Athena - Hidden threat

We are almost there, just a few miles more. Let's end this as fast as possible.

"Mother," Jimmy calls me. We have been silent since we departed from the swarm.

"Umm." I answer, back into those haunting thoughts.

"I have been told that you have not been yourself lately. What's wrong?" he asks, concerned.

I say nothing thinking about the last few months of unpleasant memories that I keep for myself.

"Does it have to do with the league? Or with father or us?" he asks, his worrisome tone getting higher.

I stare at him for a few seconds then I look down. I don't really want to talk about it.

"I am not well, son. But is nothing for you to be concerned about. I can deal with it myself," I replied, trying to remain as calm as I can possibly be.

He scans my face in search of any sign of uneasiness, but he finds none.

I look at him, who is by my side, then I gaze in front looking for any sign of the mothership ignoring his stare. The location that Altair gave me points out that it is somewhere near.

From afar I can see that there are some changes in the waves and the clouds, but I can't see any ship, maybe it is hidden. Where could it be? Invisible?

The clouds are concentrating in an area while the ocean's waves are spreading fast as if a helicopter is passing over it. There should be the mothership.

The ship must be humongous. The area affected is so large that I can't see the end of it, it must extend for miles.

I stop my course near the area affected and so did Jimmy.

Is so calm that it is suspicious. Where are the defenses? If there is any ship here it would be unwise to leave it unprotected. Is true that they had the first defense, but, 'was it that all? Is the ship so well equipped that they need no other outer defense?'

"Jimmy, check with your x-ray vision if there is something where the abnormalities are."

"Yes I will, but before, tell me. Are you sure you can deal with it by yourself? Did you tell father?" he keeps on asking in reassurance about my inner conflict.

Incredible. He is more concerned about me than the situation at hand.

"Yes, I can and yes I told your dad," I answer with a serious and assertive tone,

"Who told you about me? Was it Kal or Altair?" I ask, wondering who could have spilled the beans.

"It was father, we met a few days ago at the institute, he looked really concerned," his sight lost in the horizon, "He was so worried that he thought that you were like that because of him," gives an uncomfortable smile.

'Oh, Kal…' *sigh* A small smile escapes from my lips and my brow furrows thinking about his worrisome face that somehow makes me feel as if my heart is shattering but in between its cracks the joy is present. 'How can a person feel both at the same time?' I shake my head there's no time for this!

I recover from those seconds of distraction, "It is no time for this kind of conversation," I say with a stern voice, "Do what I ordered you to do!"

"Mother!" I hear Altair's dulcet yet alarmed cry .

*PAZZZ!!* deafening buzzing sounds can be heard all over the place.

"AHHH!" Jimmy screams out of pain. "Where is this sound coming from?!" Shouts Jimmy covering both his ears with his hands.

I could barely grasp what he said, the buzzing is threatening to explode my inner drums. I grind my teeth in response trying to remain in control. I look around, nothing is on-site and I can't sense any threat.

Jimmy makes vibrations with his energy countering the noisy sounds, making a countering vibrational sphere that protects us from the attack.

I heave a sigh of relief, "Well thought," I say the moment my hearing eased.

"This should protect us for the time we take to find the source," He says with a hoarse voice, his screaming earlier might have hurt his voice.

"Mother are you alright?!" Altair asks in a worrisome tone.

"I am fine," I calmly respond. "What's happening? Where is this sound coming from?."

"Mom, I couldn't sense them before, there are ships underwater that use some kind of sonar that creates a protective barrier against my psionic powers," she says with her sweet yet serious voice with some concern hidden, it could not escape me.

'So, that's why I couldn't sense their threat before.' I think as I listen to her and look around for the source.

"However it seems that when they prepared to attack the barrier went off allowing me to notice their existence," her tone serious yet a little distressed, maybe she is upset for not being able to notice them earlier.

"They might use the system of defense to attack as well. A grave flaw. I may say," She giggles. "Now I am able to disrupt their minds for you to escape."

