Off-Topic
Army AU--Chapter 1
A/N: Completely forgot about this. Hopefully going to develop this a bit more.
Army AU--Chapter 1
All Nico could hear, ringing in his head, was what Corporal Grace had said earlier, with his military haircut and his startling blue eyes.
“Look, this’ll be an easy job. We go in, we shoot, we kill, we get out. Simple.”
Looking back on it, Nico should have considered that an omen.
6 Days Earlier
“Wind?” Nico asked, keeping his voice low. They were hiding out in the forest of Montauk, New York, a place that Percy knew well. But Nico drove those thoughts out of his head. He was a Specialist now in the New Demigod Army. The NDA Corps was formed after the war with Gaea in an effort to help quell international conflicts brewing in the immortal world.
“Some coming off the lake, I’d say nine, from right to left,” responded Specialist Zhang. Though not his best friend, Nico knew Frank was the best person for this job. Especially because they both objected to its immorality and overall uselessness.
But they were grunts now. They didn’t have a say in anything. That was something that had been pounded into their brains from day one in the Corps, which was quite frankly a load of manticore dung, for all the work they had put in. That’s why they all coincidentally got assigned to a new fire team with expendable assets and lots of money. Finally, they could do whatever they wanted to.
Nico adjusted the scope according to their dialect of numbers and phrases that Frank and he had forged through hours on the scope. They didn’t use measurements; they could just feel the adjustment.
“Elevation?” Nico asked, his voice still low. They were in a wooded part just outside the Lake Montauk Yacht Club, on a peninsula that stuck out into the lake on the outermost tip of Long Island.
“He’s in the top part of the lighthouse, so you’re going to need to adjust for its height, which would be a hundred and eleven feet. After that, there’s not much elevation difference. We are on an island.”
Frank shifted uncomfortably, getting himself acquainted. Nico hid a friendly smile; he knew, even though Frank had gone through his transformation a while ago, that the big guy was still uncomfortable, wanting to change form. But the higher-ups didn’t like his powers, so they kept him on a tight leash. Frank hated leashes.
“Set,” Nico whispered.
“Now let me check the top,” Frank said while concentrating harder. “Okay, our guy is there, on schedule.”
“Radio Grace and Valdez,” Nico ordered, “and please, dear Gods, let me have this kill. I swear if this is another non-clearance bull--”
“Nico,” Frank warned, “Calm yourself. I know, seventeen times without authorization is boring. But I have a good feeling about this one.”
Nico was practically looking for kills now. He had been denied authorization to shoot by the prick who now commanded them, a guy named Otto. Nico thought that sounded too close to Octavian for his taste.
“Jason? Leo? Come in, this is Frank. I need a sit rep.”
Jason responded first by saying, “Zhang, we’re not supposed to use our first names—”
Jason’s response was cut short by Specialist Valdez saying quite loudly, “Aw, shut up, Jason! You’re so uptight you could stick charcoal up your ass and in a week you have a diamond for Piper.”
Audible silence filled the radio static, until Staff Sergeant Chase said,
“Not funny, Leo. But you’re right, this is our own unit, and as long as I’m ranking officer, I honestly don’t care about the stupid etiquette they have.”
“Alright guys,” Frank complained, “enough with the legal proceedings on proper titles, I need a sit rep. Jason, are you, Percy and Will in position?”
Nico’s heart skipped four beats. He had forgotten that Will was on this little jaunt into the New York moonlight. He quickly prayed to Apollo and Hades for his safety, even though he was the medic.
“Yeah, we’re set,” replied Jason.
“Leo?” Frank asked, “how’s it coming, dude?”
Nico knew nothing would be wrong. Even at the tough, douchey NDA Corps training facility, Leo was teaching the Sappers on Combat Engineering and explosives. He was the man for the job. Nico and Frank both knew that. But they would never tell him that.
“Explosives set,” Leo replied. “Just give me the go.”
