So nobody gets lost as I change perspectives from Narrative to Ruby's to Sapphires, I'll have line breaks in between and have the letters N/R/S bolded so you know which perspective and of whom is in play; This chapter in particular will be in Sapphire's POV.
Disclaimer- I do not own Steven universe or it's characters; All credits and ownership of the characters and show go to Rebecca Sugar
S: Living on homeworld, my future vision was seen as a tool, a weapon, and an asset. That's all my purpose was, it felt like; to tell the authorities and the combaters what was in store for gemkind, for our planet, for missions, yada-yada-yada.
They didn't understand that what I could see was nothing of certainty, that it was all chance, probability, based and biased on actions, and their repercussions. I could never give solid predictions of the future; Nothing was set in stone. But, despite my attempts to tell anyone that, the Authorities refused to listen, sending me from planet to planet to assist in "guiding" leaders and their armies towards good and fertile land for the building of Kindergartens and towards the defeat of the rebels that tried to stop their rampage of destruction.
I know what homeworld was doing was wrong, but what choice did I have? If I didn't offer my "tool" to them, the punishment is...not pretty, to say the least.
Traveling across the galaxy, trapped and enclosed like an inmate, is all I've ever known since the day I even came to be. It wasn't the life I wanted, but I was stuck in the one I had. Sure they treated me like royalty because of my gem and my service, but I didn't feel like it. I felt exactly like the weapon homeworld wanted me to be.
The corridors on the new ships felt long and endless, like I was walking through a void that only led to more tiled walls and vacant rooms. It felt like I'd been walking for light years when I finally reached the check-in point at the control bridge.
I walked into the room and stood in awe at the sight of the space, vast with machines, control panels and screens adorned on the walls beside an enormous window; that would allow the pilots and technicians a front row view of the cosmos as they raced through the galaxy.
As I stepped further in, no rustle of presence was to be heard; maybe I was in the wrong place? Why was there no one present to check me in?
A chair turned suddenly, revealing the familiar face of a Pearl by which usually traveled on the same ships as me from planet-to-planet. (Which made me then notice the tops of the heads of other Pearls, of which, for some reason, I hadn't seen beforehand) But, she was dressed, however, much differently than I had ever seen her previously. New ship, new look; I suppose that went for the crew as well;
She wore a long sleeved white jumpsuit with the colors of the diamond authority within the lines that marked the outfit, lines that crossed the outfit looking like a maze; the symbol of the diamonds branded on the chest. Her pale orange locks, usually in a cone shaped manner, the ends meeting behind her head, this time cut into a short, slick bob that didn't extend far from her face; small curls framing her gem and cheeks. Her expression and demeanor was as vivacious and lively as ever.
"Ah, S243, It's good to see you!" The pearl noted, clicking a pen and checking off something off on a clipboard "Isn't the new ship just grand?" she beamed
"Oh, yes, its lovely, and seems quite large as well; I almost couldn't find my way here."
"Well, we'll have a guide and guard assigned to you before we take off, though it might be a while since most of the passengers traveling with us wont be here for a couple of hours. You're the first to check in, actually. Being on time is something I respect of you, 243" She smiled.
"Oh...no wonder it seemed so empty in here. I was told to be here at this time I-"
"No worries, I can take a moments pause from preparations to show you around and to your quarters; If you'll follow me!"
The Pearl seemed unusually sing-songy for someone of her class, built to be composed, expressionless, and to have the utmost prestige mannerisms; I liked her for that. she was easy to talk to, and seeing as Sapphires were supposed to act similar to the Pearls, besides which roles by which they played, I enjoyed seeing someone else not completely fitting the bill of their gem...though, I couldn't help but wonder how a Diamond might see her...
She twirled once and began down a long hallway, stopping once she reached a circular opening, branching off into several more hallways. She stood for a moment, looking and shuffling through the papers attached to her clipboard; before projecting a hologram of the ship to identify where she planned for us to go.
"Ah, yes, just this way." the hologram dispersed and she began once more down the widest of the corridors, which opened up unto a large atrium built 4 stories tall; In the middle stood a twisting crystal staircase that winded up into bridges that led to doors, of which I assumed were rooms. To the left and right were statues of the diamond authorities of which I've already been familiarized with. Though, one of the four stood out, as the character, branded with the symbol of pink, was the only one I had never met the acquaintance of.
The statue stood 9 feet tall, her body shapely in comparison to the slim models of the others. The hair of her was curled in every direction, framing her face, and stopping above her shoulders; it was, despite its curl, shaped in a pointed fashion like the other diamonds. She wore nearly the same dress as the others, hers a bit more detailed and, in my opinion, pleasant and unique. The shoulders of the half cut shirt jutted out horizontally, pointing at the ends. The shirt making a V-Shape on her chest and inverted the opposite direction on the stomach, forming a diamond of skin around the gem centered in her abdomen, of which had a silver ring protecting it. A ruffled cape draped her body, it making yet another V-Shape; the bottom section of her top article of clothing ruffled at the end, and jutting out slightly to make her already wide hips appear wider; the several layers of fabric stopped around the middle of her thigh, the rest of her legs covered in lace stocking. She wore tall heels embellished with small diamonds, making her stand taller than the rest of the statues, despite her already towering height to begin with.
Made me kind of wish I had made my wear a bit more detailed and not as simple as the dress I had come to wear for nearly and entire century.
A small chirp came from the Pearl, causing her eyes to gloss over with a hologram projection. Once it faded, she addressed her clipboard once more and spoke
"Your room will be the first one on floor three, room 300." she was still looking at her papers as she handed me a small, glistening key
"I wanted to show you around the ship, but the passengers have begun to arrive, so I must return to the control bridge. I'll send for you once you've been assigned an escort, okay? If you need anything, there's a communication device that will alert a servant to assist you. See you in a bit!" She said, patting my shoulder and darting off back from whence we had come.
I looked around the atrium, which sparkled in an opaque crystallized pink hue; I started up the spiral stairs to the third floor which led directly to room three hundred.
The key lifted from my hand and floated into the lock, opening the solid white marbled door. The room was the same color as the atrium at first, but turned to a dark blue color that matched myself after a robotic voice spoke from within
"Welcome aboard the Atlantic Star, Sapphire, 243; Trip to celestial body 9COM48, Also known as EARTH, will commence in exactly 2 HOURS. For more details please address your guidebook. Safe travels."; and with that the voice was gone.
I looked down onto a small table to find the booklet mentioned. The first page held all the details of the journey, with the ones of my mission having been written in the handwriting of the familiar Pearl on the pages following
"Planet EARTH [9COM48]: Deemed 4.542 Billion years of age; Objective- Kindergarten placement and usage / Inhabitants- N/A / Travel time to reach EARTH; 24 Months EARTH rotation time; 12 MONTHS Homeworld time"
I cringed at the sadly familiar word and knowledge of exactly what the kindergartens were, and at the fate I saw resting for the young planet.
"Mission Objective for SAPPHIRE-243; Report to WHITE and PINK Diamond IMMEDIATELY AFTER DEBOARDING"
Why so urgent? I wondered. At most I'd been asked to come to meetings within the first few days of arrival on planet, but immediately?
Something wasn't right about this mission. This trip wasn't like the others. But I couldn't understand why...until the throbbing, all too recognizable pain began in the back of my head...
I added new chapters much faster than I thought I would/could have! I said in the 1st part of the prologue that it would be a couple days but even I was wrong!
The next chapter will be Ruby's perspective; They'll pretty much alternate between the two every other chapter.
-B