A Moment of Stars || PJO Chaos [REWRITE]

Percy Technically Doesn't Work Here (But He's Playing The Part)

The alarms blared while he was in the shower.

Percy nearly jumps out of his skin from the sound, looking around the bathroom for any form of danger. Obviously there wasn't, but from his experience it never hurts to check.

This was the alarm that Saros warned him about—the one where officers need to immediately report to their posts in preparation for an issue at hand.

"If it comes down to it at any point." Saros said at the cafeteria one day. "Throw on your uniform and go to the Briefing room."

And that's what he did; after drying off he dressed himself in the standard black uniform and holsters he wore the first day of becoming a stand-in officer. The only difference now is he slides on a silver band around his right upper arm to represent his ranking in Sector Zero. He reaches for the door handle to leave his dormitory but hesitates.

It's been a day since the...discussion he had with Elara in the communal kitchen. He hasn't seen her since then, and it'd be a lie if he were to say he's not anxious(and maybe even a little concerned) about seeing her again. 

Not only that, but his dream still hangs heavy in his mind. He hasn't spoken to anybody about it, and isn't sure if he's in a space where he'd be able to. What would he tell Chaos? 'Hey, hope you're doing well! By the way, I had a dream of the inverted version of you killing me and calling for the erasure of the universe. Anyways, did you hear what happened in the mess hall the other day?'

He clicks his tongue at the thought. What if Chaos actually has another side to him that the others don't know about? It's not like he could put up a fight in the entirety of the IMA while he's sick with a seemingly incurable illness and no escape route off the planet. But still, Anti-Chaos' words still ring in his head.

"I will get my perfection soon."

He shudders. He wasn't sure how 'soon' he was referencing, but now wasn't the time to think about all of this. He pushes the door open and starts through the busy corridors of the building. 

Finding the Map Room is a lot easier said than done. Truth be told, he's never actually been to the room, nor has he thought to ask where it was. Officers move through the halls in frenzied paths while calling codes and assignments over the still blaring alarm. Percy tries to ask for directions, but with the majority of IMA despising his presence, that was like asking for a Hellhound to represent you in court.

Now on his final straw, he spins on his heel to start in the other direction. He barely takes a breath before bumping into a tall figure and tumbling to the ground. Officers continue to march past them as though they did not exist.

He tilts his head up and fixes his mouth to start cursing the Origins themselves, but pauses at the sight of the person that he collided with. An unfamiliar man stares down at him.

A pattern of black and white eyelashes frame his narrow gaze, which immediately draws attention to his face. Along his neck are red-glowing tattoos in the pattern of a circuit board, and Percy notices how it continues to the collar of his uniform to the knuckles of his left hand.

"Woah." Percy says under his breath. This guy looked cool. 

The man leans down and reaches his hand out—his expression changes from surprise to apologetic. "Are you alright?" Percy just nods and takes his hand. Once they're both standing and facing each other eye-to-eye(or at least as much as it can be since this guy is a few inches taller than Percy), the man introduces himself. "Rigel, and you are...?" No way.

Saros' husband looks at him expectantly. He remembers he needs to respond. "Percy."

His eyes brighten from recognition. "So you're the one Saros has been watching over! Pleasure to meet you, I'm his partner." Percy remembers Saros mentioning Rigel many times in their sparring practices. "Are you heading to the debrief?" Rigel asks. "All of Sector Zero should report to the main map room."