Percy gulped as he adjusted his collar and made sure his rank pip was appropriately positioned.

He was nervous, really nervous. Being summoned by an admiral was rarely good news, usually meaning you had messed up in some major way that required action by higher authorities.

Percy quickly ran through all of the things he had done lately looking for anything he had done wrong, only to find nothing. He followed every rule and protocol to the letter. He arrived early and stayed for every assignment.

He was perfect. Almost

While true he followed the rules, he did so in a way that violated their spirit. He got away with things that one would expect would get him thrown out only because he was able to justify them with the rules. He was worried someone had finally caught on to what he was doing and was going to punish him for it.

Deciding he'd been standing in front of the Admiral's door long enough, Percy brought his hand up and knocked three times, before returning it to his side.

"Come in." Said the muffled voice of Admiral Freeman.

Taking a deep breath, Percy opened the door, walked to the center of the room, and saluted the man behind the desk.

"Cadet Jackson reporting as ordered." He said stiffly, his body rigid.

"At ease cadet. Take a seat."

Percy cut his salute and sat in the chair in front of him, never letting his shoulders relax.

Admiral Freeman was a man of large stature that commanded the respect of everyone around him. He had dark skin and graying hair that complimented his well-groomed beard. He was generally serious, but if other cadets were to be believed, he had a good sense of humor outside of work.

"Do you know why I called you here Percy?" Freeman asked the statuesque cadet.

"No sir." Percy replied respectfully.

Freeman sighed and massaged his forehead.

"Percy I have known you for years, you're practically family at this point. No one else is here, so please call me Alonzo."

Percy's posture immediately loosened, his whole demeanor becoming relaxed and casual.

"So I'm guessing I'm not in trouble then." Percy said with a chuckle.

Freeman shook his head and smiled.

"No Percy you're not in trouble, the opposite in fact." Freeman replied, his posture relaxing as well.

"Then what I'm I here for?"

Alonzo's smile became mischievous.

"You've been promoted. You'll be stationed on a ship within the next week."

Percy's expression shifted to one of shock.

"W-what? Are you sure? Aren't there more qualified cadets? Don't I need another year?" Percy asked rapid-fire, trying and failing to comprehend the news he'd been given.

Alonzo looked at him incredulously.

"Percy you are one of the best cadets Starfleet has ever seen." Alonzo tapped a few buttons on his desk causing several projections of cadet records to appear. "Top of your class in everything from civilian interaction to phazer use. You show an understanding and respect for the rules but you aren't limited by them and think outside the box. Frankly, the only thing you have working against you is your age, but you're a special case. It would be doing Starfleet a disservice to keep you trapped at the academy when you're ready now."

Percy sat quietly trying to formulate a response. After a moment or so he spoke up.

"Alright, but I don't want any special treatment just because I know you personally, ok? I will start as an ensign and work up to command." Percy said firmly, his eyes shining with conviction.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Alonzo replies with a soft smile. "Now for the discussion of what ship you'll serve on. I have taken the liberty of assigning you to the USS Cerritos. On Friday you will meet with the captain and begin your service."

Percy nodded in understanding.

"Got it. May I ask who the captain is? I'd like to do some research to make a good impression."

"Yes you may ask, but I won't tell you. It's more fun for me this way." Alonzo said happily.

"Of course." Percy grumbled. "Is there anything else you need from me or am I good to start preparing for transfer."

"One more thing." Alonzo's expression switched to one of a concerned father. "How are you holding up?"

Percy sighed and slumped in his chair.

"I'm doing alright, some days are better than others. I still find myself feeling out of place sometimes, like I'm an outsider looking in." Percy buried his face in his hands. "I know I've been here almost eight years, but I still forget that things are different than I remember. Yesterday I forgot we weren't at odds with Russia anymore and accidentally insulted someone from there."

Alonzo looked at him sympathetically.

"Have you visited them recently?"

"I stopped by last week, couldn't get much time off so it was short, it was still nice though."

Percy replied quietly, his eyes locked and on the ground and misty.

The two sat in silence, neither knowing what to say. Eventually, Percy stood up and clapped his hands together.

