I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. All characters from the book belong to Rick Riordan.

Chapter 1: Getting to know the Visitor

"Jason Grace."

"Hmm, yeah, Dakota. What's up?" The blonde demigod and son of Jupiter was writing up a report when his fellow legionnaire showed up with a rolled-up letter in his hand.

"A messenger has sent this and insist that you read it ASAP. It's from Praetor Arellano." Dakota handed Jason the letter.

Jason unfolded the letter and read the message.

Dear Centurion Grace,

I'm writing to inform you that a visitor from outside Camp Jupiter has been assigned to your Cohort. This is the same visitor who was brought in along with probatio Amber, who went AWOL to head to her hometown. He showed up yesterday and doesn't seem to be an imminent threat to the legion; however, neither I nor anyone in the Senate intend to let him join the Legion. I trust you'll keep an eye on him as he -along with you- keep Amber in line. He'll be at your barracks tomorrow 800 hours sharp. Be advised, we will be discrete regarding the fact that's he is a mortal and has no divine lineage that either the praetors or Octavian can sense.

Sincerely,

Praetor Arellano

Jason furrowed his brows in curiosity. He and Gwen were not present in the last Senate meeting since they were ordered to watch over Amber in their custody. After that incident of a probatio deserting, where thankfully no one died, they were kept out of further proceedings back in the Senate House. Camp Jupiter usually keep mortals, especially mortals with no Roman heritage, out and ignores the goings of their lives. Keeping a teen around for the sake of a probatio's future was strange.

"Inform the cohort that we'll be rolling out a Roman welcome for our visitor, Dakota. And tell Amber that she's going to see her friend tomorrow."

The Next Day

Cary wasn't much of an early bird. Getting up at 6:30 AM -actually 630 hours according to Reyna- was normal for a junior high school student like him, though still not as easy. He didn't get a chance to comb his hair. Even with short hair, his black hair would spike out and stand up unevenly. There's also the issue of Reyna riding him up verbally all morning and keeping him on his toes yesterday. After a good night sleep in the Principia guest room, he got a rousing wake up from her, who demanded him to stick to the schedule and eat up.

"It's going to be a long day; I expect Centurion Grace to write an adequate report about you."

Reyna's words echoed in Cary's mind as he walked out of the Principia and towards the fifth cohort barracks. Reyna had stayed behind in her office to attend to her leadership duties, while he was being escorted there by a cohort from the Fourth Legion named Darren, a young lad with flowing blonde hair tied in a ponytail.

"Alright, this is our stop Mr. Chang. Reyna expects you to behave appropriately in our barracks." ordered Darren, "Now let's meet Grace and the Fifth Cohort, you'll be staying with them."

"Sure, is there anything I should know about Jason, you've already informed his parentage and appearances. What is he like?" Cary inquired.

"He's the best centurion the cohort received as far as I can remember. And he's lenient, a little too lenient to some of us," Darren answered.

The two came to a stop in front of the Fifth Cohort barracks. A teenage blonde boy and a brunette girl with a class worth of teens and kids in purple shirts behind them was waiting for him, standing outside in a half circle. Cary thanked Darren for escorting him.

"I'll let Centurion Grace take over, good luck. You're going to need it," said Darren as he headed back to his barracks. Cary saw the blonde walking up to him with a gesture for a handshake.

"Welcome to the Fifth Cohort, Cary Chang. I'm Centurion Grace, but you can call me Jason. The centurion on my left is Gwen. Why don't say hi to everyone."

Cary waved to everyone else behind him, the legionnaires gave rather half-hearted waves back. 'Seems they haven't really woken up' he thought. He skimmed across the crowd looking for someone.

He found her.

He found Amber. Her recognizable brunette bob cut and caramel skin stuck out in the sea of purple shirts. Cary subtly glanced at her, and their eyes met with an unspoken message of 'talk to you later'. It kind of helps that she was wearing some kind of tablet around her neck, something no one else was wearing.

