The Final Olympian
Chapter 2
-Percy-
"Alright, that should be good." Karin nodded as she finished taking a blood sample, his old friend having insisted on giving him a full physical to make sure he'd been taking care of himself. To put her mind at ease, and avoid any more hits to the head, he'd acquiesced.
"Thanks Karin." Percy gave her a smile, genuinely glad to see his old friends again, even if it hurt seeing them age as they had, feeling the side effects of what the gods had done to him.
"Don't thank me yet, I'm still mad at you." She grumbled but he knew her enough to know she was happy to have him around too.
"Love you too Kare-bear." Percy sing songed, laughing as he dodged a wadded-up ball of paper.
"Kare-bear?" the voice of that Commander guy, Sheppard, asked as the ranking officer entered the med bay with an eyebrow raised "That's a new one."
"And it isn't going to leave this room if you know what's good for you." Karin gave the hardened military Commander a serious look, the man quickly, and wisely, backing down from the angry medic.
"I came to check on Jackson, figured he should get the debriefing the others got before he showed up." Sheppard stated, Karin nodding as the commander fully stepped in to talk, both of them knowing damn well the good Doctor wouldn't let Percy out of her sight until she was good and satisfied.
"So, Saren has robot alien gods?" Percy leaned against the wall as Karin started running the blood sample through various machines and tests.
"You don't sound surprised." Sheppard raised an eyebrow.
"I've seen some weird shit my friend." Percy smirked, "It takes a lot to surprise me nowadays. But you said we were going to Therum?"
"Yeah, Matriarch Benezia has a daughter down there for an archeology dig." Sheppard nodded, handing a dossier over to Percy "Prothean ruins. We hoped she might have more information on her mother, given the woman's apparent status as Saren's right hand."
"That right there, that bugs me." Percy frowned as he sat up, "Even back during the first contact war, that bastard didn't play nice with others. Most Turians utilized teamwork, but Saren was almost always doing things on his own without any backup or help. Only person I ever saw him work well with was his brother and he's dead."
"You're positive on that one?" Sheppard demanded, "If his brother was only assumed dead, he could be another enemy right now."
"No, he's dead." Percy shook his head, "I killed him myself. Saren's brother was the one placed in charge of Shanxi after General Williams surrendered to save those living there. I killed the 'Turian Governor' myself, took his head off for good measure. Wasn't able to do the same for Saren at the time as I had orders to try and capture him. Would have been better for everyone if I had a little 'accident' and miss-swung."
"Miss-swung? A melee specialist?" Sheppard pushed, probably wanting to set up team balance.
"Melee and biotics mostly." Percy nodded, "I do have some firearms training but primarily just with Shotguns or rapid-fire assault rifles and SMGs."
"Hackett calls him broadside for a reason!" Karin shouted, happily throwing Percy under the bus "This idiot couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with most guns!"
"She's…not wrong." Percy admitted, "Never had the best aim with weapons so I use shotguns for point blank damage or rapid-fire bullets as I can adjust the stream. Mostly though, I stick to melee and biotics."
"Good to know." Sheppard nodded thoughtfully, "I primarily use stealth and gadgets for sniping and other such situations." Meaning their skill sets would be complimentary.
"You can get a chance to test what he can do in the field Sheppard." Karin interrupted any further discussion "For now I still have some things to 'discuss' with my old friend." Sheppard was quick to vacate the med bay and abandon Percy to his fate.
-Sheppard-
"So…I hear we got a fossil downstairs." Joker grinned as John walked into the cockpit, "Dude looks good for a human who fought in the First Contact war. What's his secret? Botox? Plastic Surgery? Pilates?"
"Being cryogenically frozen from the twenty first century." John deadpanned as Joker choked on his own spit.
"You're shitting me." Joker gaped as John pulled up some records on the computer in the cockpit.