"Well I'd better get going, my uniforms aren't going to pack themselves."

"Understood, have a good evening cadet."

Percy saluted Alonzo one more time and made his way to the door. Before he left he looked over his shoulder.

"Thank you for everything. I mean it."

Alonzo smiled.

"I know Percy."

Out things to say Percy nodded and left.

Carol was tired.

It had been a week since she and her crew had their encounter with the Pakled and she was still dealing with the aftermath. The number of forms and reports she had to fill out alone gave her a headache and that didn't even account for everything else she had to do. She barely had any time to recover between tasks leaving her unbalanced.

What was causing her to most stress at the moment, however, was the cryptic message she had received from her husband earlier in the day. All it told her was she was getting a new crew member and that it would be in her best interests to meet with them personally. When she asked for further information, he simply responded with a 'no' and a smug smile.

Asshole.

In her time as a captain, she only ever met with recruits if they were filling vital positions or if they were cocky ensigns that need to be knocked down a peg. Her personal favorite was the latter. In both cases, she would have been informed before meeting them, yet here she was with no explanation as to why she needed to meet them.

Carol sat at her desk going through the day's reports on the progress of the repairs, but she wasn't really paying attention. She had been informed that the recruit had just boarded the ship and was on their way to meet with her.

Sighing, Carol dismissed the reports, unable to focus on them, and instead tried figuring out who she was supposed to meet. She knew it wasn't someone of major importance as her husband would never be so mischievous if it was. She knew it was someone that would impact her in a personal way, otherwise, there would be no reason for her to meet with them personally.

Before she could think any further, Carol was broken from her thought by the sound of someone knocking. Sitting up straight and preparing mentally for the coming conversation.

"Enter." Carol said loudly enough for the person to hear.

Whoever it was, she was ready t-

The door slid open to reveal the last person she expected to see in her office.

"Percy?" She asked pointlessly

"Captain Freeman?" The tall ensign replied surprised.

"Oh my goodness it is you!"

Carol abandoned all decorum and walked over to Percy and pulled him into a tight hug. Percy still shocked reciprocated the hug hesitantly after a moment.

"Come sit, I haven't seen you in two years. You must have a lot to tell me." Carol said happily, all worry she previously had gone from her mind.

Percy laughed lightly and followed Carol to her desk to take a seat.

"Not really. I've just been attending the academy, getting ready to serve on a ship." Percy said with a shrug.

"Just attending? I feel like I hear about you every week from gushing instructors and how you're the 'best cadet to ever grace the halls of Star Fleet Academy." Carol shot back with a raised eyebrow.

Percy blushed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I wish they'd stop saying that, I'm just doing my best." He replied bashfully.

Carol shook her head with a chuckle.

"Whatever you're doing, it works. Moving on, I'm happy to have you aboard my ship, I'm sure you will prove to be a valuable asset to the crew."

Percy sat up straight.

"I won't let you down, thank you for your faith." Percy said stiffly.

"I know you won't, now I should have someone show you around the ship, but I think we can wait for a little to catch up." Carol said with a smile.

"Good, 'cause I have some great stories." Percy responded with a smile of his own.

"Fire away minute man."

"It's over Captain Mariner! Surrender now and you might be spared." A Romulan Captain shouted over the comm link.

"I will never surrender to the likes of you!" Beckett said in response. "Rutherford, prepare to warp. Tendi, I need an opening."

"Got it!" The pair exclaimed in unison.

"What should I do Captain?"

Beckett looked over to see the disheveled form of Boimler.

"Damnit, Ensign! Why are you on the bridge? You belong in waste management like the trash you are!" Beckett responded savagely.

Tendi let out a sigh before yelling out into the room.

"Computer pause program."

"Hey, what gives? Things were just getting good!" Beckett protested loudly.

"Mariner I know you're still bitter the Boimler left, but this isn't healthy." Tendi gestured to the frozen form of Boimler's projection. " He was our friend too, we understand you being upset, but he was given the promotion he always wanted, we should be happy for him."

