The Mark of Athena.
Until she met the exploding statue, Annabeth thought she was prepared for anything.
She paced the deck of the Argo II, checking and double checking the ballistae to make sure they were locked down.
She confirmed the white flag was flying from the mast.
She reviewed the plan with the rest of the crew and the backup plan and the backup plan for the backup plan.
Most importantly, she pulled aside their war-crazed chaperone, Gleeson Hedge and encouraged him to take the morning off in his cabin watching reruns of mixed martial arts championships.
The last thing they needed flying a magical Greek Trireme into a potentially hostile Roman Camp was a middle-aged Satyr in gym clothes waving a club and yelling, "DIE! "
Everything seemed to be in order; even that mysterious chill that she'd been feeling since the ship launched seemed to have dissipated for now.
The warship descended from the clouds, but Annabeth couldn't stop second guessing herself. What if this was a bad idea? What if the Romans panicked, and attacked on sight?
The Argo II definitely did not look friendly.
Two hundred feet long with a bronze-plated hull, flaming metal dragon for a masthead, mounted repeating crossbows fore and aft, and two rotating ballistae mid-ship that could fire explosive bolts powerful enough to blast through concrete.
Well, it wasn't the most appropriate ride for a meet and greet with the neighbors.
Annabeth had tried to give the Romans a heads up. She asked Leo to send one of his special inventions, a holographic scroll, to alert their friends inside the camp.
Hopefully the message had gotten through.
Leo had wanted to paint a giant message on the bottom of the hull: "Waz - up!" with a smiley face, but Annabeth had vetoed the idea. She wasn't sure the Romans had a sense of humor.
Too late to turn back now.
The clouds broke around the hull, revealing the gold and green carpet of the Oakland Hills below them.
Annabeth gripped one of the bronze shields that lined the side of the starboard railing. Her three crewmates took their places.
On the stern quarterdeck Leo rushed around like a madman, checking his gauges and wrestling with levers.
Most townsmen would have been satisfied with a pilot's wheel, or a rudder. Leo had installed a keyboard, a monitor, aviation controls from a Learjet, a dub step soundboard and motion control sensors from a Nintendo Wii.
He could turn the ship by pulling the throttle, fire weapons by sampling an album, or, he could raise the sails by shaking his Wii controllers really fast.
Even by demigod standards, Leo was seriously ADHD.
Piper paced back and forth between the main masts and the ballistae practicing her lines.
"Lower your weapons," She murmured, "We just want to talk."
Her charmspeak was so powerful the words flowed over Annabeth, filling her with the desire to drop her dagger and have a nice, long chat.
For a child of Aphrodite, Piper tried really hard to play down her beauty. Today she was wearing tattered jeans, torn sneakers and a white tank top with pink hello kitty designs.
Maybe a joke, though Annabeth could never be sure with Piper.
Her choppy brown hair was pleated down one side with an eagle's feather, and then, there was Piper's boyfriend, Jason.
He stood at the bow, on a raised crossbow platform, where the Romans could easily spot him. His knuckles were white on the hilt of his sword. Otherwise, he looked calm for a guy who was making himself a target.
Over his jeans and his orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, he donned a toga, and a purple cloak, the symbols of his old rank as Praetor.
With his wind-ruffled blond hair and his icy blue eyes, he looked ruggedly handsome and in control, just like a son of Jupiter should.
He'd grown up at Camp Jupiter, so hopefully his familiar face would make the Romans hesitate to blow them out of the sky.
Annabeth tried to hide it, but she didn't completely trust that guy. He acted… too perfect. Always following the rules, always doing the honourable thing. He even looked too perfect.
In the back of her mind, she had this snagging thought. What if this was a trick and he betrays us? What if we sail into Camp Jupiter and he says, "Hey Romans, check out these prisoners and this cool ship I brought you!"
Annabeth didn't think that would happen, still, she couldn't look at him without getting a bitter taste in her mouth.
He'd been part of Hera's forced exchange program between the two camps. Without warning, Hera had plucked up Percy Jackson, Annabeth's boyfriend, wiped his memory and sent him to the Roman camp. In exchange, the Greeks got Jason.
That wasn't Jason's fault, but every time Annabeth saw him, she remembered how much she missed Percy. Percy, who might be below them right now. Oh gods, panic welled up inside her, she forced it down. She couldn't afford to get overwhelmed now.
'I'm a child of Athena,' She told herself, 'I have to stick to my plan, and not get distracted.'
And then she felt it again. That familiar shiver, as if an evil snowman had crept up behind her and was peering over her neck. She turned, but of course, no one was there. It must be her nerves.
Annabeth wished she could pray to her mother for guidance, but that wasn't possible. Not since last month, when she had the worst encounter with her mom ever, and gotten a terrible, terrible present.
The cold pressed closer. She thought she heard a faint voice in the wind, like laughter. Every muscle in her body tensed. Something was about to go terribly wrong. She almost ordered Leo to reverse course, and then, in the valley below, horns sounded.
The Romans had spotted them.
