Hey there! Bet'cha didn't expect this to get another chapter anytime soon. I'm pretty busy behind the scenes trying (and mostly failing) to manage like five different ongoing stories in two different universes, so I'm glad I finally found the time to finish this chapter. I hope you enjoy! Oh, and just so you know, there are references to the rest of this MCU based universe as we revisit the Milky Way. Since this takes place in the same 'verse as Changing of the Guard and so on, expect some Ben 10 references, and of course, some Guardians of the Galaxy and generally MCU cosmic references.

Enjoy!

Pidge half expects a gravity well generator to pull them out of hyperflight as soon as they cross into Galra territory on day two, but they either miss the Lions hurtling through space at an exponentially increasing pace, or the Galra commanders decide to uphold the truce, so they're left to peacefully break the laws of physics aboard Green and Blue.

The Lions don't play by the same rules as the rest of the universe around them, owing to their transdimensional origins, so the intergalactic trip - which would take the fastest Galra ship at least a month - goes by so quickly that Pidge barely has the time to satisfy her curiosity regarding Gemkind.

Which ends up not mattering, since Ruby is more than happy to fill the entire time with exposition.

Ruby - technically, Ruby-7X1 Cut-5YA, but she's fine with 'just' Ruby - is talkative as heck, and delighted to answer Pidge's questions. She gets the distinct impression that, regardless of Ruby's 'My Hessonite needs me!' comment, her superiors never really pay attention to her, so she's limited to talking to others of her kind, and thus welcomes this change of pace.

Pidge's journal gets some rather interesting entries, like:

Gems can eat - as in, physically consume food, and even enjoy it. However, they lack a natural digestive system and thus a way to expel whatever they've eaten, let alone use it as energy. Ruby eagerly ate one of my rations...only to spit the mush on Green's cockpit floor.

Gems can sleep, and even dream, but this process does not have any benefits or drawbacks for them. It's simply a way to pass time. Ruby says that her home planet used to get periodic meteor showers, which the base's commanding officers would reluctantly have the Rubies sleep through underground.

A Gem's "hard light" body/projection, obviously emanated from their gemstone, is extremely resistant to most kinds of damage, but especially kinetic forces. Energy based attacks seem to be more effective, though this is relative, considering Galra laser blasts - from personal blasters, anyway - barely seem to faze them.

Gem society is based on a rigid caste system, divided according to Gem type and purpose. Rubies are soldier Gems, plentiful, low ranking, and usually considered to be weak and insignificant by other Gem types. (Holy crap)

Other Gem types include:

Sapphire (strategists? advisers? ...magical mystery seers?)

Jasper (shock troops)

Amethyst (general infantry)

Carnelian (general infantry, red edition)

Agate (field officer/drill instructor?)

Lapis Lazuli (terraformers/artists?)

Hessonite (field/fleet Commanders)

Pearl (made-to-order servants/SLAVES, JFC)

Bismuth (builders/architects)

Albite (comms officers/telepaths)

Orthoclase (outpost security guards)

Malachite (anti-organic specialists!?)

Peridot (technicians)

Topaz (elite guards)

Aquamarine (special agents? intelligence officers?)

Citrine (shipboard guards/boarding parties)

Jade (uhhh court sycophants, apparently)

Nephrite (pilots/ship captains)

Rutile (navigators)

Diamond (matriarchs/queens/horrifying cosmic goddesses?)

It's...a lot. Even as someone who generally appreciates learning everything she can about a particular topic of interest, Pidge eventually asks Ruby to stop. It makes the little Gem a bit sad, but Pidge can only take so much. The more she learns about the Gem Empire, the more she wishes they'd never crossed paths with a species of tailor-made, mass produced, effectively immortal killing machines.

She's thankful, then, for the pit stop they make on Olkarion. It gives her a chance to parse through the new knowledge, and of course, to plan her next move.

Unfortunately, it gives Lance a chance to figure out what she's up to, as well.

