Chapter 13: Unterkrieg?
Mars Defensive Line; Astride Tempest
"Praetor, 2nd cohort reports that the enemy's right flank is weakening!" the legion messenger called up to Jason, his armour splattered with mud. "Centurion Maxis intends to press his advantage." It had started raining and the field of Mars seemed, to Jason's eye to be rapidly turning into the bog of Mars. If Jason didn't know better he would have thought that Jupiter was saddened to see demigods killing each other. In reality, it was likely just poor luck. He looked down to the young legionnaire. Despite the situation he felt the smallest of smiles touch his face.
"Good" he replied, "They can regroup with the rest of the 2nd. Then we can close ranks and force them back to the ridge line. "
"Yes praetor, AVE" he saluted and sprinted back toward the right flank. Jason ran his eye out ahead of them to where the 2nd cohort was positioned. It did seem that the red legion shields outnumbered the green standards of the sixth age rebels.
Tempest reared as a spear was jabbed at him and Jason forced his attention back to his own battle. He was mixed in with the 1st cohort on the formation's left flank, where the largest division of the enemy vanguard had struck. He had told his legionnaires that it was so that he could stand with them in the darkest hour of Camp Jupiter and New Rome and fight with his brothers and sisters. Whilst that was true he also had a far stronger ulterior motive. He wanted to be the first to get a shot at Percy. Though he doubted the traitor would show his cowardly face in person. At least, not unless thing were looking dire for his troops, and maybe not even then.
So much for the great leader! The first wave of the rebel's attack had been a complete shambles. Circumstances had meant that they had been allowed to cross San Francisco unopposed by the Legion but the thick foliage and steep, awkward terrain of the Berkley hills had allowed Legion scouts to pick off a few of the leading forces without too much risk to themselves. They had charged, with zeal, over the ridge line right into the defensive positions on the field of Mars, right into the 1st and 2nd cohorts stationed there, and their formation had swiftly disintegrated. There was little unit cohesion, with each cohort was fighting one or two disorganised platoons of around twenty warriors; less than half the strength of any of the cohorts now that they had swelled their ranks to form forty to sixty legionnaires each over the past fourteen months. Jason had to give them a certain credit though. Despite being outnumbered and clearly inferior they weren't giving ground easily. If they had a leader Jason couldn't identify them but seeing as though the enemy hadn't already turned tail and fled somebody must be holding them together.
Either that or Percy has inspired cultist level loyalty in his troops Jason thought as he split the shaft of a spear thrust at him by a female warrior, hewing open her neck with his borrowed spathe (he would have preferred to be on foot but he needed the visibility and mobility Tempest afforded him). If that is the case we may have to kill all of them he realised. And as much as I hate Percy, killing humans doesn't agree with me.
With luck they wouldn't have to. Reports from Reyna's last Eagle message stated that they had reached Alameda with little resistance and would be proceeding at low altitude toward the USS Hyperion soon. Whilst he was pleased by their swift progress Jason was a little concerned. The Hyperion was, after all, a ship. A ship moreover that was serving as a mobile base for the rebels and possibly contained all manner of deadly traps and enemies. Jason had full confidence in both Reyna and the Legion commandos with her but he couldn't help feeling that things were going a little too well for her. They had faced no resistance from mortal demigod or monster whilst moving through the city and the only people they had encountered had been too bust looting or had given them a wide berth. The force Percy had sent was also far too small. Barely the strength of a company at roughly 150 troops strong, they were outnumbered by the 12th almost 3:1.
Either the arrogant bastard underestimates what we are capable of or his recruiting efforts were less successful than we feared Jason thought, catching another spear thrust against his blade on his left side. On his right he kicked the helmet of a charging rebel. The man's head snapped back and he dropped to the ground, neck broken. Most likely the latter Jason suspected. Percy had been a praetor after all, for however brief a time. He was well aware of the legion's capabilities despite their limited numbers.
