Homeworld kindergartens, Facet-1
"Here we are." Rose said. "Welcome to Facet-1!" She announced to the others with a sweep of her right arm as she and the other three guides exited the final cavernous tunnel between the group and their destination. "Hope you all find a place here." She added, a little quieter at the end.
On the side opposite them was a steep drop into the deeper parts of the planet below, while on the sides adjacent the group, the neat parallel rows of rectangular kindergarten monoliths imposed themselves as a barrier with their size. Here, they seemed to take a miniscule break to create the plateau where the base was built in before reforming on the other side, the only things connecting them being the bridges of rock at regular intervals along the height and length of each one as far as the eye could see. Bridges also spanned each of the pillars rising above the rows, continuing the set of skeletal archways that mesmerised any viewer.
After her introduction, one by one the off colours followed in short order as they were funneled into the wide, roughly semicircular area in front of them that was about a kilometer in diameter. All in all, though it was a secure position to build a base in, as with all things functional, the terrain itself had little to nothing to remark at.
However, the word 'base' did not do what was built here, through the dedication of hundreds, justice.
With the number of shanty buildings constructed out of whatever colourful scrap metal they had scavenged from the planet's long built over surface, it appeared that it would be more appropriate to describe the place as a small town. It even displayed the atmosphere so typical of one - with its isolated location and tight knit community made up of a modest number of not all too well off, but hardy and friendly individuals
There was a crude charm to the whole place as the estranged inhabitants did their best to carve out their own piece of society down here. Parts of the ground were also dug up in neat crisscrossing lines which formed a ramshackle road system of sorts that subdivided the otherwise haphazard buildings into miniature neighbourhoods, as well as to make it far easier to navigate what would have been a tangle of alleyways otherwise.
Each edifice was a home and a workplace in one as the inhabitants did their best to fit as much as they could in the plots they were given, which to be fair was quite generous with how small the steppe was. Though the area was still crammed to be sure, they took to making the most of the plots by also making their buildings as tall they safely could with the relatively low quality of material - some rising up to be four or five stories tall.
A few brave and creative souls had even taken to breaking up the rock between the tightly clumped exit holes to make their dwellings within the walls themselves - these ones sometimes being a dizzying height above the floor with little more than a makeshift ladder leading to a small jutting balcony to stand on just before where the entrance was.
Disgraced and dissident gems of all shapes and sizes, albeit mainly lower caste ones, mingled together and formed a small, though no less dynamic hive of activity. Some walked out on the pavements as they made their way from one place to another. Others were to be found outside their structures, either making cordial chatter in their respective peer groups or contributing to the ever present quiet din of work as buildings were maintained and beeping machines of a hundred different kinds were tinkered with.
Yet, busy as everyone was before, all eyes were soon drawn to the group's way, with most of the crowd in astonishment over the giant fusion and a few turning over in curiousity to the organic that stood close by her side. There were other permafusions present to be sure, but many were formed by only two or three gems at most and nowhere near the magnitude of Fluorite. Discomfort reigned over them as the settlement's attention was focused on them, though Silver Quartz soon understood what was happening and took a few steps ahead to make herself the center of attention instead.
"Alright everybody, I get that it isn't everyday we get new people over, but stop gawking and get back to your places!" She shouted out, not with any spite nor anger, but with an authoritative quality that was innate to nearly every white court gem when they interacted with others outside of their origin. As the populace returned to their places, Silver turned back to them with a quiet and contrite sigh. "Apologies, they don't mean to be rude, just curious to know more about you, being new arrivals and all."
As they gave out their pardons, Silver still could not help but inwardly grimace at the less than stellar first impression she and her colleagues had given them. She only hoped that they were being as genuine as they sounded, and that if they weren't, then that they would at least warm up to her and the other denizens of the settlement with time.
