Chapter Seven: New Crew

The normally isolated Chiron Beta Prime was now bustling with activity, even more so than it had been for the conference. Once news had gotten out about the Interloper attack, coupled with the arrival of the off-colors, not to mention the Interlopers' apparent new weapon, the asteroid mine was swarming with activity. This included several members of the Council of Beryls.

Bixbite and Heliodor approached Goshenite and Topaz, who stood overlooking the base down below. "We came the very moment we heard," the red Gem said.

"I'm glad you were able to get here quickly," said Goshenite. She silently stared at the commotion below them. Personnel were already conducting repairs on the damaged base, and defenses were ready in case the attack had a second wave waiting. "What happened earlier, it...really raised a lot of warning flags for me."

"I imagine it would, you were ambushed here!" said Heliodor. "But that begs the question: why here, of all places? A single asteroid mine isn't exactly the most strategic of places to attack."

"Obviously, the Interlopers were aware of the strategic council taking place here," said Bixbite. "How they found out, I can't say, but it gives them a clear reason."

"Something that...weapon said gives me pause," Goshenite said. "He said that the attack here was only a test. I hate to think that the Interlopers might go on to mass-produce soldiers like that."

"Yeah, and he mentioned something called the Koh'i'Noor," added Topaz. "What that means is beyond me, but It's gotta be important."

"I thought the same thing," Goshenite responded. "Which is exactly why I've called in an expert."

"And what sort of expert is that?" asked Bixbite.

"Goshenite waved her off. "Nevermind, not one that you would know. "But speaking of experts, what do you make of this, Heliodor? You have reviewed the data, yes? What do you make of this new weapon?"

"It certainly is novel," Heliodor replied. "In the six thousand years or so we've been fighting the Interlopers, I've never seen anything quite so advanced." She glanced down at a data screen in her hands, showing surveillance footage of the fight. "They're pulling out all the stops for this one; they must have a lot riding on it."

"Luckily we have a weapon of our own to match theirs," said Bixbite, looking at the yellow Beryl beside her. "Right, Heliodor?"

"Oh, right, your 'secret project,'" said Goshenite. "I don't suppose that's still classified, is it?"

Heliodor paused, seeming to consider whether or not revealing the project would be allowed. "Considering what the Interlopers have recently shown themselves to be capable of, combined with the fact that this attack was apparently only a test...yes, I think you deserve to know."

"Really?" said Goshenite, turning around in surprise. "Well, by all means, go ahead!"

"In a moment," said Heliodor. "This project is highly classified, and on a strict need-to-know basis. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to dismiss your champion."

"What? Aw, I wanted to hear about it, too!" Topaz complained.

"Nevermind, Topaz, just give us a few moments," Goshenite said. "Why don't you go and greet our expert when he arrives?" Reluctantly, Topaz headed off back towards the base.

"I can't tell her about it, but you'll be free to explain it at your discretion," Heliodor explained. "Need-to-know, and all that."

"Yes, of course," said Goshenite. "Now, please give us the overview."

"Right," nodded Heliodor. "It all began several months ago, when it was noticed that the Cluster was far behind schedule. As in, several years behind. We sent numerous teams to Earth to check up on its progress, but few returned, most likely due to Rose Quartz. Who, I should mention, may very well be responsible for the Cluster's delay as well."

"That's absurd!" said Bixbite. "How could a single Gem, Rose Quartz of not, possibly manage to-nevermind, continue!"

She did so. "With no Cluster to combat the increasingly frequent Interloper attacks, and fewer and fewer viable planets for colonization, My Diamond approached me with a project in mind. A way to permanently put down the threat of the Interlopers. She called it Project: Giganova."

"I see," said Goshenite. "And the only one working on 'Project: Giganova' is yourself?"

"Oh, no, of course not," Heliodor clarified. "There is a whole team of personnel working to create this weapon. They, myself, and of course Yellow Diamond are the only Gems who even know of its existence. We cannot afford the Interlopers finding out about this."

