Olive Peridot always preferred keeping her head down, even by Peridot standards.
She worked on machines, studied the gem production locations known as Kintergardens, and learned very quickly not to think.
She was a gem, a space going life form with a body made of hard light projected from a gemstone, ruled over by three-formerly four-matriarch diamonds.
Olive remembered the days before Pink Diamond, the smallest and as far as she'd heard, least aggressive Diamond had been shattered, killed by one of her own soldiers during a rebellion on some backwater planet.
Things were.. Less tense at the very least back then. Olive had only been off Homeworld to maintain the tech on other colony planets and gather more data on kintergartens even before Pink's shattering and now a days she was even less fond of going to other planets. Homeworld might be dull but at least the chances of her being caught up in a war was minimal.
Currently Olive was tending to her persona machines, two tools held between her teeth as her hands worked inside of a drone.
Homeworld made Peridots to last, so even falling from the girder she was hanging from while she worked was unlikely to damage her light body enough for it to disperse.
Even if it were, she'd hung upside from said girder to work on her machines enough time to be comfortable doing it.
She'd been working on this amalgamated, frankensteinian drone robot for a few decades now, collecting new pieces and updating the tech as Homeworld's own level of tech advanced. It wasn't really for any purpose, but it gave her something to focus on between missions, and gave her a chance to briefly think for once. It was her peace time.
So one could imagine her frustration at it being interrupted by a constant whining beeping sound from a communicator. Finally she decided to just get it over with, pulling herself out of the drone and pulling herself upright on top of the girder with her legs to activate the communicator after setting the tools to the side.
A press of a button to the computer like device and a screen was projected in the air, showing only text for reasons Olive had initially failed to fathom, but far be it from her to argue with a sapphire's future vision.
Speaking of, the blue gem was the one who appeared to be the one who'd started this string of messages.
Ceylon Sapphire had sent out a message to everyone in the little group she had collected to make sure everyone was 'on schedule' as she called it; though it had been a different blue gem that had resulted in all the alerts to respond.
Ceylon: I don't mean to pry, just don't want any unneeded surprises.
Zircon: No need to justify yourself. As a sapphire, if you felt it necessary to mention, then it most certainly was.
R: Or she could just be checking in. not everything has to have been the result of a vision. Zircon: Firstly, don't disrespect the aristocrat gem. Secondly, especially don't do so until you've confirmed who and what exactly you are.
R: I told you I'm from White Diamond's court like you.
Zircon: That's a court, not a gem type. You've statistically narrowed yourself down to a third of all gems.
R: I've already told you that doesn't matter, and Ceylon even backed me up so now who's being disrespectful?
Lazurite: Can we not do this right now? Please? I get so little time between working on this planet and I'd rather not spend it watching an argument.
R: I didn't come here from an argument.
Olive's eyes could have rolled out of her head, though honestly she wasn't sure who it was that deserved it most.
Olive: Allow me to force this conversation back onto the tracks please. Zircon, R, Lazurite, are you on track with the tasks Ceylon gave you. I am, and would like to know if there's anything else we need to do.
R: I've got my weapon and statue finished up.
Zircon: I've got something that will work, though I feel I could do a better job of it if I knew exactly what we were preparing for.
Lazurite: I think I've got everything, but like Zircon said, can't really be sure without knowing what they're for.
Ceylon: You're ready, I can tell. You're in a unique situation of not needing a weapon. And don't worry, there isn't anything extra that needs to be done, I'm just doing one more sweep through everyone to make sure everyone is ready for tomorrow. It's going to be something special.
Lazurite: Alright, still just a little confused.
R: You're talking to a sapphire, being confused is how you know its working.
Zircon: For someone who claims to be of White's court, you have a stunning lack of ability to know your place.
Olive: R, stop intentionally riling up Zircon.
R: I'm not.
Olive: I'm sure. Zircon, calm down before you give yourself a crack. You've probably got paperwork to go through.
Zircon: You're only right because I rarely don't. Ceylon, please keep me informed about what more is needed from me.
[Zircon has signed off]
R: You still coming over to help with Ceylon's other little project?
Olive: Yes, I'll be there shortly, just need to finish up here. I'd be done already if I hadn't been haranged into responding here.
Lazurite: Sorry, you're usually better at stopping arguments than me.
Olive: No need to apologize, more annoyed at the situation than you specifically.