He catches up to her in Green's cockpit, careful to avoid the sleeping Gem on the floor. They're about half an hour away from leaving again, having freshened up a little, and introduced the fascinated little Gem to the equally enthused - and, somehow, utterly stumped by the Ruby's entire existence - Olkari scientists.

"So." -Lance begins, casually leaning against a bulkhead at her right. "When are you gonna let me in on the actual plan?"

Pidge frowns, her eyes invisible behind her reflective lenses, currently filled with all sorts of stolen Galra data she tirelessly sorts through. "What do you mean?"

He shrugs. "I won't call you selfish, because you aren't. It's just, leaving a project like the Galra fleet tracker unfinished? That's not really like you. Not to mention, volunteering for a mission that isn't stealth? Or tech-related? That's not really your style."

"Maybe I'm trying to branch out." -she teases, even though by now she knows he's seen through her attempted subterfuge. "I'm more than just the resident tech wiz, y'know."

"Oh, I know." -he says. "I also know when your ulterior motives are showing, Pidge."

She hums. "And what would those be?"

"Usually? Finding your family." -he says knowingly.

Pidge sighs. "Well, you're not wrong. I do want to get Ruby back to her people, but...well, it just so happens that my latest lead on Matt's location is in the Milky Way."

Lance seems genuinely taken aback. "What? Seriously?"

She nods. "I was investigating the reason for the Galra fleet's presence in the Milky Way." -she says. "We know they were only in the galaxy because they had a lead on the Blue Lion, and we also know they left after we took it to Allura."

"Right."

"We also know they aren't looking to conquer our galaxy, not even to demoralize us - it's too far away from their territory, and establishing the necessary supply lines alone would take longer than a human being could possibly live, to say nothing of actually waging war with the Milky Way."

"...I'll take your word for it."

She snorts. "It just makes no sense, that they'd be there to fight - or, rather, get their purple asses handed to them by - the Gems in the first place. So, I started digging."

Lance crosses his arms, pensive. "What'd you find?"

"The taskforce the Gems destroyed was sent by the Galra to track down a rebel cell." -she says. "A group of escapees from all over the Empire, known to be involved in several high profile prison breakouts. They only got distracted because the Gem colonizers were in their way."

"And you really think your brother and father are with them?"

Pidge sighs, desperation creeping into her expression. "They have to be. The Galra have millions of prisoners, but none of them are human, so far as I or my algorithms can tell."

Lance seems to think it through. Pidge half expects him to turn around and bail on her, but he just smiles and puts his hand on her shoulder. "Then I'm sure we'll find them, Pidge."

Pidge purses her lips. "I can't ask you to join me on this. Might be a wild goose chase, after all."

He shrugs. Again. He does that a lot. "Hey, I joined you without knowing how important this trip was to you, didn't I? There's no need to ask."

Pidge smirks, despite herself. "Alright, wingman. Come on, let's grab some Olkari techno-ramen before we leave."

So, Pidge was sort of wrong, in her concept of the Milky Way's civilized status.

There's no hyperlanes, but there are ancient, horribly impractical warp gates spread out all over the Milky Way, Mass Effect style. There's no galaxy-spanning civilizations, but there are several sizable empires and other such recognizable powers within her home galaxy. Maybe it's less 'empty Denny's parking lot at 2 am', and more 'nearly abandoned neighborhood with, like, two big houses and a dinky little bar'.

A dinky little bar which just so happens to be their current location. She may have been wrong, but the Milky Way still kinda sucks.

Knowhere is a weird place, which is saying a lot, considering how many utterly baffling celestial bodies she's been to as a Paladin - Olkarion itself, for example, with its planetary-circumference-spanning mountain range, and the resulting, utterly unique binary atmosphere system. Knowhere takes the cake, even still.

It's a goddamn moon-sized, rotting skull in space.