"So, how about you take the opportunity to get to know the place?" Zircon piped up, wanting to act the negotiator as she sensed the apprehension coming from Silver. "I know it doesn't look all too grand, but... since this is where you'll be living for the foreseeable future, it seems right that you should start to get acquainted with everyone." It was a small thing for her to ask of them, to mix with the residents, but she hoped it would improve the marred impression they had been given so far.
"Yeah, and I could show you around!" Rose offered, sweetening the deal. "Been here since the beginning and saw the place be built from the ground up, I know it like the cut of my own gem." She added to assure them.
With due respect being given to their new benefactors, the off colours did not turn around to speak among themselves - though that did not mean communication was absent entirely. Instead, they began to subconsciously look at their peers' facial expressions for a few moments at a time before moving on to another in order to glean an idea of what eachother thought of the offer.
However, it did not take them long to reach a decision, as Bolt was the only one who strayed away from the consensus as he held an undercurrent of disapproval, and even then that barely manifested only in the slight scrunch of his brows and partially lowered eyelids as he tried to continue being totally civil, in spite of previous events, by disguising his countenance as being one of deep thought.
Fluorite was the first to make her opinions public, and with the small smile that preceded it, Rose was optimistic of the coming verdict. "I may speak for myself, but I think that is quite generous of you." Said Fluorite, making a small nod in approval. "So I suppose I'd have to agree." She added with a short, soft chuckle.
That was all the encouragement needed for the four other gems to sound out a disjointed chorus of approval. "Sounds good-" "-to us." The Twins answered simply and casually, though that did not detract from their sincerity.
Shrugging her shoulders but smiling, Rhodonite was next. "You know what, sure, I don't see why not." Unassuming as her reply was, the relief and excitement in her voice remained evident.
"I too accept your offer Rose - thank you." The seer replied in kind, last as usual, but always with her signature never faltering optimism.
"That's great to hear-" She said, only to halt as she readied to leave on realising one of them had yet to voice anything. "what about you... Bolt was it? Sorry if I got your name wrong." Jolly as she was at the moment, she still understood well enough that their actions had left him with a number of misgivings, even if neither of them showed their true thoughts at the moment.
Smoothly waking out of his thoughtful state, Bolt shifted his posture to be at ease and looked up to Rose. "Do not worry, you are quite right." He replied, putting on the same neutral face with the same placid yellow eyes behind it. "I was merely… taking in the surroundings - seems as if there will be plenty for us to go through." A pause. "Do not misunderstand me though, it is good to see so many like-minded gathering here." Said Bolt, with consideration slowing him somewhat as he constructed the phrase carefully.
He felt he had made the right decision. After all, it would be selfish to deny the off colours something they agreed on when it was otherwise so benign, beneficial even.
'Especially after what had happened when I… previously went against them.' He thought bitterly, but made no show of it regardless of the permanent reminder that marred his temple also suddenly being more palpable, even after it had been given days to heal. Though if it was any consolation, after the off colours had given him pardon, it stung less than it initially had.
There was a flash of something on Rose's face at his words. Though it evaporated as swiftly as it condensed, it remained present long enough for him to gain a cursory measure of it - it was not quite the direct regret or guilt like he held - but it was certainly a similar set of metaphorical weights tied together with some sort of forlorning that had aged terribly with the eons.
From precisely what, he did not know. 'Most of them were probably not driven here, into the bowels of the planet, willingly. Not at first at least.' The fragments of a theory emerged, but he knew it was neither his place nor the appropriate time and situation to ask, and in any case it was nothing concrete, so he put it to one side for later. 'At any rate, it would be wiser to observe.'
Though now that she had been given as close to an absolute confirmation from him as she was going to get, Rose straightened up and put on the mask of an amicable and helpful tutor. "Shall we begin then?" It was all but rhetorical to ask at this point, but she still liked to follow the loose formalities she mentally set up for guiding new arrivals.
"By all means." He said easily, already taking the first few steps to follow her as he eagerly sought knowledge of his new - and first - home.
