She thinks too much.
Pearls were not created to act independently. Their only real functions are to take orders, and repair and operate the Gem technology. They are cold, emotionless creatures, their fates decided entirely by their masters. Nothing fazes them. They are primary candidates for battle, as even though they aren't built for fighting, nothing traumatizes them, and there are so many of them that they are disposable.
But she is different. She cries. She laughs. She hurts, she hates, she loves, she feels.
And she thinks.
She questions everything, asserts her opinions, corrects her superiors and even her masters. She can't keep the words from pouring out of her.
Within six months, she is deemed defective and sent to a recycling camp, where flawed Gems are experimented on, beaten, and sometimes even shattered, all in the name of "fixing" them. During her fifteen years at the camp, there is a lot of talk about a rebellion that is supposedly sweeping across the Homeworld. She doesn't pay the gossip much attention until the day that the compound is blown up.
She doesn't remember much of the actual explosion, just a blinding light and deafening noise and the sound of screams, and little pops that she later learns are the sound of Gems shattering.
Her own Gem is chipped slightly, but it isn't too bad, because she was in the courtyard when the bomb hit, and the northernmost cluster of buildings took the brunt of the attack. When she opens her eyes, she sees someone standing over her. The Gem is staring at her inquisitively, head tilted to one side. She seems surprised that Pearl is awake.
"You're alive."
She touches her Gem with her fingertips. "So it would seem."
The other Gem's eyes crinkle with sorrow. "Poor thing." She offers a hand and helps Pearl to her feet, holding on to her until she can stand without wobbling. "Is your master around? Do you have anywhere to go?"
Pearl looks at the crumbly ground, blue eyes filled with shame. "No. I... I was staying here. At the camp. There's nowhere else that would take me."
The Gem's next words surprise her. "Then come with me. There's room on my ship."
Pearl's eyes dart up to her, growing wide, before disappointment shadows her features once more. "No. You don't want me. I'm... defective." She waves a hand in the general direction of the rubble. "That's why I'm here. They sent me away."
"Most of the Gems rebelling against Homeworld are defective in some way. They joined the cause because they didn't agree with the way they were treated here." She ticks them off on her fingers. "We've got a one-eyed Sapphire, a Ruby with an explosive temper, an Emerald who can't fly..." She smiles. "And me. A Rose Quartz without an ingrained desire to kill."
Pearl looks at her in fascination. "I only ever knew two other flawed Pearls. They kept all Gems of the same type together." She glances at the wreckage around her. "I suspect that they were killed." A pause. "Did you really mean what you said? About coming with you?"
Rose nods. "Of course. You would be a valuable addition to our team."
Pearl takes one last look at the place that has been her home, and nods once, firmly. "Yes, then. I'd like to go with you."
"Wonderful." Rose smiles, and for some reason the sight makes a warm feeling stir inside Pearl's chest. She smiles back.