THREE
FORTY-THOUSAND YEARS AGO
Obsidian watched the display intently, only vaguely aware of her surroundings. The holographic sphere showed the immediate area of space in which a very large conflict was about to take place. Various coloured blips hung suspended in the air within the sphere denoting the positions of various ships; green for the mercenary fleet of which she was a part, blue for their allies from the Gem Homeworld who had hired them, and red for the unidentified ships they were about to engage.
Three other people were standing around the floating sphere with her. To her right was a gem of impressive size and imposing stature. She was mostly green and wore a myriad array of mismatched pieces of armour adorned with war trophies of all kind. This was Emerald, the high commander of the mercenary fleet. To Obsidian's left was another gem of equally imposing stature, Grey Diamond. She was tall and elegant, with angular features and wearing the adornment of an Admiral of the Fleet, as such was her position among the Homeworld Fleet. Finally, directly across from her was a small thin gem, who was fidgeting nervously and wringing her hands. She was garbed in a simple white surplice and carrying a white rod of office under her right arm. This was Milky Quartz, the local overseer for the kindergarten project being undertaken on a nearby planet, which was the only planet with life in this system.
They were standing in the massive control bridge of Grey Diamond's command vessel, Leo-class dreadnought by the name of Lioness. Three large view screens made up one side of the room, while the other side was dotted with a multitude of smaller screens displaying the status of different aspects and areas of the ship. Numerous gems of all ranks and positions were moving around the room, collecting reports and cross-checking sensor results.
"S-s-s-so how many ships w-w-were there, again?" stammered Milky Quartz for the fifth time in the last hour.
Grey Diamond let out an exasperated sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fifty enemy contacts of unknown allegiance, twenty-two Homeworld vessels and thirteen mercenary vessels. How many times am I going to have to repeat myself?"
Milky Quartz was about to say something when they were interrupted by an anxious-looking gem carrying a holographic projector that was displaying reams of data.
"We've managed to deduce the composition of the opposing fleet. From the size and mass of the enemy contacts, as well as their reactor emissions, the fleet is composed of one capitol ship, four dreadnoughts, thirty-five cruisers and frigates, and finally a vanguard of ten destroyers."
"That's a crusade fleet by any account," Emerald took the projector and began scrolling through the data, updating the central holographic display in accordance with the new information. "We'll never be able to hold out against that."
Sirens began to blare all across the Lioness as ten new contacts flashed into life on the spherical display. "Enemy vanguard has moved into extreme weapons range and have launched torpedoes!" Came the call from the sensor station. "Three minutes until impact!"
And with that, the battle began.
The gem fleet immediately put up a cloud of flak fire which succeeded in destroying three torpedoes, but the remaining seven slipped through the defensive cloud unscathed and scored direct hits on their targets. Four ships were destroyed completely as the torpedoes struck ordinance bays or penetrated through to the reactor cores, while another three ships reported catastrophic hull damage and were rendered inoperative. The gem fleet retaliated with a salvo of torpedoes from all torpedo-capable vessels and managed to score six direct hits, crippling three vessels and causing a reactor overload in a fourth. By the time the enemy vessels had prepared a second salvo of torpedoes it was already too late: they were now within optimal weapons range of the gem fleet's primary weapons. Vicious broadside rounds tore massive chunks of armour and superstructure from the destroyers while laser weapons lanced through the destroyers' weak armour with surgical precision. The entire enemy vanguard was obliterated in a matter of seconds.
Grey Diamond smiled as she watched the blips representing the enemy destroyers blink out one-by-one. "I looks like we still have some time until the main fleet arrives. Emerald, I want you to take our remaining destroyers and move into a flanking position here," she indicated the area in the holographic sphere where the enemy vanguard had once been. "The radiation from the debris field should mask your reactor emissions long enough for you to get two salvos of torpedoes off. Hopefully that should put a large enough dent in their fleet to even the idea out a little."