Jason nudged him in the side, "Cary, why don't you tell us a few words about yourself?"

"Oh right," Cary replied. He cleared his throat before continuing, "Hi everyone, it's good to be here, I've been invited for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'm a junior high school student from China Ridge, California. If you don't know where it is, it's a suburb near Los Angeles. Oh, and I'm Chinese-American if anyone was wondering."

The moment those words left his mouth, some of the legionnaires started murmuring and whispering to each other. "Oh, I'm the youngest of three, and my interests are piano, taekwondo, and ummm writing. I'll be working with you guys from what Reyna said." The murmurs didn't stop.

Jason cleared his throat. "Ok, thank you. Alright Fifth Cohort, let's wrap up and prepare for the rest of the day." Some groans were heard out of the cohort. "Well, Cary -is it ok I call you by your name- Reyna said that you're here to keep an eye on Amber."

"Yeah, she said that. So… what are we doing today?" Cary asked.

"Today, we will be doing grunt work, Fifth Cohort will be digging trenches on the Field of Mars in the morning, and cleaning the basilisk nests in the afternoon," Jason answered.

"Ummm, did you say basilisk?!" Cary was feeling anxious and double-checking that he heard of what they were.

"Yeah, you know what they are?" Gwen asked. She had let Jason take charge of the conversation, but couldn't help but ask. Jason didn't mind her butting in.

"Are they the giant snake-like things from Harry Potter with poisonous fangs and eyes that stare people to death?" Cary replied.

"Nah, they're not that huge. They're the size of your typical snake and they don't kill by staring at people. They do spit poison though and have a nasty bite."

"Oh, that's …better?" Cary pondered, though his response was more of a question than a statement.

"Don't worry Reyna said that you won't be a part of the legion. You won't be ordered to fight snakes. So just take it easy and there won't be trouble." Jason comforted him.

"Reyna said I'm keeping an eye on Amber, is she okay?"

"She was rather… defiant. She seems better knowing that you're still around. I'll be honest, Amber struggling to fit in, and I don't blame her. I mean imagine being taken from the only home you know and taken to Lupa -our mother wolf- and being ordered to walk miles from the Wolf House to Camp Jupiter." Jason answered. Amber had been staying with them for under six months and she hadn't adjusted well. All probatio needed to perform a great feat or be claimed to be promoted to a legionnaire.

Reyna didn't know that Jason had turned a blind eye when Amber decided to run back home. There would be repercussions if she found out about that.

"Yeahhh. Anyways, why don't I check up on…"

"Cary!"

He turned around to see Amber running into him. "Oh my god, I'm sorry dragging you into all of this. Are you okay? Do you parents know where you are?" Amber ran through her questions hoping she didn't get him in trouble.

"It's fine, Reyna said they arrange something to keep anyone back home from panicking. They created a cover story to satisfy my parents, but they said that they can't tell your parents -sorry- adoptive parents, anything. How have you been?" Cary asked.

"I really don't want to stay here. Everything here is so rigid, it's like military school or prep academy," Amber lamented. She pouted over the idea of spending the rest of her teenager years becoming a legionnaire. All she wanted was to go back to China Ridge and just be a normal student.

"I understand," Cary comforted her to the best of his abilities, "So, I guess I'll be helping you out until the summer ends." He turned toward Jason, "Where do I get started?"

"We'll be needing tools and protective gear for the chores. We'll also need some first aid just in case. Since you're not part of the legion, you're not obligated to fight, but I'm not ordered to prevent you. Head further into the barrack grounds to the storeroom for the items. Here's the checklist," Jason handed him a clipboard with parchment attached listing the supplies.

"Got it." As a diligent student, Cary was eager to help. However, he couldn't help but worry about what he was going to do. He walked past the barracks of the other cohorts, who were eyeing him with either curiosity or fear.

