A/N: Lyrics are from the Good Morning Ladies shanty.

It took six months before Blackjack was sailing in the sea again. Between trading with other cities and gathering the supplies from the forest, it was a long process. The first few months where awkward between the pirates and the towns people. Food, supplies, healing items were limited, so tension increased between the two groups. After several drunken beach parties and with the increase of gold, amount life at the town improved. They were unable to repair the Blackjack completely because they needed new sails and canons, two things they can only get from towns and other ships.

As soon as the Blackjack could handle the trip, Perseus and his men traveled south to Kingston. Standing behind the wheel the young captain listen to his men sing a new shanty.

"We are outward bound for Kingston town
With a heave-o, haul!
An' we'll heave the ol' wheel round an' round
Good mornin' ladies all!

An' when we get to Kingston town
With a heave-o, haul!
Oh, 'tis there we'll drink and sorrow drown
Good mornin' ladies all!"

"The men are in good spirits," Grover commented, coming over to stand by his captain. "Everyone is glad to be back out on the water."

"I was becoming restless myself being stuck on that island for so long," Perseus agreed. "Nothing beats the open sea and the spray of the waves."

"We should look for new recruits while in Kingston. There are barely enough crewmen right now to man this ship properly. We lost too many men from that foolish battle."

"I agree," Perseus sighed. They lost in total thirty-two men, leaving only twenty-six left to call the Blackjack their home. A month after arriving in the cove they had lost five others due to their injuries and inadequate medicine. "Never will we get in an unbeatable battle like that again."

"The men trust your judgement. Captain Halton, rest his soul, was a harsh man. He had his eyes always locked on the biggest target; always full of gold. He would never stop until he ruled the seas and own all the gold in these islands."

"Aye, that is true. However, we all agreed to go into that battle. It wasn't just Halton's choice—it was everyone's. Every pirate is about the gold, it's what drives us to sail under the black flags."

"Not you though," Grover countered. "I've known you for almost four years now. Not once have I ever seen you lust after gold like everyone else." Grover paused for a moment. "I've never thought to ask you this but, what made you want to be a pirate?"

Perseus glanced over at his friend for a moment before staring back off at the sea. "Look around us, Grover. As far as our eyes can see, there is this harsh untamable water—Water that is full of unpredictability and mystery. I could spend a whole lifetime out on these waves and never get tired of these waters. That's what drove me to run away from home. I never set out to be a pirate. The pirate life found me while I was finding a way to never part from the sea."

"You're truly the son of the sea, aren't you?"

Perseus just smiled and hummed along with the new shanty.

Kingston was another town located in a U shape cover with forest covered mountains behind it. However, this was a large bustling town. Most of the homes and buildings where made out of white or light tan wood. The other builds where made of light brown stone and a few like the windmill out of red bricks. On the larger upper part of the island was the main city while on the other side of the U was an Olympus fortress. Because of this, he was hesitant to come to this town. However, the need of supplies was too great to pass up.

The Blackjack was too big to be docked so it had to stay in the middle of the bay water. Taking a small boat to shore Perseus, Grover, Chris, and a few other men went into town.

"Go do whatever it is you need to do, but I better not hear you were causing trouble," Perseus warned his men once they got the docks. "We don't need the guards to get suspicious with us. They are sure to know to be on the lookout for any possible pirates. Should you arise suspicion, get out of there and hide. Be back at the Blackjack before sundown. Got it?"

"Yes captain," the crewmen answered.

They split off into crowed leading further into the town. As they walked away, Perseus could hear them talking about visiting the pub for a pint or two. Grover and Chris stayed back with their captain.

"I need you two to be on the lookout for possible recruits," he told them. "Once you find someone let me know so I can meet them to see if they are a good fit for our crew."

Call it paranoia, but he was having a hard time just trusting random strangers from a tavern to join their crew. Anyone could be an undercover guard man ready to find out who attacked the Olympus Galleon. Being a captain back at the cove was easy, all he had to do was be the spokesperson for his men and keep them out of trouble with the towns people. Now he was having to make hard choices like finding recruits and their next targets.

"Will do captain. I will also keep our men from getting too drunk," Chris said.

Perseus smiled. "Now go. Enjoy your time off the ship. There is a lovely tavern in the heart of the city that's full of beautiful women."

Grover and Chris laughed. "Oh we know," Chris said. "I'm positive that is where everyone else went."

"Are you going to join us there?" Grover asked.

Perseus shook his head. "Not today. I got a different kind of shopping to do."

"Remember be back on Blackjack by sundown!" he reminded them as he walked away.

Finding the Harbormaster was easy. His shop was always located near the docks so Perseus didn't have to look far for them.

"Can I help you?" the shop man asked.

"I need new sails for my ship," Perseus told him.

"Which one is yours?" the man looked off to the harbor. "Is it that big one in the middle?"

"Aye. We got caught in a storm and now our sails are ruined from the high winds," Perseus lied as an explanation.

"That's a foolish thing to do."

"It was."

"Well sails for that size of a ship will take lots of gold and cloth to make."