A break appeared in the press of green and red and Jason urged Tempest forward into it, widening it still further with each slash of his blade. They were slowly squashing the vanguard. The rebels seemed to know it too. The zeal with which they had fought when they made first contact was flagging now. A few more minutes and this skirmish, and a skirmish is what Jason would call it as it could hardly be called a "battle", would be over. Over to his right a particularly quick rebel made it around a legionnaire's guard stabbing him under the ribs. The legionnaire gasped and hunched forward, dropping his shield. The rebel yanked her blade free and raised it high to bring it down on the legionnaire's neck. Jason intervened lunging out and stabbing her in the throat. She dropped her sword; her arms fell limp by her side. Her blue eyes met Jason's and blood gushed, soaking the ends of the blonde hair poking from her helmet. The fear in her eyes and the awful gargling choking sounds she made almost caused Jason to empty his stomach, guilt and revulsion in equal measure making him nauseous. Then she suddenly became heavy, the light leaving her eyes, as she became dead weight held up by the point of Jason's spathe. He yanked it free and she fell with a splattering thud into the mud. Jason didn't have time to check if the legionnaire would make it as he was set upon again from the other side.
At another lull in the fighting a legionnaire, muddied and bloodied his helmet discarded or lost somewhere, reached Jason.
"Report from the scouts Praetor" he called, "a second wave is advancing up the hill. Strength of two companies four hundred warriors at least. Spears and standard weaponry but they say there is something strange about them. They advise caution!" Jason's eyes widened in horror.
400? Even with all cohorts fully engaged we'll be outnumbered 3:1!I guess this was just the vanguard after all. With only the first and 2nd position to defend against a head on attack it was more like 6:1. They would have to re position to have any hope of winning.
"Dammit!" Jason growled aloud. "So he finally wants to play seriously does he? I was hoping we could wrap this up before the weather gets any worse." He glanced up at the sky. The light rain was rapidly developing into a downpour. He looked back to the legionnaire. "Send a messenger" he ordered. "We need Amazon reinforcements and bring up the standard!"
"AVE" shouted the legionnaire turning toward the rear. It only occurred to Jason then that Percy had made yet another tactical error. If his main force was deployed in Phalanx formation then his leading troops would be trapped between his own forces and the legion wouldn't they? Did he intend to throw away the lives of his own men?
Action on the left flank drew his attention. The rebels were retreating. Some carrying wounded allies, whilst others kept any intrepid legionnaires at bay. As if on cue the rebels engaged with the 1st cohort did the same thing. Several legionnaires began to go after them but Jason shouted out, ordering them to hold their positions. They didn't need to chase them into the incoming enemy phalanx. Separated they would be torn to shreds. Jason watched in fascination as the seemingly disorganised rabble retreated in perfect order, parting to the left and right around the leading edge of the phalanx as it came into view on the ridgeline. As it turned out they did have some sort of strategy in place. But so did Jason.
The phalanx was a classic and powerful Greek tactic but, fortunately, also a predictable one. Whilst it was a tough nut to crack head on, its manoeuvrability was severely lacking as its strength was in the rigidity of the formation. With his current forces it was a matter of letting them reach their position then using the ballistae and Hannibal to break it apart. With luck the positions atop the walls of Fort Aeternum (So named because the engineers swore it took forever to build) would be able to outrange any potential return fire. Then they could punch through the gaps. If his reinforcements arrived in time then the phalanx would be outflanked, their rear nowhere near as well defend as the front and things would go a lot faster, and with less casualties. They may even surrender outright, Jason thought hopefully.
"1st and 2nd cohorts withdraw" Jason ordered, "don't try to take the phalanx head on or you'll be smashed! Pull back to the defensive entrenchments! Archers watch the flanks don't let any attack our rear!" The legion moved instantly in response. Front ranks became rear ranks as they withdrew in perfectly drilled formation, box shields limiting the risk of getting stabbed in the backside.
"Juno forgive me" Jason prayed under his breath, "we aren't retreating, we're letting them get close."
The Phalanx closed in. Most of it. A small number, around fifty of them, broke away from the main formation halting some way back. They arrayed themselves across the downward slope of the hillside at the edge of the field of Mars. Crap. They must be archers Jason thought, though he wasn't surprised. He had archers, why shouldn't the enemy? Sure enough they soon began firing arrows high over the heads of the approaching phalanx, down onto the retreating cohorts. Shields raised in response, Tempest bolted forward to get out from under the incoming rain of arrows. Mila a young legionnaire of only 12 wasn't quick enough. An arrow got her in the shoulder spinning her and sending her sprawling in the mud. She cried out as she tried to rise, tears mingling with the rainwater as she reached out a hand for help. Before anyone could get to her six more arrows struck her in the back, driving her to the ground. She stopped crying. Jason's breath caught in his throat for a moment. As the cohorts drew away Jason could see the bodies of at least five more legionnaires as well as a dozen or more rebels four of which Jason knew he himself had slain. Damn him!