Frank looked over to Nico, and Nico knew it was his queue to pray. He always did before getting the clearance to shoot, even though it hadn’t been given the last seventeen times.
“Just three miles,” he muttered to himself. “Longest kill shot ever, no big deal.”
He said a quick incantation to Apollo and Artemis, and gave Frank a nod. Frank radioed Leo, but Nico couldn’t hear anything. He was concentrating so hard for two special words that he refused to acknowledge any others. He checked and rechecked his adjustments on his special Celestial Bronze sniper rifle, and waited.
For the first time ever, he heard Frank say them.
“Authorization given.”
Nico exhaled a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. A breath that he had been holding in since their first trip, where they had been denied. Frank radioed Leo again, and a small set of explosives went off near the lighthouse, causing its occupant to run over and search for the culprit of the explosion.
Nico steadied himself, and breathed out three times. When he couldn’t hold it any longer, he took a huge breath in, big enough to let him hear his own heartbeats.
Ba-bum.
Ba-bum.
He steadied. And fired.
Ba-bum.
The bullet traveled almost 16,000 feet, its special propellant, Greek Fire, not losing as much energy as gunpowder. The bullet went through the head of Dr. Jack Ellis. Ellis was dead before his body slumped to the floor. A perfect kill shot from three miles.
Ba-bum.
Nico breathed out, surprisingly calm for his first modern kill. But he had done it so many times with a sword that it just felt natural to him. After all, he was a son of Hades. Nico thought about why he objected to the mission, along with Frank. It was to kill an American, a mortal.
But that mortal was known to hang out with some nasty people, and was found guilty of attempting to sell them the most dangerous weapon to demigods ever created. A weapon designed to target DNA chromosomes, a weapon that could take away a demigod’s godly powers forever. It was about to be aerosolized and spread global, so Nico could understand why the NDA would sent them out on that mission, but he still didn’t like killing mortals.
“Well done,” Frank said, “now let’s bug out before his guards show up.”
Army AU--Chapter 1
All Nico could hear, ringing in his head, was what Corporal Grace had said earlier, with his military haircut and his startling blue eyes.
“Look, this’ll be an easy job. We go in, we shoot, we kill, we get out. Simple.”
Looking back on it, Nico should have considered that an omen.
6 Days Earlier
“Wind?” Nico asked, keeping his voice low. They were hiding out in the forest of Montauk, New York, a place that Percy knew well. But Nico drove those thoughts out of his head. He was a Specialist now in the New Demigod Army. The NDA Corps was formed after the war with Gaea in an effort to help quell international conflicts brewing in the immortal world.
“Some coming off the lake, I’d say nine, from right to left,” responded Specialist Zhang. Though not his best friend, Nico knew Frank was the best person for this job. Especially because they both objected to its immorality and overall uselessness.
But they were grunts now. They didn’t have a say in anything. That was something that had been pounded into their brains from day one in the Corps, which was quite frankly a load of manticore dung, for all the work they had put in. That’s why they all coincidentally got assigned to a new fire team with expendable assets and lots of money. Finally, they could do whatever they wanted to.
Nico adjusted the scope according to their dialect of numbers and phrases that Frank and he had forged through hours on the scope. They didn’t use measurements; they could just feel the adjustment.
“Elevation?” Nico asked, his voice still low. They were in a wooded part just outside the Lake Montauk Yacht Club, on a peninsula that stuck out into the lake on the outermost tip of Long Island.
“He’s in the top part of the lighthouse, so you’re going to need to adjust for its height, which would be a hundred and eleven feet. After that, there’s not much elevation difference. We are on an island.”
Frank shifted uncomfortably, getting himself acquainted. Nico hid a friendly smile; he knew, even though Frank had gone through his transformation a while ago, that the big guy was still uncomfortable, wanting to change form. But the higher-ups didn’t like his powers, so they kept him on a tight leash. Frank hated leashes.
“Set,” Nico whispered.