The concept was still strange to him, but he found some of the previous misgivings he had floating away as the idea sunk in and took its place. From what he had gathered, it was somewhere that they could stay in permanently, somewhere that promised companionship and stability, somewhere that gave him opportunity, so that he could at last forget about the troubles that hounded him and work for a goal other than survival through scraping by day to day.
All of it at his fingertips, and for nothing in return but being a productive member of the community. After wandering to stave the grasp of uncaring machines for his entire life, such a deal was one he could not ignore.
As the seven of them departed, the remaining three stood behind, watching as they took off into the distance while Rose marched at the front and continued to appeal to the newcomers with her usual spiel.
"Aaand there she goes." Pery remarked as they travelled beyond earshot, though in no disparaging terms despite what her slight sarcastic tone suggested. She appreciated her colleague's work, in making sure each and every one the arrivals they had brought here feel welcomed, even if she does find humour in their level of enthusiasm. 'If it works, it works.'
"Come over to my place. Need to talk with you two about something." Silver told them, only sounding commanding in slightest.
They could deny her request if they wished, they were free to do so, but in practice the mutual, and genuine, respect they held for her because of her steadfast example influenced their decisions. Regardless, it was rare that she would summon them at all, and when she did it was always for affairs that were of import, and as the de-facto lieutenants, they were expected by the populace to tend to such things for the common good.
So without a single whisper in protest, Pery and Zircon followed her summons, ready to tend to another day's work.
#####
Silver Quartz's forge
The curtain of chains hanging in front of the entrance, acting as a sort of barrier in place of a door, clinked together as the giant pushed her way through them to get inside. It was a small, though no less potent show of the trust that everyone in the settlement showed to eachother, that there was no hard obstacle between the building and the outdoors. There was no fear of theft here. It invited anyone who had issues, business, or simply wanted company to come in and out at their own leisure.
As she brushed past the cold, hard links of metal, even the normally reserved leader could not help but let a small smile momentarily cross her face at the pleasant familiarity of the otherwise unpleasant sensation. 'Feels good to be back home.'
While most gems had no concept of a home, for they were always being moved around to where they were needed and the workspaces they would spend their whole lives in were more often than not prefabricated off of the same stale, utilitarian template that they were strictly banned from editing, whether it be to personalise it to their own tastes or any other reason.
But Silver knew she, nor her components, were not like most gems. 'Good thing too.' Despite the previous positivity, a short, sharp sigh escaped her lips as a third, more solemn thought cropped up as a result of the second. 'Poor clods, up there. If only they could break out...'
Though now was not the time to spend lamenting, so after noticing her posture had slackened ever so slightly, she straightened back up and moved on.
Within, much of the place was modified to fit her, with the ceiling being twelve feet tall to give her some head clearance. Silver walked straight past the organised mess that was composed of miscellaneous tools, weapon racks, an anvil and her prized possession clinging onto the half of the right wall - a 'repossessed' reactor - one that acted as the power source of the forge and the houses beyond.
The crystalline spherical machine held many similarities to the ones that powered starships and much of gem infrastructure, albeit being far in smaller size. Its glassy, veiny wires snaked across the walls and roof, with a few tunneling underground to emerge in the floors of other homes.
Despite the marvels of having such a device, she had seen it countless times already, and so it blended into the background of her attention as she took to the undecorated steps of chiseled stone stairs leading to the second floor.
A rectangular table with eight seats around it greeted her as she came up to the next floor, all of them shaped from blocks of invar alloy that she or others had hauled from the long cooled sections of the broken planet's outer core. It wasn't the best material, for even when it was compared with the most withered of gem-made plating scavenged from the surface the strength to weight ratio held much to be desired. But it was, if a bit tedious, by far much safer to gather.
As she sat down on the larger chair at the head of the table, a second and third clinking of chains heralded that the other two had arrived inside just a few seconds after her. After making the short climb up the stairs, the duo sat down on chairs of similar appearance, albeit made more for those their size, next to either side of the head of the table.
