Azurite inputted the terrestrial planet's coordinates with significantly more force than was strictly necessary, then quickly checked his peripheral vision to ensure that his copilot on this mission had not taken note of his brief lapse in composure.

Some of the fluorescent green thrown off by the control panel caught on a lock of raven black hair, and Azurite slid his gaze over his shoulder to see Black Sun smirking, hands crossed over her chest. She'd swung her seat away from the console, leaving Azurite alone to do the work of keeping their ship on course. There was something predatory about her, an instability hidden deep in her glittering black eyes, that cautioned the gem to hold his tongue. He was confident she'd been sent with him precisely because the council wanted to rid themselves of two problem gems at once. And if she shattered his gem? All the better.

"Do you plan to ignore me the whole trip, Azurite? That would make for a very boring ride." He wasn't looking at her, he refused to, but she knew she had his attention.

"Forgive me, Black Sun, if my priorities do not include keeping you entertained."

Gleaming white teeth flashed. "Oh, you are a feisty one, aren't you? No wonder you were demoted. The council can't stand gems with backbones." She frowned, a brief thing that disappeared quickly, replaced by her usual smirk. "Or brains, for that matter."

As much as loyalty required he protest at that, Azurite couldn't bring himself to argue. It was pointing out flaws in the plans of his superiors that had led to him being demoted and reassigned to Earth's Kindergarten.

Both the planet and the Kindergarten were long abandoned, so the insult was not subtle, nor was it meant to be.

Azurite was intelligent, hardworking, flexible, and sharp. Were he a Diamond, those traits would have earned him respect, as such traits were as expected as they were lauded when you were Diamond. But Azurites were meant to be blindly obedient. They were meant to follow orders and little else. Thus, he was flawed. A defective gem.

Time passed slowly as Black Sun continued to throw barbed, pointed remarks his way, anything to get a rise out of him. Instead of taking the bait, he chose to keep his head down, replying with answers consisting of minimal syllables and noncommittal sounds. Technically, she outranked him, as she had once served by Black Diamond's side, but when it was just the two of them, ranks mattered little.

Or perhaps that sort of thinking was simply more proof as to why he'd been deemed unfit for Homeworld. Either way, he could not change what had already been done. The best he could do was accept it and move forward.

It was while he was thinking that a boot arced through the air, hitting him squarely on the back of his head. He whipped around with a glower to see Black Sun was missing a shoe. She shrugged without feeling, saying flatly, "Whoops."

Reigning in his irritation with considerable effort, Leo picked up to the shoe, then reached out to hand it back to her. "I believe this is yours." It wasn't a question. Who else could it belong to? They were the only two on the ship.

She grinned, shark-like. "Finally got you to talk to me."

He settled against his chair, glanced at the ship's trajectory (it was self-correcting and stable), and then flipped on the ship's autopilot. They were nearly within the terrestrial planet's atmosphere, anyway. More than close enough for them to land with an acceptable margin of error.

Crossing his arms, Azurite said, "Alright. You want to talk? Let's talk. The rumors say you're insane." Her smile faltered. "Is that true?"

"Depends on your definition of insanity. As far as I'm concerned, I couldn't be saner. It's everyone else that's lost their minds." Back on Homeworld, those words would have been as good as treason. Speaking with her was dangerous.

The ship began to rattle violently as they breached the Earth's atmosphere, though Azurite was grateful for the interruption. They strapped themselves in, hands at their sides, torsos facing the console as red lights flashed and alarms blared. Temperatures rose, and though it would take much more than entry friction to burn up a gem, it was a discomfort they hoped would pass quickly. Neither had ever traveled to another planet before, and so did not know how long the heat and rough vibration would last.

Not soon enough, the ship's shields engaged, quickly stabilizing the fall and lowering the temperatures to more manageable levels. Azurite sighed internally, glad for the change. It was an experience he was not looking forward to repeating.

Black Sun threw her head, laughing. "Oh, this is exhilarating! I should have gotten myself kicked off Homeworld sooner!"

Azurite unstrapped his seatbelt once they landed, frowning at her words as his mind worked to imagine a way for a gem to purposefully have themselves banished from Homeworld . In the end, he chose to ignore the comment. He had a job to do, after all. "I'll go patrol the Kindergarten. You should remain here and check this vessel for any potential damage." That job did not include babysitting an unstable gem.

Fortunately, she nodded, putting up a mock salute. "Got it. I'll stay with the ship, Cap'n." Azurite narrowed his eyes, disdainful of her tone, but let it pass. She was obviously still trying to get a rise out of him.

After placing a radar built for detecting gem signatures in his belt, he pressed the button to open the back hatch and stepped out into the uninhabited planet, dimly aware that he was the first true gem to step foot in the Kindergarten since the war ended, thousands of years ago.