Agate. The name alone suggests an air of confidence, a prestige and respectability that only the finest socialite could possess. It suggests tranquility and patience, but also control, precision, and efficiency. Therefore, if you heard that someone by the name of Agate was the chief curator of a prominent museum, you would say, "That museum must run like clockwork with someone like Agate in charge."
However, the Homeworld outpost orbiting a gas giant in the Kappa Reticuli star system is no ordinary museum. Nor is Holly Blue Agate, the overseer of its operation, an ordinary curator or an ordinary Agate.
Holly Blue Agate is not proper or respectable in any sense of the word. Instead of being tranquil and patient, she is loud, overly demanding, cruel, and, in some ways, sadistic. She revels in tormenting and berating her employees, the Amethysts, Jaspers, and Carnelians who were kept alive after the devastating Gem War and its aftermath purely out of Blue Diamond's sentimentality towards her fallen sister Pink Diamond, the Quartzes' original master. This sentimentality also moved Blue Diamond to repurpose her sister's human zoo at Kappa Reticuli into a monument to her legacy, tending to the descendents of the humans abducted and held there during the Homeworld occupation of Earth and giving her Quartz soldiers, whom many would have wanted shattered after one of them shattered Pink Diamond, a purpose.
But returning to the subject of Holly Blue, despite all of her arrogance and callousness, she does have one weakness: she is way too eager to please. Whenever Blue Diamond visits the outpost to mourn her sister, Holly Blue rushes to accommodate her every need, and becomes especially cruel to the Quartzes in an effort to do so with great haste. Seeing as Blue Diamond had been visiting an average of once a week for the last five thousand years, the general mood of the facility was a mixture of tension and resentment. If Gems had the concept of labor unions, one could imagine that the Quartzes would soon form one.
However, the upcoming visit was far from the ordinary: Yellow Diamond would be visiting the facility, but not to see Blue. Were Holly Blue less preoccupied with making her "No good clumps of rock" look respectable, she might have wondered why else Yellow Diamond would visit than to check on Blue. After all, Yellow Diamond had no interest in the facility itself; in fact, Holly Blue had overheard her trying to convince Blue to retire it several times during her visits. However, her need to impress Yellow Diamond outweighed her curiosity. Besides, it was hardly her place to question a member of the great Diamond Authority.
When her ship docked with the station and her palanquin landed in Shuttle Bay 3, Holly Blue could instantly tell that Yellow Diamond had undergone a profound change. Her last visit had her walk through the station's hallways with exasperation as her sister continued to mourn Pink Diamond's loss; now she walked through the halls with resignation and the cold demeanor that she was known and feared for throughout the galaxy approaching absolute zero. What's more, she had brought aboard her own Gems: a tall Diaspore and two large Apatites that accompanied her, and 2 dozen more Apatites which she left milling about in the Shuttle Bay. Holly Blue began to grow concerned, and thought she might clear the air a little, while keeping within the bounds of protocol.
"E-excuse me, your magnificence," Holly Blue began. Yellow Diamond angled her head slightly towards her, the signal for her to continue at her own peril. "M-might I inquire as to where you are going?" She made sure to say "you are" rather than "we are," as assuming oneself to be worthy of being put in the same group as a Diamond was a grievous offence.
Holly Blue had thought she'd be reprimanded for this, but instead Yellow Diamond simply responded, "To my late sister's old office. There are some things I would like to discuss with you."
With no further conversation, lest Holly Blue further endanger herself, she, Yellow Diamond and her attendants, and a pair of Amethysts made their way to Pink Diamond's office within "the Jewel," so named for its placement in the center of the sword-shaped station's pommel and its resemblance to the ornamental jewels often placed within them.
As they arrived at the door and Holly Blue ordered her guards to stand outside, Holly Blue began wondering what Yellow Diamond could possibly want to talk about. Perhaps she wishes to know how the station has gone by in Blue Diamond's absence, she thought. Optimistic, maybe, but it seemed like the only somewhat logical possibility Holly Blue could think of.
The Apatites stood at the shut door behind her. Holly Blue began to feel trapped, but with no other option, she stepped forward to kneel before Yellow Diamond as she sat down in her sister's old desk.
When Yellow Diamond seemed satisfied with Holly Blue's display of reverence, she took a deep breath and hunched over slightly to get a better look at her.
"Agate," she began, "would you say this facility is running efficiently?"
"Oh, yes, your lustrousness!" Holly Blue enthusiastically responded. "It hasn't run this smoothly since Pink Diamond first established it!"
