mockingyana: 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 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 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 had dissipated, at least for now. The warship descended from the clouds, but Annabeth couldn’t stop second guessing herself. What if this was a bad idea? What is the Romans panicked and attacked on sight? The Argo II definitely did not look friendly. Two hundred feet long, with a bronze hull, flaming metal dragon for a masthead, mounted repeating crossbow 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. “WAZZZUP!!!”, 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 golden-green carpet of the Oakland Hills below them. Annabeth gripped one of the Bronze shields as her mind started reeling. Her three crewmates took their place. On the stern quarterdeck, Leo rushed around like a madman, checking his gauges and levels. Most helmsmen would’ve been satisfied with a pilot’s wheel or a rudder. Leo had installed a keyboard, monitor, aviation controls from a learjet, a dubstep soundboard, and the motion controll sensors from a Nintendo Wii. He could fire the ship by pulling on the throttle or fire the weapons by sampling an album or raise the sails by shaking his Wii controllers really fast. Even by demigod standards, Leo was seriously ADHD. Piper paced back and forth behind the main mast, 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 dressed in tattered jeans, worn out sneakers, and a white tanktop with pink Hello Kitty designs. Maybe a joke, though Annabeth really could never tell with Piper. Her choppy brown hair was braided down the right 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 was pretty calm for a guy who was making himself a target. Over his jeans and his orange Camp Half Blood t-shirt, he had donned a toga and a purple cloak, symbols of his old rank as praetor. With his wind ruffled blonde 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 really trust this guy. He acted too perfect, always following the rules, always doing the honorable thing. He even looked too perfect. In the back of her mind, she kept thinking, “What if this is a trick and he betrays us?”. What if we sail into Camp Jupiter and he says, “Hey Romans! Check out these prisoners in this cool ship I brought you!”. Annabeth didn’t think he would do that. Still, she couldn’t look at him without getting a bitter taste in her mouth. He’d been part of Hera’s forced exchange programs, between the two camps. Without warning Hera had plucked up Percy Jackson, Annabeth’s boyfriend, wiped his memory and sent him to this Roman camp. In exchange, the Greeks got Jason. None of that was Jason’s fault, but every time Annabeth looked at him, she remembered how much she missed Percy. Percy, who might be below them right now. Oh gods, panic welled up inside her. On account of Athena, she said to herself, “I have to stick to my plan and not get distracted. Then she felt it again, that familiar shiver, as if an evil snowman had crept up right behind her and was breathing down her neck. She turned, but no one was there. It must be her nerves. Annabeth wished she could pray to her mother for help, but now, that was impossible. Not since last month, when she had a horrible encounter with her mom and gotten the worst present of her life. The cold pressed closer. She thought she heard a voice in the wind, laughing. Every muscle in her body tensed. Something’s 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.
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