Liberty's Heirs

Chapter 2

"Congratulations, Shlemuel, you deserve it," Blion addressed his friend as he reached the bottom of narrow metal steps. Blion had been nervous about being below Shlemuel.  As soon as Blion was safely on the floor, he quickly moved clear of the stairs.  Shlemuel didn't stumble until he made it down to the last step whereupon he tripped up and landed on the floor unhurt.  Typical.  Very typical.  Shlemuel knew from extensive experience how to take a fall well.

"You deserved it too, Blion," said Karissa when she reached the gang at the bottom and made sure that Shlemuel was alright.  "It's not fair that Master Vera took Injira instead of you."

"I can see the upside in it for Master Vera," said Jiro, Karissa's large, athletic boyfriend.  "Injira's a lot better looking than you, Blion." 

Karissa made a sour expression and elbowed him in the ribs.  "Don't you be looking at her!"  Her exaggerated display of jealousy was actually just an attempt at complimenting Injira's sweet personality.  She knew as well as anyone else that Injira's looks were no cause for envy.  By any standard, Karissa's long blonde flowing hair, and cute little nose were very attractive.

Blion would have been jealous of Jiro's possession of such a top-notch girlfriend if it weren't for the other girl in their company, Riojme.  Riojme was nearly seventeen years old, a year older than Blion.  She was tall with dark olive skin and raven hair.  She had been Karissa's life-long neighbor and best friend.  No boy who had met her had ever failed to fall in love with her.  Blion had only met her once before at a party Karissa had thrown.

"What are you going to do now?" Jiro asked.

"Well," Blion sighed, "I guess I'll have to find something else.  I don't have the talent for painting."

"After last weekend I would say you don't have a talent for dancing either," Jiro mumbled to himself with a little chuckle.

"You don't have to be a good dancer to be a choreographer," said Riojme.  "I know a Master of choreography, I could introduce you to her."

"I don't think I have a talent for that either," Blion said pensively looking at his feet.  "But I'll give it some thought..."  He looked up, thinking of a brighter subject than his own future.  "How's Jean doing?"  Jean was Riojme's rabbit that he had met on a prior occasion.

"She's just as cute as ever.  I suspect she'll be having her own kittens soon."

"You have way too many animals already," Jiro said loudly.  "You shouldn't be breeding rabbits."

Blion moved between Jiro and Riojme and puffed out his chest slightly.  "An Advocate has approved them.  Who are you to criticize?"

The hatch above them closed gently and they could feel the vessel slowly begin to move.  That was their signal to sit down on the pair of soft couches facing back to back.  Blion glanced out the front, a clear half-sphere, five yards in diameter served as the front of the vessel.  The rest of it was a cylinder approximately 25 yards long with windows on the front half and propulsion and support mechanisms in back, no doubt an Attendant robot was hidden back there too.  Out of it could be seen the ocean and in the distance, the outline of Pimugna Island, once known as Catalina.  The couches ran parallel to the body of the submarine and they all watched as the water began to rise and envelop them.  The gentle waves rocked the vessel.

Blion waited for Jiro and Karissa to sit down together on one couch so he and Riojme could sit down on the other.  Riojme sat down at the end of the couch away from the front and Blion began to join her as the waves reached the top and the room began to darken.  While Blion had been turned toward Riojme, Shlemuel had sat down on the end close to the front and silently scooted over so that he was sitting below Blion, leaving him no room to sit by Riojme.  Blion was startled when he felt Shlemuel's knees under him but he figured out what was going on in an instant.  He turned around with an angry expression and violently motioned to Shlemuel to move to the front end of the couch.  "The front has the best view," Blion insisted.