Perseus eyes narrowed. "How much gold?"

"Oh," the man paused to think about it. "At least a thousand. Could cost more later on."

His eyes widen. "A thousand gold just for sails? That's outrageous!"

"Sir, those sails need to be completely replaced. High quality cloth for this isn't cheap and you will need lots of it. I also need to pay my men to do the work. A thousand is as low as I will go."

"And what if I supply you with half the cloth?" he asked cautiously.

"I will ask no question where you got that much cloth and cut the price in half," the Harbormaster said.

"You have a deal. I will send my men with the cloth and two hundred fifty gold pieces in the morning. You will get the remaining amount after the work is done."

"I will have my men ready."

All Perseus had to do now was find enough cloth. The Blackjack had a good supply of it at one point. However, between the patch up work they had done to the sails to get the ship sailing this far and all the wounded that needed bandages, there isn't enough cloth left to meet the demands of the harbormaster. Vaguely, he remembers that there are two Olympian warehouses here in the city. One was on a plantation on the northwestern part of the city.

Walking along the dirt paths, Perseus watched as the city went about its normal day. The women wore beautiful brightly colored corset dresses. The men were finely dressed as well in their coats over vests, knee-high leather boots, and bushy white ties around their necks. For a town with clearly a lot of wealth, the streets don't show it. Instead of cobble or stone path ways, there are only dirt paths to follow around the city.

Ducking behind a partly broken fence, Perseus watched as a march of Olympus soldiers went by. Leading the march was clearly someone of high rank and seemed to be in command. Behind him were two armed men and following closely behind those two were two men with their hands bound behind their backs and gags in their mouths. Finally, there were two more armed men following close behind.

Curious as to what was happening, Perseus blended in with the crowed that was following these men. The two captives had red hair and were wearing light blue shirts with the sleeves ripped off, showing off their muscled arms, and tan pants that stopped before their ankles and no shoes on their feet. Perseus instantly recognized them as pirates, specifically part of the crew of Leo Valdez. Leo had a reputation of being. . . strange. It's normal for pirates to not being very social and not working well together. However, rumor has it that Leo took that to a different level.

Perseus hasn't seen Leo in over a year and that meeting was only for a few days, so he didn't know the other pirate captain very well. The only thing he remembers was seeing all sorts of strange contraptions attached to the sides of Argo II, Leo's ship, and the light blue shirts his crew wear. Each ship has their own dress code so when there is a battle or they cross paths in towns they are able to know who works on what ship. Frowning in confusion, Perseus wonder how two of Leo's men got here in Kingston. Argo II wasn't in the bay, Perseus would have recognized it right way had it been.

"What is going on?" a random woman asked. "Who are those men?"

"Pirates," a gruff voice replied. "Good for nothing Pirates."

Perseus glared at the man and pushed past him. Even though these where Leo's men, Perseus wasn't going stand by and watch them get executed. By now, the soldiers had found a suitable place and pushed the two pirates to their knees facing the crowed. Behind them where two of the armed soldiers with their guns aimed at the back of the pirates heads. The other two soldiers stood nearby and the commander faced the crowed.

"These two men have been found guilty of piracy!" The commander announced. "Let their deaths be a warning to all! We shall purge all pirates from our towns and waters. Should you suspect someone to be a pirate, report it to the nearest Olympus soldier. We shall use them too as an example."

Perseus eyes darted around looking for a way to recuse these men. He needed to get behind the two guards because if he didn't take them out first they will shoot and kill the pirates. Listening as the commander continue to talk about how great Olympus was, Perseus silently and cautiously moved to the other side. Once he was lined up, he smashed his two hand guns into the back of the soldiers' heads. They dropped to the ground with a thud. Screams pierced the air alerting the other guards.

"Get him!" the commander shouted, pointing to Perseus. "What are you waiting for? Kill him already!"

Smirking, Perseus pointed his guns at the other soldiers. However, there were too many civilians behind them for him to be comfortable shooting. Cursing, he put his guns away and pulled out his two swords. The first guard was easy to cut down. The crowed screamed louder and some started to flee the scene. The second guard was a little more challenging, but he too still fell to the bleeding from a deep gash in his side.

The once loud-mouthed commander stared at Perseus with wide, eyes filled with fright.

"Stay away from me, you devil man!" the commander shouted pushing people out of his way as he turned and ran.

"Coward," Perseus spat. Kneeling down, he cut off the wrist binding of the two pirates and untied their mouth gags. Now that he was closer, Perseus could see that these two men had to be related. They looked identical with the same red hair, up turned eyebrows, and freckles on their cheeks. The only differences was that one was slightly shorter of than the other.

"Thank you!" The taller one said, grasping Perseus arm. "We owe you our lives sir!"

"We will gladly sail with you, that is if you so wish for us?" The slightly shorter one said.

"Meet me by some crates by the docks at sundown," Perseus told them. "We will talk of you joining my crew then."

"Yes sir!" They smiled widely and ran off.

