Contested Gem Colony Designated "Earth"

Circa 3700 BCE

The war had been kind to Moldavite.

She would never admit it in front of the White Diamond Court, where "Rose Quartz's Folly" was spoken of in scornful whispers and suspicious tones. Everyone wanted it over with, Rose and her cohorts shattered in public execution and the planet she so selfishly hoarded for delusional reasons reconfigured into a proper colony. Gems were not meant to fight Gems, and certainly not over the fate of a few carbon-based life forms due to die out when their sun did. That assumed they would survive the next catastrophic eruption or ice age.

That the war could not be won swiftly and efficiently raised all sorts of questions among the Gem elite. There was no reason a Quartz and her treasonous allies should be able to hold out against the full power of the Diamonds so long. Gems had eliminated space-born species who stood in the way of necessary colonization with a fraction of the difficulty they now had against the rebel faction. The Diamonds needed Jades to formulate new battle strategies, Tourmalines to lead strikes against Rebel-held targets, and Moldavites to perform experiments and answer the elites' questions.

Given greater importance in White Diamond's ranks, authority over a few Quartzes and Rubies and even her own Pearl, Moldavite could find few complaints in her current situation. Peace would come inevitably, for Rose Quartz logically could not win; before it did, Moldavite was determined to carve herself a niche in White Diamond's Court through her discoveries.

"A message, my Moldavite." The bronze-haired Copper Pearl approached Moldavite as the latter leaned over an elaborate blueprint spread over a marble worktable. Copper Pearl kept her eyes downcast and her voice soft, though Moldavite caught her sneaking a peek at the plans and frowned.

"Thank you," Moldavite said as she took the round disc from Pearl's hands. "Tell me, Copper, do you like what you see?"

Copper Pearl startled, her pose stiffening as she realized she'd been caught. "I saw nothing, my Mol-"

"Of course you didn't. You aren't curious. You're not designed that way." Moldavite inserted the disc into a slot on the table, where it glowed and projected a written message in soft white light. "You're such a nice Pearl and involved in an important project. It would be a shame if I had to report design flaws to my supervisor."

Moldavite heard a soft gasp from the Copper Pearl before she retreated, returning to her post at the door. In truth it really didn't matter if the Pearl showed interest in her own work; on some level, Moldavite was flattered. But how would it look to the Court if she tolerated divergent Pearl behavior? What would White Diamond think of her own discipline?

She soon forgot about the Pearl as she read the projected message from White Diamond herself. As she did, her mouth curled into a smile. White Diamond approved of the project, having seen its value to the war effort and the continued expansion of Homeworld. It meant having to communicate with the kooks working out there on the Testing Ground, and likely a few inconvenient trips through the Galaxy Warp, but it would all be worth it.

She activated her communicator and lifted it to her wrist. "Jaspers? Bring in the prisoner."


Chorus, Ruins of Agora Town

Way Way Way Way Way Way Way In The Future From That Last Scene

Carolina approached the ruins cautiously, her gun raised in case of an ambush. Epsilon hadn't detected any human heat signatures, but for all he knew the pirates had signal jammers. They sure seemed to use some high grade tech for a bunch of mercenaries stalking a planet that by all accounts didn't have much to offer.

Sapphire floated alongside her. There was no way for a small blue woman in a ball gown not to stand out, and both Epsilon and Carolina figured if they were spotted it wouldn't matter whether Sapphire looked odd or not. Besides, she seemed to like floating.

"Okay, so." Epsilon wished he could just speak directly into Carolina's radio, but that would cut Sapphire out of the communication. That left him in a position of broadcasting his digitized voice as a whisper. "We might be able to find some supplies here. Maybe even something intact that we can actually use. On the other hand, it's a little suspicious that our buddies would leave an entire settlement full of said supplies and possible hiding places alone. I mean, it's not much of a settlement..."

There really wasn't much of Agora left. Epsilon only knew it was called that because of a broken sign at the valley pass. Low, flat buildings built in a basic, cubic style lay abandoned, windows shattered. The dusty, cracked streets were littered with debris, shrapnel and burn marks. Gardens lay fallow and overgrown. Whoever had once lived and fought in this lakeside trade post settlement had left in a hurry, though at least they had taken their dead.

