8. Upsilon IX.
Five Rubies piled out of the landed Roaming Eye, armed with destabilizers. They too had no trouble adjusting to the odd gravity of the place, standing perfectly on that same weird angle relative to the ground.
"Ah! A defective!" One of them cried out in alarm. She and three others quickly ran over and pointed their sparking weapons at the Twins, who recoiled worriedly.
The remaining Ruby, seemingly in charge, glared at the remaining four strangers in turn.
"My Clarity," she said respectfully, saluting. "And you're the Captain?" she asked, pointing her question at Lars, who was still struggling with his posture but trying his best not to let it show.
"Yup, that's me, the Captain."
"What happened here? Why are you in the company of a defective?"
"They're with us," started Lars, but he stopped awkwardly as he noticed one of the Rutiles subtly shaking her head in a meaningful way.
"You're transporting a prisoner?"
A reasonable explanation, beautifully packaged and delivered for free! Lars almost died, but he maintained his cool. "Yeah, that's right."
"Oh," the Ruby looked surprised. "Hmm. Well, why are you not using a prison-class ship to do it?"
Lars raised his gloved hands as he threw something out there. "Resource crisis-" he began, silently wishing they'd stop addressing him.
"Hmm," hummed the Boss Ruby again, touching a stump to her chin thoughtfully.
"Yeah," continued Lars, feeling a bit more confident. "We were on our way to Homeworld to deliver this defective, but we took a hit from a meteor and forced to make an... emergency landing on your fine colony."
"Why, then," started Boss Ruby, narrowing her eyes at Padparadscha, "didn't your Clarity predict it?"
"Haha, obviously, that's what I want to know," laughed Lars nervously, mind racing. "But, see-"
"Captain, allow me," Padparadscha raised a hand for silence and then addressed the Ruby. "Mistakes happen," she interrupted simply. "Even when you can see the future. But ultimately I knew that it would all work out, that we would land safely, and that the dazzling, brilliant and generous inhabitants of Upsilon IX would arrive in a timely manner to ensure our safety and help us continue on our way towards our mission objective."
The Off Colors gaped wide-eyed at Padparadscha as the Rubies softened, even Boss Ruby.
"Aw, shucks, Clarity!" she smiled. "Well, we can certainly get you up to the surface. You may not want to leave so soon when you find out that there's a big jubilee on when the daystar goes down later, though. We'll send a Peridot down to see what can be done about your shuttle, but it's... uh, it's looking pretty bad. Climb aboard!"
She waved her arm, ushering them towards the Roaming Eye. Lars hesitated, looking at the Twins who still had the strange rubies crowding her with their destabilizers. Rhodonite's Ruby interjected.
"Uh, excuse me, this Rutile is our prisoner," she said. "I'll take over from here. Come on, Rutile! Get in there! And don't try any funny business."
The Twins tried to sound genuinely afraid. "Oh, no!" "Please, don't hurt us!"
As Ruby pretended to herd the Twins into the ship, followed by the stranger rubies, Pearl, Lars and Padparadscha all took a moment to look relieved.
The Boss Ruby stuck her head back out of the door to the ship. "Climb aboard and we'll get you to the surface in no time."
Lars gazed at the tiny ship reluctantly. Another cramped space to be stuck in. He politely motioned for the two gems to go ahead of him. Only Padparadscha complied, while Pearl shook her head.
"You first, Captain," whispered Pearl in a meaningful way. Oh yes, appearances. He took a breath and carefully moved towards the ship, concentrating hard on not falling.
The insides of the ship surprised Lars - much bigger on the inside than it seemed on the outside. It reminded him of a concept on a TV show that he enjoyed sometimes (with - no, still too painful).
The Off Colors stood together to one side while the rubies took their stations at the controls.
"Are you two okay?" whispered Pearl, worried.
"Yeah, we'll be fine." "We're getting somewhere because of it," smiled the Twins.
"Sorry," added Ruby. "I'll make it up to you somehow."
"So," Lars began, quietly, glancing around. "Do we, uh, rush them and take this ship?"