Beckett crossed her arms and looked away from her green friend.

She didn't want to be made at Boimler, she just couldn't help it. He was her best friend, the person she trusted more than anyone else on the ship. Even after he'd shared her secret she still cared about him.

"He left us, he didn't even say goodbye."

"I know, but you can't just keep making him your punching bag whenever we try to have fun in the holodeck." Tendi replied calmly.

Beckett huffed and threw her head back.

"Fine, computer remove 'little shit traitor' from program."

The image of Boimler vanished from the simulated deck.

"Now, let's get bac-"

"Ensign Mariner report to the Captain's Office immediately." The intercom projected, cutting Beckett off.

"Uuuggghhh. We'll finish this later."

Beckett stood up from her chair and left the holodeck, leaving Tendi and Rutherford to nerd out over couplings.

The walk to the Captain's Office was one Beckett was very familiar with. She knew every turn and could make it with her eyes closed. It was a testament to how often she got in trouble, and how often she got away with it too. She knew one day her mother would get fed up and just kick her out, but hopefully, today was not that day.

While walking Beckett considered the new development between her and her mother. After the Pakled attack, they agreed to work with each other rather than against each other, and already Beckett was dreading it. While nothing had happened yet, she knew it wouldn't be great.

Coming to the door of the Captain's office, Beckett prepared to enter when she heard something from inside the room. Leaning in closer she recognized the sound of laughter, specifically her mother's laughter.

This confused her.

Her mother very rarely laughed, especially not while on duty. With some hesitation, Beckett opened the door only to see her mother talking jovially with a man around her age.

He was tall with tanned skin and broad shoulders. His hair was messy in a way that Beckett hated to admit she found attractive. The thing that stood out to her the most was the way he held himself with a sort of lazy confidence like he knew he was the best but didn't feel the need to say it.

It pissed Beckett off.

"Mariner, glad you made. Take a seat. " Carol said happily when she finally noticed her daughter's presence.

Beckett pulled out a chair and sat down next to the unnamed stranger. Her mother's unusual behavior had her on edge.

'Why'd you call me here? I was in the middle of an awesome holodeck program." Beckett asked casually.

'I called you here because I wanted you to show our newest recruit around the ship." Carol gestured to the man. "Ensign, introduce yourself."

"Yes ma'am." The man replied with a lazy salute. "Hello my name is Ensign Percy Jackson, I recently graduated from the academy and am looking forward to serving aboard this ship."

Beckett was getting more confused by the minute. The man acted in a completely inappropriate way and her mother not only ignored it or even endorsed it based on her smile. Secondly, he looked too old to just have graduated from the Academy.

"Ensign Beckett Mariner." She said plainly, sticking her hand out for Percy to shake.

"It's nice to finally put a face to the name. You were quite famous around the Academy." Percy responded happily as he reached over and shook the offered hand.

Beckett noticed his hand was calloused, far too calloused for someone fresh out of school. She also noticed that his hand was pleasantly warm.

"Now that introductions are in order, Percy please step out of the room for a moment, I need to have a word with Mariner." Carol said suddenly.

"Don't worry, she'll be out shortly." She added when she saw the look of concern on Percy's face.

"Yes ma'am." Percy saluted properly this time before leaving the room.

"What is it?" Carol asked as soon as Percy was out of the room.

"What is his deal? Why does he seem so lax? Why aren't you reprimanding him? Why is he graduating from the Academy so late?" Beckett asked rapidly.

Carol sighed deeply and turned to look out the window in her office.

"Do you remember about eight years ago when your father and I started going on several business trips a month?"

"Yeah, it kinda sucked. What does that have to do with anything?" Beckett replied confusedly.

"Percy appeared in the middle of New York right in front of us without any warning. He was covered in blood and clutching a sword." Carol said gravely. " When we tried to approach him, he tried to use his sword to attack us only for the blade to pass right through us. At that point, he immediately calmed down."

Beckett's face was one of shock. She clearly remembered a day when her parents gave home from a conference looking visibly shaken. It confused her at the time, but now that she had the context she was even more confused.

