Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series.
Story: Divided Soul
Chapter 20: The Argo II
Camp Half Blood
Scipio awoke the next morning. He always awoke before sunrise and today was no exception. He stepped out of his room in the Big House and walked down to the kitchen. As he entered he saw Chiron at the table in his wheel chair. Chiron gave the Consul of Rome a warm smile.
"Scipio, I take it that you slept well," Chiron said politely. Something about the centaur's tone made Scipio feel that the immortal trainer of heroes was unaccustomed to speaking to a half blood in such a way, but the son of Neptune didn't really care.
"I slept well, although I prefer my cot at camp. No offense, but your beds are too soft," Scipio admitted.
Chiron grinned at the Consul of Rome. "The beds on the Argo II are probably more to your liking," Chiron said. Scipio nodded.
"Speaking of the Argo, I want to check it out before our departure today," Scipio said. Chiron nodded before the Consul of Rome left the kitchen and stepped out of the Big House.
Scipio felt something pull him towards the ocean on the other side of camp. It was like the sea was trying to tell him something. He could smell the sea breeze beckoning him to follow it. He followed the strange sensation as he strode toward the Long Island Sound. After several minutes of walking Scipio stepped onto the sandy beach. Even though Scipio wasn't on good terms with Neptune, the sea always calmed him. It was like the sea was his mother and she always knew how to sooth the demigod's emotions. As he walked towards the water he stopped in shock at the sight before him. Floating against a large wooden pier was a ship out of his dreams. It was a Greek trireme covered in celestial bronze; a metal that Annabeth had explained was similar to Imperial gold.
The son of Neptune walked toward the pier still mesmerized at the beauty of the ship before him. As he approached the ship he took in all of its characteristics. Instead of three rows of oars that a normal trireme would have there were large metal shafts that protruded from the rows coming together at several large round mechanisms that looked like jet engines or something. The ship had three sails that looked like they were made of a strange cloth that shined in the sun just like the celestial bronze. The front of the ship came to a point like a battering ram, but instead of a metal ram there was the head of a metal dragon.
Scipio stepped onto the deck of the ship and walked around marveling at the technology. There were two large Greek fire catapults near the bow of the ship and on the port and starboard sides of the ship were four ballista that had celestial bronze arrows the size of harpoons.
The sound of metal on metal broke Scipio away from his thoughts as ten automatons walked up the steps to the lower decks. When they saw the son of Neptune their eyes glowed red and then turned green like a traffic light. They stood in front of him in a line like a group of soldiers at attention. The robots were made of celestial bronze, but only one of them had a red strip across its chest. The robot with the red stripe said, "Master Scipio, welcome aboard the Argo II."
Scipio stared at the robot in shock. "How do you know my name?" Scipio asked.
"That would be my fault," a voice said from below deck. Suddenly, Leo appeared covered in grease, once again. His face was almost black from gooey liquid. Scipio gave the son of Hephaestus an amused smirk.
"Can't you ever stay clean?" Scipio asked mockingly.
Leo frowned at the question, but Scipio's amused smile made Leo's face turn red with embarrassment. "Sorry, I was just checking the engines one more time," Leo said as he gestured towards the rows of what should have been oars.
"So, those things are engines?" Scipio asked.
Leo smiled at the question. "Yes, Annabeth gave me the idea. She had these plans from Daedalus's laptop," Leo said. "Anti-gravity engines, cool huh?"
Scipio just nodded as he considered the idea of anti-gravity engines. "Daedalus, she knew him?" Scipio asked.
"Yeah, she and..." Leo stopped before he said the name that he was sworn never to speak of in front of the Consul of Rome.
Scipio eyed the son of Hephaestus suspiciously. "She and?" Scipio asked.
Leo cleared his throat nervously. "She and a few friends new him during the war," Leo said trying to hide his nervousness.
Scipio smiled at the boy. He knew there was more to tell, but he wouldn't press the question, yet. "You're up pretty early," Scipio said.
"Yeah, I can get all the sleep I want once this baby is airborne," Leo said. Scipio felt a little queazy at the thought of flying, but he knew Jupiter wouldn't destroy him with Jason onboard.
"So, who made the robots?" Scipio questioned.
Leo smiled again. Scipio thought this kid probably never frowned. "My siblings and I built them, cool aren't they?" Leo asked.
"Yeah, so what do they do onboard?" Scipio asked.
"They help with maintenance and they run the ballista and catapults," Leo explained.
"They're definitely a good idea. I commend you and your siblings. Also, this ship is magnificent," Scipio said. Leo's face lit up like the Fourth of July.
"Thanks," Leo began. "You're not as bad as I thought." Leo said before he could think of what he was saying. "I mean... well... no offense... I mean..." Leo tried to correct himself, but all he could do was stumble over his explanation.
Scipio laughed for a few seconds before an amused grin spread across his face. "Don't worry kid," Scipio said. "I understand what you mean. You expected me to be some excessively serious jerk or something, right?"
Leo's mouth hung open. "I never thought you were a jerk," Leo said quickly.
Scipio's grin grew wider. "Its okay Leo. I like you; there always needs to be a little comedy relief during life and death situations," Scipio explained.
Leo gulped. "This isn't one of those situations is it?" Leo asked.