Carolina sighed as she walked through the empty streets, glass breaking under her feet. "My guess is they've already taken what they can. Or it's a trap."

"You don't seem very concerned about whether or not it's a trap," Sapphire said.

"Eh." Carolina shrugged. "I've fallen into worse."

Epsilon could think of five or six examples to bring up, but ragging on Carolina in a place like this felt wrong even for him. He fell back on scanning the area again, readying a shield or speed boost just in case she needed it.

Sapphire had been quiet even for her ever since their encounter with Rider. Epsilon figured she was just worried about being targeted, or the news spreading that there was at least one Gem on Chorus.

But what if she's upset with us because we asked her to use Future Vision?

Time seemed to slow around Epsilon. AI thought and communicated with one another at a much faster pace. They could have entire conversations in time humans would experience as a fraction of a second. That was why Carolina didn't know about the others. It had nothing to do with Epsilon keeping secrets, honest.

And Epsilon had only generated Theta and Delta to help him run multiple programs at a time. Even if he'd generated a personality based on Alpha's memories and Caboose's encouragement, Epsilon had only a tiny fragment of Alpha's processing power. It was only those two. He wouldn't go and generate Omega or Sigma or anything.

That Theta also manifested as a personality, an innocent child who was entirely too nice to have come from Alpha or Epsilon, was just a side effect. But the fragment-of-a-fragment's guilt was distracting, and it was leaking into Epsilon.

"Uh, it's alright. I'm sure she'd say if she was mad at us, dude." Epsilon wasn't used to this 'big brother' routine, and felt ill at ease in the role. "And we won't ask her to do it again. Water under the bridge."

"But we keep making people mad." Theta's visualization looked down and dug the toe of his boot into the ground. Armor looked a little ridiculous on a child, but giving Theta any other form involved trying to formulate a human face and that was a step Epsilon did not want to take.

"What do you mean? Carolina's not pissed at us right this second, and-" Oh. Right.

Theta was reviewing footage of the hologram room confrontation. Epsilon forcibly cut it off. "Hey, look," he said, "It's...it's in the past. It's been a while, and we just won't be a dick like that anymore. I won't."

Was Epsilon trying to reassure Theta that he wouldn't lose his temper and alienate everyone around him again, or himself? Technically, wasn't it both?

Theta made a halfhearted noise of agreement and went back to his task as time started up around Epsilon again. It wasn't that Epsilon didn't feel bad about it! He just didn't want to brood like an asshole. It was hard enough not getting hung up on the past when he was a living collection of memories. Besides, he didn't even know when he'd see the Reds and Blues again. He had a mission to focus on here in the present.

Epsilon realized with a start that Sapphire was looking at him when she hadn't been a second ago. Had she seen that conversation somehow, or known what he was doing? An AI couldn't blush from embarrassment, but Epsilon found himself flaring a little brighter. "So, Sapphire! You remember anything about this particular settlement in your vision?"

"Hmm." Sapphire peered around, lips pursed together. "No. But I do have a question for you two."

"Shoot," Carolina said as she brushed the dust off of a wall, revealing the words "New Republic" buried in graffiti.

"This is a human settlement colony, correct? The atmosphere appears to be similar to Earth."

"It's close enough. The average temperature is a little lower outside of the equator regions, and there's less tectonic activity." Epsilon silently thanked Delta for helping him sound smart. "Oh, and it's smaller. Like, 0.0006% smaller, so no one gave a shit. But yeah, the UNSC barely had to do any terraforming here."

Sapphire nodded, her long hair blowing in the dusty breeze. "Gems can survive in most environments, but human life is fragile. No offense meant. Most planets are either too hot or too cold to support you. You need water, an atmosphere with the right balance of chemicals, and soil capable of growing food sources. You outright said you have to 'terraform' some places to survive." She seemed hung up on that word and didn't say why. "When Gem Homeworld found a planet suitable for Gem production, they made claims to it at all costs. The geological processes need to be just right; not any planet will do. Planets and moons capable of supporting Earth life are even rarer."