"We guided him to the nearest federation building so we could try and find his parents, but when we searched the database for him or his family, we came up empty-handed." Carol turned to look at her daughter. " According to a database made up of information from over one hundred and fifty planets, this boy did not exist."

"Maybe he's from a plant outside the federation?" Beckett countered, not liking the story unfolding before her.

Carol shook her head.

"Except for the fact that Percy claimed to be born and raised in New York and that he had the knowledge to back it up."

Beckett opened her mouth to say something, yet nothing came out. She had no possible explanation to give.

"After that, we left him in the care of the Federation, and since we were the ones to find him, we felt responsible for him."

A look of understanding came across Beckett's face before shifting to anger.

"So you ditched me to go raise some random kid you found on the street!" Beckett jumped to her feet and pointed an accusing finger at her mother. "I was left alone because you felt bad for him?"

Beckett walked around the room and continued ranting aloud.

Carol remained calm and waited for Beckett to cool off slightly. Once her daughter lost some steam she continued speaking.

"Beckett Percy is considered a Class 10 anomaly."

Beckett's head snapped toward her mother.

"Wha!?" She exclaimed.

Carol sighed, stood up from her chair, and walked over to Beckett.

"According to the doctors he's missing about sixty percent of his DNA and he knows things he shouldn't, the rest we know about him is classified."

"What do you by 'missing'? Like you can't identify it?"

"No, missing. There are visible gaps in his DNA strands, yet he still functions at peak performance, about peak performance."

Beckett buried her face in her hands and took a deep breath.

"What is the point of telling me this? You could have had any Ensign show him around the ship, why me?"

Carol looked back at her window where she could see the mechanics working on the ship. After a moment of silence, she turned back to Beckett and gently grabbed her hands.

"I want you to look out for him. I know he doesn't need it, but I still worry. As unprofessional as it is, I care about him. I ask this of you not as a captain but as a mother."

Beckett looked down at her hands. She didn't know how to feel about her mother's request.

On the one hand, it was a side of her mother that she didn't see often, one that was vulnerable and full of compassion. It made her feel like there was more to her mother than she previously thought. On the other hand, however, the request caused a pit to form in her stomach. This was a level of care her mom rarely showed her, and yet here she was worried about a man Beckett had never met. It made her feel resentful, not toward Percy he had done nothing wrong, but toward her mother.

Beckett let her mixed emotions war inside her for a minute before she relented to the pleading look Carol was giving her.

"Fine, I'll keep an eye on him, but don't expect me to like him." She said finally.

Carol smiled gently.

"Thank you." Carol said softly before letting go of Beckett's hands. "I've kept you long enough, go give Percy a tour of the ship."

Beckett nodded and walked toward the door.

Time to interact with the newbie.

"To your left, you'll see the holodeck. We use it mostly for training, fitness, and other things." Beckett said happily to Percy who was following next her.

The tour was turning out to be far more enjoyable than Beckett was expecting. Percy seemd to share her sarcastic sense of humor and she found herself laughing at his jokes, even if some of them were lame.

"Do those 'other things' happen to be sex?" Percy asked dryly, eyeing the door with slight disgust.

"Yes, pray you don't get assigned to empty the bio-material receptacle." Beckett replied with a chuckle. "You'd also be surprised by how many people just use the room as a toilet."

"Gross, one question though. Can the room simulate a working kitchen?"

Beckett gave her companion a weird look.

"I guess, but you can just get food from the replicators, there's no need to cook."

"I know, I just don't really like using them. I prefer making my own meals." Percy said with a smile. "It just tastes better when you make it yourself."

"You still have to replicate the ingredients don't you? You're still using the replicator so why not just have it make your entire meal?" Beckett asked with a smile of her own, happy she found something to tease the new recruit about.

"Shut up." Percy grumbled as he pointed a glare at Beckett, only to cause her to laugh.

"What other dorky things do you do? Do you onl-"

"Ensign Mariner, what are you doing away from you post?" A stong masaculine voice said, cutting Beckett off.