Scipio just laughed again. "No, now you might want to go below and clean up. You look like one of the robots threw up on you," Scipio said. Even through the grease Scipio could see Leo's face turn red. The son of Hephaestus nodded before running below deck.
A short chuckle from behind Scipio broke him away from his amusement. He turned to Jason standing behind him. "Glad to know your not overly serious," Jason said.
Scipio laughed. "Only when I'm in charge," Scipio said. Jason's grin evaporated at the mention of who was in charge, or in this case, not in charge.
Jason cleared his throat and his face became more serious. "Scipio, I hope you will assist in running the ship," Jason said.
Scipio smiled. "Is that an order sir?" Scipio asked.
Jason considered the question. "Yes it is."
"I would be happy to assist, sir."
"Permission to come aboard, sir," a voice said from the pier. Jason and Scipio turned to see Alex and Gwen standing on the pier with their duffel bags slung over their shoulders.
"Permission granted centurion," Jason said. Gwen and Alex climbed aboard. "Go take your belongings below deck. The girls will share one room and the guys the other.
After Alex and Gwen left the deck Jason turned toward the son of Neptune. Scipio was sitting on the deck with his legs crossed. "What are you doing?" Jason asked curiously.
Scipio's eyes were closed and his arms were crossed in front of his chest. "Running the ship," Scipio said as the ship came alive as ropes and pulleys began to move by themselves. The sails extended and then seemed to fold back upon themselves. The ropes pulled and sails closed up against the masts of the ship. Scipio opened his eyes and watched as the son of Jupiter stared at him in disbelief. "Just a perk of being the son of the sea god."
"That's pretty cool," Jason said.
Scipio nodded. "It comes in handy," Scipio admitted.
The sound of people climbing aboard broke the two children of the big three away from their discussion. They looked towards the pier to see Piper and Annabeth climbing aboard the ship.
"Sorry to interrupt," Annabeth said.
"No, Scipio was just showing me how he runs a ship," Jason said. Annabeth already knew Percy's powers with sailing ships. She hid her smile as she thought back to the Queen Anne's Revenge.
"That's good; we'll just stow our gear below," Annabeth said as she motioned for Piper to follow her. The daughter of Aphrodite smiled at Jason, which made his cheeks turn pink. That image was not lost on the son of Neptune.
"Damn you're screwed," Scipio said.
Jason turned towards his friend curiously. "What do you mean?" Jason asked.
Scipio laughed. "Man, you're really oblivious. You got two girls that really like you and by the look of them, they can really kick butt," Scipio said in amusement.
Jason frowned as he shook his head. "Shut up, it's not like that," Jason denied.
Both of Scipio's eyebrows raised in mock curiosity before he shook his head in disbelief. "Man, you really got it bad," Scipio concluded.
"Got what bad?" Jason asked.
"A bad case of denial," Scipio said. Jason's face went blank. "Look, I know Reyna likes you and so does Piper. I can tell that you like both of them as well. Whether its just friendship or more, I don't know, but you better figure it out quick. Girls like those won't wait for very long."
Jason frowned. "We're at war. I don't have time for this," Jason said.
Scipio stood up and eyed his friend sadly. "Believe me, I know about war. Don't wait too long to share your feelings; you may never get the chance again," Scipio said before walking below deck after the others. Jason just stood on the deck as he thought over Scipio's advise.
Scipio climbed down the stair case as he looked around the ship. Sure enough there were two rooms that were listed as men and women bedrooms. He passed them and kept exploring the ship until he came to the galley. He stepped inside and was surprised to see Annabeth seated at a table peeling an orange. Scipio walked in and sat across the table from her. She looked up at him curiously.
"Do you want some?" Annabeth asked as she offered some of the orange to him. Scipio shook his head.
"No thanks; I'm not hungry," Scipio said.
Annabeth eyed him skeptically. "Do you need something else?"
Scipio studied the daughter of Athena for a few moments. Her golden blonde hair was pulled into a pony tail, but a few strands of curls were loose around her ears. Her grey eyes studied him like he was a piece to a puzzle that just wouldn't fit. "I have a question for you," Scipio admitted.
Annabeth sighed. "Is it about the quest?" Annabeth asked.
Scipio shook his head. "No, I spoke to Rachel last night," Scipio said.
Annabeth looked at him and Scipio could see a flash of annoyance in her grey eyes. "What did the two of you talk about?" Annabeth asked. Something in her tone made Scipio believe she didn't really want to know.
"Who is Percy?" Scipio asked. Annabeth's eyes widened in shock. She didn't know what to say. What in Hades did Rachel tell him. Anger began to well up inside of Annabeth's mind.
"What did she tell you?" Annabeth asked suspiciously. Scipio wondered why she was so defensive.
"She told me that he was a lost camper and that he was her friend," Scipio explained. Annabeth sighed internally.
"That's true, so what about him?" Annabeth asked as she hoped he would drop it.
"When we arrived here, I heard some of the campers say his name when they saw us. Does he look like one of the Romans?" Scipio asked.
Annabeth was stunned. What could she say? Suddenly, an idea struck her, it was dangerous, but it might work. "He was a son of Poseidon," Annabeth said.
AN: The quest is about to begin, so stay tuned.