"It should make the trip to Earth," considered a Twin. "But-"
"They're all armed," observed Pearl.
"And they'll fuse straight away if threatened," added Ruby as she grit her teeth, familiar with how troops of Rubies worked.
Lars clenched his jaw. "Let's play this game then."
Moments later, the craft touched down.
"We're here!" called the Boss Ruby. "Please exit at your leisure."
The surface of the planet lined up with the gravitational pull of the planet's core in a way Lars found he could really appreciate for the first time in his life. As he started to take it all in, he saw that this colony was a lot different from Homeworld. The buildings, although just as lavish and decorated, seemed much older and were a lot smaller and fewer - barring a number of tall spires here and there. The streets here lay flat across the ground and the open-air spaceport, where they were currently situated, was smaller and more ancient-looking than the one on Homeworld.
Above them shone the red dwarf star, bright enough to illuminate the surface but not bright enough to light up the atmosphere. Against the black starry sky, the daystar looked almost like a red moon to Lars.
The Off Colors found themselves checking out the other ships docked nearby as quickly as they could until their attention was taken up by the rubies again as well as another, much taller gem flanked by a couple of blue topazes who strolled over to meet them from what to Lars appeared to be a control building.
Boss Ruby saluted. "Portmaster Crazy Lace Agate! It was a ship that crashed like you thought, not a meteor. We've recovered those involved."
Crazy Lace gazed over the small crew, and then her visionspheres came to rest upon the Twins. She grimaced. "What is that?"
"That is a prisoner they are transporting to Homeworld, likely for study and experimentation, or shattering. A defective."
The Twins shivered visibly, but this went unnoticed by Crazy Lace who was sizing up Lars and Padparadscha at this point.
"Greetings, My Clarity. And, you're the Captain?" she asked.
"Yes," Lars responded.
"Captain…?"
"Pezzottaite. Yeah, hah, Era Two, you got me," He replied confidently, smiling, since the designation had helped them in the past.
"Hmm," a screen popped up in front of Crazy Lace and she tapped it a couple times. "There are no prison-class ships nearby right now for you to continue your journey unobstructed, but I've just flagged one currently in the next system. It should be here in one cycle to escort you the rest of the way to Homeworld, and the completion your assignment."
"Great," replied Lars, dropping the smile and struggling to understand the timeframe imposed on this new sudden crisis. "But, we're in a hurry. There is no way we can use one of these ships here?"
"That's correct. There is no way. Now," here, she turned to the Boss Ruby. "Rubies, all of you, take the defective into custody."
Boss Ruby saluted and she and her rubies pulled out their weapons as the Twins gulped in fear.
"What?!"
"Wait," cried Ruby, "They, uh, they- she- this defective is our prisoner-"
"Fall in line, Ruby, move your gravity connectors!" Ordered Boss Ruby, gruffly.
"What, me too?" Ruby, distressed, glanced up at Pearl who seemed awkward and flustered. "But, I- uh..."
Padparadscha's lip quivered. It was all starting to unravel. Lars actively chose to ignore the part of his brain that was starting to panic and attempted to reign everything back in.
"Excuse me, uh, Crazy Lace, right? Is this really necess-"
"Don't be silly, Captain. The defective will be fine in a holding cell for now," said Crazy Lace, towering over him, herself dwarfed in turn by the two silent topazes flanking her. She waved the Rubies and the Twins off dismissively. "It will give both you and your Sapphire the freedom to indulge in the joys of our colony while you are here!" She smiled, seemingly oblivious to the disquiet in the three gems in front of her. "As luck will have it, our traditional Cosmic Jubilee occurs at the setting of the daystar this very cycle in our glorious Sacred Centre. I insist that you attend."
Pearl and Lars nodded dumbly as she continued.
"In the meantime, I'll have Topaz take you to your temporary officer's accommodation. It's close to the Sacred Centre, which is adjacent to the spires of our Important Thinkers - advisors to the radiant and magnanimous Blue Diamond herself - so you may visit those as well if you wish it."
Pearl and Lars stared, aghast, while everything swiftly came apart in front of them.