"...What are you getting at?" Carolina asked.

"Homeworld abandoned Earth reluctantly, after a long, protracted war." As Sapphire spoke, the temperature around her dropped; Epsilon saw it in the heat signatures as Carolina shivered. "Why has this planet been abandoned? Why is Chorus dying?"

Silence fell.

"...I don't know if I'd put it that way," Carolina said. "But you're right. It's a failing colony. We heard some info about increased piracy and weapons sales in this sector, and rumors led us here. It seems like the UNSC's almost forgotten about this planet."

"How can a colony be forgotten?" Sapphire sounded pained, her posture stiff and icy as she hovered. The ground beneath her frosted over.

"Eh. Probably some politics somewhere. We're way out of the way, and I'm sure some minister or politician in charge of something or other attached some bullshit to a bill and Chorus fell through the cracks." Epsilon only realized how horrible that sounded once he'd said it aloud. "But they have a capital city and a local government. Like you said, the planet can support life, so they should be autonomous and doing alright, except..."

"There's a war going. I know that much." Carolina gestured around the ruins. "This isn't the first place we've come across like this. But during wartime, at least one side should be building bases and increasing weapon and food production. Instead, both are retreating and dwindling even as things keep escalating. So I guess we're here to answer the same question, Sapphire."

"We're kinda badass superheroes like that," Epsilon added, desperate to keep things from getting too depressing.

Sapphire was quiet again, and she was looking directly at Epsilon. Her bangs hid most of her face, leaving Epsilon wondering why an AI would feel uncomfortable without eye contact.

"…Uh," he added, "something up?" He ran another scan for pirates just in case. "Some Future Vision thing?"

She shook her head. "It's still clouded. But I need to ask you something. That armor you're wearing, Epsilon. I've seen it before. Is it common?"

"This? It's Mark VI MJOLNIR armor. Standard issue for..." Epsilon stared. "Wait. Where have you seen it?"

"In my vision. Someone who was helping Ruby in her time of need. Their armor had the same shape, but the color was different. A deeper blue." Sapphire held up the hem of her royal blue gown. "Like this."

Oh, no. "Caboose?!"

"They're still here?!" Carolina's heart rate spiked. "But there should have been a rescue pickup by now."

The two had checked on the crash site briefly to make sure the Reds and Blues had survived, boggling at the coincidence, then quietly slipped away. It didn't feel right to approach them again, not yet. But both were sure the UNSC would send for the heroes who busted Project Freelancer as soon as possible.

Come to think of it, what was the transport doing that off course anyway?

"God, what are those idiots doing now? Can you look to see how they're-" Epsilon caught himself. "Sorry, sorry. Promise, right."

"My Vision is still clouded, or I would have looked forever until I figured out where Ruby was," Sapphire said, her monotone returning. "But I think this 'Caboose' will lead me to Ruby. And if these soldiers are important to you, you should find them and take them away from here. Off of this planet."

"Well, sure." Epsilon rubbed the back of his neck. "We'll get them a transport, I mean it's bullshit if they've been stranded this long. But we need to-"

"You should go too," Sapphire cut in. "Unless you intend to die here. Ruby and I are Gems; we can survive a lot while our friends work to bring us back. When I asked why Chorus was dying, I did so having seen a glimpse of many futures through the churning storm of fate. One fact remains fixed."

"...That Chorus is dying," Carolina finished. "You seem big on this fatalism thing."

"It is a thing," Sapphire agreed.

"Okay, okay." Epsilon was aware he was flickering from stress and didn't care. "We'll discuss this whole 'stay, investigate, possibly die or escape' thing later. Good news is, we know where the Reds and Blues are. I am so sorry the fate of your, uh, Ruby is in the hands of Caboose, by the way."

Sapphire shook her head. "I trust him."

"And that's proof even aliens who can see the future aren't infallible. Right." Epsilon decided not to push it, especially since underneath all the frustration at dealing with Caboose again lay a lot of uncomfortable guilt. "So we go back there. Might take us a few days, we're...pretty out of the way unfortunately, but it's a lead. Better than we've had."

