"Who was that?"

"Who didn't clear the area?"

"Rose, are you okay?"

"Screw Rose, we need to go back!"

Voices were layering on top of each other. Gems were confused and freaking out that the base had been attacked right after the battle finished. Questions on how they had infiltrated the lines, threats and shouts about returning to collect fallen gems, with one voice very much the loudest. One very angry voice that was doing everything it could to be heard.

"She saved Pearl; we need to go back!" Morris shouted at the lanky gem and the larger one behind her, though Rose was still a tad numb from what had transpired and couldn't think of the name they were going by.

"Morris, we can't! Not until we know the area has been properly cleared. We'd just be risking more gems..." Rose tried to calm Morris down, but it wasn't working, and it wasn't surprising. They'd all seen Citrine rush over, many gems had. No other gem had managed to save Pearl, tossing her to the warp and taking a hit from an authority weapon that was aimed to strike Pearl instead.

No one recognized the weapon, at least no one that was discussing it. They needed more information, and they needed to find out if there had been traitors that let those Rubies into the camp or not. They had to know if there were traitors and it was making everyone more on edge. The anxiety in the air was only hidden under Morris's anger at wanting to go back to find Citrine.

"I'll go, and anyone else that wants to. We can fight off anyone that's there, then collect the other Crystal Gems." Morris growled out, but Rose just shook her head. It was too rash of a decision, it wasn't planned out.

"No Morris. We can't risk losing any more gems right now. We need to wait for some to reform and then we can go and collect anyone else. I promise, we'll go. We just can't right now." Rose was half pleading to get the smaller gem to calm down, to at least see reason but there wasn't any reason for her.

"And who is going to tell Bronzite, huh?!" Morris snapped at her which seemed to shock Rose back, and Pearl; who had been quiet the entire time, flinched. There was a somber quiet that took over everyone for a moment, understanding what had just transpired.

"I'll tell her, Morris. You're right she should know, and we will go back. However, for now, we need everyone to calm down and clear their heads. I'll talk to Garnet too." Rose spoke finally. Morris still seemed more than a little angry but she just turned and walked off from the group as Rose sighed, rubbing her face a little before she felt Pearl move into her side a little.

"It's alright...We'll think of something." She stated quietly, but it was as much as trying to tell herself as it was to the smaller Gem. Rose should have been faster, she could have brought her shield out in time, or should have. She'd hesitated. She'd hesitated and Citrine had taken a hit that was meant for Pearl. That bad feeling that Pearl had before, it sank in her and she'd reacted.

She rubbed her face a little before turning and putting her arm on Pearl's back to lead her towards their meet up area with Garnet and the other leaders. They had to find out how those Gems had gotten through the lines and attacked the group. She was pretty sure she'd seen the weapon before, at least on a document or a report. She'd have to go back through everything and find out where she had seen it.

It would be easier of course if Pearl was able to assist her in doing this, but the state she was in right now wouldn't be conducive to helping. She was exhausted from the battle. Rose had tried for so long already to get her to not push herself to the point of dissipating, to not throw herself in front of a wall of enemies and yet each time she did.

Rose knew she had to be exhausted, and usually would beg for Pearl to retreat inside her gem, to recuperate for the coming issues ahead; however could she really ask the exhausted gem to assist in thinking of a plan to search for Citrine, someone she already inherently distrusted and disliked.

"We have to find her." The timing was uncanny with Pearl murmuring it aloud and bringing it up, jarring Rose from her thoughts as they neared the room they used to discuss strategies, attack plans, and information. She looked down at the small tired gem and mentally questioned what it was that spurred her so.

"Pearl..." Rose started.

"No... she threw me out of the way, after I was so..." Pearl started as she watched Garnet come moving over quickly. The fusion moved with a purpose, wrapping her arms around Pearl and picking her up, holding her as the tired gem seemed to stare through Rose.

To be honest, Rose kind of hated that look. The look of expectation, that Rose would have some kind of answer to fix everything. The same look she got from her courts, and the same look the Diamonds would give her to come up with solutions on her colony.

"I know... I meant it. We'll regroup and go back. We left some guards here, they should still be in good shape..." Rose promised after a moment. After all Pearl had argued, after her fear and everything, it seemed that she really had forgotten it all for Citrine saving her.