Until she met the exploding statue, Annabeth thought she was prepared for anything.
She paced the deck of the Argo II, checking and double checking the ballistae to make sure they were locked down.
She confirmed the white flag was flying from the mast.
She reviewed the plan with the rest of the crew and the backup plan and the backup plan for the backup plan.
Most importantly, she pulled aside their war-crazed chaperone, Gleeson Hedge and encouraged him to take the morning off in his cabin watching reruns of mixed martial arts championships.
The last thing they needed flying a magical Greek Trireme into a potentially hostile Roman Camp was a middle-aged Satyr in gym clothes waving a club and yelling, "DIE! "
Everything seemed to be in order; even that mysterious chill that she'd been feeling since the ship launched seemed to have dissipated for now.
The warship descended from the clouds, but Annabeth couldn't stop second guessing herself. What if this was a bad idea? What if the Romans panicked, and attacked on sight?
The Argo II definitely did not look friendly.
Two hundred feet long with a bronze-plated hull, flaming metal dragon for a masthead, mounted repeating crossbows fore and aft, and two rotating ballistae mid-ship that could fire explosive bolts powerful enough to blast through concrete.
Well, it wasn't the most appropriate ride for a meet and greet with the neighbors.
Annabeth had tried to give the Romans a heads up. She asked Leo to send one of his special inventions, a holographic scroll, to alert their friends inside the camp.
Hopefully the message had gotten through.
Leo had wanted to paint a giant message on the bottom of the hull: "Waz - up!" with a smiley face, but Annabeth had vetoed the idea. She wasn't sure the Romans had a sense of humor.
Too late to turn back now.
The clouds broke around the hull, revealing the gold and green carpet of the Oakland Hills below them.
Annabeth gripped one of the bronze shields that lined the side of the starboard railing. Her three crewmates took their places.
On the stern quarterdeck Leo rushed around like a madman, checking his gauges and wrestling with levers.
Most townsmen would have been satisfied with a pilot's wheel, or a rudder. Leo had installed a keyboard, a monitor, aviation controls from a Learjet, a dub step soundboard and motion control sensors from a Nintendo Wii.
He could turn the ship by pulling the throttle, fire weapons by sampling an album, or, he could raise the sails by shaking his Wii controllers really fast.
Even by demigod standards, Leo was seriously ADHD.
Piper paced back and forth between the main masts and the ballistae practicing her lines.
"Lower your weapons," She murmured, "We just want to talk."
Her charmspeak was so powerful the words flowed over Annabeth, filling her with the desire to drop her dagger and have a nice, long chat.
For a child of Aphrodite, Piper tried really hard to play down her beauty. Today she was wearing tattered jeans, torn sneakers and a white tank top with pink hello kitty designs.
Maybe a joke, though Annabeth could never be sure with Piper.
Her choppy brown hair was pleated down one side with an eagle's feather, and then, there was Piper's boyfriend, Jason.
He stood at the bow, on a raised crossbow platform, where the Romans could easily spot him. His knuckles were white on the hilt of his sword. Otherwise, he looked calm for a guy who was making himself a target.
Over his jeans and his orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, he donned a toga, and a purple cloak, the symbols of his old rank as Praetor.
With his wind-ruffled blond hair and his icy blue eyes, he looked ruggedly handsome and in control, just like a son of Jupiter should.
He'd grown up at Camp Jupiter, so hopefully his familiar face would make the Romans hesitate to blow them out of the sky.
Annabeth tried to hide it, but she didn't completely trust that guy. He acted… too perfect. Always following the rules, always doing the honourable thing. He even looked too perfect.
In the back of her mind, she had this snagging thought. What if this was a trick and he betrays us? What if we sail into Camp Jupiter and he says, "Hey Romans, check out these prisoners and this cool ship I brought you!"
Annabeth didn't think that would happen, still, she couldn't look at him without getting a bitter taste in her mouth.
He'd been part of Hera's forced exchange program between the two camps. Without warning, Hera had plucked up Percy Jackson, Annabeth's boyfriend, wiped his memory and sent him to the Roman camp. In exchange, the Greeks got Jason.
That wasn't Jason's fault, but every time Annabeth saw him, she remembered how much she missed Percy. Percy, who might be below them right now. Oh gods, panic welled up inside her, she forced it down. She couldn't afford to get overwhelmed now.
'I'm a child of Athena,' She told herself, 'I have to stick to my plan, and not get distracted.'
And then she felt it again. That familiar shiver, as if an evil snowman had crept up behind her and was peering over her neck. She turned, but of course, no one was there. It must be her nerves.
Annabeth wished she could pray to her mother for guidance, but that wasn't possible. Not since last month, when she had the worst encounter with her mom ever, and gotten a terrible, terrible present.
The cold pressed closer. She thought she heard a faint voice in the wind, like laughter. Every muscle in her body tensed. Something was about to go terribly wrong. She almost ordered Leo to reverse course, and then, in the valley below, horns sounded.
The Romans had spotted them.