"I'm gonna take a guess that this vision doesn't have any kind of solid time frame," Carolina said. "No 'we have until x to save them' sort of deal?"

"No. I hate being blinded like this." Sapphire's tiny gloved hands balled themselves into fists as the frost beneath her bloomed into a crystalline sheet of ice. "Perhaps when we're reunited, Garnet can..."

"Garnet?" Epsilon asked.

"Nevermind. You'll meet her later. Sorry." The Gem sighed, letting the ice melt into a slushy puddle that quickly sunk into the dry ground. "I can offer this much. There is a soldier in orange and black, and another with a helmet like a skull marked by an x. They are harbingers of doom, for your friends and for my Ruby." She ran a finger over the gem in her palm. "Something else eats at me; my vision tells me something has changed, but I cannot see what. I'll know when I find Ruby, and may be able to give you better advice."

"Does Ruby have future vision too?" The only things Epsilon had managed to gather about 'Ruby' was that Sapphire was desperate to find her, and that she had a habit of blushing bluish-purple when the other Gem came up. When needled, Sapphire would only clam up and blush deeper.

"No, but she's very direct." Sapphire smiled for the first time since her vision. "You are right. We have to stay in the present and take this one step at a time. For now, let us find this canyon and your friends."

Epsilon wondered how the hell Sapphire knew they were friends. Were they still friends after that? No, he had to take his own advice. One step at a time. "I can't believe it's another fucking canyon. Man, what am I gonna say when we run into them again? I better rehearse that."

Meanwhile, Delta filed away the information about the two strangers and did a search for any kinds of armor marked by an X on the helmet while Theta worried. Epsilon mulled over Sapphire's question, phrased in the bluntest and most upsetting way possible. Why was Chorus dying?

Delta knew how to compile facts and data. He could answer concrete problems. This was not that sort of problem. Theta was innocent, not up to handling conspiracies and webs of lies. Gamma understood deceit, but like fuck if Epsilon was going to bring him online and endure a sea of knock knock jokes. Epsilon needed someone who understood the human mind and all the myriad shitty things humans would do to each other for money and power.

You need me, a soothing, unearthly voice said inside Epsilon as he felt a sudden tug on his already strained memory.

Son of a bitch.


Someplace Cold

Still the Future, Though Steven Doesn't Know That Yet

Steven shivered and snuggled up against Lion's fur. "Oh man, how did I forget to bring a jacket? I guess I figured I'd end up in the future and everything would be hot because of global warming. What if I ended up in the Ice Age? I'll have to hunt a mammoth for a coat or something. I don't want to do that!" His eyes welled up with tears. "What if they go extinct because of me?!"

Lion grumbled and curled up on the ground, immediately shutting his eyes and letting out a loud snore. Steven glanced down at him and blinked. "I guess that took a lot out of you. Sorry, Lion." He reached into his backpack and pulled out a misshapen ice cream pop, letting it slide out of the plastic and land in front of the sleeping Lion. "Here ya go, for when you wake up. Good news is it's so cold out I bet it won't melt. Or if it does, you get a Lion Licker Soup!"

He wasn't sure at first if he should leave Lion's side. But the pink cat wasn't budging, and Steven wasn't sure anything ever really posed much of a threat to Lion. Besides, Lion could teleport if something dangerous came along. "Okay, well. You can't hear me because you're asleep, but I'm going to go out and see if I can find out where I am." And if Pearl and Amethyst had been pulled along too, he added mentally with a hint of guilt. If they were, it was because of him.

The swirling snow made it hard to see past his own arm. Everything was a mass of white. He could make out where the shore ended and the frozen lake began, though he couldn't see how big the lake itself was or if it looked safe to walk on. Down the shore he could make out dark shapes, buildings he couldn't identify from that distance.

A searchlight sent its beam across the lake, projecting from a thin tower. Steven sucked in a breath and ducked behind a rock, waiting for the searchlight to pass. "I don't think they had lighthouses in the Ice Age. Or whatever that is," he amended as he stood back up, checking to make sure the coast was clear.