"Pery, Zircon." She said, and easy-going as her voice was, she spoke with just enough gravitas to grab and keep hold of their attention. "How's the ship going?"
Even with just the three of them and the currently casual nature of the conversation, the half metal giant managed to radiate quiet authority, and though it was something she would rarely use, it remained a constant factor in the background for anybody meeting with her to consider.
Despite the power she held, she hadn't abused it once, in fact, she slinked into the background of affairs more often than not. She preferred it this way in any case. To be left alone in her workshop in peace and quiet, only to be stirred into the forefront of what little action or conflict there was to be a static and neutral mediator.
Having also been present for the Earth rebellion, there were times where Pery had found herself wanting to argue with Silver's ways. While she could remember that the original Rose had managed success with a contrary style of leadership, she knew just as well now that she was no longer on Earth, she was here. On Homeworld.
So as years passed, she found that she started to become more comfortable with the status quo and the decent balance of freedom and results which Silver's own methods had provided, especially in the far harsher environment at the centre of the very regime that would rather see them ground down to glitter.
'Besides, someone else would've been leading differently by now if Silver's methods weren't as good as they were.' She rationalised before snapping back to focus on the impromptu meeting. Though like many others she missed Rose, it was a good enough reason for now, and there weren't exactly too many people that presented plans that were rational alternatives.
"Ah, yes, about that." Zircon piped up rather enthusiastically, pulling up a crudely written document from her monocle's projector of a transaction agreement she had secured. "Before my, em, detour on the return journey from the surface, I'd secured a deal for some rare heat resistant plating for the engine room- wasn't cheap though." She conceded.
Despite having been turned away by the same regime that they had been damaged in the service of, the fractured gems on the dusty original surface of the planet still remained staunchly loyal to them. Irritating as it was, they were ultimately the ones who controlled the flow of scrap, and so the gems here had to dance to their tune if they wanted access to any of it. Then, after considering where allegiances lay, they always only bartered their goods to the off colour gems down below at nigh extortionate prices, even to frequent customers.
Especially as, within their ramshackle slums that were barely tolerated by their former masters, they congregated in numbers too large to contend against.
If there was at least one piece of leverage they had against the surface squatters, it was that their group plied in many trades whilst the other side were mainly only former soldiers, and so they relied on them for the supply of many crafted amenities and complex equipment. While it was not to say that a quartz or a ruby could learn other skills, given time, they still adhered to the same caste system that their apathetic overlords did, and so such things were frowned upon at the best of times.
"I thought you were good at the whole 'negotiations' thing." Pery commented as she spun her open hand in the air at the wrist. Though it was mostly in jest, a small part of it was born from the frustration of her most important project being delayed again.
Laying her arms crossed on the table and arching her back slightly, Zircon brought on a deadpan face to hone in on the oncoming point."Hmph, you try bargaining with a paranoid, cracked quartz and I'll watch from the sidelines to see how you do." She replied, reclining back to her original position as she finished.
On the other hand however, Silver was having none of it. Long ago, there may have been a time when she would be able find some sort of humour in the snarky remarks, but now she found her lieutenant's behavior to be rather distasteful at the best of times. So with a prefaced sigh, she addressed the issue. "Please, can you for once try to bring something actually useful to these meetings?" After finishing the reprimand, she eased back up a certain amount but still kept a fragment of stiffness, as if to say 'you have one more chance', and continued talking to her. "So, what do we still need?"
She quietly, though hoarsely, cleared her throat as she broke out of her shocked silence and swiftly collected herself after unintentionally gathering her leader's ire. "After we get the rest of the plating, all we'll need is a spatial compression drive, a singularity containment unit... and a powerful enough reactor - doesn't really matter which model." She rehearsed, with no small joy building within. For while this was likely one among thousands of times that she had, the list had been growing increasingly short over the past few decades and now all that was left was the exotic specialist parts. "So long as it hasn't been tampered with." She added
On realising part of what she had said in the middle of her statement, Silver raised an eyebrow. "I thought we already had a containment unit?"
