I think we're just about at the halfway point here.
Guest review replies;
SilverG: Out of the frying pan and into the fire, eh? Thanks for reading!
Nine
Lapis' 'entourage' had been taken to a small room a few floors down from the top of the tower. It seemed a nice enough place - a few ornate chairs, a good view of the city from the window - but it was just cool enough to be slightly uncomfortable. Perhaps this was deliberate - a way of reminding the occupants of the room who held power over them.
For a while, nobody spoke much. Pearl was pacing up and down anxiously. Lapis sat on one of the chairs, focusing very intently on the floor. Garnet stood against a wall, arms crossed - nobody could tell what she was thinking. Greg lay on the floor and gazed at the ceiling, wondering exactly when his vacation had gone so horribly wrong. Steven sat next to him, occasionally nodding sympathetically.
Connie sat next to the door, looking out into the sea. Steven looked over to her, furrowing his brow.
"I'm gonna check on Connie," he said quietly, "You gonna be okay, dad?"
"I'll be fine, kiddo," replied Greg, nodding.
Steven walked over to Connie, sitting down next to her.
"You okay?" he asked.
Connie didn't reply. Steven swallowed, putting his hand on hers.
"Red Beryl was wrong about you," he said firmly, "You're not dumb, or weak, or..."
"That was a test," said Connie.
Steven raised his eyebrows, not quite understanding.
"She wanted to see what Lapis would do if she attacked me," she added, "So she could work out what kind of the Gem she was."
"So she wanted to know if Lapis was good or not?" replied Steven, "That seems a pretty harsh way to test that."
"But she used me as a tool, Steven!" replied Connie, "She didn't care what happened to me one way or the other! And I had a Gem to vouch for me!"
She looked Steven in the eye.
"If she didn't care about me, why would she care about anyone else on the ship?" she asked.
"Uh...Lapis will vouch for them?" shrugged Steven, swallowing again.
"I've got a really bad feeling about this," said Connie, warily.
Steven squeezed Connie's hand.
"Hey," he said, "We're gonna be okay."
"How do you know that?" asked Connie.
"Because we have each other," replied Steven, "And we're gonna stick together, no matter what."
Connie smiled despite herself.
"And also Cookie Cat!" exclaimed Steven, reaching into his backpack. He rummaged around for a few seconds, then pulled out a very soggy Cookie Cat packet.
He gazed at it for a second and frowned.
"Oh wait, it's melted," he said.
On cue, the front of the packet immediately flopped downwards in an almost sad fashion.
There was a short silence.
Steven and Connie broke into giggles, breaking the silent mood of the room. The Gems and Greg looked at them, a little puzzled. Steven and Connie looked up at them, tried to regain their composure, but immediately broke into another giggle fit.
Eventually they calmed themselves and the quiet returned, but the oppressive atmosphere of the room seemed to have slightly waned.
"Name."
"Captain Frederick Carl Student, RMS Discovery."
"Who do you work for?"
"White Sun Line. Passenger ship company."
"Where are you from?"
"You mean what's the Discovery's home port? Southampton, Great Britain."
"Who are your followers?"
"My officers, you mean? Well, we don't currently have a Chief Officer, the last one retired last fortnight, so First Officer Stokes is doubling in that role. Then there's Second Officer Emerson, Third Officer Todd, Fourth Officer Jacks...I mean Rollins..."
Blue Quartz sighed heavily as Topaz asked question after question. The high-ranking quartz wore a similar uniform to the other Quartz', though hers was sleeveless and dark blue (darker than Prasiolite). Her Gem sat on the bicep of her right arm. She wore a helmet that concealed most of her hair, save for a few tufts that emerged over her visor at the front. She also had a few dark patches on her skin, not unlike those of a Jasper. Currently, she was standing at ease next to her master, Red Beryl, watching the questioning of Captain Student.
Blue Quartz would never admit it, especially to Red Beryl, but she found the questions asked by Topaz to be dull and unilluminating. All Red Beryl and her other senior underling were concerned about were strategic topics - which humans are most powerful? What weapons have they developed? Have they been to space yet? What countries control what resources? What she wanted to know was very much the opposite of strategic - how do humans live? What do they do for fun? What do they love? What do they hate?
But asking such questions would be considered a waste of time, if not outright heretical. So instead, she stood guard as she always had, said nothing that wasn't of a military basis, and waited for her time to advise Red Beryl on how to interact with the human world. She'd advise against military action, again, and then a few decades later they get another ship and do it all over again.
There was a stereotype that most quartz' lived for fighting and war and weapons, and indeed, many did - the ones that had never had to do the boring and bureaucratic staff work behind the violence.
"What are the most powerful factions in the human world?" asked Topaz.
"Um...geez, that's a change in the line of questioning," replied Captain Student, scratching his head, "I guess it would be the Americans, China, India, maybe Brazil..."