"And what sort of weapon is Project: Giganova, exactly?" asked Bixbite.

"Nothing groundbreaking on the surface level," the yellow Gem said. "It is simply an explosive. An explosive that is, however, capable of decimating an entire star system. Hence the name."

Both Bixbite and Goshenite were silently impressed with this potential destructive yield. "And I imagine the intended target would be the Oculus?" the latter said.

"Naturally," said Heliodor. "Once the bomb is completed, all that remains is finding a way to deliver it to their base, and retreating to a safe distance. Of course, with a blast radius like that, some unintended casualties are to be expected."

"Then let us pray to the stars that they are minimal," Bixbite said. Both the others agreed.

Hearing a ship approaching, Goshenite looked upwards. The familiar green vessel made its way over to one of the docks back towards the base proper. Immediately recognizing the ship as the Soul Evaporator, Goshenite made to leave. "I think my 'expert' is here," she said. "Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"That's all for now," Heliodor said. "I'll tell the other Council-Gems about Giganova as well. And Maxixe will contact you if any more Interloper activity is discovered."

Goshenite nodded, heading off towards the base. There, Pearl had also seen the familiar ship arrive. She was about to head over to it when a voice called out to her.

"Pearl!" She turned around, noticing the other Pearls running over to her. It was the red one who had called. "There you are! Are you alright? What happened?"

"Once again runnin' headlong into danger," said the green Pearl. "I still don't know if you're brave, or just crazy!"

"Well, maybe a little bit of both," Pearl admitted. "I just wanted to help, is all."

"Did you?" asked the blue Pearl. "Help, I mean. We were all stuck down there in the mines, so we couldn't see what was happening. We were attacked, right? By the Interlopers?"

"Yes," said Pearl, nodding, "and they had some kind of new weapon with them. Goshenite, Topaz, and I had to work together to defeat it."

"No way!" the red Pearl exclaimed. "Are you telling me that you helped beat the Interlopers!? That's awesome!"

"What are you yelling about?" Wearing her characteristic scowl, the black Pearl made her way over to the group, flanked by her pair of followers. "Did you just say that this one here fought off the invasion all by herself?"

"She di-" The blue Pearl started to speak, but her green companion held her hand over her mouth to cut her off.

"And why is that so important to you?" the green Pearl asked. "What does it matter if she did? If so, maybe you should be grateful!"

Black Pearl scoffed. "It matters because that isn't a very Pearl-ish thing to do!" She turned back to the mocha and silver Pearls, both of whom agreed. "Either she's lying to make herself look better, which is most likely, or she actually did fight with them, which is even worse!"

"How is that worse?" Pearl asked, legitimately curious.

"Because Pearls aren't supposed to fight!" answered the black Pearl, clearly exasperated. "Pearls are Pearls, not Rubies, or Quartzes, or whatever it is you're trying to act like! You know, acting so un-Pearl-like isn't going to make your owner like you very much."

The red Pearl tried to come to Pearl's defense. "Lay off, would you? The fighting just stopped, and now you're already trying to start it up again!"

But Pearl, rather than be upset by the other Pearl's remarks, only inquired further. "Actually, My Emerald likes me just fine. Does...does Your Jade not like you?"

Black Pearl was, of course, offended by this question. "Excuse you!" she exclaimed. "My Jade loves me more than any other Gem in the universe loves a Pearl. Look, here she comes right now!"

A pair of Jades was walking by in the distance, one of them the same shade of black as the Pearl. "Pearl!" she shouted harshly upon seeing her. "Come here, we're leaving!"

"Right away, My Jade!" Black Pearl answered sweetly. She gave the group of Pearls one last glare before heading off to join her master. Her two compatriots looked at one another and shrugged, before wandering off.

The green Pearl shook her head. "Honestly! What gives her the right to act so stuck up all the time?"

"Beats me," the red Pearl replied. "Maybe if Her Jade didn't keep bragging about her all the time…"

"Um…" Pearl glanced over at the Soul Evaporator in the distance, where Goshenite had already arrived. "As much as I'd love to stay here with you, I think I'll need to be going soon, too."

