Chapter Nineteen: Invaded


The Central Spire.

Upon meeting up with the local leadership of Moridius, Emerald had tried to explain her current situation to them. They were quite a bit skeptical that the Interlopers had somehow managed to infiltrate their planet and repurpose the bio-poison foundry into one of their own bases. Emerald's current status as an ex-Supreme Admiral using a mechanical body didn't lend her any credibility in their eyes.

"Now, Emerald," said a Sapphire, "I appreciate your dedication to the cause. But to make such bold claims without evidence...you'll forgive me if I'm not exactly convinced."

"Look, I don't see what's so hard about this!" said Emerald. "Surely you could just get someone from down at the foundry to report back? Wouldn't they tell you if something is wrong?"

"We already receive periodic reports from the foundry," said the Sapphire. "Nothing out of the ordinary has been reported within the last several years."

"Hmm. May I look at these reports?" asked Emerald.

The Sapphire took a moment to debate with her fellows. After a bit, they decided to allow her this courtesy. A Peridot handed Emerald the files containing these reports.

"'Situation normal. Nothing to report,'" Emerald read. "That's all it says?" She looked further back. Every single report for several years read the exact same thing. No deviation, always the same sentence. 'Situation normal. Nothing to report.' "Don't you think this is a bit suspicious? Everything going too well?"

"Nothing can ever go too well!" said a different Sapphire. "Emerald, if you want to convince us, it will take more than this."

"Okay, fine, how about this?" Emerald said. She grabbed Tenrit, pulling him up front next to her.

"Huh? What happened to low profile?" he said.

"This is Tenrit," Emerald explained. "He was captured by the Interlopers millenia ago, and used as a receptacle of information. His knowledge is what allowed me to discover this infiltration in the first place.

"Is that...an organic?" asked Sapphire, the disdain in her voice clear.

"I am," said Tenrit. "Or, well, I was. I-I uploaded my mind into this body because mine got all...y'know...but then-actually, do you know? Not calling you ignorant, but if you didn't know, organic bodies...okay, I'm sorry, I'm rambling. I've just never met a Sapphire in real life, so I'm a bit excited."

Said Sapphire only stared at him. "You expect us to cease production of one of our most valuable commodities, and prepare for battle on the word of this...this thing?" she said to Emerald.

"What more do you want?" said Tenrit. "Look, I may be an organic, but I know my stuff! Believe it or not, the Interlopers are using this bio-venom to eliminate potential colonies from your roster. That's why they infiltrated this foundry. You pop open a container, thinking it's full of bio-poison, and then poof-the planet's a dud."

"That must be why they brought those vines to Auragh," said Onyx. "To give them a reason to need the bio-poison."

"If that was true, why would they not simply bombard the planet with the containers themselves?" one of the Sapphires asked.

"That stuff's super destructive to organic life, but it's also super flammable," Tenrit explained. If they dropped it from orbit, or of a Gem shot it, it would explode like fossil fuel. It's too volatile to use as a weapon, so they need to be sneaky with it."

"You expect us to believe this?" sneered a Sapphire. "You'll need something more than the word of an organic to convince us!"

For the last few seconds, the sounds of a commotion could be heard outside. Everyone ignored it, brushing it off as something inconsequential. However, it was at this moment that a Ruby guard burst into the room. "My Clarities! W-we're under attack! The Interlopers are here!"

"What!?" shouted the lead Sapphire. "You did this!" she snapped at Emerald. "If you hadn't been distracting me with your insane theories, I would have seen this coming!"

"Don't say I didn't warn you!" Emerald huffed. She was the first to exit the room, followed by her troops. "Hmmph. This place is far less welcoming than I had expected…"

Outside, they say that the planet was indeed under attack. That all-too-familiar dreadnought, the Pandora's Box, had made its way into Moridius' atmosphere. The eight other battleships attached to it had disengaged, moving in to combat formation.

"Huh," said Nines. "For Sapphires, they aren't very good at seeing the future."


The Reef.

On the other side of the planet, Pearl was faring much better than Emerald. The spa procedure was going wonderfully. A hot bath, hot coal massage, gemstone polishing-she felt like a new Gem!

"My Emerald could really use some treatment like this," Pearl said, as one of the Bazzites polished her gem. "She works so hard, she could really use a break!"

"Oh, I hear ya, sister!" said a light green Pearl to her side. "Yeah, My Jade's a real workaholic too. I keep tellin' her 'My Jade, you work so hard! You should take a break!' But does she listen to me? No, of course not. 'Cause I'm 'just a Pearl!'"

"You two, too?" said another Pearl, this one baby blue. "My Sapphire is always focusing on her work. I tell her to relax, and she always blows me off. Why, I get the feeling she sent me here just to get me out of her hair!"

"Sounds like this is pretty common," said Pearl. "I guess nowadays, with-Eek, careful!" The Bazzite had accidentally slipped the polisher off her gem and onto her belly, tickling Pearl. "Anyways," she continued, "looks like we're three Pearls in a string. Literally!"

"Honey, that's just the start of it!" said the green Pearl. "One of my friends feels the same way. I'd wager to guess that pretty much every Pearl feels the same way as us three!"