"We did, but after I ran what stress tests I could on it… well." She paused, shrugging her shoulders and looked back to Silver. "Faulty equipment and black holes don't really mix well together, no matter how small…"
At the idea of possessing a potential WMD, if only temporarily before she panickedly dissipated it, she became downcast as she relaxed her neck and looked down at her two hands, fingers already haphazardly clasped and intertwined as her elbows rested on the table. Though it was not long before she straightened posture and re-joined the meeting in mind and spirit, there were memories she could not help but let be dredged up from the sands of time by the tides of her conscience. 'Some things… some things I can't be proud about.'
Freedom fighter she may have been, but in the early anarchic days of the rebellion she, like so many, tasted freedom for the first time - and they became hooked. The euphoria led to many over-enthused committing violent acts against their fellow gems in a desperate bid to guarantee their continued freedom at the cost of others around them, at least until Rose reigned them in with her mantra. Most of them, at least.
Zircon meanwhile appeared completely oblivious to the silent repenting going on just opposite her side of the table. She made a wafty sigh born from newfound stress as she finished tallying up her estimations, stress that was only made worse as her mind drifted then dwelled on one of their most recent members, whose, albeit unintentional, altercations with the higher levels of authority would certainly bring unwanted attention to them. Be it sooner, or later.
Said strain coloured Zircon's voice as she spoke next, knowing full well that they now needed to speed up their timetable and that such a setback had already delivered a blow to it before she could even suggest it be put into motion. "Well, what do we do about it then? It'll be a long time before we can scrounge up the goods to trade for another one- or for the stars to align so another one gets thrown away in the first place!" Suddenly aware of her rising volume, Zircon slipped into ruminating quiet for a moment before turning to Pery again, sounding somewhat more composed now. "Isn't there at least something that you can try? Could you try to piece it back together? Repair it... maybe?"
However, while her moment of irritation roused an inkling in the other two that started to point to them that something was not quite right with the former lawyer, for now she kept the reason that caused it to herself. `Who knows, my worries might yet be proven false. And anyways, if it isn't, then they should be able to figure it out for themselves quickly enough.' No one enjoyed undue alarm, she above all with everything she had seen before defecting, so with that, she firmly decided to stay on this cautious course.
"Pfft, no." Pery replied in a blaisé manner, only to correct her tone soon after. "I mean, I could, but I think for once you'll agree with me that it isn't worth using it when there's even the smallest chance of being erased from existence." She leaned back on her chair. "'Sides, I'm kind of out of my league here. I was made for managing civilian energy infrastructure, so trust me when I say all I know about that branch of physics is self-taught." Serious as the topic was, she allowed herself a small bout of hollow laughter at the idea of toying with one of, if not, the most destructive force in the universe with nothing but semi-educated guesswork.
Opposite her, Zircon was left in thought for but a second before she found herself seeing eye to eye with the simple logic that had fuelled her colleague's apprehension. "I suppose that makes sense." Unsatisfactory as the result of the discussion made her feel, she mostly agreed with the sentiment. "Still, what do we do about it now then? Besides just waiting of course."
"I mean, waiting shouldn't be that bad. Nearly five and a half thousand and those sneering clods haven't found us yet." Perry mumbled, a small bit of pride leaking through the spite. Not that it was undue pride either, as a significant amount of that was due to her own work in anti-robonoid countermeasures effective enough to keep them safe, but subtle enough to not alarm anyone monitoring the machines.
Whilst she had also peacefully conceded to Pery's points, Silver had also been listening intently to the dialogue, and formulated the best solution available she could from it. "Wait." The quartermaster said, gathering the two's waning attention just before they believed the meeting to be nearing its end. "First off, exactly how bad is the damage?"