"IN RANGE PRAETOR!" the shout went up from the ballistae crew in their concealed positions. Jason jumped down from Tempest jogging over to the nearest position. From a distance it should look like he was merely ducking behind the palisade defences that had been erected across the field to slow the rebel's advance.
"Hold steady" he ordered the crew quietly, "wait for the cohorts to get outside the danger zone." He squinted through the palisades watching carefully. The second the trailing warriors from the 2nd cohort were out of the way he bellowed "FIRE!" The first bolts loosed, both from his position and its twin on the right flank, crashing into the leading ranks of the advancing phalanx. Men fell and Jason was grimly satisfied to hear roared shouts of agony.
"RELOAD. . . READY" yelled the ballista crew chief, his words punctuated by the heavy THUNK of the ratchet as the ballista's winding mechanism locked the bowstring into place ready for another shot.
"FIRE!" roared Jason again, his eyes lever leaving the advancing ranks of rebel soldiers as the bolt shot away, crashing into the phalanx again. This time there was a noticeable falter in the formations speed. It still advanced but it gave Jason hope they weren't as screwed as he had feared. They just needed to hold out for a while longer.
He began to climb out of the ballista pit. "Maintain fire" he ordered, "don't let up for a second. Keep firing until you run out of bolts! Understand?"
"Yes Praetor, AVE" they replied as he left the fortification. He stepped aside to allow the runner to sprint past him toward the other ballista then took off, at a sprint, to re-join the other cohorts.
"Form up cohorts" he ordered as soon as he was within earshot, "prepare to intercept!" The 1st and 2nd cohorts swiftly restructured their formations; their flanks 20 yards apart. Inside the fort the 3rd cohort would be forming up as well, preparing its warriors to charge out and engage the enemy if they reached the walls of the fort. With any luck they wouldn't be needed. Jason was confident that the combination of their static defences and the well trained members of the legion's 1st and 2nd cohorts would be enough to route the enemy.
A shouted order from within the enemy ranks drew Jason's attention. The enemy archers had stopped firing. With the cohorts out of range the only people they could now hit were their own. They didn't re position closer to them though. If anything they drew further away, climbing higher up the hillside. It would have given them a better firing angle . . . if any members of the legion were still in range.
What are they doing? Jason wondered, briefly. He didn't have time to ponder though as, much closer at hand, the phalanx suddenly broke apart. Just as quickly it reformed into three distinct divisions, each apparently intending to g head on with each cohort with the third heading right up the middle for the fort. It seemed smart but in reality it just gave the ballistae more clearly defined targets. 100 yards ahead of his position, Jason could hear the shouted orders of the ballistae commanders as they ordered another reload. All four ballistae would soon be engaged but the enemy formation was still about 350 yards from the fort. That was easily within the ballista's 500 yard range, but the greater the distance the less accurate the shot. The crews on the walls had orders not to fire until the enemy was within 200 yards.
"FIRE"
"FIRE" Jason's eyes snapped to the enemy formation as a female voice from within the phalanx bellowed the order at the same moment as the ballistae commanders. Jason watched in horror. From within the enemy formations great bolts of purple energy lanced out, splitting the siege weapon's bolts in mid-flight. They split the ballistae too, punching through the palisade defences like so much cardboard. The sound of splintering wood and screams of pain described the weapons being obliterated inside their positions. Screams issued from behind them too as one of the two ballistae on the walls of the fort was hit by a bolt and came apart, showering wood, metal and at least one severed limb onto the ground below.
"Sorceress!" someone in the 2nd cohort yelled, unnecessarily.
"Trivia descendants, Countermeasures!" Jason yelled. In response to the second wave of purple bolts astral barriers comprised of Mist materialised before the cohorts. The energy crashed into them and dissipated across the front of them, like a bucket of water splashed against a car's windscreen. "Can we return fire?" Jason demanded.
"Not under this much duress" replied the Trivian nearest him through gritted teeth, her hands upraised and sweat beading on her brow with the effort of maintaining her section of the barrier.
"Gods damn it" Jason growled.
