Chapter One
Total silence.
That was all there was after Rose Quartz left the courtroom, just echoing, throbbing, terrifying silence that seemed to consume Yellow Pearl's ears. The Diamonds, who just a moment ago had been shouting, screaming, and desperately trying to stop Rose from getting away, were now frozen in shock and denial. Yellow Diamond, for all her beauty, lust, and magnificence, had her long neck stuck out at an unnatural angel and her eyes as wide as the great shield that Blue Diamond summoned for her weapon. Blue Diamond, for her part, was also still, but for her trembling hands and shaking shoulders. Yellow Pearl knew that she would soon be sobbing, and she wished that she could leave so that she would not have to experience the uncomfortable sensation of someone else's tears springing to her own eyes. Of course, she would never dare. She mustn't leave Her Diamond's side, especially now, or she would pay for it later.
"We- had- her!" Yellow Diamond screamed, suddenly enraged. "We had her- right- here- and- she- got- away!!!" If both Diamonds weren't already standing, Yellow Diamond would have leapt to her feet. Noting the furious look on her Diamond's face, Yellow Pearl wisely slunk into the shadows of Her Diamond's throne. She knew from experience that when Yellow Diamond was mad, she would not hesitate to take it out on anything or anyone. Yellow Pearl quietly looked away, praying that she would not be noticed.
It was a simple yet grand courtroom she found herself in; high, sparkling ceilings, fancy marble pillars, and two Diamond sized thrones. The hole that Blue Diamond's Palanquin had ripped through the wall during Rose Quartz's escape gaped, showing a grand view of a city bustling with spaceships and skyscrapers. The color theme of it all was, of course, yellow, seeing as this was Yellow Diamond planet. The gems of the two Zircons, (those poor idiots) lay on the floor. No one bothered to pick them up. Yellow Diamond paced with rage around the courtroom, ranting, coming very close to stepping on the two of them. Yellow Pearl prayed that they would not reform now. If they did, they would both probably be shattered for suggesting that one of the Diamonds had broken their sister. If they didn't, then there was a chance that they would be forgotten about and they could give up their careers, sneak out of the aristocracy, and try to find use for themselves in the slums. At this point, that's the best they could hope for. Yellow Pearl also noticed Blue Pearl standing, at the base of Blue Diamond's throne, in her usual pose; head down, arms clasped together in front of her chest, eyes closed and head bowed in submission. As Blue Diamond's Pearl, she was safe from Yellow Diamond's rage. Even as Diamonds, to whom most rules don't usually apply, it is a great offense to go after another's Pearl. Blue Pearl was safe- at least from Yellow Diamond. Sadly, the same could not be said of herself. Yellow Pearl slank deeper into the shadows.
"Why did you kill the Zircon?" Blue Diamond asked, her voice squeaking, making it obvious the effort she was making to hold it together. "He was making sense… he could have been on to something…"
"Lies" Yellow Diamond snarled "The desperate lies of a desperate fool! He shall be shattered for this! They both will!" She stormed, destroying any hope anyone might have had that the lawyers would survive. "We have bigger problems, Blue! Pearl!" Yellow Diamond ordered in the same breath. "Get some gem trackers out there! I want Rose Quartz FOUND! I don't care how!"
"Yes, my Diamond!" Pearl responded, glad of an excuse to leave the room. She fled through the main entrance, moving as fast as she could without actually running. As she left, she heard Blue Diamond burst into tears (It was inevitable) and Yellow Diamond begin to scream for her attendants. Yellow Pearl did not look back.
Yellow Pearl knew that her mission was important- she had never seen Yellow Diamond this angry and if she wanted to avoid a beating tonight she knew that she had better find Rose Quartz. It shouldn't be too hard- Rose Quartz was brought here in Aquamarine's ship, meaning that Rose didn't have a way off the planet. Yellow Pearl would put all the ships on lockdown, and then it would only be a matter of time.
