"Commander," Pearl said, "why don't we just use that hole in the center of the city as an entrance to our base?" The Crystal Blades had been hard at work yet again, both Bismuth and Amethyst now mining the side of the cliff. Ruby and Sapphire sat on the shore, trying to salvage parts from the Peridot's now-defunct ship.

"Because, Pearl," Ruby responded, annoyed, "the weather on this planet is very unpredictable. We need better cover from snow and rain. We can't let our base flood or freeze."

"We can dig a tunnel branching off of it!"

"And what happens when the flooding reaches that tunnel?" Pearl looked at Ruby, not wanting to admit defeat. "Exactly." Ruby turned to look at the progress on the cliff. "Come on, Runt! You can do better than that!" Amethyst didn't look at her, her gaze deadset on her task. Her mind was drowned in one word: GO. She kept punching with her left, then her right, then left, then right, left, right, left, right, faster, faster, faster. Pebbles shot out from the rocky cliff she assaulted. Small cracks were forming, too. But Bismuth was taking out whole chunks just a few feet to her right. Using her arms shaped as a wrecking ball and a pickaxe. Amethyst took note of this, trying to shapeshift her arms into a hammer and chisel. But once she hit the back of her newly formed hand to break off the rock, it crumpled up like a sheet of tissue paper, and she screeched in sudden pain. She was too soft. Bismuth slowed down a bit, looking over at Amethyst, before scoffing and getting back to work. Amethyst lied on the ground, gripping her hair tightly. Ruby looked at her, her face blank and judgemental. Amethyst knew that to be the commander's gaze without even looking at her face. She was all too familiar with that look.

"Commander," Sapphire said, quietly. Ruby turned around, expectantly. "Perhaps you should give her a break? I believe she's hurt."

"She's only been working for 13 hours. She'll be fine," Ruby dismissed, continuing to tear the ship apart. Sapphire's heart raced, and her fingers began to feel cold and numb. She tensed up, her breathing increased, but decided to speak her mind, no matter the consequence.

"Ruby, I demand that you go easier on Amethyst," she said, quickly yet loudly. Ruby froze, slowly straightening up, her back to Sapphire. "P-Please…" Sapphire added. Ruby turned around, her fury clearly growing.

"And just what gives you the authority to tell me what to do?" Ruby approached Sapphire menacingly.

"I….I-I…" Sapphire stammered, "I won't form Garnet with you if you don't." Ruby's anger flared.

"Say that again."

"I mean it, Ruby. You can't fuse with me unless I want to as well. So I won't do it unless you treat her better."

"Ah. And what if an entire fleet shows up at our doorstep tomorrow? Hm? If that Peridot is to be believed, Yellow Diamond knows our position now, so it's not quite that unlikely. But you mean to tell me that you wouldn't form Garnet because I'm being a little harsh on the Runt?!"

"Perhaps I am," Sapphire said firmly. Ruby was taken aback by this a bit, yet her disappointment remained.

"You seem to forget your place, princess. This isn't Homeworld anymore. You're not some aristocratic fortune teller for Blue Diamond. You're not some high and mighty member of her court anymore. Now, I'm in charge. I make the rules. And wasn't I also the one who saved you from that execution? The thing that started this all?"

"Exactly! It's your fault we're even in this mess! Had you not been so stubborn and self-centered, we'd both be living our peaceful lives back on Homeworld! Not worrying about Yellow Diamond's forces invading or attacking tomorrow. Not bickering with each other and shoving each other in the dirt. This is all because of you!"

"Stubborn? Self-centered? Who's the one that just stated they'd rather be blissfully ignorant back in an iron-fisted dictatorship? Who'd willingly turn her blind eye to whole worlds being decimated just because some tall tyrant said so? Who'd allow her precious little Amethyst to be crushed to pieces! Oh wait, that wouldn't even happen, because YOU'D'VE BEEN SHATTERED IF NOT FOR ME!" Sapphire had stopped standing her ground, rather she was stuck in it. She had dug herself into a hole and she was trying to figure out a way to climb out. She tried to see what would work best, but she'd already screwed up her own fate. She always screws things up. Perhaps Ruby is right.

"Lay off, Commander," Pearl interjected, walking over.

"Oh, so now everyone thinks they can boss me around?!" Ruby asked, astonished.

"Just think, Commander. Shouting and arguing gets us nowhere, nor does it help anyone. So lay off." Ruby glared at Pearl, then at Sapphire, who was frozen in her own shell. Ridiculous, she thought. I do all of this for them and this is how they thank me?

"I'll give the Runt a break for one hour. I won't…'harass' her if she complies," Ruby stated, agreeing to cool down a bit. "However, if she's even one second late, she'll do the rest of the work herself. Understood?" Sapphire remained still. "I asked you a question." Sapphire seemingly jolted back to reality just then, processing what Ruby had offered, and then nodding weakly. Ruby returned the nod, her brows cutting a straight line across her eyes, before walking past them, shoulder-checking Pearl. Well, it was more of a shoulder-hand check due to the height difference, yet the point still got across, regardless. Pearl watched her as she passed, before walking up to the ship, continuing Ruby's progress.

"Thank you," Sapphire said, softly.

"Don't mention it," Pearl replied.

"I didn't intend to drag you into our argument. And I hope that you underst-"
"Sapphire," Pearl interrupted, freezing for a moment, "don't mention it." Sapphire nodded, walking over to the water before sitting down. The weather was nice, this day. There was a soft breeze every so often, and the sky was unusually clear. The oceans were bright and blue, and their pattern of ripples and motions of waves were hypnotic to watch. Seeing all the little specks of light bounce upon the waves was serene and beautiful. Although...not all of them were specks of light. Some were dull. And large. And...solid. A few of them washed up to the shore a few feet away. Sapphire got up, walked over to one of them, and inspected them closer. It was an Earth fish. Its scales were silver and its eyes were sunken and milky. Yet, there were holes in it. Sapphire knew there was much sea life that could do a multitude of things to devour prey, but what sort of predator would simply stab holes into its prey, but leaves the carcass and all of its organs? She looked around, seeing that the other ones had holes in them as well. She began picking them up, seeing holes going straight through their bodies, their heads; every single part of them was like swiss cheese. And then she began seeing more. And more. They were lining the shore. The water was covered in them. Hundreds. Thousands.

"Um," Sapphire said, rather loudly, "everyone?" Pearl turned around, seeing the piles of fish as well.

"Oh my…" was all she could say.