"Why, thank you, Crazy Lace Agate, for your impeccable generosity. My first visit to Upsilon IX is starting in an... extremely pleasing manner," Padparadscha uttered simply, not really feeling it. "I predict that I will enjoy it very much."
"You're welcome, My Clarity," beamed Crazy Lace.
This prompted Lars to clear his throat. "Yes, me too, of course. That sounds great," he agreed.
After a walk from the spaceport guided by a silent and intimidating Topaz, the three remaining Off Colors soon found themselves alone in a beautiful but bare, brightly lit single room with an extremely high ceiling and only a small series of elegant curtains separating their privacy from the outside world.
The three stood apart, in silence for a few minutes, each awash in private oceans of despair and frustration.
"Shit!" said Lars suddenly, balling his fists. "We're trying to get the heck away from Homeworld and somehow we manage to sign our asses up for an escort all the way back there, on a prison ship, in one 'cycle'! What is that even, like, a day?!"
"And we're separated," Pearl added helplessly, hugging herself where Ruby's arms would have been. "And Fluorite's out. And eventually someone's going to report the shuttle stolen-"
"How did this happen?!" despaired Lars in a rhetorical manner.
"This isn't a very ideal vision, my friends," Padparadscha agreed.
"I'm only eighteen," Lars stammered, fists still clenched. "I should be finishing school this year. If I'd tried harder, I would've been looking at college. I could've... done... anything," he realized, staring blankly at the far wall, the corner of one eye twitching.
Pearl could see Lars taking a turn, so she quashed her own miserable feelings for a moment. "Oh, don't get your rocks all a-tumble, Lars. I don't know about that other stuff, but eighteen thousand is an impressive age," said Pearl, grateful for the distraction. "That's older than I am."
Lars turned to face her and the look on his face told her that she had misunderstood.
"Eighteen hundred?"
Lars looked at her, shrugging awkwardly, and she suddenly understood.
"Oh, wow," said Pearl, astounded, frowning. "That's... very new."
Padparadscha fell from standing flat onto her back abruptly, causing Pearl and Lars to gape at her.
"P-Padparadscha?" asked Lars, foolishly assuming the gem had just had a stroke for a frantic moment. Then, she sighed unhappily.
"I predict that you'll be concerned about me - don't be. I wanted to try that sleeping thing you mentioned when we were back in the kindergarten, but all this 'relaxing while unaware of one's surroundings' seems absolutely ridiculous to me right now in light of our many, many problems."
"My sweet Ruby," mourned Pearl. "We'll need to find her, and the Twins. I'm so glad we got all of Fluorite when we did. At least she's together."
Suddenly, Lars was all business. "Obviously we're not leaving without Ruby or the Twins, but let's also talk ships," He said. "Do we have options there?"
"Fluorite and the Twins would know more about it than me and Padparadscha, but I.. think so?" Pearl stood with a hand on her hip and brought her other hand to her face in thought. "I saw what I -want- to say is a medium-size transport ship that -may- have a gravity engine, something like that would surely get us to Earth in no time, but I'm... I can't be sure."
"This Cosmic Jubilee sounds fascinating," began Padparadscha from her position, still on the floor.
"Huh? You don't actually want to go, do you?" asked Pearl, incredulously looking down at her. "I mean, we could go, but it'd be a lot of time to waste away reveling in decadence."
"I may not know the future from a mote of dust, but if we are careful, we may be able to use the celebration as a cover."
Instantly the possibilities opened up wide. Lars slapped a hand to his face at the revelation. "Doy! What if more gems show up for it? There might be more ships to choose from shortly!"
"Ruby will be in attendance as part of the guard," gasped Pearl, smiling. "We'll find her and sneak away under cover of darkness!"
"She'll know where the Twins are, right?" added Lars, narrowing his eyes. "Let's scope out this place. We.. we need to be more familiar with where everything is before it gets dark and this thing begins."
He offered Padparadscha his hand in order to help her climb to her feet, and she accepted cheerfully. "Pearl! Captain! Don't worry - I predict we'll feel much better once we've formed a way of moving forward."