"Hm, yes," Yellow Diamond said, clearly not impressed. She paused for a moment before continuing, "Are the Quartzes performing adequately?"
Agate nodded.
"What about the...specimens?" she hesitated for a couple seconds, as if she was loathe to mention them, but had to for the sake of protocol.
"Oh, no trouble from them, your radiance," Holly Blue said.
"All 107 of them?" Yellow Diamond asked.
"Y-yes. All 107 of them have been behaving properly," Holly Blue added, a bit anxious.
"Hm," Yellow Diamond paused once more, as if in contemplation. She looked down to Diaspore, who handed her a holopad with information of some kind. She seemed surprised at its contents-or rather, tried to act surprised.
"Then tell me: why are there only 105 humans in the facility?"
Holly Blue was shocked, wondering how she could have gotten this information. Yellow Diamond answered the question hastily concealed on her face.
"Don't tell me you forgot why those earrings were inserted into their ear lobes. They're the only way our scanners can keep track of them."
Holly Blue was nervous now, worried as to whether she would be removed from her position in light of this failure. Yellow Diamond going into a tirade about how useless and pathetic she was didn't help in the slightest.
By the time ten minutes had passed, the Quartz guards outside the door, eager to see the look on Holly Blue's face when Yellow Diamond was done with her, called up the other Quartzes to stand outside and watch, being sure to avoid Yellow Diamond's guards lest they be reprimanded for sneaking away from their posts.
Yellow Diamond would have continued for several more minutes had a Peridot from her ship not contacted her, saying, "My Diamond, there seems to be a complication with the-" before she was angrily silenced.
Yellow Diamond proceeded to calm herself, and although Holly Blue was wild with terror, she couldn't help but feel as if Yellow Diamond had exaggerated her visible anger for some ulterior purpose.
"I want an explanation, Agate, and I want it now," she said calmly. Too calmly.
Between her 50 foot tall figure, her sudden shift in tone, and her overwhelming desire to not be demoted, Holly Blue was terrified by Yellow Diamond and breathlessly recounted how the humans, Greg and Steven, had escaped with the help of a band of rebels.
She had just gotten to the part where she had been defeated by the rebels and how the Quartzes had done nothing to prevent their escape when Yellow Diamond shocked her with a scathing, yet false, interjection, "And so you destroyed them all."
In its blatant untruthfulness, both Holly Blue and the Quartzes outside were surprised, with the former hastily attempting to correct her, to no avail.
Yellow Diamond clearly no longer cared to hear her story. She turned to Diaspore and told her, "Begin a new log entry, supplemental: 'What I have witnessed saddens me beyond description. The Holly Blue Agate in charge of this facility has not only failed to report the escape of two humans from the Zoo, but she has also destroyed all of the Quartzes in this facility rather than accept her own failure.'"
Holly Blue was too shocked for words. She attempted to move closer and interject, but the two Apatites at the door quickly fused and grabbed her with both arms, preventing her from moving.
Yellow Diamond continued, "'Based on our sensor data and what we could extract from the Agate, it would seem that she overloaded the plasma conduits in rooms E25 and E36. The resulting discharge completely vaporized the rooms and all of the Amethysts, Jaspers, Carnelians, and Rose Quartzes within them. The entire complement of guards were in their quarters in E25, probably engaged in some sort of social event, when the conduits overloaded. There were no survivors.'"
As Holly Blue continued to plead for her life and point out Yellow Diamond's mistake, the Quartzes outside began to grow worried as well, unsure what Yellow Diamond could possibly be planning in there.
Yellow Diamond concluded, "'I have decided to take matters into my own hands. I will leave behind a staff of 100 of my best Apatites and Peridots to repair and oversee the facility under Diaspore's command until a replacement staff can be acquired. The Agate will be shattered shortly after this log entry is terminated.'" She paused before adding, "'Blue will be happy to know that the humans are still safe and sound, completely unaware of the tragic loss of Pink Diamond's remaining soldiers. I will be returning to Homeworld promptly so that I may oversee the trial of the Rose Quartz who shattered Pink Diamond. I will do my best to not let my grief over this tragedy impede my performance...' End log."
With this thus concluded, Yellow Diamond tapped the communicator within her helmet.
"Y-yes, my Diamond?" A nervous Peridot onboard the ship replied.
"Are the preparations complete?" Yellow Diamond asked.