According to the local archives, Knowhere is actually the severed head of a massive, immortal being called a 'Celestial', some kind of cosmic deity whose cadaver has been used as a renewable source of several incredibly valuable divine bodily substances, mined by the less-than-legit but still highly influential and wealthy Tivan Group.

Pidge wants to bang her forehead against Green's viewscreen. Why the fuck is space so ridiculous? Why can't this just be an oddly shaped planetoid? How is 'a constantly healing, decapitated space god' the actual explanation?

Upon learning this fact, Lance just thinks it's metal. Of course he does.

In any case, the Paladins land on the station, not bothering to conceal their identities. Pidge highly doubts anyone here even knows what Voltron is, let alone the Paladins and Lions that make it up. Sure enough, the looks they get are much more confused than greedy, or hostile - their perpetually clean, shiny white armors stick out like a sore thumb in this seedy corner of the universe. The people of Knowhere seem to be much more wary of Ruby's presence, which tells Pidge that they must know what the Gems are about.

Pidge shouldn't be surprised to see such an eclectic variety of people on the station, knowing how diverse life really is, but she can't quite help raising her eyebrows as she scans the crowds around them and finds everything from azure-skinned, humanoid Kree, to the more monster-like stone creatures known as Kronans. The helmet she wears identifies every species for her, which gives credence to Allura's affirmation that, indeed, the Alteans really did catalogue most of the universe and its denizens.

As soon as the surprise of their appearance wears off, the residents of Knowhere treat them like any other visitor. Merchants shout at them, offering wares, beggars ask for credits, and bounty hunters - of which there are many, worryingly enough - eye them, trying to figure out if someone might've put a hit on their heads. Just to be sure, Pidge checks their guild's bounty board, but it appears the Galra never bothered to use local mercenary services. It still puts Pidge on edge, but at least Lance and Ruby seem ecstatic about their visit.

Lance stops by some food stalls - well, Pidge thinks their merchandise is supposed to be food - chats with some of the miners - a couple of huge, super buff Tetramands, their bright red skins glistening with sweat - and even starts flirting with a skimpily dressed pink-skinned Krylorian, showing off his bayard before noticing Pidge glaring at him, and falling back in line behind her. Meanwhile, Ruby flits about like a hyperactive butterfly, playing tag with the station's alarmingly abundant orphan children and cowering away from a grumpy looking Necrofriggian she accidentally bumped into.

Despite the distracted duo, Pidge eventually ends up leading the group to a central location belonging to the leader of the mining Group and 'owner' of Knowhere, Taneleer Tivan.

"Over here." -Pidge says to them.

Lance eyes the place up. Nothing in the station is really beautiful, but this place comes closest. It's a massive, domed hexagonal cathedral, with a glass ceiling and walls of different sizes. These seem to have been expanded over the ages, and Pidge is pretty sure she knows why.

"What is this place?" -Lance asks, craning his head up as they approach.

"Taneleer Tivan's museum." -Pidge answers. "The guy who owns this station is known throughout the galaxy as a...collector, I guess. He seeks out strange and unique things, and displays them here as a part of his collection. He's also the owner of the mining group that you've seen around here, as well as the interstellar service that collects all the warp drive goop that starships seem to dump out into space after FTL travel."

Ruby makes a grossed-out face. "Gem ships don't...do that."

"That's because Gem tech is the most advanced thing I've ever seen." -Pidge says. "Anyway, and more relevant to our purposes here, Tivan is also the galaxy's biggest information broker, so if anyone knows about rebel movements, and how best to approach returning Ruby to her people, it's probably him."

Ruby gets super nervous all of a sudden. "Uhhh...rebels? W-what are you talking about?"

Pidge winces. "Oh...sorry, I forgot to tell you. My father and brother were captured by the Galra a few years ago, along with Shiro, the Black Paladin you met." -she says. "I've been searching for them ever since, and my latest lead places them as anti-Galra rebels somewhere in this galaxy."