It was a short walk to the teledove in the courthouse where Yellow Pearl was, and from there easy teleport to the Castle, which contained the intelligence, military, and airforce base for this planet, Galojaya, and the small moon next to it. It was also where both the Diamonds were staying. The castle was located right in the middle of the busiest city on this planet- Lumecia, the most bustling and rude place one could find. The people were loud, the colors were loud, everything was loud, as far as Yellow Pearl could tell. She hadn't been allowed to see much of the city, but so far, she quite liked it. Many people thought it was stupid to put the military base, the air force base, the center of intelligence, the Diamond's quarters, and the most populated area on this world (excluding kindergartens) all in one place, but those people were clueless to the fact that Lumecia was the most well- defended city in this solar system. Only authorized ships could get in and out, not only because of the patrols surrounding the city and planet, but also because of the countless soldiers, alarms, long and short range weapons, force fields, scanners, and checkpoints at every entrance to the place. Any dropped bombs would be deflected, any enemy ships would be shot down, and any potential infiltrators would be stopped before they even took two steps onto Lumecia soil. Galojaya was an important planet- not only did it have Lumecia, but it also hosted one of the biggest Amethyst kindergartens in the galaxy. In fact, Lumecia was built because of the kindergarten- all of those Amethysts needed somewhere to live. Yellow Pearl liked the excitement and the efficiency of the place, the way you could get lost in the crowd and the bustle of the world. City life.
Yellow Pearl arrived at the Castle. She had heard many people complain that the castle was two winding and confusing. There were stories of people that got lost going from one place to the next, and were never heard from again. She thought that was ridiculous. Yellow Pearl knew these hallways like the back of her hand. Most Pearls did. You tend to learn these things far quicker under constant threat of death, and Pearls everywhere had plenty of that.
Three rights and a left later, Yellow Pearl was staring at the Area Control Center of the castle. The room reminded Yellow Pearl of a bubble. It had a great domed glass roof and a clean metal floor. Circling the room was a long control panel covered with buttons and knobs and switches that do Diamonds-know-what. Jades, Jadeites to be specific, sat in the dozens of chairs surrounding the circular room, busy shouting into headsets and typing on computers. It was quite the hubbub, until Yellow Pearl walked in. A hush fell over the room as the Jadeites began to notice Yellow Pearl standing in the doorway. The place was almost completely quiet by the time the the head technician of the place stood. She sat at the strip of panel opposite the door, and had obviously been doing something very important before she was so rudely interrupted, based on the look she gave Yellow Pearl. But the fact was, no matter how important the thing you were doing was, Diamond orders came first.
"What does my Diamond wish?" The head technician asked sarcastically. Everyone was required to suck up to the Diamonds and do what the say, whether you liked them or not. But their Pearls? Pearls were the lowest class of gem there was, and although other gems had to take orders from them on behalf of their masters, they themselves were shown no respect.
With as much dignity as she could manage, Yellow Pearl replied "Lock down all the ships. No one comes, no one leaves." In response to the disbelieving look that the head technician gave her, Yellow Pearl added "These orders are of highest importance to Yellow Diamond. I expect them followed precisely. No exceptions." Yellow Pearl turned on her heel and left, head held high, ignoring the grumblings of the incredulous Jadeites behind her.
Yellow Pearl quickly darted to the Base of Military Operations (BMO) in the castle. Here, the BMO was a long metal hall full of weapons displays, computers, spare parts, and the occasional spaceship outfitted with rockets. There was activity everywhere. Jadeites scurried around under larger gem's feet, trying not to get squashed. As the technicians of the gem world, they were all working hard on the computers, or tinkering in ships. A few of their greater cousins, Nephrites, all natural born pilots, strolled around the room like they owned the place. Well, they kind of did. Unlike their little cousins, Nephrites were rare and valued. Jaspers strutted around, shoulders tight, barking orders at their inferiors. Every bit the generals they were created to be, Jaspers were proud, arrogant, and merciless. They were extra big, had extra muscle, and were extra mean. There were more Amethysts in the humungus hall than any other gem. As the common soldiers, Amethysts were higher in class than Jadeites but lower in class than Jaspers. They marched in rows, forming multiple rectangles of about five by eight gems across. They all carried spears, the cheapest weapons for the BMO to produce. A few were practicing sparring or marching. Peridots strolled, somehow managing to navigate the chaos with their noses buried in in the screens of the tablets that they always carried. They muttered to themselves and glared at people when anyone got too close. There was one other Pearl in the hall- A green tinted pearl, perhaps belonging to an Emerald or maybe a very high level Nephrite.
