Heroes of Olympus - The Blood of Olympus (Discontinued)

Chapter 35 - Hazel (Part 2)

[This is UNEDITED, so if you spot any mistakes - there are probably some mistakes - I'll be going back and fixing them later.]

Chapter 35 - Hazel

It took them longer than they'd hoped.

After Piper's conversation with Jason, Leo promised them thirty more minutes to finish his project, but midway through he said he'd originally wanted to finish it in fifteen. Instead, the son of Hephaestus's hands blurred over his work table for twenty five minutes non-stop, never ceasing to continue. 

From his tool belt, he'd summoned over fifty circuit boards, hundreds of bronze dials, nuts, bolts and wiring, brass knobs and other electrical equipment. He quickly moved the smaller, more fragile pieces to the side, and then began extracting huge slabs of light sheet metal and several motors. Pulling forth two battery-powered drills, he ordered the girls to get the already-completed navigation system.

The placed it on the side of the table, then Annabeth and Piper began putting the metal slabs together, connecting them with the bronze bolts. 

 Leo attached the circuit boards, and then took about five minutes to extract all the wires he needed from his tool belt, constructing an entire city of bronze dials and knobs, flashing blinkers, wiring of every size, and fusing each object together with a spark of flame that would ignite from his finger tip. Within seconds, his body began to glow with an orange haze, as if his father's presence was just beside him, urging him on. 

He clicked the navigation system into place within the small shell they were constructing with the metal slabs.Hazel helped screw the bolts in place, and then Leo brought forth a small info-red security camera from his belt. He attached it to the belly of his project, and after another hellish minute of running around, he stood up, seemingly satisfied, the girls following. 

Before them, on the filthy, grease-covered boards of the cargo hold, lay a small drone, six feet long, and about a foot wide. 

Fortunately, that was the hardest part.

With the girls' help, another five minutes had past before Leo had build a small computer, which carried the signal from the drone's camera to the viewing screen. He constructed a small joy stick which he wirelessly attached to the camera, another to the drone itself, and then fired up the monitor. 

Leo projected a satellite view of earth which he panned around till he had a clear view of the island of Rhodes. After asking Percy the coordinates to their location - which Percy had no trouble doing considering his incredible bearings out at sea - Leo entered the coordinates into his small computer, then ran the signal into the drone's navigation system.

Meanwhile, the girls made themselves useful by cleaning everything up, making room for Leo, putting away his extra belongings and clearing out a nice open space in the hold. 

When Hazel finally checked the time, thirty three minutes had past. This must be a new record, she thought.

Leo stood up and turned to face them. "Thank you very much, ladies, for your kind and heart-thought service. I'll be right back." He ran to the drone and picked it up, exclaiming in surprise. "Wow, it's lighter than I thought..."

"Well, we only used sheet metal," Annabeth pointed out. 

Leo nodded. "True. True. Okay! Gimme one second!" He ran out of the cargo hold and up the stairs to the main deck. 

Of course, the girls followed him, their curiosity driving them forward, and they came above deck, watching as Leo turned on the drone, the tiny motors spinning to life, and a small touch screen suddenly glowed bright on its flank. Leo confirmed the coordinates to the boys' location, then turned the screen off, plunging the tiny plane into total shadow.