A/N: A quick 'n' dirty update because I'm not sure when my stolen wifi is going to give out, and I am dying to connect with people on the internet again.
Additionally, the plot on this story is moving... much quicker than I think I intended. I'm also not terribly... happy with this chapter. Eh, it'll probably feel better the more distance I give.
Strictly speaking, Demolition isn't a ruby's job. Knocking down existing structures is, of course, followed immediately by construction, and all of that falls under Pink Diamond. Since rubies report to Yellow Diamond, their prerogative will always be combat first.
The jurisdictional lines between where one Diamond's authority ends and the other's begins can get a little fuzzy, though, Ruby's noticed. Sometimes this is a selective process, and other times it is genuinely hard to tell. For example, Yellow may represent the military arm of the Diamond Authority, but military action generally only takes place on the planets of Pink's choosing, and Pink's choices are based upon Blue's research on ideal conditions for manufacturing specific gem classes.
All of which is to say, there are times when rough-'n'-tumble military gems find themselves becoming demolition experts for a day, because Pink Diamonds gems just don't have the muscle it takes to level out everything on a newly acquired planet so gemkind can start over. Well, they manage after a while, but military-class gems tend to get the job done much quicker.
Ruby was actually called in to help with the extermination phase. Her squares have such massive amounts of raw power that they typically cut the extermination time way down, which was great in this case because this particular planetary acquisition was behind schedule. Though she was only brought in to help with the combat portion of the process, she has conveniently not been given any other assignments these last few days, and she knows Yellow Diamond well enough to sense when she's being nudged to do something off the books.
So now she's part of a demolitions crew. Ruby honestly doesn't mind. Smashing through an obsolete culture's architecture is a great way to grind out the extra energy that's perpetually bubbling below her surface like so much magma. The ruby she's working with—the official precious gem for this planet—keeps screeching in delight from her side of the exponentiation, though she never makes an effort to take control of their arms and legs. It's pretty obvious she doesn't get the chance to let loose like this very often. Even the melee of battle had tasted like duty to her, but this—this is purely gratuitous, and it seems she is a fan of that.
And why wouldn't she be, really? Who doesn't like to let loose every once in a while?
"This structure isn't coming down!" calls a reddish brown bastinite. With a Mohs of 4.5 at the very highest, this gem class isn't suited for a whole hell of a lot. Bastinites are manufactured as engineers, though; they are programmed with an implicit understanding of building and viewing structural integrity—and, apparently, making stupidly obvious remarks about it.
Ruby, who had been punching and kicking in futility at the metal pillar the last reigning species had erected, stops as an idea strikes her. She drops onto one knee and directs her shared hands to splay on the ground, palms flat; she begins to exude heat, to channel it into the ground around the base of the pillar. If brute force won't work, then maybe she can weaken the structure with the element all rubies share. At the very least, perhaps she can make the base of the pillar pliable enough for it to be moved. It's metal, after all, and all metal loses to heat eventually.
It takes a little longer than she expects, admittedly, but perhaps that's just her own impression. Ruby has never been known for her patience. All the same, when she sees the base of the pillar begin to glow red as the ground around it steams with the searing temperature she grins with her shared mouth and leaps. The metal pillar lets out a high pitched groan as the hot metal bends from the brutal force of her impact. It makes quite a nice crash when it falls, too.
In their shared mindspace, the symmetrical, official ruby cackles in delight. She's so naïve; Ruby can't think of a time she had ever felt like that.
Bastinite's reddish-brown palette has gone a little yellow around the edges. "That's, uh, one way to do it," she says, and she even tries to laugh it off, but Ruby recognizes the look in her eyes.
She really, really resents the little gem for it.
"What?" she barks. "You wanted the pillar to go down, and now it is. What's your problem?"
Bastinite doesn't say anything. Her lips purse into a thinly controlled line; Ruby can tell she wants to speak up, but she won't. Low Mohs gems can't speak out against their betters. Even if she disagrees with something, Bastinite is only an engineer. She doesn't have any true authority.
She might have risked it anyway, if she knew which ruby is interacting with her right now—Ruby is only an exponent, after all. Since Bastinite doesn't know which one of them is talking, though, Ruby pretty much has a free pass to do and say whatever she wants. She'll take opportunities like that where she can get it.
Now that the pillar is down, it's quite easy for their exponentiation to heft the fallen architecture over her shoulder and carry it to the steadily growing pile of rubble. There are gems whose sole purpose is to go through mountains of garbage like this in search of salvageable materials. Ruby doesn't employ any finesse in dropping the pillar on top of the rest; it clangs hollow and satisfying against the ruins of old temples and city halls. She cracks her shared knuckles as she turns back to do it all over again with the next one. That hunk of junk never stood a chance against a squared ruby.
It isn't until two days later, after dozens of broken pillars and one utterly decimated colosseum, that the planet's Councilmember removes herself from the exponentiation and slumps against the nearest inanimate object—in this case, a chair next to the table-interface. The perfectly symmetrical red gem set in the center of her chest glitters in the gem-powered lights of her wing of the newly erected chamber of the Precious Council. Gems don't technically need to sleep, but that doesn't meant they aren't capable of exhaustion.