"Yes, my Diamond. All of the Rose Quartzes have been moved to the flagship and are ready to be loaded onto a troop transport. The plasma conduits can be overloaded remotely at your leisure," the Peridot responded.
"Excellent. That will be all."
"B-but, my Diamond, there appears to be a problem. The Quartzes have-"
"I said that will be all, Peridot," Yellow Diamond curtly replied before terminating the communication.
Holly Blue was struggling with renewed vigor, enraged at what Yellow Diamond was planning to do to Pink Diamond's monument. She questioned her, "You would dare damage this facility? Destroy what remains of Pink Diamond's legacy?"
Yellow Diamond ignored her and turned to Diaspore again, saying, "Diaspore, would you please have Agate here escorted to the ship, and have every Quartz soldier confined to E25 until further notice?"
Diaspore smiled in a conspiratorial and gleeful manner as she said, "Gladly, my most magnificent Diamond."
As Diaspore made the necessary arrangements on her holopad, Holly Blue continued to protest, saying, "How could you do this? Pink Diamond was-"
"Pink Diamond was a weak, pathetic fool," Yellow Diamond interrupted her.
This only served to shock and enrage Holly Blue further.
"She was too foolish to see how far the Rebellion's lies had spread among her subjects. She was so pathetic as to wish to preserve that planet's muck of a dominant species in this facility. She was too weak to crush a disorganized, chaotic mess of defective traitors even when presented with several opportunities over one thousand years of war. And she was weak enough to let a defective clump of Earthen filth destroy her." Yellow Diamond paused for a moment before continuing. "Pink Diamond got no more than she deserved for her weakness." Another pause as she said, with the slightest hint of resignation, "And if Blue's too weak and sentimental to see it that way...then she'll get what she deserves as well."
This flew Holly Blue into a blinding fury, and she surely would've broken free and shattered the Apatite fusion holding her if Diaspore hadn't drained her Gem of energy with her mechanical enhancers, leaving her weak enough to be subdued once more.
"Oh, I know what you're thinking: 'How could she possibly forsake her dearest sister?'" She scoffed before continuing, "It seems her overt sentimentality has infected you as well. Surely you don't think I'm supposed to love her for no good reason?"
Holly Blue would have spoken had the Apatite fusion not been covering her mouth at the time.
"There's only one trait in others that I truly love: perfection. Nothing makes me more appreciative than an equal who is flawless," she said before sneering down at Holly Blue and continuing, "and a subordinate who is respectful of their place."
She stood back up to her full height and continued, "Pink and Blue were perfect once, but now their perfection has been tainted. Besmirched. Defiled. But soon, soon that will be corrected...and all will be as it should be again."
She paused, as if she was making up her mind whether or not to tell Holly Blue her plans. Reaching a decision, she said, with growing rage, "Once that traitorous Rose Quartz pays for her crimes, I'm going to send all of her kin to that hunk of rock she calls home. I'm going to have them shatter her forces and reduce that worthless civilization she allowed to exist to dust. And just when they think they've paid for the crimes of their species, I'm going to leave them to be shattered once the Cluster emerges and splits that planet into millions of shards!" She took a brief pause before she screamed, "And when it does, I'm going to have my ships vaporize every single atom of that pathetic world's surface and its hideous satellite until there's nothing left to indicate that it ever existed!"
Yellow Diamond would have continued her outburst had she not noticed her subordinates' eyes on her. She calmed herself before she resumed her monologue.
"Me and my sisters were designed to be flawless. We were to have no equal in combat, nor in intellect, nor in grace, nor in being. And we were to rule without passion and without weakness. The perfect leaders of a multi-galactic empire." She paused once more before continuing, almost remorsefully, "For almost 5000 years, I've tried to save her from herself. I thought that our great empire could only sustain itself if there were multiple Diamonds to rule it." Another pause. "I realize now that that is impossible. Blue is too tainted to be saved, and logic suggests that it will only be a matter of time before White Diamond becomes tainted as well. But I..." One final pause as she concluded with this statement, delivered with all of her renowned strength and confidence: "I will never be."
By this time Diaspore had made it to the door, and the Apatite fusion had begun to carry Holly Blue, kicking and screaming, towards it as well.
She opened it to find a 50 foot tall, four-armed fusion and 56 other Quartzes blocking the hallway, with weapons summoned and eager for battle.
"I don't know, Yellow," the fusion replied. "I have a feeling you'll end up very besmirched in the next few minutes."
