Chapter 3: Hello Again

Back at the Western Military complex, Citrine's patience was being put to the test with the snot nosed cadets. They were thousands of years younger than her, yet they thought they knew everything about battle tactics. They needed to learn that in battle you should be prepared for anything and be able to think on your feet.

"All right, you brats! Fall in! We've got a lot of work today!" The cadets quickly obeyed and stood at attention to await further instruction. "Today we're going to do something a little different. You'll get the opportunity to experience the holographic mission simulator, or HMS, in order to prepare you for missions, whether domestic or off-world. There's more to battle tactics than smashing and blasting your way to victory, so keep your wits about you! First up is Andesine!"

While Citrine observed a small monitor to track Andesine's progress within the simulator, the rest of the cadets sat nearby to wait their turn.

"I wonder why Lt. Citrine won't let us watch the monitor." Carnelian wondered aloud.

"Probably to prevent any cheating. If we knew what's going to happen in the simulation then how could she see how each of us handles random situations?" Jasper replied in a bored tone as she picked at one of her fingernails. Carnelian stared at her rival for a few seconds before continuing their discussion.

"When did you get so smart?"

"I've always been smart," Jasper growled. "You've just been too stupid to notice."

"Why do you have to be such a smart-ass bitch?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way. Who knows? Maybe someday you'll grow up to be just like me," Jasper teased with a toothy grin.

"Only in your own sick, fantasy world. Besides, I'll be too busy climbing up the ranks, and after many glorious exploits I'll settle down to enjoy a peaceful existence with that lovely Tiger-eye." Carnelian clenched her fist dramatically as Jasper burst into hearty laughter.

"And you think I have a fantastic imagination? You're absolutely nuts if you think Tiger-eye will even remember your sorry ass!"

"Oh she'll notice me all right. She'll be so impressed she'll be like, 'Jasper who?'"

"Yeah, whatever. Keep living in your fantasy world while I handle my business in real life."

Before Carnelian could come up with a witty comeback, it was Jasper's turn to enter the HMS. Once Jasper was inside a holographic screen appeared before her stating her objective.

You are in hostile territory on a foreign planet. Your objective is to make it back to base without being detected by the enemy.

The screen then displayed a map of the area with a bright red dot indicating the location of the base.

'A stealth mission, huh? This might be a bit of a challenge, but I think I can pull it off.'

Jasper appeared to be in a mountainous area with hundreds of strange, twisted growths jutting out of the ground. Most of these strange objects were twice as tall as Jasper or taller. They all were covered with some kind of rough outer layer at their base with thinner protrusions branching out high above. The protrusions were covered with paper thin objects that fluttered and rustled in the mountain breeze. There were also small, green blades of…something covering the ground. Whenever Jasper would take a step it would make a soft swishing noise.

'Whatever the hell this place is, it's giving me the creeps,' the cadet grumbled as she cautiously moved further down the path. She stopped in her tracks when she heard movement and voices up ahead. The noises were getting louder which meant whomever was out there was moving closer to her. She realized that since this was a stealth mission she had to get off the path before being seen. She hunkered down in the underbrush as quickly and quietly as possible. She waited until the voices were far out of range before continuing on, getting closer to her goal. Jasper had several close calls due to her wild mane. At one point she managed to very carefully get it untangled from the underbrush then shape shifted it into a much more manageable braid. She silently thanked the gods of magic that she had learned some basic shape-shifting the previous month as her goal was in sight. She proudly stood up and began to walk over the threshold when she paused.

Next to her right foot was a tiny, fuzzy creature with green and black fur looking up at her with large, moist eyes. It looked so weak and helpless that it was impossible for the yellow-orange Gem to resist giving it a good pounding. Just as Jasper raised her foot to stomp on it the creature opened its tiny mouth wide and let out a sound that seemed a thousand times too loud to and too booming to be coming out of its miniscule form. Within seconds a horde of hostile lifeforms came raining down on the cadet. She was able to fight off a few of them, but soon she was overwhelmed. Jasper finally ended up on the ground in a very vulnerable position with all kinds of weapons pointing directly in her face. The simulation ended suddenly, collapsing around her leaving nothing but a holographic screen with the words 'MISSION FAILED' blazing in red dead in the center.

Now, Jasper was not the type to cry. In fact, up to this moment she had never shed one tear. However, faced with failure she came pretty damn close. Once she exited the HMS she immediately saw Lt. Citrine standing there, arms folded and glaring daggers at her. Jasper averted her eyes as she went to sit on the sidelines as the next cadet went in. She was so glad Citrine was the only one who saw her screw up. If the other cadets had seen that they would never let up on the ridicule. She was especially glad Tiger-eye hadn't witnessed that.

'I hope she's having a better time with training than I am.'

In actuality, Tiger-eye was doing a magnificent job avoiding the rest of her training. She had a feeling it had to do with the sounds she heard coming from Green Tiger-eye's quarters every so often. She wasn't sure what was going on in there, but when she heard those sounds it made her feel awkward and uncomfortable. Whenever the young Gem would cross paths with Green the older gem would glare at her in disdain and declare that she was just avoiding the inevitable. That didn't stop the reddish brown Gem from avoiding the others every chance she got.