Whoever the green-tint belonged to, it didn't matter. Yellow Pearl walked past them all with her head held high, her gaze focused on the horizon, avoiding eye contact. She pretended to ignore the stares of superiority and dislike. Although none of them would ever admit it, most gems were quite jealous of her because she got to work so closely with Yellow Diamond. Who was she, just a common Pearl, to give commands to them in their Diamonds name? Who was she, the lowest of the low, to confer with their Diamond, speak to her, serve her so directly? The result of their jealousy and their shame of being jealous of a Pearl in the first place was hatred. And the more orders Pearl gave the more resentful they were. Nobody liked having to follow a Pearls orders, even if they were passed down from a Diamond. Yellow Pearl wanted to tell them all how horrible her job actually was, but fear of her Diamond and the few slivers of pride she had left kept her mouth shut. And so she walked on.
Now that she could be sure that Rose Quartz was trapped on the planet, all she had to do was organize a search party to find her. An easy task- the only problem was that she would have to talk to a Jasper to do it. Jaspers were all about strength and high ranking, and sense Pears have neither, Jaspers couldn't have less respect for them. Well, what else was new? Mustering her courage, Yellow Pearl approached the Jasper in command of this station- a yellow-orange gem with muscles thicker than Yellow Pearl's head. This Jasper's hair was long, yellow and full, and the proud gem looked all the more fierce for it. She glared a Yellow Pearl as the latter approached.
"What happened, Pearl? You get lost?" The imitating gem taunted. Yellow Pearl gulped. She hadn't realized how tall this Jasper was. As those huge biceps towered over her, she had the urge to take a step back. But she didn't. In the world that she lived in, weakness got you nowhere. There was no pity for gems that would or could not fill the position they were made for. You either made yourself useful or you were shattered. It was that simple. Still, it was hard to hold her ground and look the Jasper in her beady eyes as she said the lines that she had rehearsed in her head before she came.
"Her Magnificence Yellow Diamond requires the Amethyst guards in the city to be doubled - no, tripled - and put on high alert. They are looking for a Rose Quartz, but a strange one - a shortie with black hair. Her Lustiness also requires the robanoids to be sent out to patrol the city, especially the catacombs, and several Ruby guards to search for the Quartz by air. Say, 800 robanoids, and 30 roaming eye ships with five Rubies each. That would be, oh, let's see, 150 Rubies." Yellow Pearl enjoyed showing off her math skills to other gems. As a Pearl, she wasn't supposed to know how to read, write, or do basic math. However, as a Diamond's Pearl, she had bigger responsibilities than just opening doors, so Yellow Pearl had taught herself to do do all of the above through careful observation of others. Normally that was a punishable offense, but Yellow Diamond allowed it because it made her Pearl far more productive. And the best part was, other gems couldn't do anything about it. There were no laws against other gems reading or doing math, but many Rubies, Amethysts, and Onyx's could not, so Yellow Pearl took special pride in that skill. "All this is to happen immediately. Is that understood?"
"Triple the Amethysts? We don't have that many to spare!" The Jasper fumed. It seemed like they had plenty to spare, Yellow Pearl thought, looking around the hall, but she kept her mouth shut.
"These are her Majesty Yellow Diamond's orders, not mine." Yellow Pearl said obnoxiously. She hardly recognized her own voice, shot with confidence. Inside she was shaking. "And she expects them to be carried out in fullness."
The Jasper glared at her as if wishing to hit her, but she couldn't. Instead she grumbled. "Fine. Tell her Greatness Yellow Diamond that it is done." She began to leave, but then half turned around. "But do not forget your place, you clod. I follow Her Diamond's orders, not yours. And were you my Pearl, I would beat some respect into you."
"I look forward to that day." Yellow Pearl shot back, wishing that she could hold her troublesome tongue and just nod her head. Maybe it would make others hate her less. The grin that the Jasper gave her over her yellow striped shoulder made Yellow Pearl glad that her status as a Diamond's Pearl protected her.
"As do I" The larger gem snarled, her face still smiling hideously. She turned and was lost in the crowd, leaving Yellow Pearl with a sick feeling in her gem.