Were Yellow Diamond slightly less confident in her own genius, she might have resolved to actually listen to Peridots from now on; the Peridot who kept contacting her had already detected the Quartzes standing outside the door, and would have alerted the Apatites had Yellow Diamond not clearly dismissed it as irrelevant.
However, Yellow Diamond was more concerned with the fact that she was currently being hit in the stomach and into the wall of the office by a four armed fusion that was as large as she was and carrying a giant shield with which she performed the aforementioned action.
The fusion, who would later identify herself as Tiger's Eye, quickly dispatched of the Apatite fusion after Holly Blue took advantage of her confusion to break free, and Tiger's Eye used her shield to throw it into Yellow Diamond's path before stepping back and tearing into the door mechanism, forcing the door to lock itself and trap Yellow Diamond inside.
Tiger's Eye was about to clear a path through two approaching Apatites when the Diaspore attempted to drain her energy before her equipment was rendered inoperable by Holly Blue's electro whip and the advancing Apatite's Gem destabilizers were overloaded by a surge of electricity from the whip, causing the energy within to explode and destabilize them both.
Her cooperation clearly established, the Quartzes and their former master rushed to the elevator. Holly Blue was worried they wouldn't all fit, but Tiger's Eye had a different idea in mind: to tear out the platform and throw it at 3 more advancing Apatites, knocking them out cold and giving all of them clearance to jump down the shaft straight down to the hallway leading into Shuttle Bay 3, located 7 floors below at "the Crossguard." Using herself as a platform, Tiger's Eye grabbed the walls of the shaft and allowed everyone else to land on her and get into the hallway.
Once they arrived, they found 10 Apatites waiting for them in two lines of 5 each, with each one carrying a Gem Destabilizer. They attempted to fire them, but those with Crash Helmets quickly flew up to them and beat them to the ground, with a few taking their destabilizers and destabilizing the downed Apatites in a matter of seconds. After that, they flew down the tight hallway like a squad of mobile gatling guns, destabilizing most foes and knocking down the rest to be eliminated by the Quartzes and Holly Blue behind them. By the time they got to the Shuttle Bay, only 2 or 3 Apatites were left. They bravely defended the cargo transport the Quartzes headed towards, destabilizing 3 of the Amethysts before being knocked out. Tiger's Eye hurried the Quartzes into the ship until only she, Holly Blue, and 5 Amethysts remained in the hangar. The Amethysts formed a ring around Tiger's Eye as she unfused into two Amethysts and Jaspers, who quickly got up and followed Holly Blue and the others into the ship. No sooner were the Amethysts about to leave than Yellow Diamond burst through the hallway an avatar of pure rage. One of the Amethysts fired her Destabilizer at Yellow Diamond before discovering, to her horror, that it only seemed to leave a small gash across her face, almost as thin as a papercut. Slowly moving up onto the ship, all 5 of the Amethysts fired a long, sustained burst at Yellow Diamond, leaving her howling in pain as she staggered backwards and fell to the ground. They kept at it until they were at the hatch before frantically closing it.
"Get us out of here, Skinny!" One of the Amethysts shouted, frightened out of her mind as Yellow Diamond's screams of rage seemed to be causing turbulence outside of the ship.
The Gem in question, a thin Jasper, replied, "I'm doing the best I can! This is my first time flying this model!"
The ship slowly rose into the air, clanking against the walls before stabilizing and preparing for takeoff.
No sooner had Skinny laid in a course for the nearest star system then Yellow Diamond, still half-blind due to the destabilizers, attempted to strike the ship down with an energy blast. Although she had tried to hit the engines, she ended up instead hitting the port side fuel cannister, causing the ship to leak plasma as it regained balance and shot off on course to the nearest star system before Yellow Diamond could try again.
As they departed, Yellow Diamond got up, rubbed her eyes, and surveyed the damage. Her communicator blipped.
"My Diamond, would you like us to pursue the transport in the flagship?" The same Peridot from earlier asked.
"Not with the flagship, no," Yellow Diamond replied. "Have a squadron of Red Eyes dispatched to search for them. See to it that every single one of them is eliminated." She paused and surveyed the damage to the station before adding one more command: "And contact Diaspore, will you? Tell her I want her to send a staff of 200 to conduct repairs rather than 100."
"It will be done, My Diamond." The Peridot terminated the connection.
As her face finished repairing itself, she looked out at the plasma trail of the Quartzes' transport as it lost its coherence and faded away.
Just one more blemish, Yellow Diamond thought. One more blemish futily standing in the way of perfection.