CLANG. The sound of something hitting the ship made Sentry nearly jump out of place. Nervous electricity crackled at her fingertips for an instant. Is it the rebellion? Are they attacking us? Then Sentry remembered where exactly they were. If they were entering Earth's solar system faster than the speed of light, it was nearly impossible not to hit something on the way. Sentry relaxed once more.
More objects hit the spaceship, not leaving the slightest dent in the nearly indestructible vehicle. Sentry gazed around at the other moonstones nearby, all standing in perfect formation against both sides of the room. All looked incredibly bored despite the turbulence. She couldn't blame them. They were all, yet again, accompanying a diamond on a planet visit. Their mission was as simple as ever. Go to Earth, check the new buildings and kindergartens, go back to Homeworld. Pink Diamond makes way too many trips to this teensy planet, Sentry thought, before she pushed the idea to the back of her head and dismissed it. Opinions would only get her in trouble. Besides, she had to be wrong anyway. The diamonds were always right, always correct in everything they did. Sentry had been taught that since her creation, right from the moment she emerged from the ground. Nobody was to question the diamonds, especially not a lowly moonstone soldier. She had never met any of the diamonds, not even hers, White Diamond, but she knew that they must be terribly smart and powerful to earn so much respect.
Sentry searched the lines of moonstones for her friend, Chip. Although all moonstones looked relatively similar to each other compared to other types of gems, Sentry could tell them all apart in a heartbeat. She couldn't see her friend among the lines of faces, however. Was she even sent on this mission? Sentry hoped so. Chip was Sentry's only friend. A moonstone having even a single friend was very rare, as many couldn't care less about friendship. In fact, Sentry really hadn't seen any other gems who had friends. It was understandable for Sentry, though; most gems were too occupied training or creating buildings or making weapons. Neither Sentry or Chip received much training at all. The older moonstones were the gems that received the best, most immersive training, and Sentry was very young compared to them. She wished she could receive better training, though. Sentry didn't admit it, but she had a very difficult time controlling her electric powers. She couldn't always make her lightning sword work properly, and often during what little practice she got she would accidentally zap other gems. The only other gem she talked about her problems to was Chip, and she said she had the same troubles. It was noticeable for Sentry, too. Sometimes Chip couldn't make electricity, would become frustrated, and then end up accidentally blasting an electric shock wave at everyone around her in her angered state. Oddly enough, the moonstones' superiors never seemed to notice Chip or Sentry's blunders. Sentry was always afraid she may make a mistake one day with bigger consequences, but never dared to mention either her's or Chip's incompetence for fear that they may be punished, and at worst, shattered.
"I'm over here, idiot." Sentry heard a familiar voice whisper quietly. She turned to her side to find Chip only a few feet away, laughing softly. Her friend always seemed to know when Sentry was looking for her.
"You need glasses, Sen? Let's steal some from a peridot later." Sentry giggled as quietly as possible, and Chip shapeshifted her head to look like that a peridot's. She curled her fingers into circles and placed them over her eyes before turning back to her normal self and smiling brightly. Although Chip thought her grin was goofy, Sentry was jealous of her beautiful smile. Everything about Chip seemed abnormally pretty to Sentry, from her eyes, a light green instead of the normal moonstone blue, to her laugh. Both gems tried desperately to muffle their giggles as much as possible. Soldiers weren't supposed to talk on missions, unless there was an emergency, so they had to try their best to keep it quiet. A few nearby soldiers gave the two gems angry or confused glares.
The door to the room they were in suddenly opened, and a jasper walked in, followed by a very quiet peach-colored pearl, no doubt belonging to the hulking quartz soldier. Sentry and Chip immediately fell silent, their faces turning to stone. Oh no, Sentry thought. Please don't be here for me. They wouldn't shatter us for laughing. Would they? Sentry saw the jasper's neon yellow eyes flicker across the room before landing on her. The jasper briskly walked towards Sentry, her shoes making a clacking noise on the hard floor. The jasper took her place next to her, and to Sentry's astonishment, said nothing. The pearl accompanying the quartz stood near the door, her head hanging.
Sentry glanced nervously at Chip, who looked like she was about to have a panic attack. All jaspers were quite frightening, but this one especially was very intimidating. This quartz had broader shoulders than any jasper Sentry had seen before. She was a much deeper red than most jaspers, almost like a carnelian, but not quite. She had deep crimson stripes that contrasted with her piercing yellow eyes, and she stood much taller than an amethyst. Her gem was embedded into her arm, which Sentry recognized as a sign of strength. Sentry knew that she must be of a high rank. She owned a pearl, after all. This jasper's rank must have been no lower than a commander. She certainly looked like one. Her face appeared serious, but her eyes looked slightly nervous and tense, which Sentry didn't understand. What would this gem be nervous about? Did something go wrong?
