"My Diamond." The two slender arms gave a stiff salute. The figure was not too large, standing only six and a half feet tall and with a lean frame. This was offset by her manner, however. In this particular stance, the gem seemed a statue. What was an attempt at an ambivalent face failed hopelessly to mask her dangerous nature.
"At Ease, Onyx." Came the warm voice of the Diamond, her hand dismissing the salute. Onyx obeyed, though she looked no less ready for a fight. Her diamond was objectively the best, of course. Blue was such a reasonable color, and so permissive of thought. "As reward for your efforts on your previous colony, you will find in your rooms a Pearl for your personal use." There was a short pause. Onyx opened her mouth for thanks, but her Diamond raised a hand. "Tomorrow, you and your Pearl will board ships to Crystal Colony Earth. Take no more with you than you must."
"Yes, My Diamond." Onyx said reverently.
"You will be working with the Quartz soldiers to identify potential threats. I know you've put in a request for more jets on your team. That cannot be fulfilled at this time due to a shortage, but perhaps after you've isolated an area for use as a Kindergarten it can be filled." Her Diamond continued. There was something clearly on her mind, but if Onyx noticed, she certainly did not ask.
"Yes, My Diamond." The gem repeated. The reverence seemed less valid when the inflections and tonality remained the same in each repetition.
"You are dismissed." Blue diamond waved her away. Onyx bowed and was gone before anyone could have told. As soon as she was out of the room she shifted into the shadows. It was a much faster method of travelling than walking, and since it was cumbersome to fly indoors that was merely not an option.
Still, in the short time it took her to move outside her door, she had time to consider the prior conversation. Why had her Diamond seemed distracted? Well, there was no reason that she should be made aware of every detail that could bother her diamond. Alright, then the next question was, why had she gotten a Pearl? She'd certainly done no more than the other Onyxes working with her. As she considered the possibilities, it hit her. All of the Onyxes had a network of acquaintances and friendships, things that anchored them to their Diamond's leadership. She did not. She had never bothered with friends or relationships of any kind. Why would she? She held delicate secrets that others could not possibly understand (Save for her diamond, of course). Friends were liabilities. They could be used against you. She was safe.
The shadows she'd become part of swirled in front of her door a moment before she reformed. It had taken practice to reform correctly. She had to remember her height, her athletic build, her orange hair and her uniform. Not difficult in the least, but it felt so much more natural to shift and shape herself to the shadows and looks of others. She did not particularly enjoy her height - far from it. She had to look down severely to communicate with the Sapphires that aided in her strategy and up severely to communicate with the Quartz Soldiers that she communicated plans with. It was not an ideal situation; however, she had no right to complain. She was precisely the way that an Onyx should be. In fact, her exit hole had been nearly perfect.
With a sigh she pushed open her door. Sure enough, a black pearl stood there silently. She wasn't the fanciest of pearls, but she certainly was above average. Onyx frowned. Had she given cause for her Diamond's suspicion? She would happily shatter herself a thousand times before betraying her. Still, all she needed to do was act as per usual. No need to upset her diamond further. With the wave of a hand, Onyx motioned for the Pearl to follow her to her desk at the window. Laying both hands on the smooth surface, she sat and began to work on gathering information from those who had already touched down on the virgin crust of the planet. Minutes passed like aching aeons under the odd gaze of the newcomer. She was saluting, making her presence even less tolerable. Finally, Onyx stood once more and gazed at her new Pearl.
"At ease." She ordered. The pearl obeyed. "Now go into my think chamber and do not bother me again." The Pearl bowed and left without another word. Onyx sat once more and continued working until it was nearly time to depart. Then she stood, closed out of her computer, and looked out of the window.
There was a certain feeling that always conquered her thoughts when she pondered Homeworld. It was a feeling she had often tried to analyze, but having found no valid reason for its existence had begun the long and intense process of deleting it. Emotions, like so many other things, were frivolous. Frivolity was dangerous when loose ends could bring down not only yourself but a decent chunk of those above you. For the first time in a long time, however, she allowed herself to sink into it. There were not many things she permitted herself to enjoy. This particular pleasure could help anchor her here, and perhaps her diamond would be able to sense the change. Then she would no longer have to deal with the awkward gift that had bestowed upon her. She supposed acting as though she cared for the gem would not harm her chances either.
With a sigh, she climbed out of the comforting Homeworld feeling and glanced toward the think chamber. She stood, turned, and entered it with a pessimistic air. The Pearl had been sitting cross-legged in the corner, but rose and saluted as though she'd never been sitting at all as soon as the door opened a crack. For the first time, Onyx took a reasonable look at her burden. She was a little taller than Onyx, stick thin in a simple, sleeveless black gown that fell to her knees. Its only adornment was a diamond where the collar dipped into a V. Her shoes were dress flats with no adornment. Glancing back at the face, Onyx noticed that she was uncertain and overly nervous. Clearly she was hot off of the press.
"At Ease." Onyx said. "It is time to go." She turned and began to leave.
"Where are we going?" The small voice barely carried to her ears. Onyx whirled sharply to regard the Pearl who recoiled at her glance. "I- I didn't mean to-"
"We are going to Crystal Colony Earth." She said monotonously. Great. She had gotten a curious Pearl. "There we will be aiding in colonization efforts."
Before that incessant mouth could open again, she was storming down the hallway, leaving Pearl to scramble behind her. She began to run through names for her Pearl. None quite fit, so she settled for calling her whatever caught her attention first on Earth. It wasn't that she wanted to make her Pearl unique, but often the Towers in which she planned the actions of her Diamond were stocked with their own Pearls. She'd need a way to call to her specific Pearl when the time came.
It was not long until they were at the hangar boarding a tiny ship that barely fit everyone inside. Was this truly all they could spare at the moment? She sat at the wall least populated by her comrades and stared out into the beauty of the stars, uninterrupted. Then she became aware of a presence at her elbow, a presence she was not particularly fond of feeling. She shut her eyes, sighed, and looked to her left. There stood Black Pearl. She was staring into space with wide eyes. At first, Onyx assumed the gaze was awe. Then she realized it was fear. Interesting. Her gaze returned to the stars as they launched into space, watching the light, shadow, and awe-inspiring beauty of an infinite universe left to be conquered.