Beckett groaned. She recognized the voice, it belong to her least favorite person on the ship. Commander Ransom. The man had always been a thorne in her side, but after the Pakled attack and her agreement with her mother, he had become insufferable.

"I'm doing my job, Jack, I was to-"

"Ensign Mariner graciously volunteered to show me around the ship sir and I know for a fact she has already completed he daily tasks." Percy said suddenly, once more interrupting Beckett.

Ransom looked surprised.

"Is that so? Well continue what you're doing, thank you for clearing this up Ensign…." Ransom looked at Percy expectantly.

"Ensign Jackson. Today is my first day, and may I say your chest and arm are very impressive." Percy said with a plastic smile.

Beckett stared at Percy incredoulsy.

"Thank you Ensign, it took me a long time to get them this big." Random said smugly while he flexed, completely missing the insincerity of Percy's comments.

"I can tell, how much can you bench? One hundred? Two hundred?" Percy asked, his expression becoming inquisitive.

Beckett watched in awe. She'd never seen someone shift a conversation so dramatically.

"Try three hundred." Ransom stopped stopped flexing and looked at Percy. "What did you say your name was again Ensign?"

"Percy Jackson, sir." Percy replied with a victorious smile.

"You should join me in the gym sometime Percy, it'd be nice to workout with someone who clearly appreciates fitness as much as I do." Ransom offered, pointing at Percy's fit form.

"It would be an honor sir."

"Good man, enjoy the rest of your tour." Ransom said before walking away.

After she was sure he was out of earshot Beckett spun around to face Percy.

"What the hell was that?" She exclaimed.

She'd seen manipulation before, she'd manipulated people before, but what she just witnessed was scary.

"What do you mean?" Percy innocently, tilting his head to the side making him looked like a confused puppy.

"You played him like a damn fiddle! How did you know what to say, you just met him!" Beckett yelled as she threw her arm into the air.

Percy laughed and shook his head.

"I catered to his ego. He very obviously cares about his rank with how his shirt looks like its pressed and how his hair is styled. On top of that he clearly wants people to comment on his physique, his shirt is aboot one size to smals so he can show off his muscles."

"Impressive analysis." Beckett said trying to hise how impressed she truly was. "But why go through that trouble, he's a dick."

"He may be a dick, but he's still a commander. Thanks to out conversation I now know someone on the bridge and we're on a first name basis." Percy replied smugly.

Beckett didn't know to say. In two hours this new recruit had done more to advance his career in two hours than Boimler had managed to do in two years, and he did it without looking like a loser. Images of the two kicking ass on missions flashed across her mind.

A large smile made its way on to Beckett's face.

"I think we're going to be great friends."

Percy laid awake staring at the ceiling of his bunk.

The space was narrow and a bit short, but it was comfortable enough. He got lucky and was assigned the bed under Beckett so he wasn't surrounded by stangers and had atleast one person he knew.

Percy closed his eyes to refelct on his day.

The reveal that his Cpatain was the woman who helped him years ago was a pleasant surprise that helped reduce the anxiety that came with being somewhere new. He was able to make a connection with someone of high rank and had a 'gym buddy'.

It was a good day overall, the best part, however, was meeting Beckett.

She had a personality that immediately endeared him to her. The way she held herself spoke of confidence and experience, the things that Percy looked for in people. She was easy going and had a fun personality.

Having done enough think for the night, Percy made an earnest attempt to fall asleep, only to feel something shift in the air around him.

"Beckett, I know that's you." He said quietly, not wanting to wake anyone else up.

"How did you know? I'm like super stealthy!" Beckett whisper-shouted as she pulled her arm back.

In the darkness Percy could vaguely make out the form of Beckett hanging over the edge of her bunk.

"I have my ways, now what do you need?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to try and surprise you, scare you a little bit." Beckett replied with a pout.

"I doubt you'll be able to surprise me. I'm like super aware." Percy said teasingly.

"Just you wait, I'm going to surprise you when you least expect it!"

Percy smiled and shook his head.

"I look forward to it, now stop bothering me. Im tired."

"Fine, good night dork." Beckett whispered before going silent.

Percy was going to love working on the Cerritos.