"Well done, my daughter!"

"Do it fast little sister!" he bellows, "I don't want to be trapped in another ball. And above all, the clouds are in the middle!" grumbles.

Altair connected both of our minds with Jimmy's for us to communicate the moment she called for me.

"I am working on that Biggy."

Jimmy grunts going back to solely focus on the ball, as he called it.

He doesn't like to be called Biggy, he sees it as a joke to his name. It was Etta who gave him that nickname when they were young. When Altair was one year old, he was playing with her and was trying to make Altair call her big brother but to no avail, then Etta came to the game and started calling him Biggy in order to tease him, when Altair heard the name she liked it so much that she kept on calling him like that since then, especially when she wants to humor him.

I giggle by just remembering those joyful and playful times. Times when I was at ease with myself and family.

The strength of the outside vibration is receding, the ball is not as affected as it was.

Gradually and steadily the vibrations came to an end.

Jimmy broke off the sphere. Looking down with his x-ray vision, he spotted the underwater ships. In order to make them useless, he charges on his body lightning rays and blasts them with it, frying the ships with the attack.

"Are they still alive Altair?" He asks Altair, his gaze down with a frown and lips downward.

'What can he be thinking?' I thought, watching him stare down bothered by something. He could have confirmed it with his x-ray vision if he wanted.

"Yes, they are." Altair confirms meekly. "They are asleep. I have informed Atlantis about the situation, they will pick them up and secure the perimeter."

"What about the Mothership?" I ask, reminding that the ship is not visible at the location she set.

"Oh..oh, yes mom," she utters as she had forgotten about the mothership, "the mothership is hidden behind some kind of vibrational energy barrier that creates an illusion of invisibility.

However the system they use does not cover the effects the ship has with the environment, that's why you can see the abnormal wave movements and the clouds gathering around it and also does not protect them from my psionic powers..." she pauses for a few seconds, she might have noticed something.

"Maybe their blocking system was unintentional," she continues.

"Why do you say that?" Jimmy asks with curiosity apparent on his face.

"Is there any other threat that I cannot see?" I inquired, interrupting their conversation, thinking in a way to approach the ship. Foremostly making sure there are no other enemies.

"No mom, there's none".

"Good. Why aren't they attacking us if they know that we are here?" I ask, flying around, surveying the area.

"It's because, according to their ship information, their invisibility mechanism can't work at the same time that they attack. It has to be one or the other. Surely that's why they chose to hide in the first place." She responds. "The funny thing is that they sent almost all their military resources to attack the cities, leaving the mothership with what you encountered and some few bigger ships as their defense inside the barrier," chortles, "they truly believe their system is very effective."

Although is a kind and heavenly soul by nature I can't deny that she actually has a third of the heart of an Olympian.

"Are they really this stupid?" asks Jimmy disdainfully.

"Who knows…" Altair states lowering her voice as she says it.

I just preferred to ignore the question, it is not important if they are stupid or not. What right do we have to judge them?

Frowns.

"Send me the maps of the ship, I want to get in right in front of their eyes," I request her, seeing that there is no sign of movement. I just want to get over this.

"Understood, I will send it right away," she complies cheery. "Sent!"

"You truly see us as computer, don't you Altair?" Say Jimmy.

"Kinda… not really, maybe… is more complicated than that"

I can imagine her face as she answers. Changing, distorting, uncomfortable.

I feel the information pouring into my mind, clear as water, 'The map is so big!' I think, amazed by the size of it. "Thank you, daughter," I say, setting sail to the ship leaving the curious Jimmy behind.

But, as I set towards the ship, from the waters emerge two gigantic…

"Mechas!" Shouts Jimmy in disbelief. "Am I dreaming, mom?" He says pulling my jacket.

The towering mechanical humanoid beasts burst a deep growling sound, it shakes us up, and throws us as if we were ships on the ocean in the midst of a storm.

Jimmy and I fell to the waters as planes shot down.

The only thing I can hear is the crying of my dear daughter, "Mom!"