detailed view of one of the cities.

"Although the planet had fallen, the Covenant have decided not to outright glass the world," Athena explains. "instead they were using it as a base to resupply their offensive. Ships are regularly coming in and out to dock in the city. There leaves us a golden opportunity."

"It's the largest Covenant staging ground we've seen in this sector." Annabeth cuts in and steps forward. She speaks quickly and excitedly, adjusting her glasses. "It's quite remarkable really. Something like this was completely unheard of."

Everyone cranes their heads to her in surprise and more than a little disgust. Only an ONI agent could be fascinated by destruction like this.

She leans in closer and I can see the excitement plain on her face. "If we take out the Covenant staging ground here, then it will leave them in chaos. At least for the time being. This will give the opportunity to rally our forces and could give us a fighting chance."

Normally I would have had a dozen questions in mind. But Athena seemed to radiate confidence that was just infectious to all of us. When I look at her again I was sure I still cryo sickness cause I could have sworn she was glowing gray. Despite the monumental task she was asking from us, my team was grinning eagerly at her. "When do we leave ma'am?"

She smiles back and at us. "In a few hours Spartans, but you might want to pay a visit to the ship's armory. I think the Commander had something shipped in for you." That last part was said with a hint of excitement.

"Thank you ma'am." I nod as the five of us walk out. I hear rapid footsteps coming up behind me. Annabeth soon comes up beside me. "I can take you there." She volunteers, jogging ahead of us.

Andrew runs to my side and shrugs. I lean over to Annabeth. "So Annabeth is it? Aren't you a bit young to be a spook?" I smile at her.

She doesn't break her pace and keeps a blank face. "I could say the same thing about you Spartan."

I stop for a second, but quickly start running when Nathan bumps into me. "Wait? How did you know I was a Spartan, or how old I am?"

Now it was her turn to smirk. "I am a 'spook' as you put it. I read your files while we were waiting for you. You're name is Percy Jackson, you're fourteen and a half and you're Spartan tag is B-313." She nudges herself to Persephone. "And she's your twin sister."

Persephone grunts and brushes a stray strand of hair from her face. "Of course you'd know that. Anyone could tell we're related just by taking one look at us."

"My mother teaches me to know everything you can about the people you work with or against. Knowledge is the best weapon. That's why my mother allowed me to work in ONI so young." She looks down at the floor ruefully. "Though only in a research job."

"Well the best weapon to me is training and experience." Persephone doesn't sound particularly convinced. Andrew nods in agreement. "Same with me."

Sam grins and pushes past him, throwing and catching her knife. "Nah. Good instincts are probably the best thing that would keep you alive in battle."

Annabeth ignores her. "We'll see when we meet on the battlefield." She mutters silently before tapping the keypad on the wall. "Master guns! Where are you?"

"Just finishing some final touches for the Spartans armor." A voice calls from the armory in a thick british accent.

"Well the Spartans are here now Sergeant."

"What?" A tall marine in a rumpled up uniform stumbles out of the room and salutes to her. "Lieutenant."

"At ease." Annabeth returns the gesture and steps aside for us to pass. He glances over his shoulder towards us and gives a friendly smile. "Master Gunnery Sergeant Maurice Hodges at your service."

Persephone extends her hand in a greeting which the Sergeant shakes heartily. "Spartan fireteam Crusader."

He claps his hands and begins to return into the chamber. Annabeth waves goodbye to us before leaving. Maurice pulls a crate open and points at it. "Excellent Spartans. A Lieutenant-Commander on some far off world was quite insistent on having this shipped here. Says it's for you." He slides it over towards us with his foot.

Sam takes a peek inside and suddenly lets out an unusually girlish squeal. "Oh my god! Oh my God!" She pulls out her shotgun from the crate, it's bayonet gleaming from the LED lights above. It was wrapped in plastic and vacuum sealed. She hugs it tightly and grins from ear to ear.

The rest of us gasp with excitement and dig into the box for our own weapons. Andrew had his flamethrower, Nathan his sniper, Persephone got her battle rifle and I my old assault rifle. Interestingly enough, when I examine it I see what appears to be a grenade launcher attached below the barrel in the place of the flashlight.

Persephone holds up her rifle for me to see. It was now newly painted with purple stripes running across it.

Maurice notices my confusion and whistles appreciatively. "Ah, the M301 grenade launcher, though most people call it the forty mike-mike. It's an attachment for the assault rifle so you can fire grenades as well as flashbangs."

I nod and look at the weapon, silently thanking Commander Ambrose. "That's not all." Maurice begins to walk over to one end of the room. Five clear glass tubes were at the end of the room with five identical sets of SPI armor suspended on it.

My eyes widen and I approach them. I recognize some of the dents on one of them. From the time I fell off a cliff during a rock climbing accident, a patch of paint from a TTR round that I never scrubbed. It wasn't just any SPI armor, it was my armor. I feel the Master Gunnery Sergeant placing his hand on my shoulder. "I received order from your commanding officers to make sure with my life that this got on board safety."

The others were also looking at their armor too. None of them were particularly sentimental, but just the looks on their faces showed how much their armor being here meant to them. The tubes suddenly whoosh open.

I spare a glance back at the Master Gunnery Sergeant who was at the control panel. "Well what are you Spartans waiting for? Put it on."