With no Ballistae to impede their progress the enemy phalanx advanced rapidly and within minutes they were on them, each cohort fighting rebels five to one. The ranks of spears in the phalanx only lasted until first contact with the cohorts and soon Jason soon found himself truly fighting for his life, beset on all sides b rebel warriors armed with round shields and bronze short swords. Occasionally magic flashed overhead in both directions, white and purple. After several minutes Jason withdrew to the rear, several long cuts bleeding where blades had found the gaps in his armour.
"Where is Hannibal?" he asked the Centurion who saluted him at his approach, also wounded and receiving treatment from a child of Apollo. The centurion didn't answer verbally but pointed, looking grim, off toward the right flank. Jason looked. Beyond the 2nd cohort's position on the right flank Jason could see Hannibal, busy fighting his own battle, his trunk wrapped around the neck of an enormous, familiar Hell Hound. But they weren't playing anymore. Ms O'Leary seemed to be trying to claw the elephant's eyes out. Hannibal was working just as hard to prevent that. There were bloody gashed along his side, his Kevlar body armour apparently having been as useful as tissue paper in defending against the monster's vicious claws. As Jason watched the elephant wrenched his trunk around sharply, throwing the gargantuan black dog to the ground. She crashed to the floor and rolled upright and crouched low snarling before leaping once again.
Despite the odds the legion seemed to have stalled the rebel's advance. The enemy formations seemed unable to make ground. But equally the legion was unable to fully repel the assault and te 2nd cohort in particular was beginning to suffer mightily. One of their Trivians had gone down and the remaining ones didn't have enough power to stop ALL of the magical attacks. What worried Jason were the archers in the rear. Despite the ballistae being destroyed they still hadn't moved into range. The Amazons still hadn't arrived though. Hannibal, at the cost of serious injuries, had driven off Mrs O'Leary (though it was more accurate to say that one minute the dog had been in a rabid battle frenzy and the next she had turned tail and sprinted away, right back over the hill). The one remaining ballista was still firing doggedly into the enemy formation but with so many legionnaires in close proximity it was only managing a bolt every few minutes, having to wait for a shot where there would be little risk to any members of the legion. The only positive was that the scouts reported no enemy reinforcements in the area. Percy had committed all he had available. They needed to break this attack NOW or they would have to withdraw. And withdrawing wasn't an option. Jason flagged down a messenger, his Eagle perched on his shoulder, the normally stoic bird sifting nervously from foot to foot, agitated by the fighting around them.
"Send a message to camp Jupiter to commit the 4th cohort. Have them flank the enemy and attempt to relieve the 2nd cohort. We must hold them until the Amazons arrive!" The 4th and 5th cohorts were stationed at camp Jupiter itself in case the enemy attempted their own outflanking manoeuvre. Now it was clear that wasn't happening it meant Jason could redeploy the 4th to the Field of Mars. The only reason he didn't order both was because Jupiter needed to have at least one cohort to defend it. That and Jason still didn't entirely trust Hazel's loyalties.
Soon, from the direction of Camp Jupiter, the red shields of the 4th cohort appeared. The advanced rapidly, swinging wide around the rear of the fort aiming to strike the rear of the right flank formation and take pressure off of the second. The enemy archers finally leapt into action, targeting the 4th cohort with everything they had. The 4th, un-phased, switched to tortoise formation and though they lost some momentum, continued their advance on the enemy's rear. Unfortunately for Jason that now meant that the 1st cohort was in the most danger of being overrun. The 3rd had left the fort to engage the enemy's central formation but even they, thanks to the defences surrounding the fort, were in less danger than he was. His cohort was without support and its Trivians were weakening from the constant bombardment of magical blasts.
A shrieking battle cry, like the sound of a thousand banshees all wailing at once, announced a change in fortunes for the 12th Legion. 1000 Amazon warriors clad in black armour, supported by a dozen battle forklifts and led by Hilla in a customised, heavily armoured war chariot screamed into the left flank and the enemy phalanx broke. Buckling under the weight of what amounted to entire enemy army suddenly joining the fray; the entire enemy force turned tail and fled, abandoning their positions and their wounded as they fled back toward the archers at their rear. A triumphant roar rising in his throat Jason summoned Tempest once again, mounted his smoky charge and ordered the cohorts forward, determined that the Legion should share in the glory of this total victory. Despite himself Jason felt a grin of satisfaction start to creep across his face. For all his talk Percy had been no different than any other; overconfident and, when push comes to shove, cowardly.
In fact Jason thought, Percy's more so than the others. He didn't even have the courage to come out here himself and now he's lost. Soon they would chase the rebels right back across the city, Jason would take back his sister from Percy's control and sink that carrier of his with the largest bolt of lightning he could muster, just for good measure.
