Chapter Four: Tensions Rise

"Hrmm," groaned one of the Rubies by the Sapphire's side. "How long do we have to stay like this?"

"Not much longer, just keep still," the Sapphire whispered back to her. "We just need to wait until we're back on the ship."

"Then let's get back on, right now!" replied the Ruby.

I don't think that would be such a good idea," mumbled the other Ruby. "The last thing we want right now is to draw any attention to ourselves."

"Hello there!"

All four Gems jumped at this shout. Apparently, they weren't as inconspicuous as they had believed. They turned to see four more Gems, Pearls of all different colors, all heading towards them.

"What do we do now!?" whispered the second Ruby, the panic in her voice clear.

"Just act natural," said the Pearl near her, inching slightly closer. "They seem friendly, at least."

The other four Pearls made their way over to the crew of the ship. The first was baby blue, and was the one who called out to them. "Hi, welcome to CBP! How are you liking it so far?"

"It is...very nice," said the Sapphire. "From what I have seen in the short time of being here, at least."

"Pearl, you can't keep running off like that!" This was said by a green Pearl as the other three of them approached. "I apologize for her impulsiveness, Your Clarity." She bowed to the Sapphire. "She gets like this whenever she's bored, which is almost all the time."

"No need to apologize," the Sapphire said. "I am glad to have someone to speak to while we wait."

The pink Pearl stepped up to the other pink Pearl. Despite the former's warm smile, the latter still seemed quite nervous. "So, your ship took quite a beating, huh?" she said, trying to make friendly conversation. "What happened?"

"Um...well...I, er, we…"

"Asteroid field!" blurted out one of the Rubies, the one with her gem on her belly. "Yeah, we ran into some asteroids on our way back to Homeworld. They came outta nowhere!"

"Hmm. I suspected so," said the green Pearl.

The Sapphire nodded. "Yes. We are lucky most of the damage was to internal systems. Hopefully, the repairs will be completed soon, and we'll be able to get back on the ship and leave."

The gang of Pearls took notice of her emphatic delivery, but collectively decided to let it be. "So...Your Clarity, I've never had the grace of meeting a Sapphire in real life before!" said the red Pearl. "They say you can see the future!"

"Indeed we can," the Sapphire said. "Right now, our future involves us fixing the ship and going home. And nothing else."

By now, it was clear that she was trying to send a message to someone. Most likely someone still on the ship. "Er, Sapph-I mean, Your Clarity?" said Pearl. "Is everything alright? You seem troubled."

"I am just fine," Sapphire said. "What would give you that idea?"

"Well, it's just that you're freezing the floor."

Sapphire looked down, startled to see that a thick layer of ice was gathering over her legs and spreading to the ground. "Oh, yes, that," she said, trying to hide her alarm as she broke through it. "That has been known to happen from time to time, nothing to worry about. Especially if Steven would stay on the ship!"

"Wha?" said the blue Pearl. "What's a Stee-van?"

At that moment, something fell through the open door of the Sun Incinerator, crying out in alarm as it did so. The four Pearls were startled by this curious new visitor, while the four Gems who had come from the ship seemed to be in shock.

Although she remained just as stoic as ever, the Sapphire looked mortified. Well, as mortified as she could look while showing no outward emotion. "Oh, stars. We're in this one."

The green and blue Pearls inched over to get a better look. "Is that...an organic?" said the green one.

Indeed it was. Beige in color, with a net of black hair, the short, squat being also wore several cloth garments of varying colors. Most notably, its midsection appeared to be entirely red, with a yellow five-pointed star on its chest. "Uh, hi there!" it said. "Sorry to, er, drop in, heh, but I just wanted to hear what was going on!"

"I didn't know organics could talk," said the blue Pearl, quietly.

Pearl was the one least taken-aback by the organic, even stepping closer to examine it. "Pearl, don't do that!" chided the green Pearl. "It could be dangerous!"

"He's completely harmless!" the Sapphire said quickly, almost too quickly.

"...Hi!" Pearl said after a brief pause. The organic waved in response. "Oh, I think I get it!" she said, turning to face Sapphire. "This organic is your pet, isn't it?"

Sapphire opened her mouth to answer, but the organic replied first. "Yup! That's me! Me and Sapphire go everywhere together, but it's a secret, so don't tell anyone!"

"Oh, how lovely!" Pearl said, reaching out a hand to help the organic to his feet. Surprised by this gesture, he took it. "You know, My Emerald has a pet organic as well. Actually, he's more of a friend, but I think that still counts. His name is Tenrit, and-"

"I've never seen an organic like this before," said the green Pearl, interrupting her friend's monologue. "What kind is he?"

"He's Steven…" the Sapphire said. The Pearls only continued looking at her, waiting for further explanation.

"Yeah, that's what she calls me," the organic said. "It's my nickname. I'm, uh, a Steven...opian. I'm a Stevenopian, from the planet...Thrae."

"I've never heard of that place, either," said the green Pearl.

"Yeah, he must be very exotic!" added the blue one.

"Yes, well, it was a pleasure to make all of your acquaintances, but we must be going now," said the Sapphire, trying to usher everyone back onto her ship. "Thank you for your time, I enjoyed your planet very much, and-"

"Hold it!"