None of us need to be told a second time before we all begin to don our new armor. A year ago it would have taken me a good half hour to put it on. But after my training I learned to put it on in mere minutes.

Soon we were all dressed in our old green and steel armor. But I notice that they weren't identical as I first thought. Similar sure, but some had new variations to them. Andrew had several additional armor plates to protect him while Sam had what appears to be a pair of knife holsters at the knee.

"Woah." Nathan gasps and slowly steps back, moving in a complete circle. "My suit got a new motion tracker. Better range and vision."

I was happy for them, but I feel a twinge of jealousy as I examine my own armor. As far as I see there was no new modifications. Then I notice an icon that I never saw before at the upper right corner of my armor. It was of a human with one fist on the ground while a circle surrounded him. What the heck was this? Some sort of forcefield?

Hmm. Only one way to find out. I move ten paces away from them and slam my fist to the ground, trying to mimic the pose of the icon. A jolt of electricity courses outwards through my armor and blasts out all around me. When I look around there was a bright blue force field surrounding me.

The others were watching me in stunned silence. Their jaws were practically dropping out of their helmets. I grin at their expressions and stand up, admiring the shield. It was made of dozens of honeycomb shaped panels.

"This is our new experimental drop shield." The Master Guns explains. "We created it based on the Covenants bubble shield, though its not quite as durable." To prove his point he pulls out his pistol and fires repeatedly at the shield.

The first few rounds bounce off harmlessly but the eighth shot causes the shield to turn dark red. "When it turns red it means that it will break so keep that in mind."

His twelfth shot completely collapses the shield. It collapses like glass and leaves me exposed. The Sergeant smiles but keeps his gun trained on me. He begins counting to himself and once he reaches ten, fires again.

Before anyone could even scream, the bullet cuts through the air unimpeded, instead of entering my arms, as soon as it makes contact with my armor something flares to life and knocks the bullet off its course.

It falls to the floor with a soft clank. When I pick it up the bullets been completely flattened.

"Oh yes." Maurice smiles and I feel his hand on my shoulder. "The new models of SPI armor was made specifically for new Spec Ops units to include energy shields for you Headhunters."

"That's so cool!" Persephone squeals loudly causing everyone, the Sergeant included to chuckle. I guess seeing supposedly disciplined Spartans acting to giggling like excited kids was an unusual sight. "I wonder what I got."

She takes two steps forward before vanishing into thin air. We all jump back as Sam raises her shotgun. "What the hell!" She points it in the spot my sister was standing seconds before.

"Woah!" Persephone's voice shrieks. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The Blonde haired Spartan's gun dips down. She cocks her head in confusion and looks around. "Persephone? Where are you?"

"I'm right in front of you." Came the confused reply. All of us looks at each other uncertainly. All except Maurice whose leaning against one of the walls calmly. "Its active camp Spartans. The eggheads in ONI adapted it from Covenant stealth elite technology.

Then something pricks at the back my mind. I glance back at the Sergeant suspiciously. How does a low ranked marine know so much about this armor. Persephone beats me to the punch and begins to ask. "Are you a-"

"ONI operative? Yes." His face stretches to a grin.

"Did you fight on the planet with General Athena?" Sam asks excitedly. It was unusual for her to be so excitable, but Athena was regarded as a hero to them. None of them were about to pass up a first hand account.

The Sergeant chuckles and pulls a chair from the side and positions it in front of us. "Heh. I kind of feel like an old man." He slaps his thigh and gestures us to come closer. "Well what are you waiting for? Gather around kids and I'll tell you the story of the battle of Erus IV."

We all talk excitedly and take seats on crates around him. "So here I was on Erus IV." He waves his hands in the air dramatically. "With our forces spread thin between the four colonies here, General Athena could only spare six regiments to protect the city. We were tasked with evacuating the civilians, but the Covenant came in three weeks ago by the tens of thousands. We fought them for a week, using everything we had. Tanks, bombs, and air support. Athena even had us use the sewer system to launch ambushes against the advancing Covenant."

The sewer system. Brilliant. "But in the end we were defeated. All the General could have done as order one quick evacuation before abandoning the city. Unfortunately it was sloppy and disorganised. Hundreds were left behind including most of my men."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Persephone pats his shoulder and grows sombre.

He seems to wave it off, but I could see the sadness in his face. "Well that's war. Not everyone will be able to make it out."

"God now I'm nervous about heading down to the city." Nathan mutters to himself. "If the Covenant destroyed the city's defenses so thoroughly, how the hell are we going to even get inside without being turned to floating molecules."

"They probably have plenty anti-air defences. So Pelicans are out." Sam mutters.

Suddenly the Sergeant begins to smile. "Something funny?" Persephone questions, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh nothing." He shakes his head. "It's just that you kids are so cute thinking that you'll be using Pelicans to reach the surface."

I knit my eyebrows suspiciously. "Then, how will we be getting there?"

His grin broadens.

Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry for the short chapter. I promise that I'll make for it in the next one. Also, wow over three thousand views when I last checked. Thank you all of you wonderful guys and girls reading, faving, following and reviewing. It has been really encouraging me to keep up this story. Though if any of you have any advice on how I could improve this story, don't hesitate to tell me via review or PM :D