"Well, maybe they'll be friendly. Maybe that's just a light they use to help travelers through the blizzard!" His breath hung in front of him as clouds of vapor, and he could feel his teeth chattering. "And they'll have hot chocolate. I hope Lion is okay out here..."

But when he looked back from where he'd arrived, Lion had already gone off to wherever Lion went when he wasn't around. The Lion Licker was gone. Steven couldn't even find tracks in the snow.

"Well, he's got fur. And I don't, but-wait!" He unzipped his backpack only long enough to pull out a tan linen blanket, rolled up into a tight bundle. "Burrito Blanket! I almost forgot this was still in here." He unfurled it and held onto the end as it blew in the wind, pulling it around his shoulders. It was decorated with sewn-in patterns of meat, vegetables and cheese along the edges, designed to look like a burrito when rolled up. "Sorry, Limited Edition Burrito Blanket. I know you're made for a pampered life of service indoors, but it's time to show your stuff!"

He felt a little bad using the product of 120 Bearrito Points and a valuable gift from Amethyst for protection against the elements. ("What, it's not a real giant burrito? Weak. Here, Steven." It warmed Steven's heart to even think about that moment.) But surely Amethyst would understand, given the circumstances.

He sure found himself hoping loved ones would understand his reckless actions a lot lately.

It provided only mild resistance to the cold and wind. By the time he was within sight of the foreboding complex of industrial-looking buildings, barbed wire fences and spotlights, the tasty-looking lettuce and tomato edge of the blanket was completely soaked. Steven could feel his fingers and toes going numb. He was also starting to doubt his hopes that the inhabitants were friendly. Friendly people didn't live behind barbed wire fences.

"Maybe I should..."

He couldn't complete the thought as the spotlight fell on him. He heard shouted voices, male and female, and soon saw armored figures running towards him. "Armor" was the best term he could come up with; in the dim light they looked vaguely insectoid, with a single narrow eye on the helmet.

He couldn't hear what they were saying. His first instinct was to turn and run, but running meant going back into a rapidly worsening snowstorm. All he could do was pull his blanket tighter around him, turn to face the alarmed (and armed) bug people, and force a smile.

"Hii! Uh, d-do any of you happen to have hot chocolate..?"


Chorus, Near Crash Site Bravo

Doc DuFresne thanked his questionably effective lucky stars that the trip hadn't been...weird.

He hadn't really expected it to be. Ever since he and Donut had decided they worked better as friends, it hadn't been weird at all. Donut, cheerful as ever and bearing no resentment over what was almost too amicable to call a break up, hadn't pushed the point. Their farming experiment failing was a much bigger cause of stress, and that was due to the fact that Lopez's head was actually a poor deterrent for crows.

All that was water under the bridge. As soon as Donut barged into their settlement, declaring his intention to save his friends from "a terrible and very inconveniently located crash," Doc had sprung into action by making some very polite but strongly worded calls to Command asking exactly why the heroes who took down the corrupt Project Freelancer had to wait weeks and weeks for a pickup. Extra-solar transportation couldn't be that hard to arrange in a reasonable amount of time.

Doc had grown very cross with the number of red tape hoops he'd had to jump through to set up the trip. At one point he slipped up and used the word asinine, which was far too violent and forceful for a pacifist. Violence and force never achieved anything productive.

You fool. Violence and force achieve everything!

As usual, Doc ignored the angry voice intruding in his thoughts. Omega was gone, destroyed by an EMP, and thus O'Malley was gone. This was just a memory of O'Malley. He wasn't real and Doc wouldn't validate his own intrusive thoughts taking the form of someone who no longer existed. He made a note to light a scented candle later when they were on the ground and aromatherapy wasn't as much of a fire risk.

"I should be clear to land now," the tired-sounding pilot said, breaking Doc out of his thoughts. "Rain's passed. Could you please get him to stop telling me stories?"

"Aw, come on," Donut said, leaning over the pilot's shoulder. "I haven't even told you about the time travel! Or my deep infiltration missions! Or-"

"Yes. I know. Please don't."