'How am I supposed to get Amber comfortable here. If I get her somewhere alone, I'll be able to get more details. Maybe I can get Reyna to change her mind if Amber proves herself to the Legion.'

Cary found the storeroom and shared the equipment list to the guard. The guard, Norman, nonchalantly permit him in the room.

The room was dim, and lighting was restricted to some flickering hanging lightbulbs and a small window inside. Cary could barely see inside, but he managed to find the items he needed.

'Alright there's about 45 pairs of heavy-duty gloves, 45 pairs of boots, 45 shovels, and a handful of first aid kits. Oh, and some pitchforks. Yeah, that seems right. I don't think that guard would mind if I used the wheelbarrow to carry that stuff.'

Cary grabbed everything he needed and rode out while taking time to pass a quick wave at the guard. He rolled the barrow up to Jason who looked and gave him a thumbs up.

"Alright, that looks good. Fifth Cohort, rollout!"

Later in the afternoon

Digging trenches in the Field of Mars -which Cary learned is where they participate in war games- was tough work. Jason passed out the shovels and Cary recorded their names and counted out the numbers on the shovels. The Fifth Cohort got to work in shoveling earth out of the pits and throwing it aside to create defilades. The procedure was arduous, but finally paid off. They were right on schedule when the task was finished. Due to Amber status as probatio, she was wearing the respective tablet, but took it off to work the pits. Normally probatio were ordered to always wear the tablet, but Jason was more accommodating than other centurions. Cary held on to it for safekeeping since there would be trouble if she lost it.

When work was finished, Jason and Gwen brought out boxed lunches for the rest of the Cohort. A simple sandwich with apple slices and a bottle of water. The next duty was cleaning out basilisk nests.

After lunch, the Fifth Cohort moved on to clearing basilisk nests around camp. According to Jason, the dangerous pests would take residence under alcoves, between building cracks, or inside a prickly bush on the field of Mars. It was a tedious chore to ensure everyone came back with all appendages intact. The last time they did it, one of the legionnaires lost half of his thumb.

Cary simply passed out equipment and held onto Amber's tablet and the first aid kit along with the other assigned medics in the field. Under Jason's order, he was on standby in case of emergency. Meanwhile, Cary took the opportunity to ask Jason questions and catchup with the affairs of Camp Jupiter. Jason was pretty open in sharing the essentials need-to-know facts of Camp Jupiter especially the ones that were glossed over yesterday with Reyna.

Cary learned that Praetor Reyna was the daughter of Bellona, the goddess of war. He found it odd since he had always assumed that role would fall on Minerva, Athena's Roman counterpart. Apparently, there was some stigma towards the goddess of war and wisdom. Jason continued to explain the history and the hierarchy of Camp Jupiter, while Gwen surveilled the Cohort on the other side of camp.

"And so, the five cohorts make up the Twelfth Legion. Any questions?" Jason had pretty much shared the extensive summary of the camp and its companion city New Rome.

"Ummmmm… so if there's supposed to be two praetors, who's the other one?"

"Oh you mean Praetor Sullivan? Yeah, he's out of town doing an errand downtown in San Fran. It's supposed to be his last one, before he retires. We call him Sully for short, even if he doesn't like it."

"Retire, what do you mean?"

"Well, most legionnaires serve at least 10 years before being discharged and then they go to pursue college or something else."

"Discharged? Are there any ways I can get Amber discharged early?" Cary inquired.

"Well…" Jason lingered on his question, but before he could give an answer, both heard a scream, "Shoot, that's Amber, on your feet Cary."

Jason and Cary ran out toward the screams to find Amber on the ground with a handful of basilisks on her heels. The Fifth Cohort had walked into a hidden nest and were now trying to keep the snakes at a distance with their weapons. They were stacked in formation warding off the basilisks and lining up their pitchforks and other farming tools in proper defensive formations.