As they charged back across the Mars defensive line with its still smoking craters where the ballistae had once been, the rebel retreat slowed and for a moment Jason actually thought they had decided to stay and fight instead of running all the way home. Then his eye drifted 100 yards ahead of the rebel infantry to where the archers still hadn't moved. They were still standing in formation.
No Jason realised, their formation is different now. Now they were organised into two lines one behind the other as if to block their retreating forces. Jason wondered briefly if that was why the fleeing rebels were slowing but dismissed it. Fifty archers wouldn't stop an entire fleeing army, even if they fired on their own men. Something was wrong. Hilla must have sensed it too as the Amazon's headlong charge slowed to a more measured advance, less of a chase and more of a measured prowl, wary of trap or ambush. They couldn't have more forces nearby; the scouts had said they were out of reinforcements. Then Jason spotted the warrior in the centre of the archer's formation. Visibility was low because of the weather but Jason could see he was tall and pale, clad in grey camouflage, with hair such a blonde it was almost silver. The warrior shouted something to the archers that was lost to Jason in the first thunderclap. Then he raised his arm and brought it sweeping down to point at the approaching Amazons and Legionnaires.
In that moment Jason felt cold dread drop into his stomach and time seemed to slow. He could suddenly feel every rain drop as it hit his face, see every line and contour of every grim face as the first flash of lightning illuminated the world around him. As one the enemy archers dropped their bows and un slung the ski bags Jason had thought they used as quivers. Jason could almost hear the sound of fifty zippers being opened and the flap of discarded fabric as the ski bags opened and every archer suddenly held a rifle! The first row dropped to one knee as all of them raised their weapons.
"Oh Gods" Jason breathed. There was no time to warn Hilla, Jason just had to hope that she had spotted the danger too. "12th Legion, fall back!" he roared into the storm. "Find cover now! MOVE!" He yanked Tempest about and charged back toward the barricades. Several legionnaires had already identified the threat and turned before the order was given. The rest either heard the order or saw what was going on and turned too, most of them confused about why they were suddenly fleeing in their moment of victory. Time was suddenly too slow and they had travelled too far. There was no way he would make it back to the fort before the first volley was fired. As he drew level with the first palisade he threw himself from Tempest's back. He never would have tried it if the ground hadn't been softened so much with the mud. He splattered to the ground not a second before a deafening wave of cracks rang out louder than the thunder. Then another, followed by screams.
Jason looked. Fifty amazons were down, dead or wounded, killed in the first volley alone and more were falling along with several legionnaires. On the hillside the clink of fifty bolts sliding back into position carried to Jason, even in the growing headwind. Or maybe his mind was just providing the sound effects for him. A third volley rang out as fifty rifles fired in perfect synchronisation and more Amazons fell.
"Gods have Mercy! We'll be slaughtered" the voice of Vanessa, the 2nd cohort's surviving Centurion cried. "We need to fall back to the fort!" Jason was in agreement. He didn't think their shields were likely to stop bullets as well as they stopped arrows. This was unheard of. Jason had thought he'd won but Percy wasn't just breaking the rules anymore. He was changing the whole game. Luckily, for him and the 12th legion at least, the marksmen seemed to be focused primarily on the Amazons. The legion has already been in the rear of the charge, and with visibility only getting worse they would be harder to hit the further away they got.
By some miracle they made it back to the fort. Vanessa had taken a bullet right through the forehead the second she had stepped out from behind the palisade and Jason was still covered in what he suspected was bits of her head. Twenty more of their number had fallen during the retreat, one of them at the fort gates. Even in this weather the enemy were crack shots. Jason watched as the last members of the 4th ducked behind the palisades in front of the fort. There wasn't room inside. The enemy riflemen had stopped firing volleys. Only the occasional shot rang out. Jason climbed the ladder to the top of the leftmost watch tower. With some trepidation, fearful that the second he stuck his head out it would be blown off, Jason approached the edge and looked out across the battlefield. On the field of Mars Jason could just make out the Amazons scrambling to find cover. Ducking behind palisades, overturning their own forklifts, clustering together in the old trenches the engineers hadn't filled in, even throwing themselves headlong into some of the deeper craters made by the magical blasts from earlier. They might outnumber the rebels but the rebels now outgunned them, literally. It was a nightmare scene. Corpses and blood scattered across the field, the living huddled behind barricades or at risk of drowning as mud and water filled up their impromptu foxholes. Rain poured, lightning flashed, wind howled. It looked like more like 1916 France out there. Some twisted version of the battle of the Somme in miniature. In some disconnected part of Jason's brain he laughed, wondering if Annabeth's dad would see this and be horrified or start taking notes. He glanced to his left at the last surviving ballista and at its crew huddled against the stone wall of the fort. Hugging themselves to ward off the cold and the wet. Their eyes staring blankly straight ahead, permanently etched with horror as though they could no longer see this world and were staring straight into the pits of Tartarus.
