plague bringer - a heroes of olympus insert

𝗂. 𝗐𝖾 𝗆𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝗂𝗍 𝗍𝗈 𝗇𝖾𝗐 𝗋𝗈𝗆𝖾

Until she met the exploding statue, Aria thought she was prepared for anything they'd find in New Rome.

She'd watched as Annabeth paced the deck of their flying warship, the Argo II, checking and double-checking the ballistae to make sure they were locked down. Annabeth also confirmed that the white "We come in peace" flag was flying from the mast. She reviewed the plan with Aria and the rest of the crew as well—and the backup plan, and the backup plan for the backup plan. Honestly there were so many plans that Aria couldn't keep them straight anymore. Annabeth even convinced Coach Hedge to chill in his cabin so he didn't scream 'Die!' at their potential new friends. Honestly, Aria was impressed.

The warship descended through the clouds, but Aria felt a nervousness creep over her. What if this was a bad idea? What if the Romans panicked and attacked them on sight?

The Argo II definitely did not look friendly. Two hundred feet long, with a bronze-plated hull, mounted repeating crossbows fore and aft, a flaming metal dragon for a figurehead, and two rotating ballistae amidships that could fire explosive bolts powerful enough to blast through concrete. Wonderful for attempting to make friends with neighboring demigods. Especially neighboring demigods who might not like you.

Annabeth had tried to give the Romans a heads-up, though. She'd 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—WASSUP? with a smiley face—but Annabeth vetoed the idea, much to Aria's dismay. I mean what was more friendly than that?

The clouds broke around their hull, revealing the gold-and-green carpet of the Oakland Hills below them. She and her four crewmates took their places.

Annabeth gripped one of the bronze shields that lined the starboard rail, looking longingly over the rail. They were so close to where they believed Percy Jackson, Annabeth's famous demigod boyfriend, would be. The blonde looked simultaneously excited and like she was going to throw up.

On the stern quarterdeck, Leo rushed around like a madman, checking his gauges and wrestling levers. Most helmsmen would've been satisfied with a pilot's wheel or a tiller. Leo had also installed a keyboard, monitor, aviation controls from a Learjet, a dubstep soundboard, and motion-control sensors from a Nintendo Wii. He could turn the ship by pulling on the throttle, fire weapons by sampling an album, or raise sails by shaking his Wii controllers really fast. Even by demigod standards, Leo was seriously ADHD.

Piper paced back and forth between the mainmast 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 Aria, filling her with the desire to drop her bow and have a nice long chat.

Piper was dressed in tattered jeans, worn-out sneakers, and a white tank top with pink Hello Kitty designs. (Aria thought this was absolutely iconic.) Her choppy brown hair was braided down the right side with an eagle's feather.

Then there was Piper's boyfriend—Jason. He stood at the bow on the raised crossbow platform, where the Romans could easily spot him. His knuckles were white on the hilt of his golden sword. Otherwise he looked calm for a guy who was making himself a target. Over his jeans and orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, he'd donned a toga and a purple cloak—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 hesitant to blow the ship out of the sky.

Aria had been stationed in the middle of the ship in case things went terribly wrong. She had a bow and aggressive protective tendencies, so she was good for the job. The girl was wearing a t-shirt with two angels on it and a pair of denim shorts. She paired it with a tan flannel that Kayla and Austin had gotten her and her favorite black converse. She even had put half of her hair up in space buns in an attempt to look fancy. All in all, she felt cute and like she could help mend a previously hostile relationship.