In response, she began by sucking air through her teeth as a prologue to the report. "Bad, the front third of the unit's been turned into nothing but molten slag. Thankfully it remained functional enough for a few seconds so I could contain the miniature black hole before it would fully… decay and… explode." She winced slightly as the words left her mouth, for they sounded far worse than they did even in her thoughts.
Silver was about to ask just where this testing had taken place in relation to the settlement, but decided to confront her later with a lessened reprimand, as the amount of regret Pery felt for her own rashness was already made evident in her voice. 'She seems to have learnt her lesson at least.'
"Wasn't one of the new recruits- Fluorite, a part peridot fusion?" Silver reminded those present. "She could probably help us with figuring this out. Doesn't hurt to let someone take a look after all."
Eyebrows rising ever so slightly in mild revelation, Zircon backed up the idea. "True." She said, her head nodding up and down slowly as she reflected on, then accepted the course of action. "Pery, do you still have the containment unit?" She asked hastily, a hint of desperation tinting the question.
"Oh yeah, I hauled it all back here a week ago." She said, pausing. Now with all but solid proclamation from her leader that they would be going through with Zircon's idea, she felt it would be pertinent to tell the other two where it was so any one of them could pick it up at their leisure without needing to chase her for its location. "If you need to know where it is, so far it's just been sitting at my place, gathering dust in the underground part of the hangar. Should be right at the back, in the section labelled 'miscellaneous parts' - you know where that is, right?" She asked at the end, making sure to be thorough.
"I believe so." Zircon said.
"Mhmm." Was all Silver replied with until she added further seconds later. "If we're going to try and fix it, what do you think we'll have to get material-wise?"
Already preparing to write up another shopping list, Zircon opened the holoscreen on her monocle and got ready to jot down notes.
"Hmm… give me a second. I've got it written down somewhere." Pery said as she opened her own holoscreen from the device on her wrist and started searching "Aha, right. Before I gave up on it, the repairs I was thinking of doing would've needed four different parts - we'll probably need to ask Fluorite to tell us what they're called after she takes a look at their remains - and roughly… three meters squared of hyperalloy plating to replace what melted. But like I said, not exactly the most reliable source here, so take my diagnosis with a drop of essence."
Mulling in thought again for a few moments after, Silver offered her subject of expertise to aid. "Or, how about I take off the melted scrap and reforge it?"
"That might work to shave off some of the costs." It was not entirely off the table, but Pery knew it would be an arduous process to deal with such a complicated metal, even for one of Silver's talents.
"Done." Zircon humbly announced, the buzzing coming from her screen as she typed dissipating as soon as she closed it.
Afterwards, the trio were left to half a minute's silence, the only sound filling the air being the quiet hum of the reactor below. "Anything else any of you need to bring up while we're still here?" Silver asked.
Another moment of silence came and went as the two racked their minds for any other concern they might have, with Pery answering first as none were to be found. "Nope, not really."
Zircon took a little longer, but she eventually settled on a similar response. "Nothing from me either, though I do need to ask Rose about the newcomers soon."
"Speaking of which." Silver said as she heard the chains on the ground floor clatter again.
"Hello? Oh hey, didn't know you were all here. Sorry to interrupt, but they're asking about where they can build." A familiar voice called out as their face peaked over the stairs, her thumb jerking to point back outside.
#####
"And over there to the left is where Glass, Lace J and Jade live." Rose pointed to the building, whose defining feature was an assembly of strange protrusions sticking out of the roof. "They run a sort of… well it's hard to explain exactly what they do since it changes everyday, but they like to report on whatever is going on. Then when they're done, they spend the rest of the time talking about their own experiences or bringing in guests to speak too - expect to receive an invite from them soon enough." She added, beaming. "And sometimes they run events with other people who've got free time - they like to film those so we can watch them later on. Then other times they also…"
Bolt had been listening intently to everything Rose had said throughout their guided trip. Memorising everything from the locations of buildings and what they housed to the names of the individuals that staffed them, yet, after all he had been shown this seemed to capture his interest the most so far. "Interesting." He mumbled thoughtfully as her voice faded into the background, still listing off the numerous activities the recently named trio did for the morale of the community.