"Captain Forrest never mentioned any of them," muttered Red Beryl, quietly.
Topaz glanced back at her, nodded reverently, and asked another question.
"What happened to the British Empire?" she asked, "Forrest told us they were the most powerful human faction."
"The Empire's dead and buried," replied Captain Student, "And not a lot of people miss it, quite frankly. It fell apart after the Great Eastern War - spent all our money fighting the Soviets."
"Soviets?" asked Topaz.
"Um, Russians, I guess," shrugged Captain Student, "It's more complicated than that, but it would take too long for me to explain..."
Blue Quartz fought the urge to sigh in impatience as the questioning dragged on and on.
"What is your most powerful weapon?" asked Topaz. Blue Quartz nearly smiled in relief - this was usually one of the last questions.
"The Bomb, easily," replied Captain Student.
There was a long silence.
"You mean...you have nuclear weapons?" said Topaz.
"Atomic, hydrogen, take your pick," nodded Captain Student, "I don't know much of the specifics, but I was on a nuclear submarine a long time ago, so I might be able to describe..."
"No, no, that'll be fine, thanks," nodded Topaz.
She looked over to Red Beryl and Blue Quartz again. She looked a little bit worried.
"We should talk in private," nodded Red Beryl.
"You said we had a window of three-hundred years!"
"Your eminence, they-they've advanced quicker than we expected!"
Red Beryl furiously paced back and forth in her chamber, Topaz desperately explaining herself as she did. Blue Quartz stood still at attention, waiting for her orders.
"Who predicted the humans' rate of scientific discovery, Topaz?" demanded Red Beryl.
"Uh...Turquoise, Facet 9E2L Cut 2IZ, your eminence," replied Topaz.
"Bring her to me," ordered Red Beryl.
"Yes, your eminence, right away!"
She bolted for the elevator. Red Beryl turned to Blue Quartz, who saluted but remained silent.
"It may be time," she said.
"I don't think it is, your eminence," replied Blue Quartz.
"Explain?"
"We can work with the humans, your eminence," said Blue Quartz, "I believe we would be stronger together, and would have a greater chance of regaining extraterrestrial capacity and returning to Homeworld..."
"Stronger together?" said Red Beryl, "Blue Quartz, I want to make something especially clear. We are not equal to the humans. We will never be equals. We have made enough compromises in Providence for me to explain to the Great Diamond Authority - I will not compound them by rubbing shoulders with our inferiors."
"Like the Lapis Lazuli has done?" demanded Blue Quartz, "Maybe things have changed, your eminence?"
Red Beryl strode up to her underling, towering over her as she glared down at her face. Her expression was hard and cold. She gazed into Blue Quartz' eyes.
There was a long silence. Finally, Blue Quartz flinched and looked away.
"You have more privileges than many, Blue Quartz," nodded Red Beryl, "But you would do well to remember who is charge."
She looked out her window into the sea.
"Check the weapon's readiness," she ordered, "Bring the Lapis with you."
"Yes, your eminence," nodded Blue Quartz, marching for the elevator.
Red Beryl narrowed her eyes.
"We'll find out if she really represents Homeworld," she said to herself.
The early morning sun shone over the beach. The volcano towered above, sticking out from the green like a great tower in a small city. All was quiet, save for the sound of distant birds.
Suddenly there was a roar and a rush of water as a submarine burst from the water, slamming into the beach at great speed and burying it's nose in the sand.
The back door opened, and Peridot walked confidently out. She grinned.
"What a perfectly executed landing," she declared, "Well, remember where we parked!"
The others stumbled out behind her. Peedee made a loud groan and fell face-first into the sand.
"Peri, you're never driving again," muttered Amethyst.
They spread out, looking over the beach and into the wilderness.
"Take it in, everyone," said Todd, "We're definitely in uncharted waters now."
"We've gotta be the only humans to stand on this island since...forever," added Kiki.
"Well, except that guy," said Sour Cream, pointing towards the tree-line.
A hunched man was foraging through a bush, his head and face covered in long, scraggly hair. He wore no shirt, exposing his somewhat bony chest - his white pants were ripped almost to shreds and covered in dirt and stains.
"Who the heck is that?" demanded Amethyst.
The man jumped, hearing Amethyst. He looked towards his sudden company, screeched loudly and fled into the trees.
"Wait! We're not gonna hurt you!" exclaimed Kiki, "Come back!."
"Maybe we should follow him," mused Sour Cream.
"That would be ridiculous!" exclaimed Peridot, "If that man wants to scream and eat branches, he should be allowed to! We've got better things to do than chase him into the uncharted wilderness, and..."
She trailed off, gazing in exhasperation as the rest of the party chased the man into the trees.
"Yes," she said sarcastically, "Let's just ignore the smartest Gem. Clearly the wilderness is the best place for us to be!"
She sighed and chased after them.
AN: Hey look, it's Tom Hanks in Castaway. (okay not really)