One day Tiger-eye noticed that none of the others were in their quarters. The private living area was pretty much abandoned except for the young red one. She could hear voices in the distance though. She tiptoed over to the nearest balcony to peek down into the courtyard below. She gasped in surprise when she spotted Lt. Citrine with ten of the cadets from the military training grounds. With a squeal of excitement she scurried down to meet up with her former classmates as Citrine addressed the young cadets.

"All right, brats, take a good look around. This is part of the good life that awaits you if you work hard and move up in the ranks to the level of Elite. You ten are the best in class so far, and if you keep it up you could be enjoying the company of these fine Gems right here."

By now young Red had made it to the courtyard. As she approached the group she greeted her former fellow cadets with an enthusiastic wave. When Jasper saw her she immediately recognized the red Tiger-eye, in spite of the red veil she wore. Her clothing was also different. Instead of her original dull, backless cream colored jumper she now wore a shimmering two piece outfit with mid-drift top and a pair of harem pants with tassels around the waist. Jasper thought the striped Gem looked pretty before, but now she looked amazing.

"Ah, hello there, Red. So nice of you to join us," Green greeted with a slightly annoyed tone. "Lt. Citrine brought all these cute cadets here to give them something to aspire to. Why don't you sing them a song to boost morale?"

"Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea!" Golden Tiger-eye chimed in. "Red, your singing has improved so much. Why not let your friends hear for themselves?"

"Uh…ok."

The young Gem sat up straight and tall on her knees. As she racked her brain to decide what to sing her eyes locked with a certain tall cadet who was sitting towards the rear of the small group. She smiled behind her veil as she decided to try singing a song she composed on her own.

I used to seek out paradise

Each and every day

When I met you I realized

It's not that far away

And yet it seems that place is just beyond our reach

Can we bridge the gulf between us?

Should we even try?

Paradise, it can be ours

Just open up your eyes

And open up your heart to paradise

I'll be waiting beyond the veil

Ah, ah, ah…

As the young Gem sang her song all others present had gone completely silent. Tiger-eye had her eyes closed as she sang so she didn't even notice the looks she was getting. She definitely had captivated her audience. Her vocals were strong yet not overpowering. As she finished her song, the reddish brown Gem opened her eyes to finally see everyone staring at her. She was taken aback by the sudden uproarious applause from the cadets and Lt. Citrine. She shyly bowed her head in embarrassment, not noticing the glares of disapproval from Blue and Green. Golden's expression was more sympathetic with a hint of worry. Soon it was nightfall, so Lt. Citrine and Golden Tiger-eye promptly wrapped up the meet and greet and the two groups parted ways. It didn't take long for Red to pull her disappearing act again. She wasn't hanging around to get chewed out by Green or Blue about her song or ducking her training. She wanted to take a rare walk outside of the Tiger House anyway. She had become very skilled at getting outside undetected. She made her way to a quiet spot just down the hill from the Tiger House and sat down on a nice flat stone, admiring how the moonlight reflected from the surrounding crystal formations. She jumped from her perch when she heard footsteps approaching. In a panic she scrambled to find a place to hide, but there was no place in sight. As she backed up against a large crystal she reached back to her Gem to summon her weapon. She relaxed at the sight of a large orange hand and the silvery white mane that followed. She smiled behind her veil as the familiar taller Gem stood just a few feet away.

"Hi, Jasper. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with the rest of the cadets?"

"I'm improving my tracking skills." Jasper could tell from Tiger-eye's body language that she was a bit skeptical about her excuse, but thankfully the slender Gem didn't call her on it. "What about you?"

"Working on my stealth skills. Since you found me it looks like my skills need some improvement."

"Don't sweat it. I need to improve my stealth, too. Heh." The pair shared a nervous laugh as Jasper stepped closer. "We…uh…all miss you back at the base."

"Aww, I miss you guys too." There was an awkward pause before Jasper continued.

"That song you sang was…really great. Where did you learn it?"

"Nowhere really, since I made it up myself," Tiger-eye shyly muttered as she ducked her head.

"Wow. That's amazing. Your voice is amazing." As Jasper complimented the other Gem she felt her own face getting hot. 'Damn it, I always get this weird feeling when I'm around her! But it's weird in a good way!'

"Thanks. I'm glad you liked it." Once Tiger-eye lifted her gaze their eyes met. Without even thinking Jasper reached under Tiger-eye's veil to gently touch her cheek.

"You know…if I had someone to sing to me like that I could conquer a million worlds…" Now Tiger-eye's cheeks felt like they were on fire. She was so taken aback by Jasper's compliment she couldn't even get out a word of thanks. She got even more tongue-tied when she felt something warm press against her other cheek. Jasper reared back after realizing what she had done. "Uh…ummm…I gotta go. It was nice seeing you again."

Jasper turned and fled like her feet were on fire, leaving Tiger-eye gently touching her fingers to her right cheek. She wasn't sure what just happened, but she did know she wouldn't mind if it happened again.

Next Chapter: Master Jet