I need to call Reyna Jason thought; everything has gone to shit on our end. It'll be up to her now.
Hyperion Flag Bridge
"The 12th Legion seems smaller than I remember" Percy observed casually, "when I was fighting with them against Polybotes it felt like there was more."
"There were more Amazons than expected though" Thalia said, "I was hoping we wouldn't need to switch to rifles this early in the campaign."
"Perhaps we should have sent Kaltherzig to Seattle instead?" Percy joked. Outside thunder crashed and a flash of lightning shone against the windows of the Flag bridge, illuminating nothing beyond but thick black clouds and the rain pouring from them, beating relentlessly against the glass.
"If it weren't for this weather we could have strafed them out of existence by now" Thalia grumbled, setting her empty coffee cup down on the now bare table. The flag bridge was in campaign mode. Everything but the bare essentials had been removed the only things left there were the old radio and now a water fountain, and the viewing shield they were observing things through.
We could have done this a whole lot faster if I had gone myself. Which one of them had that thought, or if they both had it at the same moment they didn't know. Either way it was too earl y for them to show themselves and risk direct intervention. They couldn't afford to provoke any of the Gods into a personal appearance before they had even secured their first objective.
Over in the corner the old WW2 era radio crackled to life, rapid German quickly breaking through the static. Percy sighed and hauled himself to his feet and crossing to its table, Thalia following.
"English Kaltherzig" he ordered into the microphone.
"Apologies führer" said Kaltherzig, and Percy winced at the German which meant "leader" but still reminded them of . . . other people. "Mein kampfgruppe is in position und ready to being the operation."
"We told you not to call us that" Percy snapped.
"Apologies mein Herr" she said again. Thalia leaned over to take the mic whilst Percy pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, sighing heavily.
"Stand by to go" she ordered.
"Jawhol, Bereitstehen. Aus." The radio clicked off. Switching to the other channel Thalia clicked her mike back on again.
"Hyperion to Raleigh 2, are you in position, over?" Static filled the gap after her sentence.
"Hyperion to Raleigh 2," she said again "are you ready, over?" Still silence.
Do you think something's gone wrong? Percy thought. Then they remembered. So going to kill him one of these days. Thalia struggled to keep the growl out of her voice as she clicked the mic back on.
"Hyperion to Raleigh's Raiders do you copy?" This time the response was instant and eager . . . and subsequently infuriating.
"Raleigh's Raiders here, ready to plunder boss!" The swallowed their impatience at his idiocy, but Thalia silently vowed to tie him down and shock him to within an inch of his life, just to hear him scream for forgiveness, when this battle was over. Percy vowed to try and watch with a straight face.
"the main unit has the attention of the rest of the Legion and the Amazons. Kaltherzig will move, and at the same time you take Camp Jupiter itself. Take Hazel Levesque alive if possible. If not. . ." Percy paused then went on, "well she is a child of Hades (Pluto) maybe he'll bring her back for us."
"Roger that, we'll move in as soon as the show starts! Out."
They switched back to Kaltherzig's channel, "Kaltherzig?"
"Bereit kommandeur"
"Go" Percy ordered simply, she knew what to do after all.
"Verstanden. Aus"
"C.C, switch views to Temple Hill please" Thalia asked.
"Of Course" Circe, the only other general present raised her hand and swept it to the side as though manipulating a giant touchscreen and the view on the mirror shield changed to an image of Temple Hill as though viewed from a drone. Somewhere they imagined they could hear the chorus from Blumenkranz playing . . . they could hear Blumenkranz playing, through the radio, broadcast on all channels.
So going to kill him they thought and Percy decided that after Thalia had zapped him, Percy might drown him a little.
It does fit her though, ever since the first time he did that its played in our heads every time she walks into the room.