Doc frowned. He knew he wasn't technically on duty as a medic, but it was his job to look after the health of his fellow soldiers. "You sound a bit stressed out. That's not a good state to fly a transport plane in. If you want, I can teach you meditation techniques while Donut goes to find the others."

The pilot twitched. "That's quite alright. You two both go. You and the robot. I'll stay right here in blissful silence."

"Por favor, no me hagas ir con ellos. Tener compasión," Lopez said in his digitized monotone. He was sitting in Doc's lap.

"Aw, it's nice of you to express concern, but we'll be safe with Donut. He has a weapon and everything!" Doc said as he patted the top of Lopez's helmet. He still felt bad about how O'Malley had treated Lopez and wanted to make it up to him with friendliness. At least it sounded like Lopez was expressing concern for two soldiers going into possibly dangerous territory. Too bad he couldn't go back in time and choose a different foreign language class in school. Who knew he would have needed Spanish more than French and Esperanto?

"Just...go," the pilot said as he landed the craft in a clearing surrounded by jagged cliffs. "Take your stuff and the creepy robot head and come back at least late enough for me to get a smoke."

"Okay! Thank you so much for your help! I can't wait to see everyone again." Donut climbed out of his seat and hopped down onto the muddy ground with gestures light and airy as his apparent mood. "I wonder how they're doing? Trapped in a box canyon with minimal military support and lots of mosquitoes. They must feel right at home!"

"Uh, yeah!" Doc was a little less sure of that, though he imagined Donut's optimism would be a welcome sight. He helped unload their luggage using proper lifting techniques and wondered if Donut had worried about a trip together on a small space transport with an amicable ex getting weird. Probably not. Nothing seemed to weird out Donut. That was part of his charm.

In fact, Donut had bounced back from their decision to move things back to friendship so quickly that Doc still felt a little hurt about it. He knew that was selfish. He liked Donut's positivity! Lord knew the universe could use more positivity. This was just part of it.

"I hope they're doing well," Doc said to distract himself. "It sounded like Agent Washington was under a lot of stress when he called you. If they're surviving off of rations, that might have something to do with it! Those things are loaded with preservatives. Good thing we were able to salvage that kale from the garden. Kale chips should be just the thing! Well, that and a rescue." He paused as he saw Donut stumble. "Huh? Something wrong, Franklin?"

"No! Uh, nope. I absolutely was not about to tell the pilot he could go because I forgot about the rescue part. Haha, how silly would that be?" Donut sounded a little flustered. "I mean, then we'd be stuck too. But the good news is, I didn't do that thing I wasn't going to do, so-"

He was cut off by a thundering boom and a blast forceful enough to knock both soldiers off their feet.

"Donut, you okay?" Unharmed himself aside from his shaken nerves, Doc stood up and slowly turned around. The rescue craft was aflame, black smoke smoldering from the engine. The cockpit glass lay in pieces around it. He caught a glance of an armored figure running from the scene at an impossibly fast speed before vanishing from sight. The pilot...

Well, Doc couldn't see much, but one gruesome glance suggested rescuing the pilot wouldn't do him any good at this point. He was definitely dead.

"...Donut?" He edged closer to the only trained, armored soldier of the three.

"Oh my God," Donut said, clinging to his rifle like it might run away from him. "Doc, why would anyone do that?! Where's Sarge? SAAARGE!" He took off running into the canyon.

Doc stared at the carnage one more time, doing his best to forcibly ignore the aggressive scratching at the inside of his mind that kept resurfacing in the face of stress, and ran after Donut.

His Spanish was pretty weak, but he was fairly certain Lopez was cursing.

(Author's note: And with that, we're caught up to the Archive Of Our Own posting, aka "everything that has been written up to this point." In other words, updates will slow to one chapter per, uh, whenever it gets finished. I generally try to update at least once a month, though I admit it can be spotty. Expect one before the end of September for sure.
If you feel like reading it there instead, it's under Not Your War and I'm still CornetHummy there; I have a few other, shorter fics there that never made it to this part of the web.
Next time, we'll finally catch up with our totally safe and secure friends in the canyon (and poor Ruby) and Amethyst will finally get some screentime. There may or may not be hot chocolate. Probably not.)