"That one! That's him!" the coward commander shouted, running up with a dozen more soldiers. "He interfered with our execution!"

Perseus cursed under his breath he turned and ran. Pushing his way through the crowed, he tried to lose the guards. Taking a left, then a right, over broken fences, and climbing over walls, Perseus ran though the town with the guards shouting after him. When he felt that the guards had lost him, he took shelter in a large over grown bush hidden behind a fence behind a random house. Through the fence line, he could see the guards running past his hiding place but Perseus refused to move until enough time had passed.

"What are you doing?" A woman's voice broke through the air. Perseus jumped slightly and turned around to see a blond haired woman staring down at him. Her grey eyes looked at him, unimpressed and annoyed.

"Shhhh," Perseus hissed, his eyes darting around. "I will give you coins for you to walk away and pretend you've never seen me."

"Don't think you can bribe me like the harlots in this town," the woman snapped. Her eyes narrowed in a glare. "Now get out of my bush or I will call the guards."

"No!" he shouted, eyes widening. He told his men not to cause trouble and yet here he was fleeing from every guard in the town.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "You are hiding from the guards, aren't you?"

Perseus didn't answer. She sighed and looked around. He could see that she was contemplating what to do next.

"Come. You can hide in my house," she said.

He blinked in surprised. "You would let a stranger, a man who is hiding from the guard, into your home?"

"Make one wrong move towards me and you will be dead before you hit the floor," she said and from the look in her eyes, he knew that she was right. "Now you can stay in the bushes, and have the guard find you, or you can join me inside. Your choice."

She walked back into her home and Perseus heisted for a moment before following her. It was a small but modest house. Along the furthest wall was a table with a chair covered in piles of books and papers along with a few other tools made for map making, along with some normal quills and inks bottles. On the left sidewall was a fire place with a pot hanging above the fireplace. In the middle of the room was a seating area with stairs and a chest to the right.

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to sit down?" The woman asked, walking over to the fire.

Taking a seat, he watched as she removed the pot and added some kind of spice to the mixture. She gave it a few stirs before putting it back over the fire. Now that he was out of the bushes, Perseus got a good look at this strange woman.

She had long blond, slightly curly hair. She was wearing tan pants, dark leather boots, a white shirt with sleeves that hung off her shoulders, and a dark leather vest that tied in the back. He had to admit, she was beautiful.

"So what's your name?" Perseus asked, breaking the silence.

"Annabeth Chase," she replied. "And yours?"

"Perseus Jackson. Thank you for letting me into your home. It's a nice place you got here."

"Don't think I don't know what you are Perseus Jackson. I know you are a pirate. I know what your kind does for a living. If any of my things go missing I will hunt you down myself," Annabeth warned, glaring at him.

He raised his hands in surrender. "Forgive me Miss Chase. I was not suggesting such a thing."

"Good. Now why was the guards after you?" She asked siting in the chair across from him.

"Do you really want to know?"

"I do."

"Two pirates, none of mine, where about to be executed. I stopped that from happening."

"Why would you do such a thing? They weren't your men."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand this Miss. Chase but as pirates we look after each other. We always have each other's backs, even if it is just to shoot them ourselves."

"Sounds messy."

"It can be."

Perseus found it surprisingly easy to talk to Annabeth. She was smart, witty, and there was something in her grey eyes that told him she knew more then she lets on. There was something about Annabeth that he just couldn't figure out and was determined to do so. But for now, he was enjoying his time sitting here simply talking and trading stories. As a pirate, having the chance to just sit and relax was next to impossible. Most of their time is filled with traveling, plundering, and any land time is spent drinking it away and having the company of nameless woman.

Looking out the window, he saw that the sun was starting to set.

"Looks like it is my time to go," he announced, standing up.

"Farewell for now Miss Chase. I look forward to the day our paths cross again." Perseus gives an exaggerated bow, smirking.

Annabeth rolls her eyes. "I hope it's for many years to come."

Returning back to his ship, Perseus found the two rescued pirates' right where he told them to be.

"What are your names?" He asked approaching them.

"Travis Stoll," the taller one said. "And this is my brother Connor."

"You two use to work for Leo Valdes did you not?" Perseus asked. "How did you get yourselves here without your captain?"

"About four weeks ago Captain Leo come here to Kingston. We thought it was just going to be a normal stop at a major city for supplies and rest," Travis explained. "After three weeks of staying here, he and the rest of the crew left suddenly one night. The captain told us and a few others to stay behind to keep an eye on those up in the mansion."

"He wouldn't tell us why; just that it was an important mission and that he would return in a month for our report," Connor added.

Perseus frowned. "And did you see anything worth reporting?"

"No sir," Travis frowned. "Anyone that was there left the day after Captain Leo did."

Perseus looked off at the Blackjack, in thought for a moment. "I can always use more men. Are you willing to join my crew on the Blackjack and have me as your Captain instead of Leo?"

"Yes sir!" The brothers shouted and smiled widely.

"Good. Let's get on the ship. I hope you two aren't tired. We have things we need to do tonight."