The Gem blinks. "Oh. Oh. For a second there, I thought you meant...nevermind." -she says, still fidgety.

Lance kneels down, puts his hand on the small Gem's shoulder. "Hey, it's ok. We're not your Hessonite, or your Yellow Diamond, or whatever. We're friends, and we'll hear whatever it is you want to tell us."

Ruby hesitates. Pidge can tell she really wants to talk, but something stops her. Given what she's learned of Gem culture, Pidge can only imagine rebellion isn't exactly an allowed topic of conversation in Kindergartens. Ruby seems to come to a conclusion quickly enough, though.

"I just...thought you were talking about…" -she says, then whispers, so low she has to rely on her helmet's real time transcription software to understand. "...the Crystal Gems."

Pidge and Lance share a look. It's not exactly the world-shattering revelation they were expecting. "What are the 'Crystal Gems'?" -Pidge asks.

The Ruby cringes, her already small body shrinking even further. "Oh my stars, you say it so brazenly! What if they hear?" -she asks. Pidge glances around, just in case, but nobody seems to pay them any mind. If anything, the population density near Tivan's 'palace' has plummeted to near-zero.

"Who do you think is going to hear you?"

"Them!" -she shrieks, almost in a panic. There's still nobody around. "The Onyxes and the Jets, all the traitor-hunters! Maybe even the Diamonds, I don't know."

Pidge purses her lips. It's not exactly a surprise to know that the Diamond matriarchs have Gems in their service whose only purpose is hunting down threats to their authority, but it still brings up the same terrible taste in her mouth she feels when thinking about the horrors perpetrated by the Galra under Zarkon's millennia-long tyranny. "I promise, they won't find out. If you still want to tell us about these Crystal Gems, that is." -Pidge promises.

Ruby still winces a little, but nods, trusting. "They're...well, rebels. Rumors I've heard around the barracks, y'know? The elites never talk about them, but they say, if you mention them in their presence, you'll be shattered on the spot." -she says.

"Jesus, shattered?" -Lance asks. Ruby didn't mention such a punishment before, but Pidge can imagine, from what she's learned of their...anatomy, that that's basically their form of execution.

The little Gem nods. "Yeah, on the spot!" -she repeats. "The older Gems say they rebelled against the Diamond Authority, thousands of years ago. I've only been around for a few decades, but they say that there used to be four Diamond matriarchs, instead of the three we are all made to serve in this Era. They say the rebels...shattered a Diamond."

She says this last line like it's the last thing she'll ever say - like Yellow Diamond herself has heard this heresy and is about to ODST right into her relatively fragile little gemstone, but of course, nothing happens. Ruby seems genuinely relieved. "A-anyway, that's what I thought you guys were talking about."

"Not to diminish this breakthrough of yours, but...why would we have been talking about rebel Gems, Ruby?" -Pidge asks.

"Oh! Well, you're from Earth, aren't you?" -she asks, all innocent confusion. "The Crystal Gems are from Earth, too."

To say that this is a bombshell of a revelation is a severe understatement. As far as any human knows, the only contact Earth has ever had with extraterrestrial life has been Altean surveyors - gods know how many years ago - the Blue Lion being hidden away on her homeworld, and the small Galra taskforce that tried to take Blue from them just as they awoke the Lion. And yet, here is this tiny little alien confidently affirming that alien life - and furthermore, the walking fridge horrors that they've discovered Gemkind to be - existed and fought wars on Earth.

Lance, ever the skeptic, is about to question the veracity of Ruby's claims, when the doors to Tivan's sanctuary open, revealing yet another Krylorian female, in much less sexy attire, daintily walking towards them. She smiles at them, but there's an edge to the expression, a tightness Pidge has come to associate with forceful cheerfulness.

"Welcome, Blue and Green Paladins of Voltron! You have been graced with the ever-ephemeral attention of The Collector, Taneleer Tivan. Please, gratefully accept his invitation, and walk with me into the hallowed halls of his treasure trove."