Rose couldn't blame her. The act had been heroic, she'd sacrificed herself and Homeworld based gems never would have, not for a Pearl. Bronzite and Citrine had been spending more time together as of late, and every gem knew it. When she reformed there would be a whole new level of anger and frustration to deal with coming off her, and Rose was worried about the stability of the peninsula to not become an island when she found out.

"We won the battle, but lost ground. We scattered at the attack... It's likely that the warp was broken as well." Garnet finally spoke up. Rose's eyes flicked to the future sighted gem. If she said something was likely it very well was probably true to fact.

"If that's the case, we should send gems now, to the nearest warp, and they'll have to start their way south, to get back near it. Hopefully the rest of us that were left there can hold down the fort till the reinforcements arrive and we can try to salvage those we can. Of course... she might have already reformed by then anyway, Quartzes do reform fast..." Rose thought aloud as she brought out a map of the area.

It would take at least a day, if not two to get back to the field if they had destroyed the warp pad. "Garnet... would our gems have held the line?" She asked. She looked at the fused gem, hope in her voice.

"...It could go either way. There's two paths and both are strong flowing. We had the numbers, but they had the surprise." Garnet explained, and Rose could read the restrained frustration in Garnet's voice that she didn't have a solid answer to the question.

"Great." She murmured. She didn't mean it at Garnet, and the fusion knew it as well, Rose was frustrated. It was dangerous, reckless for them to return to that field, but they needed to. Some of the faster forming gems would be popping up even now. If she remembered right, though it was hard to remember, Citrine had taken awhile last time.

At least they had time for her. "Garnet, can you take Pearl and the other injured gems to the fountain? I need to go review some files, and I'll be gone for an hour or so. I'm hoping anyway." She let out quietly. Garnet gave a worried frown but she waved it off. " I'm fine, I promise. I want to see if we have any information on that weapon." She explained. A destabilizing rod could knock out a gem for twice as long as usual. She wanted to know the timeline on whatever it was that cut down Citrine.

"Rose..." Pearl started to argue, moving to get down from Garnet and Rose smiled softly. "No Pearl. If you won't return to your gem, at least soak in the pool for a bit. I'll be back soon." She said softly as she moved to hold Pearl's hand for just a moment, giving it a tender squeeze as she looked to Garnet. She trusted her to care for Pearl and the other gems.

With that, Rose headed directly to the warp pad. There was one place she knew of that held information of all kinds, including Authority weapons, and she had the access code to view it without being disturbed. Furthermore, all kinds of reports were about to be sent up chains of command, and while Pearl could usually help her cut through a lot of the fluffed up lies, she needed to find out what she could to help Citrine, and all the other gems too.

Her dress dusted the warp pad as she climbed on, and it lit up white. As she landed it wasn't a pair of bare feet that landed on the marble flooring, but a pair of pink slip-on shoes, with little white poms hovering above the toes. Each step was measured, but the movement was quick. She ascended the stairs, strolled across the hall and sat in the large chair that was designed for her exact height.

Pink tinted panels began to open up immediately as Pink eyes darted left and right, trying to find what she was looking for, ignoring pings of new messages being delivered. Stars she needed Pearl, but she didn't have her. She had to do this alone. It reminded her of how alone she truly felt... Pearl was the only one that knew so much of her, but there were still walls there too. Even in a crowd of people she was lonely.

"Alright, weapon requisitions..." she muttered to herself as she looked up at the diagrams of what had been ordered or at least notified that had been brought over from Homeworld on Yellow's ships. Indeed, it was more of a memorandum that was notifying the arrival of assistance soldiers and supplies that listed more of the weapons than did any requisition or requests.

"Is that it?" She stopped suddenly as the dozens of pages halted, before she moved back a few. She looked it over before her eyes began to widen. She knew this device, though it looked like it had gone through upgrades recently. Of course Yellow wouldn't have ever told her that there'd been smaller skirmishes with lower gems before, that there were issues when they were short on resources, and this device was a way to remedy it.

"Rejuvenator..." Pink Diamond whispered quietly. This wasn't just bad for Citrine, this was catastrophic. If there were more of these on Homeworld's side, it wouldn't just be difficult to win, it would be almost impossible as their numbers got reduced to grow theirs.

She had to tell everyone what it was. She was going to have to face Bronzite with the news.