The ceremony took place in a massive outdoor amphitheater carved out of shining yellow marble that sparkled under the sunlight. In attendance were the pinnacles of the gem aristocracy as well as each of the military leaders that Yellow Diamond had left. The place was overrun with Rubies working to keep the crowd under control and to keep unauthorized gems from sneaking backstage. A group of them quivered when she walked past them upon her arrival and they watched her with an awestruck fixation, totally distracted from their task.
"Stay focused!" Jasper snapped at them irritably.
The Rubies scrambled to return to their assignments with a flurry of flustered salutes. "Uhhhh, yes ma'am!" one of them squeaked, her cheeks coloring before Jasper turned her attention away. She felt the Ruby's eyes follow her even as she kept walking and she tossed her mane of white hair to shake off the feeling, ignoring the Rudy's small gasp when she did so.
Jasper smiled. Bit by bit, she was learning how to manage the constant attention and she found that she liked being able to control how other gems reacted to her presence. It reminded her of who she was and of why gems treated her like a legend. Despite her reservations about this ceremony, Jasper had dressed to kill – her eyes were sharply lined and she had polished the clasp on her cape to a brilliant shine. She felt invincible.
The whole affair was solemn enough, even in celebration they could not forget their grief. Yellow Diamond oversaw the presentation from a raised seat behind and to the side of center stage while a Carnelian general, one of the very few remaining, addressed the crowd with a reminder of Homeworld's many losses and sacrifices and an update of their world's recovery. Jasper stood respectfully at attention as the Carnelian spoke, her jaw clenched tight.
In the crowd some gems whispered to one another during the speech while others watched Jasper excitedly, ignoring the general. Jasper narrowed her eyes at the disrespect and fixed her attention on the ceremony. The gems who had sat here on Homeworld did not understand the gravity of what the general was telling them. Their lives had been safe for the entirety of the war, unlike Jasper and her sisters who emerged from the Earth's crust into a maelstrom of death and destruction. These Homeworld aristocrats could not understand and that knowledge fanned Jasper's irritation into true anger – anger at what she had experienced, anger at the shining future in Pink Diamond's court that had been stolen from her, and especially at the ignorance of the gems who could not even keep their eyes forward and their mouths shut long enough to honor the shattered.
"We will grow stronger and wiser as a society," the Carnelian said. "To do so, we must remember those who have helped us come so far, even in the midst of tragedy. Today, we honor a certain Mookaite Jasper made during the war who has risen so far above everything expected of her in her deeds and service to the Diamonds that she has become a living legend. I myself found the reports of her victories hard to believe, but each of them is true. Jasper, if you will?" She beckoned Jasper to the front of the stage.
When Jasper joined her a true hush finally fell over the audience.
"Jasper," the Carnelian addressed her as a Ruby officer came forward with a cushioned glass box. "Your deeds on and off the battlefield serve as a reminder of what all Quartzes should strive to be. In recognition of your leadership skills and at the behest of Yellow Diamond herself, the military of the Yellow Court is promoting you to the rank of Major." The Carnelian reached forward to remove the shining clasp of Jasper's cape and replaced it with a new one from the box the Ruby held. The new clasp gleamed even more brightly in the sunlight and bore the insignia of Major beside the insignia of the Yellow Court. Jasper took a deep breath and sincerely thanked the Carnelian with a salute. Applause erupted around them.
The Ruby left the stage carefully and the Carnelian General stepped back to allow Yellow Diamond and her Pearl to take to the front of the stage. Champagne had a Pearl box in her hands. Jasper sank to kneel before her and the crowed quieted again.
"Thank you Carnelian, that was very well-put," Yellow Diamond said before beckoning Jasper to her feet. "Jasper, you've proven yourself time and again to be an invaluable asset to Homeworld. I am not one to let prowess and courage such as yours go unacknowledged and so, in the absence of my sister, I want to take the privilege of bestowing upon you your very own Pearl." Champagne stepped forward with the open Pearl box, her chin held high, and Yellow Diamond went on. "This way, all gems will know of your exceptional service to the Diamonds."