All eight Gems froze. When they realized that the voice was serious, they turned in the direction it had come from. To Pearl's surprise, and most likely the Sapphire's horror, a small group of Agates was walking towards them. And among them was none other than Goshenite.

"Oh, crack," whispered one of the Rubies. "What do we do now?"

"Don't worry, Sapphire will think of something," said the pink Pearl. "Right, Sapphire?" The blue Gem, however, was beginning to freeze up again.

Once the group reached the ship, one of the Agates pointed it out to Goshenite. "There. This is the one."

Goshenite stepped forwards, clearly not wanting to be here. "Okay. Alright. My friends here tell me that your ship came in for repairs not long ago. Is this correct?" The Rubies, Pearl, and Sapphire all nodded wordlessly. Pearl noticed that they were hiding the organic behind them. "Very good. And is it also correct that your ship is designated as the Sun Incinerator?"

"I...Yes, it is," said the Sapphire.

Goshenite briefly turned back to the Agates. "I had to get up for this?" She sighed. "Right. Well, as you probably know, this ship has been reported stolen."

"Impossible," the Sapphire said. "I reported no such thing. As you can see, I still have it right here with me."

"Mhmm," Goshenite said, nodding. "And tell me, what exactly possessed you to take the ship belonging to the current Supreme Admiral of Homeworld out for a little joyride?"

A brief pause. "Shoot," whispered one of the Rubies.

"That's what I thought," Goshenite said. "Well, that's done with. Just bubble them for now, and I'll deal with this later." As she went to walk away, two of the Agates produced destabilizers, activating them and stepping over to the thieves.

"Hold it!" As one of the Agates made a thrust with the destabilizer, a shape from behind the Gems ran up in front of them. He caught the weapon in his hand, its energy having no effect on his organic body. "Don't...do that!"

"What is this, now?" Goshenite said. She held out her arm, making sure that the four Pearls were behind her. "I didn't realize Chiron Beta Prime had an infestation…"

Suddenly, a flash of light overtook the landing pad. When it ceased, the four Gems were gone, replaced with two. One, with four eyes and arms, nervously slunk behind the other, a much more imposing figure who covered her eyes with a dark visor. "Steven is twice the Gem you'll ever be," said Garnet.

"Fusions!" said Goshenite. She tried to sound cordial, but Pearl could detect a hint of malice in her voice. "No wonder you tried to get away so fast! You're not just thieves, you're off-colors as well!"

"What did we stumble into?" whispered the green Pearl.

"Don't call them that!" said the tiny organic. "They're Gems, just like all of you!"

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response," Goshenite said, gesturing for the Agates to surround them. "You four, get out of here," she said to the Pearls. "Everyone else, get ready."

"Wait!" Another voice called out from inside the ship. Or rather, two voices. The source of the voice made herself visible: she was a Rutile, but her torso was split down the middle, resulting in her looking like two Rutiles with one arm each from the waist up. "We don't have to fight! Can't we work something out?"

Many of the Agates recoiled when the twinned Rutile made her appearance. Goshenite, however, was more concerned with something else. "How many more of you are there?"

"Rutile, wait, get back on the ship!" Another figure appeared. This one resembled no known Gem, but had bright pink skin and hair, and wore quite a nice cape, if Pearl was being honest with herself. "Ooh...that is a lot of Agates…"

"And what even is that!?" said Goshenite. "Is it a Gem? Organic? What do you do on that ship, anyway?"

"Everyone, look out!" Yet another figure appeared from the ship; a Padparadscha Sapphire. "We're about to be attacked! Get to safety before Goshenite shows up!"

"What the void is going on here!" Goshenite exclaimed, looking from the newcomers to the ship and back a few times. "It's like a Spinel car of off-colors!" She looked around. "Is there a hidden camera somewhere!?"

"Hoooold iiiit!" At long last, the final crew member appeared: a truly massive fusion, made up of at least five Gems, maybe more. "Dooooon't huuuurt myyyyy frieeeends!"

Goshenite stared at the unlikely crew for a few moments, before finally giving up. "Alright, frack it. Attack!"

The Agates converged on the off-colors. Goshenite felt sure that they would be able to handle the ragtag band of pirates, and so she went over to the four Pearls instead, corralling them away from the fighting. "What are you doing, consorting with criminals!?" she asked Pearl.

"I didn't know they were off-colors!" exclaimed Pearl. "And besides, they weren't doing anything wrong!"

"Yeah, tell that to Emerald…" grumbled Goshenite. "I-what!?"

Much to the white Beryl's surprise, the off-colors were actually holding their own against the numerous Agates. The organics, unsurprisingly, were unaffected by the destabilizers they held, meaning they were easily dealt with by one of the fusions. She had summoned a pair of gauntlets onto her hands, and she was now making her way over to Goshenite. Her dark glasses covered her eyes, but given her purposeful stride, it wouldn't be a wild guess to assume she wore a scowl beneath them.

Goshenite scowled as well. She reached for the gem on her lower back, which began to glow. From it, she produced a staff, sharpened into a point at both ends. She held it in front of her as Garnet stepped closer.

"Pearl, get inside," she growled. "I'll handle this."