[Olive has signed off]
Olive shut the communicator down and collected her tools. She had intended to finish up the work on her project, but figured that she only got so many opportunities to visit R, and wasn't sure how many would be left after whatever was going to happen tomorrow.
Lazurite got up from the communicator, looking around at the desolate rocky planet she had been tasked with dealing with.
The purpose of a Lapis Lazuli in the mold of Homeworld was to use their control over water to terraform alien planets in preparation for an invasion.
Lazurite, though, had been here far, far longer than she should have been. There was only one of her kind here, and not nearly enough water to work with.
It would have taken a team of six Lapis Lazulies half a century to terraform the entire planet by themselves. There was too little water and too much rock that was far too solid.
And Homeworld, pressed for resources after the rebellion on earth, had sent a single one to this planet, alone, to sort it out. Not entirely alone perhaps. They'd given her a Desert Glass to help, the gem tool able to extend its powers to the sand around it and control it the same way she did with water.
The problem being that very little of the planet was actually sand; the majority just solid, dense stone that needed to be broken down into sand before Desert Glass could use it.
"The Diamonds don't even really care about this planet," Lazurite had said to the pale bluish green gemstone on the ground while it worked, "They just wanted to keep up an appearance of business as usual. They picked a planet at random and probably don't even remember that I'm here."
That had been a couple hundred years back, shortly after she'd learned that, while a tool, the Desert Glass could still understand her. Lazurite couldn't help but laugh at the memory of how she'd jumped away in fear when Desert Glass had first tried to communicate, using the sand grains to spell out words on the ground.
Lazurite had always assumed that the gems that Homeworld used for tools weren't sentient, and the knowledge that they were just as intelligent and alive as herself was… troubling.
Given she was on a planet at the edge of the galaxy, had been for slightly over a millenia and likely would be for another several, she opted to just not think about it and be glad she had someone to talk to. Mind you, that was before the gift from Ceylon had crash landed on the planet.
How exactly the sapphire had rigged up the carrier satellite to impact the planet without damaging the communicator inside, Lazurite couldn't begin to understand. Well, she could. Future vision. What she couldn't get was why. There was something she was planning for, Lazurite knew.
'You sure its a good idea to follow this?' Desert Glass had asked in the sand, 'could be something to do with the rebellion.'
Lazurite scoffed, "The rebels were all destroyed. I don't know what she wants, but if it means keeping myself sane, I don't mind helping."
From there, Lazurite had followed Ceylon's instructions sent to here now and then. Find something or someone you would take with you anywhere if you could and trusted.
That was easy, Desert Glass was the only thing she really had. Training was… a bit stranger. With no weapon, something other gems were able to summon at will, Lazurite was left to train her water powers and flight with her water formed wings, and what she was training for was left unsaid.
She could only assume some kind of fighting, but Lapis Lazulies weren't used for battle, so she was left confused. But much like the communicators arrival at all, Lazurite found it much better not to question it.
Especially since her third instruction had been to get to know the other gems linked up to the communicators, which she'd been attempting to do since. Currently, she let out a sigh of relief as everyone signed out. She was happy to talk, but Zircon could be… frustrating, moreso when R was present.
She was curious what kind of gem R was as well, but not nearly as intense as some of the others. Ceylon brought more gems into the chat before Lazurite could go though, giving the same checks on them.
[River has signed on]
[Pink Agate has signed on]
[Maxixe has signed on]
Desert Glass made a message in the sand for Lazurite to keep calm, seeming to know from the expression on her face that Maxixe was on.
She had believed that gems within the same court would be more able to get along than others. But that aqua marine seemed determined to prove her otherwise.
Maxixe: Lazing around again are we?
Pink Agate: Maxixe, what have we talked about.
Maxixe: I know that you've talked a lot about 'not being rude' or some such, but personally I don't see how I can be rude to someone lower in the hierarchy.
River: It does seem rather needless..
Maxixe: Oh like you've got room to talk. Where do you get off not using your gem name? You, R, and worst of all this 'Caroline' are driving me to my last nerves.
River: I told you, my Morganite chose the name for me.
Pink Agate: Will you pipe down and at least let Ceylon do her checks before you start going off like that?
Maxixe: Oh fine. What exactly are we doing here?
Lazurite: Actually.. Ceylon left right before you all signed on.
Maxixe: WHAT!? What an absolute waste of valuable time.
[Maxixe has signed off]
Pink Agate: I'm sorry you two have to put up with all of that.
Lazurite: At least the energy is a change up from the nothing that goes on around here.