Jasper looked up at Yellow Diamond to see her gesture toward the box. The Pearl inside glowed more brightly than it had weeks before, its surface gleamed with a magnificent luster. Jasper picked the Pearl up and inclined her head toward Yellow Diamond. "My Diamond, I am honored to receive this."
As if stirred by her touch, Jasper's Pearl grew warm and began to shine. Jasper let go of the gem and it floated into the air at level with Jasper's breast before taking form in a crimson one-piece with a sheer capelet draped over her shoulders. She offered Jasper a deep bow. When she lifted her head, her eyes were a dark red and her gem sat where her nose should have been, just like Jasper's. The Pearl's hair fell around her face in a voluminous bob the same color as Jasper's own mane and her skin was just a shade lighter than the orange of Jasper's.
Jasper watched as her Pearl's gaze slid to take in the crowded amphitheater, then to Champagne and back to Jasper before dropping her gaze to the ground. Seeing such a dainty gem possess the same color scheme as her made Jasper uneasy so she puffed up her chest and looked back to Yellow Diamond, thanked her.
"I hope I can demonstrate that I deserve these honors," she said to Yellow Diamond as well as the entire assembly. "I intend to do right by my fallen sisters, and by Homeworld."
Thunderous applause rang in Pearl's head even after the Yellow Pearl made a sharp gesture for her to follow Jasper off the stage. The hulking quartz led her to the back without another glance, not even looking at her when a starstruck Ruby shoved an elegant glass box into her hands and whispered that it belonged to Jasper. Pearl gave her a slight nod and gave a little tip-toed hop to catch up with her gem, feeling smaller by the second. She had just begun to wonder if she was doomed to be ignored when they entered an empty hallway and Jasper snorted bitterly.
"I don't know why Yellow Diamond gave me something as fragile as you," Jasper said, the disgust in her voice heartbreakingly obvious.
Pearl clutched the glass box tightly, feeling suddenly very brittle indeed. This was much worse than Jasper's silence. "I-I beg your pardon?"
Jasper stopped and turned to look down at her, her lip curled. "I mean, look at you," she scoffed, gesturing vaguely at Pearl, "Look at me!" The difference was alarmingly apparent, Jasper looked as if five Pearls could fit comfortably in her chest alone and her hands were easily bigger than Pearl's head. An uncomfortable shiver ran down her spine. She knew innately that she had been made to serve this gem, but by the stars there must have been some mistake. Jasper clearly did not want her.
Pearl struggled to hide her mounting panic but her hands began to tremble nonetheless. Jasper saw. The Quartz's posture became even more rigid and her jaw tightened, but her gaze flickered toward the sound of other gems entering the hallway behind them.
"Forget it," Jasper huffed and turned her back on Pearl again. "I need to be briefed before we can leave."
The briefing took place in a private rehearsal room, away from prying eyes. Pearl stood near the door and watched as Jasper spoke with three other Quartz officers. Pearl tried to glean as much information about her new position and the war that Jasper had been involved in as she could without drawing attention to herself.
"We've almost finished indexing everyone who came back in the retreat," Jasper reported in frustration, "And there are still so many gems completely unaccounted for."
"The generals think we've reached a good point to start investigating our missing gems more thoroughly," another Quartz responded. The mechanics of that investigation took a long time for them to sort through but Pearl drank in every word that was said in her presence.
By the end of the briefing, she had a thousand questions that she was in no place to voice but at least she had a sense of the world she had been brought into; she would not be completely ignorant as everyone around her talked about the war as something deeply personal. She vowed to make it personal to her as well, and to learn everything she could about the history that proceeded her creation. She knew she was just a servant – and so far the prospect of serving Jasper was terrifying – but that was no reason for her to be clueless.