"Get Amber up, I'll take of the basilisks," Jason ordered. He stuck his hand out of his pocket and took out a single shiny object. A gold coin. 'What is he going to do with that.' It was at that moment when Cary watched in awe as Jason took the coin and flipped it in the air with his thumb. A bright light blinded him, and he saw Jason holding a sword in his hand.

Cary brought Amber to her feet, but before he could get her to safety behind the defensive lines, they were cut off by one of the nasty serpents. With the rest of the legion occupied, Cary and Amber were left on their own.

Amber held her pitchfork in her shaking hands, but she was breathing heavily and on the verge of panic. Meanwhile, Cary was unarmed, but staying completely calm with his hands raised against them. The duo's situation worsened as a bigger basilisk -probably their mother- slither toward them. The basilisk sprayed its acidic venom at them. Both jumped out of projectile's path, but Amber dropped her pitchfork when she dived to the ground leaving her defenseless.

Amber could only gaze into its reptilian eyes as the giant basilisk prepare another volley of acid. But before it could spit, a pitchfork skewered its body. Amber turned around to find that Cary had picked up her pitchfork and come to her rescue. However, Cary was struggling to hold the farming utensil as the snake squirmed back and forth. The abnormal basilisk turned its head toward him but was beheaded by a golden blade wielded by none other than Centurion Jason Grace.

With its head cut off, the basilisk twitched its headless body until it went limp as its neck spewed blood. "Is everyone okay?" Jason inquired.

"Yeah. It's … was a…chore," Cary responded while panting. He looked around to see the cohort driving off the serpents or chopping the beasts up into bits.

"Go check up on everyone. Pass around first aid and bandages everyone with burns. Flush the wounds with water," Jason ordered.

"Right." Cary power walked around the field passing around water and bandages for the wounded. Fortunately, no one was seriously maimed or incapacitated. He returned to Amber's side to find her huddling on the ground with her arms around her knees. Other than the scraps and scratches from the hard landing, no acid landed on her.

"This is why I ran away from here. I can't stand this life. Digging holes, fighting monsters, I just…," Amber lamented. Her body was shaking anxiously.

Cary tried to use the right words for this. He took a deep breath and kneeled next to her. "I'll help you get through this. You're not alone in this." It was true. Cary had her back like he did back home. Amber knew that, and hope that he could get her out of here.

"Mr. Chang, the centurion wants a word with you," ordered a blonde ponytail girl with goggles over her head. Cary nodded and walked over to Jason, cleaning his sword.

"Hey, Jason. What's up?"

"I just wanted to inform you that we've finished for the day. Other than that tussle with those snakes, we've completed in cleaning up the basilisks around camp. That last one was a pretty big nest, so it's a good thing we took of care it. Oh, and thanks for the help."

"I didn't do much, I was just tussling with the big one, you guys were finishing the swarm."

"We did, but the big one, is the mother of those basilisks. If she had escaped, she would have come back to create a new nest and we would have to fight a new batch of serpents. That was good technique with the pitchfork though."

"What do you mean?" While Cary was far from a lousy fighter, he didn't find himself exceptionally proficient or on par with someone like the centurions.

"Well, you kept the lead basilisk pinned for four minutes, that's something very few legionnaires can accomplish," praised Jason.

"Oh thanks. I'm flattered. Oh, one more thing, will you be finishing up the report today? Praetor Arellano mentioned something about writing one." Cary asked.

"Oh that. Don't worry about that, Reyna will get her report by the end of the day. I hope you don't mind a glowering recommendation."

"A recommendation for what?" Cary asked.

"Oh nothing much, why don't you finish up to clean the equipment. Gwen will get someone to help you out. We'll talk more later. But right now…" Jason placed his hand over Cary's shoulder.

"Welcome to Camp Jupiter."

The story begins and our characters are thrown in the hidden world of Camp Jupiter. Cary will have to navigate himself and interact with those descended from the gods. He has a job of helping a probation, but will this be an order he can fulfill? This is the first of the two-parter intro. Next time, a cold reception at dinner.