Doesn't mean we can't punish him for clogging the radio with it though. Now it's just a matter of Vixen doing her bit to make sure New Rome itself falls.
The wheel on the bulkhead door began to spin rapidly. Percy, Thalia and Circe turned as the door swung open to admit a junior officer, one of the human crew members.
"Report from the Captain Sir, ma'am" he said, slightly out of breath. "There's been no response from the aft Engine rooms for the past fifteen minutes. He suspects infiltrators and wants to know how you wish to proceed."
"Thank you chief" Percy said standing and picking Riptide up off the table.
"Tell him we'll deal with it personally, and to not sound the general alarm" Thalia instructed.
"Aye" he responded then sprinted away again.
"Huh, looks like we've got visitors" Percy observed.
"Circe, if you could move the fountain down to the brig, we'll need it shortly." Circe looked askance at the hunk of stone.
"You want me to carry that thing all the way there?" she asked, as though she thought they might be joking.
"Unless you think it will materialise there of its own free will" Thalia said. "What's the problem, you've got magic don't you?"
"Do I look like a slave to you?" the sorceress demanded.
"No but if you don't shut up and do it then I can make you one!" Thalia shouted, "GO!" Circe, chastened, began to enfold the fountain in purple magic as Thalia and Percy left the flag bridge.
Ten drachma says Reyna is leading them thought Percy as they left.
That's hardly a bet, we saw Jason leading the Legion on the field of Mars Thalia thought, laughing as she slid Thunder and Lightning under her jacket.
Well let's just go say hi then shall we?
Camp Jupiter proper; North east corner watchtower
Hazel's stomach turned over and over as she watched each new development on the field of Mars through her binoculars. At first she had just been angry and insulted that the others hadn't trusted her enough to let them fight with her. Then she had consoled herself with the fact that ensuring the camps safety would be essential to their victory today. Then she had gotten more and more worried as the battle had worn on. When the fighting had started to take a turn she had wanted to go help. When it had bogged down into something strongly resembling trench warfare she had been on the point of defying her orders and sending the 5th to help anyway. But Jason and Reyna already didn't trust her. She didn't need to give them another reason.
The battlefield had become eerily quiet, even the thunder seemed to have died down to a small rumble every few minutes. Through her binoculars she could see the legion dug in, in and around the fort, and the Amazons spread all over the field making use of whatever cover they could find. An Amazon broke cover, running toward the fort. She was shot in the back of the head before she could take ten paces. The rebels had also stopped. They weren't advancing again, they were still to outnumbered to risk close combat with the combined forces of the Legion and the Amazon nation. Instead they seemed to be reorganising and establishing a more solid position.
Stalemate Hazel thought miserably. And all she could do was sit and wait and watch. In a way it could be a good thing. If the fight dragged on too long then the reinforcements sent by Camp Half-Blood would arrive and the rebels would have to surrender or be surrounded. It was as she watched a couple of rebels struggle to erect an effective bivouac around the spot where they were tending their wounded that an unpleasant feeling overcame Hazel; like something crawling beneath her skin. Something was moving underground, something big. At first Hazel thought that the rebels might be using the old tunnels under the field of Mars like she Frank and Percy had done during war games so long ago. No, it was deeper than that, much farther down in the earth. But it was getting closer to the surface all the time, and moving in the direction of Temple hill!
As the feeling built to the point where she was sure whatever it was was going to burst from under her own skin she called down to one of the Legionnaires at the base of the watchtower. She ordered him to run the fort and warn Jason. She turned her binoculars toward Temple Hill. She scanned frantically looking for a monster of some kind. The front of her father's Temple exploded outward, blasted from within by something black marble, obsidian and diamonds flying out over the hillside to tumble down to the grass at the bottom. She frantically adjusted the focus, unable to believe what she was seeing; a Tiger. Not the animal, or even a monster but a German tank forcing its way out of the ruins of her father's temple, surrounded by skeletal soldiers, a woman with pure white hair and a black uniform emerging from the turret hatch.
Well there you have it. From zero projects to five (and two aren't even on this site!). But I guess that's just how things go. Anyway i hope you are still here. If you are thank you. As always read and review, and don't forget to check out my other projects Blood of a Generation and Lost Winters (not that I'm begging or anything but I would love it if those could get some more reviews so I know if they're any good).
Athena's wisdom to you.
Athena'sPride95