“Now let me check the top,” Frank said while concentrating harder. “Okay, our guy is there, on schedule.”
“Radio Grace and Valdez,” Nico ordered, “and please, dear Gods, let me have this kill. I swear if this is another non-clearance bull--”
“Nico,” Frank warned, “Calm yourself. I know, seventeen times without authorization is boring. But I have a good feeling about this one.”
Nico was practically looking for kills now. He had been denied authorization to shoot by the prick who now commanded them, a guy named Otto. Nico thought that sounded too close to Octavian for his taste.
“Jason? Leo? Come in, this is Frank. I need a sit rep.”
Jason responded first by saying, “Zhang, we’re not supposed to use our first names—”
Jason’s response was cut short by Specialist Valdez saying quite loudly, “Aw, shut up, Jason! You’re so uptight you could stick charcoal up your ass and in a week you have a diamond for Piper.”
Audible silence filled the radio static, until Staff Sergeant Chase said,
“Not funny, Leo. But you’re right, this is our own unit, and as long as I’m ranking officer, I honestly don’t care about the stupid etiquette they have.”
“Alright guys,” Frank complained, “enough with the legal proceedings on proper titles, I need a sit rep. Jason, are you, Percy and Will in position?”
Nico’s heart skipped four beats. He had forgotten that Will was on this little jaunt into the New York moonlight. He quickly prayed to Apollo and Hades for his safety, even though he was the medic.
“Yeah, we’re set,” replied Jason.
“Leo?” Frank asked, “how’s it coming, dude?”
Nico knew nothing would be wrong. Even at the tough, douchey NDA Corps training facility, Leo was teaching the Sappers on Combat Engineering and explosives. He was the man for the job. Nico and Frank both knew that. But they would never tell him that.
“Explosives set,” Leo replied. “Just give me the go.”
Frank looked over to Nico, and Nico knew it was his queue to pray. He always did before getting the clearance to shoot, even though it hadn’t been given the last seventeen times.
“Just three miles,” he muttered to himself. “Longest kill shot ever, no big deal.”
He said a quick incantation to Apollo and Artemis, and gave Frank a nod. Frank radioed Leo, but Nico couldn’t hear anything. He was concentrating so hard for two special words that he refused to acknowledge any others. He checked and rechecked his adjustments on his special Celestial Bronze sniper rifle, and waited.
For the first time ever, he heard Frank say them.
“Authorization given.”
Nico exhaled a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. A breath that he had been holding in since their first trip, where they had been denied. Frank radioed Leo again, and a small set of explosives went off near the lighthouse, causing its occupant to run over and search for the culprit of the explosion.
Nico steadied himself, and breathed out three times. When he couldn’t hold it any longer, he took a huge breath in, big enough to let him hear his own heartbeats.
Ba-bum.
Ba-bum.
He steadied. And fired.
Ba-bum.
The bullet traveled almost 16,000 feet, its special propellant, Greek Fire, not losing as much energy as gunpowder. The bullet went through the head of Dr. Jack Ellis. Ellis was dead before his body slumped to the floor. A perfect kill shot from three miles.
Ba-bum.
Nico breathed out, surprisingly calm for his first modern kill. But he had done it so many times with a sword that it just felt natural to him. After all, he was a son of Hades. Nico thought about why he objected to the mission, along with Frank. It was to kill an American, a mortal.
But that mortal was known to hang out with some nasty people, and was found guilty of attempting to sell them the most dangerous weapon to demigods ever created. A weapon designed to target DNA chromosomes, a weapon that could take away a demigod’s godly powers forever. It was about to be aerosolized and spread global, so Nico could understand why the NDA would sent them out on that mission, but he still didn’t like killing mortals.
“Well done,” Frank said, “now let’s bug out before his guards show up.”
Notes
I'm not supposed to be on this site until the 19th...call me Fred.
Enjoy.
Okay, "Fred"...
1/4/15