Suddenly, something hit the ship so hard that Sentry stumbled in surprise. The vehicle shook, and Sentry fell towards the floor, stretching an arm out to catch her fall. Just before she hit the ground, Sentry felt a large hand grab her wrist. She looked behind her to find the jasper pulling her back to her feet. As soon as it started, the shaking stopped, and the ship was cruising through space smoothly once more. Low murmurs swept through the room, which soon stopped as all the moonstones remembered the commander present among them. Then, the jasper did something Sentry didn't expect.
"Strange solar system, huh? I can't understand how the rebellion survives in this place," the jasper said to Sentry, her voice low yet somewhat casual, "Are you alright?" Sentry turned to her in surprise. No jasper had ever spoken to her before, besides the orders they've shouted at her.
"Yes," Sentry said tentatively, "I think I'm fine. Thank you." Sentry began to turn back to her place in line before remembering something. She had to salute her, of course! Sentry crossed her arms against her chest in an X and pointed her hands to the side. Or are my hands supposed to be pointed up? It had been so long since she had trained with a quartz, and Sentry couldn't seem to remember a thing. Sentry heard the jasper laugh.
"Who in the name of the diamonds are you trying to salute?" the jasper smiled, and Sentry found herself smiling too. "You don't need to be so formal anyway." Sentry relaxed a bit. This jasper wasn't similar to others she met. She didn't seem as concerned with the rigorous Homeworld criteria as others were, which was strange, seeing as she was obviously of a very high rank. She seemed calm. She appeared oddly gentle, despite her strength, and perhaps just a bit silly. She reminded her a bit of Chip, so perhaps Sentry could let her guard down a bit. Just a bit.
"With a commander, it's better to be safe than sorry." Sentry said with a slight smile. The jasper gave Sentry a suspicious look.
"How are you so sure I'm a commander?" she inquired.
"Well, you're a jasper, for one, and most jaspers have a fairly high rank. Also, you own a pearl."
"You're awfully smart for a soldier. Are you sure you're not a citrine or beryl?" the red quartz mock gasped, "Are you here to spy on us?" Sentry laughed a bit.
"No, I'm just a moonstone. Or at least, I think I am. You never know." Sentry smiled, "Although, I am quite skilled with names."
"Are you?" the jasper asked, "Okay, what's my cut, then?"
"Not that type of name. I mean, like…. nicknames." Sentry replied. The jasper tilted her head in confusion.
"Well, you see, me and my friend just thought since all of us are referred to as "moonstone," maybe we could call each other something different, you know? Just in case if we're stuck in a battle, and one of us gets hurt or something, we can yell each other's name." Sentry knew that wasn't entirely true. Chip and Sentry had really just nicknamed each other because it was fun, and moonstones didn't get to experience much fun. Getting help on the battlefield was really just a smaller benefit for them.
"So I called my friend 'Chip' because she has a tiny dent on her gemstone. And she called me 'Sentry.' She said it's because I was "watchful" or something like that." The jasper had a thoughtful look in her eyes.
"That's….interesting," the jasper said, "most gems just refer to me as 'Jasper' or 'that one red quartz' or 'that monster'. It's nice that you have an individual name." Sentry smiled, but part of her mind was still a tad suspicious. Why was a jasper, of all gems, acting so amiable towards a moonstone? Sentry tried to figure out her motives, but nothing she thought of seemed to make much sense.
"Well, I can see why. You must be very powerful to have your own pearl." Sentry said. The quartz turned her eyes away from her.
"Yeah, I suppose." The jasper's reply was rather simple. A slight smile was painted on the red gem's face. Her eyes were trancelike. Is she… blushing?
Sentry felt the ship begin to slow down. They were approaching Earth. A voice echoed throughout the ship.
"Commander Facet 3F4L Cut 9TM, please report to your agate for instruction." The jasper snapped out of her daze.
"I need to get going. Fire Agate won't be pleased if I'm even a second late." she smiled, turning to the door. "If you need something, you heard my name. Just shout at me." Sentry laughed a bit.
"I'll never remember those numbers. Can I call you something a bit shorter?"
"Sure, I guess." Sentry thought for a second.
"How about Carmine?" Sentry suggested.
"Carmine," the jasper repeated, "I like it."