The idea of education through entertainment was not an novel concept to him, as the stories the off colours liked to tell him fulfilled a similar role. In contrast, the latter idea of entertainment simply for the sake of it was totally new, and while he felt it was a tad of a waste on the surface, it only caused joy in him in return. 'It speaks volumes of their organisation that not everyone needs to be put to work or provide for the common defence - that they can take time off.'
However, as informative as the experience and proactive guide that Rose was so far, he still could not help but let what was almost suspicion keep its hold. The explanations they had given him on the return journey of the reasons behind their initial spying was less than adequate in his mind. While the subject was around that of rebellion affairs on Earth - which at first intrigued him enough to listen on past the start - it quickly devolved into cut up sentences with little context given behind them.
He had heard every single word said, that much was true. But aside from piecing together something about an individual that he reminded them of, and he was not even totally sure about his theory on that, he could not make facets or cabochons of it. It even came to a phase where their discussions with him would sometimes slip into talks with each other as they - not quite argued - but certainly debated over exact details, with Pery and Silver being the most active with each before slowly fizzling out in volume, their faces - before they came to complete silence - betraying the ancient unresolved grievances beneath, if only for a few heavy seconds.
'The war is a sore spot for everybody it seems. Six thousand years on and it still clouds their mind.' His recent experiences allowed him to sympathise with their reluctance to remember the pains of the past. So, he stopped himself from inquiring any further and waited for the veterans to finish before hearing out Rose and Zircon.
Though their reasons consisted of some lark about his origins being that as some engineered organic grown to be a Homeworld spy, their transparency made all the difference to him. During the tour, Rose admitted it was quite far-fetched while he wondered aloud to her how she had come to that conclusion, even after witnessing the blows and words he parried with the loyalists who gave them chase from the footage before then laughing heartily, which she then joined in with soon after as they realised how ridiculous it was.
"Speaking of which, we're in the oldest part of the settlement, so there's Pery's place just over there." She pointed over to a plain, squat building, with only two floors and no defining features at the front besides the entrance, a square window modified to also be a shopfront and a curiously placed circular metal table on the pavement with a set of four chairs surrounding it. "Maybe you should ask her for something that can tune in to their program, I'm sure she'd be more than happy to give or make you all one."
While the off colours made their various comments and questions on the subject, he looked to Rose as she answered, if for but a second, and looking past the friendly and open exterior she maintained, he found that even without it he may have already placed a small amount of trust with her 'and perhaps Zircon too.' That is to say, not a significant portion by any definition, even with her nature having pried out a few small granules more from him, but enough for now.
'Not that I blame them. I suppose it would be plausible that my existence would raise alarm with how… anomalous I am from the norm for other organics, at least from what I have been told.' That, and he had been personally clued in not too long ago that being found out by the Empire would lead to devastating consequences, letting him stomach their paranoia as justifiable in that sense as well.
"Rose," Rhodonite said, pausing as she felt somewhat odd mentioning that gem type. "this is nice and all, what you're doing for us, but where are we going to stay?" Though the presence of the other fusion in their party did come to her mind, she made no direct mention of her as they had been friends for the longest time, and even if they were not, it was still basic courteousness to do so. "Everywhere seems kind of… full."
Just as Rose was about to suggest they build near the end of one of the streets and then it be extended later to reach their to-be constructed abode, she picked up on what the other pink court gem was hinting at and kept quiet instead, mulling in contemplation of a solution. Though it would be rude to say, she realised the magnitude of one of the newcomers would require quite an expense both in land and resources to be spent to build an accommodation large enough, especially to fit the rest of the five comfortably.
