The Inaugural Address

PART I - CHAPTER IV

4.

"We're headed to rebel-held territory south of the bay on Liberty Island," Mabel began as we gained considerable distance from the Arisean soldiers. I wasn't aware of any rebel-held territory in Lake Taupo, so hearing about it now was a bit of a surprise. We went over to sit at a table in the basement of the rebel boat. I tried not to entertain the idea of getting sea-sick.

"The rebels hold territory?" Brock responded, clearly as unaware as I was.

"Yes, yet we don't necessarily want to parade that information around quite yet." Mabel replied, pulling out some papers and bags from underneath the table. "Liberty Island is strategically placed in between 4 territory borders that line the coasts of Lake Taupo. By being on the edge of 4 different territories, we maximize our potential to reach most rebel forces across the Commonwealth's North Island." Mabel explained while pulling out a map of the Commonwealth's North and South Islands.

"You don't want people to know about Liberty Island? I wasn't aware there were any islands on Lake Taupo," I commented, somehow causing Mabel to smile and her eyes to widen.

"Exactly," Mabel replied. "No one is aware of the existence of Liberty Island, even locals. The only authorized individuals who know of its existence are top-tier militant members of the resistance, and you both now fall into that category!" Mabel announced as if we should be excited to be top-tier members of a resistance that has historically disappointed us. "Liberty Island is the rebellion's central military base for all North Island operations."

"How do you hide an entire island off the coast of 4 different territories?" Brock asked, looking down at the map. "This map doesn't even show any islands in Lake Taupo, where is it?"

"I'm so glad you asked," Mabel said, pulling out a small flashlight, similar in size to the one on my keychain. "Philip, would you shine the light from this onto the map?" She asked, looking me in the eye before extending her reach across the table to offer me the flashlight.

I stared back, partially annoyed that I felt as if I was being taught by someone I wasn't yet sure I could trust. After a few seconds of tension, Brock nudged his leg against mine under the table, obviously in an attempt to get me to accept the flashlight. I did, however, only after letting out a sigh.

"Kaster," Mabel called above us as I accepted the flashlight. "How far are we from Liberty?"

"We're about five minutes from the dome, Mabel." A voice, who I assumed was Kaster, called back from the boat's main level.

"Fantastic," Mabel replied. "We'll be up in a moment."

I pressed the only button on the flashlight and shined it's light on the map. It's blacklight revealed more details that were previously invisible, most notably an island in the center of Lake Taupo. Although I wasn't looking at Mabel, I could sense her smile as we viewed the invisible map within the map. She must have thought she was so cool. The jury was still out on that one for me.

"Woah, this is awesome!" Brock exclaimed, signalling Mabel was winning him over much quicker than she was winning me over.

"We're approaching the island now," Mabel said, her smile now replaced with a more cautious expression. She was starting to learn that she wasn't going to gain my trust or excitement nearly as quickly as she may have originally hoped. "Please, put these on and follow me," She said, handing both Brock and I tinted sunglasses.

We all got up from the table and returned to the boat's main level. Thankfully, the Ariesan soldiers that caused quite the start to our boat ride had abandoned their chase shortly after we passed the Sagitarrian border into the Virgonian Territory. They most likely abandoned their efforts due to the fact that the Virgonians had yet to form any significant resistance against the House of Scorpius, and so it was in their best interest to disengage.