Percy Jackson and the Adventures of A Sister

15. The Argo and It's Little Friends

At Camp Olympus, things were going smoothly for once. The fleet of Photons was being built fast. The rescue ships were four person ships that were the size of a small airplane. They topped at the speed of 1550 miles per hour. The Argo II moved slower than the Photons and was less maneuverable, but the higher speed and maneuverability of the Photons came with a cost. The ships were not heavily armored. If there was an attack, the passengers could get out thanks to the ejection systems, but the crafts definitely would be rendered useless. The crafts could be submerged underwater, thus be used as submarines. Magical radar cameras helped detect entrances to the pit. The Photons ran on the waters of the Phlegethon and on the waters of the Styx. The machinery was not as complicated as the Argo II's.

The children of Hephaestus and Vulcan had started using more modern technology to build the ships, so they could focus more on designing and making the delicate parts. The smiths also began mass producing the parts, so that they could quickly replace the crucial parts, and ended up having a surplus of crucial parts. The Argo II was retired and kept as a display model. Things were getting re-engineered. The Argo II had been built in a record time of six months. Now with the larger workforce and the higher level of machinery meant that a replica could be built in a month, not that they would build a replica.

The smiths soon began making a simpler version of the Argo II. This Argo lacked the complicated weaponry and the elaborate living areas of its predecessor, though it still did have some nice weapons and a living area. This ship was used as a mother ship for the Photons. They named it the Argo III. The upper deck acted like a parking area and a launch pad for the Photons. The lower decks stored some fuel and a lot of food. The Argo III did have living areas however. There were two rooms with each room having ten modified bunks. The modifications included some storage areas under the mattresses. So the bunks acted as beds and cupboards at the same time. There were two Argo III

There was no dining room in the Argo III, so the people aboard the ship ate in their bunks. Every Demigod had a plate and a glass that could magically summon food from the cargo holds below. The food in the cargo holds was just dehydrated food that astronauts ate in space. Some of the campers were skeptical, but they shut their mouths when they were reminded that they had to look for their missing hero.

The Argo II had more advanced weapons, but the weaponry of the Argo III was not a joke either. There were large crossbows and a couple of small crossbows mounted to the railing that was manned by people. Out of the 140 campers and warriors only 60 remained at Camp. The remaining 80 were on the two Argos. Each Argo had 9 Photons onboard. The ship could be flown by only a single person, but had four people on board when all the Photons were out. The Pilots flew the ship in 6 hour shifts.

The Photons had a max mission duration of ten days. They had to return to the Argo within the ten days, not that they really had a time limit and were permitted to go out longer during an emergency and this definitely counted as one. The Photons had food supplies that could last for at least ten days and at most for two weeks. They could stock up on the food in the event of an emergency. There was no definite time limit to how long they could stay on the mother ships, but there was a shortcoming. The demigods may be utilizing more tech, but wireless communication still attracted monsters. If a party spent any longer than fifteen days out of the ship, search parties would be launched. Iris messages were not practical as they needed to make rainbows and the camp didn't have unlimited Drachmas. There was however a distress signal that could be sent to the Argo.

The search for the lost god began. Both the Argo IIIs had their own names. The Liberty and Freedom. Leo Valdez stood on the bridge of the Argo III Liberty, watching Liberty's twin, the Argo III Freedom rise into the clouds. Harley, Clarisse, Jared(healer in the Apollo cabin) and Malcolm were the piloting and command team of the Freedom. Will, Sophia, Zoë and Leo were the commanders of the Liberty. The Freedom disappeared from view. Leo turned around and walked to the controls.

The controls were not that complex, and were downright primitive in comparison to the Argo II's controls. A modified airplane steering wheel, three levers, two pedals and a few buttons were all that was needed to fly a button. Leo walked to the pilots seat and sat down. He switched on the intercom and said, "Attention demigods, we are about to take off from Camp Olympus. Today marks the beginning of the war efforts against our enemies. Remember never give up, ever. He said. He then pushed one of the levers up. The engines of the Argo III fired.

Unlike its predecessor, the Argo III never relied on oars. There was a trio of engines at the front and another at the back. The Liberty lifted off the ground. As it rose higher and higher, the sails pushed the Liberty forward. The Engines began swiveling to push the ship forward instead of upward. The ship shot forward. The Sails were lowered. The campers on the ground watched proud as the Liberty and its twin disappeared into the clouds. A month-and-a-half of hard work had finally paid off.

In Tartarus, Percy was unconscious for a week. He had awoken a few days ago and had begun planning his escape. He knew he couldn't simply teleport out of here. The exits acted as barriers. He could only use his mortal form to exit the pit. He had found no exit in the first layer. He doubted he could find an exit even deeper in the pit. He decided to suck it up and keep scouting enemy territory as priority number one. He spent his days mapping the second layer.

The damage he had caused had consequences he had not imagined. The dust and soot thrown in the air made it very toxic. The area around the crater was uninhabitable for monsters. The air was thick with sand and toxic mud. Residual power from the blast incinerated anything short of an immortal if they dared to approach the middle of the crater. Apparently the rock under the surface of Tartarus was shiny. The sky glowed brightly. The air was sucked dry. The entire second layer turned into one massive desert. The mud was dry. A massive lake intercepted the path of the river of fire. Thinking about the events Percy went to sleep in the bottom of the lake of fire.