"Oh, that's right, you belong to Goshnite," the blue Pearl said. "I keep forgetting, what with the colors and all."

"Oh, I don't-Anyway, I'll see you later!" Pearl said, running off.

"Bye for now!" the green Pearl called after her. "Stay safe, but not too safe!"

Meanwhile, Goshenite had gone over to the ship that used to belong to her former rival. Before Emerald had gotten corrupted, the Soul Evaporator had been her personal flagship. But now, rather than gather dust, some of her subordinates still occasionally used it for emergencies like this one.

As Goshenite approached, the door slid open, revealing the forms of Onyx and Tanzanite, who stepped out onto the surface. "Let us skip the greetings and cut straight to the matter at hand," said the latter. "If the Interlopers have a new weapon in play, then we will need to act quickly."

"I couldn't agree more," Goshenite said "I trust you brought the expert?"

"We certainly brought somebody," said Onyx. "Hey, Tenrit, Nines, get down here!"

Two more figures exited the ship. One was an Era-2 Citrine, noticeably smaller than her Era-1 counterparts, but making up for it with the addition of mechanical armor. A blaster was strapped to her back as well, to make up for her lack of powers. Beside her was what seemed to be another Interloper, but Tenrit was only made from Interloper tech. In truth, he was formerly a Valurian, but had to be reconstructed after being captured and held prisoner for information. Now, the only indicator of his species were the two curved horns on his head.

"So, I, uh, heard you needed an expert," Tenrit said. He was unfamiliar with Goshenite, having encountered her the least out of the four. "I could probably help you out there. What is it exactly that you wanted to know?"

Goshenite regarded the Valurian before her. Even with his mechanical body, she struggled to see him as anything other than an organic. She pushed these feelings down: Homeworld's safety had to come first. "I understand you were held by the Interlopers for quite some time. Is this correct?"

"It is, yes," answered Tenrit. "Though I wasn't so much 'held' as much as 'hooked up to a computer and mined for information about Gemkind, unable to die until my consciousness was uploaded into this mechanical body,' but the point stands."

The Citrine, nicknamed Nines, looked over at her friend. "And you're sure you're alright?" she asked.

Tenrit shrugged. "Eh, more or less."

"Er...right," Goshenite said. "And during this time, did the words 'Primax Teptromina' come up at all?"

Tenrit, despite his robotic form, almost seemed to tense up. "And, why? Did this weapon thing mention that name?"

"Yes, he claimed to be that name," Goshenite replied. "What can you tell us about it? Was this the codename for this weapon?"

Slowly, Tenrit shook his head. "No. No, it's something different." Everyone else was quiet at this sudden change in Tenrit's mood. "Primax Teptromina...he's the big one. The head honcho. T-their leader."

"Wait, I thought Pythoriax was their leader," said Nines.

"Pythoriax, all those Generals, they were just intermediaries," Tenrit continued. "Teptromina, he runs the whole show. All the Interlopers, either directly or indirectly, answer to him."

"And if he has chosen to take matters into his own hands…" said Tanzanite.

Onyx nodded. "Yup, that can't be good."

"Hold on." Goshenite held out her hand. "We don't know enough yet to jump to conclusions. Tenrit?" The Vlaurian looked up. "I'll need all the information you have. You need to come with me while we formulate our next move."

"Huh? Uh, sure, no problem," he said. Goshenite began walking back to her ship, the Xenocide, and he hurried after her. "Hey, wait up!"

"Goshenite!" called Onyx. "Where are you going?"

Unfortunately, Goshenite didn't have an answer. She truly didn't know where she was going, or what her plan was. All she knew was that the Interlopers were pulling out all the stops, and the attack here was only the beginning. They didn't have a plan yet, but they needed to come up with one soon.

Joined by Pearl and Topaz, Goshenite and Tenrit made their way back to the ship.