River: It's certainly.. Interesting.
Pink Agate: Well don't you worry, if I can ever find that aqua marine face to face I'll make sure she learned to behave.
Lazurite: heh, thank you.
Pink agate: Don't worry about it, its what Agates are for.
[Pink Agate has signed off]
[River has signed off]
[Caroline has signed on]
Lazurite's eyes lit up a bit at seeing Caroline on. Odd as the name she went by was, and vague as she was about her gem type, Lazurite always preferred talking to her to any of the others.
She… seemed to get what it was like, being alone for so long.
Before she could start talking though, Desert Glass reminded her that she needed to get back to work. Lazurite looked from the screen, to her Desert Glass, to the barren rocky landscape, and back to the screen.
"It's gonna take eons. A couple minutes won't hurt."
Desert Glass shifted the sand around them, presumably trying to find an argument; but couldn't think of a decent one, so went inert for the moment and let her have her time to chat.
White Zircon set down her communicator and returned to her screens.
When she had been given such a device by a sapphire, she had been expecting something very, very different.
Not that she minded the peridot or aqua marine, the former was at least professional and the later was actively amusing to speak with now and again, but some of the others…
"To put it nicely," she said to her little helpers as the two fluttered over to her from their hiding hole between the walls, "They rather lowered my expectations for the value of a sapphire's attention."
"Oh you're exaggerating." "And being a bit mean." Heaven and Earth said respectively, the geodes sitting on either shoulder.
Zircon rolled her eyes. Useful as her companions were, and as attached as she refused to admit she was to them, they could weigh on her patience from time to time.
"Perhaps, but some of their behaviors are just inexcusable." White Zircon could feel the 2x eye roll from her helpers as she focused on the floating screens around her, collecting information on her current case.
An Amethyst from the Glisa Colony had reportedly gone rogue and lead an uprising in the name of Rose Quartz, the fallen rebellion leader from Earth.
They had an Amethyst in custody who was claiming not to be the rogue and needed it determined if she was the right one or not, as if they had the wrong quartz, it would mean shattering a perfectly good soldier and lowering their guard with a rebel still on the loose.
Zircon had barely gotten through the first few paragraphs of evidence when the communicator started blinking again.
She'd had the good sense to mute the device, but couldn't help but check it whenever there were in fact messages to be read.
Partly out of natural Zirconian obsessive need to have all the information about a given situation, and partly through hoping one of the more infuriating gems she'd yet to fully get her mind around would slip up while thinking she wasn't reading and drop some hint.
Inspecting the messages, she found three other gems on, presumably having been through the same Ceylon checks as the others.
And oh lucky lucky, two of them were aforementioned enigmas.
Jade: Still unsure what this is all about, but I'm ready. As ready as I can be suppose.
Spinel: Not sure why I wasn't told to do anything. The rest of you all had something to get or find or do.
Jade: Perhaps being on a Nephrite ship means you've got everything you need already? Between the crew and the captain, you're pretty well guarded.
Spinel: Maybe. Might just be that being four foot high and having one eye's left her a little…. Short sighted!
Corundum: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
White Zircon's groan of annoyance made her geodes giggle at her pain. Annoying as the, or indeed any in Zircon's opinion, Green Spinel's jokes were, it was the corundum that threw her the most. Particularly their being called strictly 'corundum.'
A corundum could be quite a wide variety of gems. Given how easily amused she was, Zircon could only assume she was a Ruby, and yet she claimed to be from White's court.
Zircon was fairly certain that ceylon had sought her out because both of the other White Diamond gems in this little group she had set up were so very, very off.
And then there was Jade. Zircon had kept notes on their conversations, and while she at least consistently answered questions online R, Corundum, or Caroline, the answers Jade gave seemed to contradict one another.
Based on when she was asked, she was from either Blue or Yellow's court, either a very active or rather reclusive aristocrat who did quite a lot or very little who either preferred listening to music or dancing to it.
There was something very, very off with a good third of the group the Ceylon had set up. Perhaps she was aware of it. Her future vision should have let her know if something was off.
White Zircon shut the chat to avoid seeing anymore of Green Spinel's jokes or Corundum's responses to them. She rubbed her temples for a moment to calm herself, the presence of her geodes helping with that more than she liked to admit. She refocused herself on the documents.
Yes the sapphire's 'event', whatever it was, would be starting by the next cycle, but the Amethyst's trial would be before then, and she was excellent at multitasking regardless.