"Well...the ones that are happy with their situation," the blue Pearl said. All three Pearls silently nodded, recognizing that they were lucky to have it as good as they did.

"Hey...where did everybody go?" said Pearl. Indeed, the Bazzites had mysteriously vanished, leaving the Pearls alone.

"What's happening?" asked a black Pearl. "Just as this was getting good!"

Pearl made to step out to figure out what was happening, only for a Bazzite to barge in, almost knocking her over. "Okay, everyone, there's a slight situation going on," she said. Her voice sounded calm, but it was clear she was struggling to hide her concern. This situation was clearly not 'slight.' "We'll continue this later. For now, we have to leave. Everyone follow me, and stay close together."

"What's happening, miss?" asked the blue Pearl.

"Never you mind," Bazzite said quickly. "Single file, now. Stay close to me."

While not quite pandemonium, the rest of the Reef was clearly aware that something bad was happening. Gems crowded together, desperate to get to the warp pad to leave this place behind. The Pearls, however, were being ushered into the sub-levels. Pearl was among them, her and the others undergoing treatment were all being pushed by the crowd.

Out of the corner of her eye, Pearl saw a glimpse of a monitor, showing something quite troubling. A fleet of Interloper ships was approaching, gathering around the Central Spire. "Emerald…" Pearl said quietly.

"Pearl! Pearl!" She turned. It was Tanzanite. The blue Gem was trying to reach her, but the crowd was too dense. Both of them were being pushed in opposite directions. Both tried to push towards the other, but it was no use.

"Tanzanite!" said Pearl. "I'll be okay, just go protect Emerald!"

"But my orders were to keep you safe!" said Tanzanite. "Pearl!" But the crowd had separated the two of them. Tanzanite couldn't even see the pink Gem in the sea of colors. She broke off from the crowd, standing close to the wall as all the other Gems passed by.

Tanzanite looked up at the monitor showing the impending invasion. Emerald's orders had been to protect Pearl-but Pearl was safe. It was Emerald herself that was in danger. She stood up, steeling herself as she made her way to the warp pad. Once it was her turn, she returned to the Soul Evaporator.

Upon arriving at the bridge, Tanzanite looked around. The Interloper ships weren't visible from orbit, so they must have already gotten to the Spire. So she would have to go to them. The blue Gem focused all her energy, holding her arms close to her chest. With all her might, she threw her arms out to the side; her fingers extended into long tendrils that spread across the controls all over the bridge. Many more tendrils extended as well, working their way into every single console on the bridge. Tanzanite was going to control the entire ship on her own.

Data surged through her, her eyes alight with ones and zeroes. "Alright," said Tanzanite, straining from the mental effort. "Let's begin."


The Pandora's Box.

Pythoriax stared down at the planet below, his gaze filled with hate. "They've tracked our production of bio-venom to this planet," he said. "We'll have to stop them before they destroy it, even if that requires obliterating everything in sight."

Zirconium stood behind him. "Right. I'll go down and take care of their defenses. Then we can move in. Where's Serpentine? I need her for this mission."

"Oh, I already have her working on a special assignment," Pythoriax said. "Don't worry, I've sent backup for you."

"What? What did I tell you about-" As Zirconium approached to confront the Interloper general, he held up his hand, one of Serpentine's claws materializing on the appendage, stopping the fusion before she could get any closer.

"Not so fast," he said. "I call the shots here, remember?"

"You...what did you do!?" Zirconium tried to grab Pythoriax in her psychic grip, but the Interloper simply activated his jets, shaking off her grasp. He rocketed towards her, pinning her against the wall with his free hand.

"I told you, you are all subservient," he said, the venom in his voice clear. "You exist only to serve me, and nothing more. If I wish to harness your power for my own means, then that is what I will do. Is this understood?"

Zirconium struggled, but she couldn't break free of his grip. "Yes...sir," she said reluctantly.

"Good," said Pythoriax, dropping her to the floor. "Now then, go. I will join you shortly." He stared out the window once more. "This planet will fall...and Emerald will perish."


The Central Spire.

The battleships descended, looming over the spire like a battalion of thunderclouds. "So...what now, Mera?" asked Onyx.

Emerald was silent, examining the trajectory of the ships. "They're not coming towards us," she said. "That's a defensive formation. There's something over there they don't want us to reach." She waved over a fleeing Peridot. "You there, what's that underneath the ships?"

"That's the bio-poison foundry, miss," she said, before continuing on her path.

"Of course," Emerald said. "Pythoriax knows we're on to him. He's trying to protect his bio-venom. We've got to get down there to-"

Emerald was cut off as a loud, booming sound pierced the air. It was unlike anything she had ever heard; a reverberating drone that shook everything nearby. Though it was metallic in nature, something about it seemed...angry, somehow. "What the stars was that!?" she exclaimed. And then she saw it.

What first seemed to be wash kicked up by the battleships' antigrav propulsion soon became something more. The water split to reveal a truly gigantic shape rising up out of the water. A humanoid machine, the same gunmetal grey as the Interlopers, rose up from the depths. Four piercing red eyes focused on the spires, as the air was once again split by that ferocious siren.

"Stars alive…" said Onyx. "It...it's an Apex!"