*AN: I'm really excited about my first Steven Universe fanfic. Feedback is very welcome. I would love to know what you think of the story so far.

Chapter 3: Maiden Mission

The time had finally come for the four gathered Gems to begin their first mission together. Although they were a bit behind schedule, it only seemed proper that introductions be made.

"Good day to you both!" Emerald greeted cheerfully. "I'm Emerald and I will be heading this off-world expedition. This here is my subordinate, Sapphire." With a polite smile and a curt bow Sapphire gave her silent greeting. Ruby, being the type who was suspicious of strangers gave the two Gems a good looking over. Emerald seemed rather friendly, but there was something off about her. Ruby checked the green Gem from head to toe but couldn't spot her gem anywhere visible on her body. She got a similar result when she looked over Sapphire. A theory of sorts ran through the crimson Gem's mind as she put the theory to the test on the smaller, blue Gem first.

"I'm Ruby," she greeted in her no frills manner as she offered her right hand. Sapphire hesitated for a moment before sealing the handshake. Only the slightest hint of reaction registered on Ruby's countenance when her hand came into contact with something cool and hard. Sapphire quickly pulled her hand away, clasping her hands in front of herself once again.

She has her gem in one of her hands...like me.

Ruby had become so intrigued by this discovery that hadn't noticed Spinel calling her name.

"Hey, Ruby! Let's get moving! First you were complaining about being late now you're holding us up!"

Once Ruby snapped to attention she noticed that the other three were already on the warp pad. She quickly hopped onto the pad and stood between Spinel and Emerald. As she glanced over at Sapphire the warp pad activated. As the warp stream engulfed their bodies she could have sworn she had gotten a brief glimpse of Emerald draping an arm over Sapphire's shoulder.

Once the warp stream came to rest on the surface of a distant planet, all four Gems were on high alert. The two veteran Gems were aware of the events during several previous expeditions that resulted in Gem injuries. The terrain was infamous for being treacherous and unstable at times so they would definitely need to proceed with caution. Ruby and Spinel were first to step off of the warp pad. Though almost imperceptible, Ruby could feel the ground shift ever so slightly beneath her feet. It appeared that Spinel had picked up on that as well when she paused and knelt to the ground. She lightly knocked on the ground in an attempt to make quick assessment of how thick the ground actually was before calling over to the other pair.

"From the sound of it the ground here seems pretty solid. However you should still tread lightly."

Emerald nodded in agreement as she stepped down from the pad then offered a hand to Sapphire.

"Very well, Spinel. If you will, please find us a stable spot for us to set up a temporary base of operations."

"Will do," Spinel agreed with a smile and a quick wink at her seemingly antsy partner. Soon they located a suitable area to set up. Emerald then requested the other three to stand back as she established a perimeter. As she stood in what she determined would be the center of the base camp, her mouth opened wide as a series of specific tones took visible form in front of her face. Both Ruby and Sapphire looked on in astonishment as the concentric shapes turned and tilted forming a barrier spell. Sapphire recalled learning about such spells during lessons, but had never seen them cast in such an unorthodox way. Ruby was thrown off by this as well. When she gave Spinel a quick glance she noticed that her partner didn't seem phased by this at all. Spinel simply watched with arms crossed, her face bearing a bored expression as the barrier spell settled on the ground. Emerald completed her song with a flourish of her hands as an ever expanding green-tinted bubble spread out around the barrier spell, which was still turning on the ground. Once she was satisfied with its size she paused, causing the expansion of the dome to cease. Emerald then repeated the process to form two other domes attached to the center dome to function as temporary quarters for each pair of Gems, which she of course explained to the others. Sapphire thought that was odd that her Qualifier hadn't made temporary quarters for all of them. As she mulled over possible reasons for this she got a glimpse of several outcomes of these temporary living quarters. A couple possibilities had the blue Gem blushing.

Soon enough the pair of researchers were setting up a portable analysis lab in the center dome. Her curiosity piqued by the current events, Sapphire kept stealing glances over at Emerald as she mulled over questions burning in her analytical mind.

"Is there something on your mind, sweetie?"

Sapphire stopped what she was doing to look the smiling Gem directly in the eye.

"Actually, yes, there is something I would like to ask you."

"Fire away, lovely," came the veteran Gem's response as her smile widened as her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Uh…well…why did you only form two different temporary quarters when there are four of us? Are the others going to camp somewhere else outside the domes?" Emerald placed a hand over her mouth as she stifled a laugh.

"Of course not, you silly thing. One of those quarters is for the two of them. The other is for the two of us."

Sapphire got a bit nervous because of the implications of her Qualifier's words. She hated jumping to conclusions, so she decided to request even more information.

"Ummm…may I ask why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you arrange it like that?"

Emerald shook her head as she gently stroked her trainee's soft, bluish-silver locks.

"Weren't you even listening when they were introducing themselves?"

"Well yes. Did I miss something?" How could she have missed anything? She had paid close attention to everything going on at the time. Sapphire was a type that was analytical all the time.

"Yes, I do believe you missed something! Didn't you hear Spinel introduce Ruby as her partner?"

"Oh, yes. I'm aware of that." Sapphire found herself getting slightly irritated by the thought that she was out of the loop, but she didn't allow it to show on her face or in her tone of voice. "They work together, so of course they are partners."

"Sapphire, I have worked with Spinel before. She doesn't introduce just anyone as her partner. She uses codes to qualify her relationships with someone. She didn't use the terms comrade, assistant, associate, or any other emotionally detached term to describe Ruby. Spinel never uses the term 'partner' unless there's something more going on."

Sapphire pondered what her Qualifier said as she looked over at the pair sitting outside of one of the outer domes. Though she couldn't hear what they were saying their body language indicated they were quite comfortable around each other. Any indication of just how comfortable they really were was made clear in one brief moment. Ruby was speaking to Spinel as the one-eyed Gem took a long drag from a cigarette. Ruby was making hand motions as if she were trying to get Spinel's attention. In one fluid motion Spinel pulled the cigarette out of her mouth and leaned over to Ruby's face. Their lips pressed together for a brief moment, then Ruby proceeded to puff smoke rings out of her own mouth. Though the action was brief, it spoke volumes to Sapphire. She had to admit she was surprised she hadn't picked up on it before. Then again, she had just met these Gems so how could she have known? Then again why hadn't she picked up on it with her future vision? Then again…why did she even care? Was it really that important? Perhaps the implications had just passed through her filter of what was important and what wasn't. And yet…deep down Sapphire found herself feeling a bit disturbed . The usually mentally poised Gem was so caught up in her thoughts on this seemingly unimportant situation, she completely forgot about the implications of the purpose of the other temporary quarters.

Soon the two field researchers had all of their equipment set up in the inner dome. Both Sapphire and Emerald gathered up their tools to use to gather samples and exited the temporary base. Since she was heading this expedition, Emerald gathered them all together for a debriefing. As Emerald spoke a holographic image of a map appeared before her. Between seeing this and the barrier spell Sapphire had come to a conclusion about where Emerald's gem was. When she considered the implications she thought that was a pretty safe place to have one's gem. After the debriefing the four of them headed out to their destination, Spinel taking the lead to head off any danger, and Ruby taking up the rear. As Sapphire took in all the sights around her, she quickly assessed the numerous possibilities that could lead to the success or failure of this mission. She was determined to do whatever she could to insure the former would be the outcome, not the latter.