"Perseus Jackson." John read out what he dug up since that first introduction had ended "Born in the Twentieth Century and was the subject of actual Nation-Wide Manhunts multiple times before he even graduated High School. Hell, at the age of Twelve he got kidnapped by a terrorist, drug from New York to California, and then actually fought his kidnapper rifle to shotgun on the beach before winning and forcing the criminal to run. He got framed for bombing his next school and was on the run for months before his name got cleared. Went missing during his final year of high school and was eventually found after having been in a coma for a year. Got his GED and graduated college, spent about a year as a Marine Biologist before getting Cryogenically frozen by relatives who thought he'd die if they didn't. His statis pod got discovered right around the first contact war, the pod itself having been full of Eezo, although the Alliance was never able to find out where that resource was found during the Twenty First Century. Jackson joined the military and quickly made a name for himself on the field getting a massive kill count. He was deemed the one responsible for liberating Shanxi but disappeared after the war."
"Aaaaaaand now he's here." Joker ran a hand down his face "Why is he here?"
"Blames himself for not killing Saren back during the war. Still, Hackett and Anderson both trust him implicitly and that's enough for me." John felt if nothing else he could trust them.
"So, you taking him with you on Therum?" Joker asked, "Strike teams are typically three people yeah?"
"That's the plan." John nodded, "His skill set is complementary to mine. I'm thinking of bringing Williams or Wrex along as some extra muscle as well. Or just Williams and Wrex of the good Doctor ends up killing him."
"Wait, seriously?" Joker raised a skeptical eyebrow at their doc hurting anyone.
"Apparently they're old friends and she isn't quite as willing to just accept him going radio silent for two and a half decades as Anderson and Hackett were." John chuckled, "It was both the first time I ever saw someone call her by her first name and the first time she ever hit someone."
"Oh, now I've got to pull up the security feed to see that." Joker cackled eagerly.
"Unless you bugged my room with cameras then it's not happening." John gave Joker a look as the pilot sulked petulantly, having already pulled up the security feeds by the time John shot his idea down.
"Fiiiiiine." The ever-sarcastic pilot grumbled before noting something on the feed "Huh, looks like your boy survived the 'scary doctor' and is hanging out with that Quarian you found. Tali-something right?"
"Yeah." John observed them, wondering what it was they were talking about.
-Percy-
"Hey, it's Tali, right?" Percy grinned as he finally found the Quarian he remembered seeing on the ship. In retrospect checking the engine area first might have been wise. He swears he could hear Annabeth laughing at him from beyond the grave…and given that they knew Nico that wasn't an impossibility.
"Y-yes." the Quarian nodded surprised, "And you're Perseus, right?"
"You can just call me Percy." He gave her a relaxed grin, wanting to put her at ease, "I actually wanted to pick your brain about something. I've heard a lot of stories about the Quarian people's ability to make a ship, but I've never met one before."
"You had questions about ships?" Tali gave a little head tilt as she leaned against a bulkhead, the engine thrumming behind them.
"I've been looking to get one for myself for a while." Percy admitted with a shrug, "And this is the first time I've been outside Batarian Space or the Terminus systems for a while. No way in Hades was I gonna trust anything made there. I do have a nice stash of credits though, and wanted to know if I could hire you to make me one once this miss is over."
"Really?!" Tali looked shocked, and given how the Quarian's were treated he wasn't all that surprised.
"Yep." Percy popped the 'p' and grinned, "I may not have met a Quarian before, but I have seen a Quarian ship before and those things are quality. So, I was hoping I could pick your brain on designing one during this cluster fuck and maybe hire you to help build it afterward. I pay well, scouts honor."
"I-" before Tali could give her answer, they were interrupted by the ships PA system.
"Jackson, Urdnot, report to the armory to get geared up. We've arrived at Therum." Sheppard's orders sounded throughout the ship.
"Whelp, that's my cue." Percy shrugged "Think about my offer, yeah?"
AN: All right, next chapter we get to Therum and can finally get to the action. This story's been slow so far but I'm hoping the next one can finally bring some momentum.