However, on hearing their conundrum, he instantly took inspiration from the dug in homes he had already seen, but put his own twist on the designs to suit their own unique needs. Turning to look at the as of yet not built over area, adjacent and a little under a quarter a mile to the left of where they were, he took refreshed and motivated notice of the natural formations in the area.
"Over there, under that arch could work." Bolt put forward a proposal, gazing over at the first layer of bridges closest to ground level on the ravine at the right, it being the closest to the settlement. "Two of the four walls and part of the roof are already fulfilled by the kindergarten. All that is then left to build is the rest of the top, the front, back and whatever rooms we decide to hollow out within the rock. After that, perhaps a few rails dug into the ground at the front with a wheeled hangar sized door to let it slide aside easily? Of course there would also need to be a smaller side entrance, what with how difficult it would be to shift the main one every time…"
"That… could work." Rose replied slowly, impressed. She was no born expert builder like Silver, but she had always liked to aid new arrivals in their endeavours to make them feel welcome. As a result, she had picked up a decent amount of experience in the trade too, and using it as a lense, she could see much of the suggestions the young organic made had merit. "When did you come up with that?" She asked, genuinely curious.
"Hmm?" He mumbled for a second at the peculiar nature of the question. "Only now, what of it?"
Surprised at the answer, but believing it to be true due to the swiftness of the delivery, Rose replied almost dismissively. "Oh nothing, just wondering is all." She said with a noncommittal shrug. "If you'd like I could tell Silver about it now, we're just about at the end of the tour anyway."
"Thank you, that would be excellent." He said with a smile, though opportunity struck him barely a second after. "Ah, while you are there is it possible that you could ask to also allow me access to somewhere or something that I can use to draft up a plan?"
"I could arrange that." She said in certain terms.
"In that case, you have my gratitude," A pause. "though, I do have a question before you go." He craned his neck somewhat to face the taller soldier. "Does anybody go through there often?" They were newcomers, he knew that, and obstructing an important pass would not exactly win them many favours.
Understanding his meaning, Rose shook her head. "No, not that much. Robonoid patrols swarm around the area past it and the tunnels the bridges lead to way too much, and it's too open, there's no cover to hide in if someone is caught out."
"Wait. Robonoids?" Rhodonite asked the tense question in all of their minds, a measure of concern colouring her tone.
De-escalating the situation, Rose replied in the best way she could - honestly, and with advice. "I wouldn't worry about them, at least not here. Whatever Pery's done seems to keep them out well enough, just… don't go walking too far out and you should be good." She said as she turned to make her way down the street to the forge.
Though just as she was departing, she remembered to tell them one last thing and briefly turned her head to face them. " I'll be back with an answer soon."
Rose found the place soon enough after walking a little further down the street. She took a left turn to find the entrance, walked through the signature heavy chain curtain at the front and passed by the armoury, forge and reactor. It may have changed with the passing years - a repaired panel here, different weapons there and a replacement anvil when the old one inevitably failed with time and use - though if there was anything that stayed consistent, it was the level of austerity that Silver favoured.
That, and the height of the roof. Walking up the larger proportioned stairs, Rose fleetingly pondered on how the scale of the place was something she never quite got used to with how small it made her feel, but it was done out of necessity, so it was not something that she ever felt the need to bring up.
"-though I do need to ask Rose about the newcomers soon." She stopped for a second, pleasantly surprised at what she heard.
"Speaking of which." She heard the quartermaster comment as her face peaked into the second floor from the stairs.
"Hello? Oh hey, didn't know you were all here. Sorry to interrupt, but they're asking about where they can build." Rose informed, the two other individuals in the room turning to face her too as she walked up.
Though initially surprised at the subject, not expecting it to come up until the next day at least, Silver took it in stride. "Don't worry, we're just finishing here anyways." She assured. "So, you asked them what they had in mind?"
"It's… ambitious to say the least."
A/N:
Not an expert on black holes here either, so I'm kinda leaning on the hand waved physics of gem FTL to make these bashed together explanations make sense - that, and google.