Emerald nodded in response. "Obsidian, love, stay here and take charge of our ships." She stooped down to Obsidian, who was barely over half her height, and whispered "all according to plan so far." She planted a kiss on Obsidian's cheek, then turned and strolled off the bridge.
In more ways than you know, Obsidian thought to herself.
"You two share a very close relationship. It seems the rumours about your little group's savagery are quite untrue." Mused Grey Diamond as she tapped away at the control panel for the holographic sphere.
"She found me on an abandoned kindergarten world and raised me herself, taught me everything I know." This wasn't entirely true. While Emerald had found her on an abandoned kindergarten and taught her many things, the reality of it was that Obsidian was a member of an organisation known as the Obsidian Temple, an order of assassins, spies, saboteurs, and intelligence officers that acted as a secret police within gem society, had tasked her with keeping an eye on the dangerous mercenary warlord Emerald and, most recently, eliminating a member of the Diamond Authority whose controversial opinions and unorthodox methods were beginning to cause problems: Grey Diamond.
And the perfect opportunity to do so had arisen. A new alien empire was beginning to make its presence known that the Obsidian Temple wanted to know more about, Emerald was hungry for a new fight, and not too concerned against whom, and Grey Diamond had taken her fleet to inspect a small outpost in an isolated and vulnerable sector of gem space.
"T-t-this is hardly the t-t-time for talking about p-personal relationships!" shouted the usually meek Milky Quartz who was now absolutely livid, and the whole control bridge was stunned into silence by her outburst. "There is an entire f-fleet out there poised to l-l-lay waste to my planet and you're t-t-talking about p-personal relationships!"
"You're right; this is no time for idle small talk." Grey Diamond turned and strolled over to the other side of the control bridge so she could issue orders to her command staff. Obsidian was still watching the holographic display, tracking the course of the destroyers Emerald was commanding.
As soon as they entered the debris field the destroyers became undetectable to all sensors and the radiation began to jam communications, and that's when Emerald's plan kicked into motion. The mercenary ships deployed all broadside weapons and opened fire. Grey Diamond's destroyers were ripped apart in a single salvo, caught completely unaware. As the 'enemy' ships drew closer, the destroyers turned to face the rest of the gem fleet and unleashed a punishing salvo of torpedoes at what was essentially point-blank range. There wasn't enough time for the gem fleet to react, and every torpedo found its target.
Alarms began screeching throughout the Lioness as multiple hits were registered all across the ship's superstructure. Damage reports came flooding in from the fleet reporting massive damage and multiple casualties. Milky Quartz screamed and dived to the floor as computer stations blew out and gems were cracked and shattered. Grey Diamond began bellowing orders at her crew as the second salvo of torpedoes emerged from the debris field. Now it was time for Obsidian to act.
She touched the gem in the back of her hand to her forehead and a full-face visor sprang into existence. She then put the backs of her hands together and, with a bright flash, her weapons materialised. Two small gauntlets now encased her hands, each sporting four glossy black blades.
In a single motion, she turned and leapt towards Grey Diamond, claws ready to deliver a punishing diagonal slice. Grey Diamond sensed her coming, touched the gem on her hip and drew a long sabre from it. She turned and blocked the blow with ease.
"Damned traitor! I should never have trusted you!"
Obsidian smiled wryly behind her mask and studied the data scrolling across her vision. "I'm not the traitor, Diamond. The Temple wants you gone." Obsidian swiped low, aiming for Grey Diamond's knee. Grey Diamond leapt backwards, but misjudged the distance and hit the large view screen at the end of the room. Obsidian jumped after her and plunged her claws deep into Grey Diamond's chest. Grey Diamond was momentarily horrified before Obsidian wrenched her claws downwards and sliced her gem clean in half. Her body disappeared in a cloud of smoke and the two halves of her gem clattered to the deck.
Obsidian was about to bend down and pick up the halves when a thin white rod emerged through the centre of her chest.
"You'll take no p-p-prize this day, assassin." Milky Quartz whispered from behind her.
And then the whole world went black.