Her pearl, who has obviously been worrying herself silly the last several days (they've been exponentiated for the last week and a half), coos and fusses about her mistress, producing seemingly random objects from her gem storage in hopes that they might brighten her demeanor. The Councilmember talks over that as if it's not even happening. "And you're completely fine." It's hard to tell whether she is more incredulous or envious. "You're not tired at all."
"This is what I do, remember?" Nevertheless, Ruby rolls her shoulders and bounces on the balls of her feet, frankly glad that her projection is back to normal. She's an exponent, but this was one of her longer runs.
"You should really rest," her pearl continues, either unaware that she is being ignored or simply not caring at this point. "You're nearly pink, you're so pale. It's not proper for a ruby to be pink…"
"You're pretty old, aren't you," the official ruby says. She physically shifts so she can look around her pearl's worriedly flapping hands.
Ruby frowns. She swings her arms around on the pretext of getting used to the feel of them again, but in reality she just needs an outlet for the uncomfortable energy that has begun building in them. "Yeah, and you're pretty young. I don't see the point you're trying to make," she says, and she can't quite keep the guarded edge from her voice. Ruby has always been terrible about keeping her feelings under wraps.
"How many times have you done this?"
"Maybe you should rest in your quarters," her pearl continues, checking her gem for any signs of damage. The official ruby doesn't even seem to notice. "We wouldn't want you to be forced to regenerate."
Ruby is outright scowling now. She doesn't appreciate how personal this is getting. "What does it matter to you?"
The Councilmember's eyes narrow. "It matters because I'm your superior, and I asked you a direct question. My motivations aren't any concern of yours."
After depending so heavily upon Ruby's creativity and assertiveness this last week and a half—after being so blatantly delighted by the power of their exponentiation—she still thinks she can get away with talking like this? Really?
"You've been pushed too far," the pearl fusses, but only after shooting Ruby a truly disdainful glance. "Exponentiation isn't healthy for a gem, especially not for such a long time."
Ruby can't help it. She scoffs. Loudly. "You don't actually think you can intimidate me, do you?"
The Councilmember's pearl stops her blustering to stare, lips parted and expression torn between disapproval and shock.
The Councilmember herself is already on her feet again. She's not leaning against the interface anymore; her stance is wide and strong. What does she think is going to happen? "I know I can. I could have you destroyed, and no one would miss you," she growls out.
Ruby laughs. It's not really an expression of humor; rather, it is a bark of defiance. "You'd miss exponentiation too much, and I'm the only ruby exponent there is."
The pearl gasps and covers her lips with her hand as if this is nothing short of the most scandalous thing she's ever heard. Perhaps it is. The Precious Councilmember is young, after all, and the pearl was made to order on a saltwater farm less than a year after the official ruby forced her way out of the soil.
Yellow Diamond's official representative is grinding her projection's teeth. There is a flash of light, and just like that, her weapon is present. It is a pair of gloves very similar to Ruby's own, except these extend further up her forearms. "Just try me."
"You're too tired!" the pearl protests. "You should rest! Delegate!"
The Councilmember ignores this. She only has eyes for Ruby (and, presumably, her destruction).
Ruby is well and truly provoked now. The air around her is beginning to shimmer with heat. The floor beneath her feet is sheet metal, clinical and, now, rapidly turning as red as her temper. When Ruby's emotions become overwhelming, they translate to her element; it's not something she can necessarily stop, now that it's begun. She's destroyed rooms and buildings this way, simply by feeling too strongly. It's a hassle, a nuisance. It's why she will never be a Councilmember herself.
Just another defect to add to the list.
For all of her flaws, however, Ruby knows how to fight. She knows how to shift her projection so that her gem holding hand is angled as far from her opponent as it can get, and she knows how to dive in and strike hard. Just one hit is enough. The Councilmember is weakened anyway, and her pride would never allow for her to report being roughed up by her own exponent.
The official ruby of this gem forsaken planet crunches into the wall of her own quarters. She isn't really hurt—it takes much more than a single strike to truly damage a gem with a Mohs of 9—but she is stunned.
Ruby doesn't poof her. Perhaps she could, if she tried, but she doesn't finish the job. She just turns on heel and marches out, away from the table interface and away from the gem who thinks she's so much better, just because her projection is symmetrical. A blaze of heat follows her, funneling her through halls and doorways. Making enemies of a sister gem isn't the wisest thing Ruby's ever done, especially since they might have to exponentiate again—knowing Ruby's luck, they probably will—but she can't say she regrets it. Not even a little bit.
Of course, she thinks that until she hears her name and identification number over the intercom. She has to report to the extraplanetary warp station immediately. Her internal fire shivers somewhat with trepidation, but it steadies when she understands the inevitability of this.
She supposes it serves her right, to already be called in for punishment. Just because she doesn't regret picking a fight with an official ruby doesn't mean she isn't aware of the repercussions.
Oh well. It wouldn't be the first time something like this happened, and it certainly won't be the last.