Pearl smiled "Let's do this. Let's just try not to be seen by too many other gems."
After peering beyond the curtains briefly, Lars gave the all-clear. Soon, the three of them were walking casually, following Pearl's directions as she translated some of the signage for Lars' benefit.
"Over this way is the Sacred Centre, and the Spires. It should be a short walk."
Lars nodded and walked along. "What are the chances everything we need will be close by again?"
"Not good. Upsilon IX is very different from Homeworld. Lower population, less surface. This colony's Communication Hubs, Galaxy Warp, and whatever facility they took the Twins to probably all lie on different facets like every other colony."
"Facets?"
"Different parts of the planet, interconnected by a series of warp pads. It just so happens that this facet is dedicated to the Spires and providing entertainment and accommodation for visiting imperial dignitaries."
"It's weird to me how you call this a planet. It's more of a broken shell."
Pearl laughed with a touch of anxiety at his ridiculous statement, leaning towards Lars with a touchstump against her lips. "Ssssh- don't let anyone hear you say that."
He lowered his voice accordingly, but continued. "And what's going on with the core? It's contained somehow but its mass must be dense enough for gravity to work okay. It's still like, a normal molten core inside? Are they siphoning energy from it?"
"Uh, yes," Pearl was suddenly surprised. "The core powers most of this colony's structures. The excess is stored and shipped off to Homeworld or wherever else it's needed." She continued walking a few more steps, then looked back across at Lars. "Wait, if the Earth is still a completely intact globe like you say, how did you know that?"
Lars snorted, amused. "Gems aside, humans have been imagining how they're eventually going to kill the Earth for decades now. They make stories up about things like this all the time, and I like to watch the movie version." He smiled. "See, you're about to meet the Earth during a golden age.. of sorts."
Pearl waved her arms around, cutting him off. "Lars, wait, no. What are you saying? This planet isn't dead. It's very much alive."
Padparadscha made a noise in agreement.
"Well, the gems here are alive, sure. But nothing else is."
"Huh?" Padparadscha looked up at Lars, confused.
Lars raised an eyebrow. "Heh, c'mon, are you serious? How are you guys not getting this?"
The two gems exchanged glances before looking back at him in an inquiring manner. He frowned, unsure how to explain.
"Well, if you take away all the gems and there would be nothing here. Maybe it had its own life once, organic or gem-based... or whatever else, I don't know, but that's all been stripped away a long time ago. Right? All I see here now is dead stone. No soil, no oceans, no erosion, no weather? Nothing new would be able to grow. And as far as gems go, throwing down another kindergarten would likely break the remains of this place apart. It'd just be a fragile, unchanging husk orbiting that red dwarf star up there until either something knocks it out of orbit sending it flying off into space, or the heat death of the universe." He hesitated a moment. "Wouldn't it?"
There fell a silence as the two gems considered his words. He shrugged after a moment.
"I mean, that's just my hot take, and I'm just an organic guy from some backwater world that's still a globe. I'm probably wrong."
"No," replied Pearl, quietly. "You might be right. It's made me think. I've just never questioned that before. Never had a reason to. Oh, I wonder what Ruby will say when she hears this."
"It's amazing to hear such things said by a new being who came out knowing nothing," admitted Padparadscha. "Are you a very smart one? Or are all humans so new and smart?"
Lars blushed deeply. "Ohh no, I'm not smart. I'd still be home if I was." He scratched his neck. "But I like science fiction and it just seems obvious to me."
Pearl glanced side-eyed at him. "You seem so similar to us in a lot of ways, and then you say something very strange. You really are an alien, aren't you?"
Lars simply shrugged. "If- when we get to Earth, you'll see."
They stopped walking, having arrived at the Sacred Center, and gazed ahead at the cold, dead, glorious and intricate structures that had been long ago chiseled out of what was once a planet.
The Sacred Center appeared to Lars to resemble a massive, open-air stadium. It was flanked on the opposite side by three tall spires, reaching up impossibly high.
"Well, there are the Thinker's Spires, as well," Pearl gestured. Lars squinted, spotting a warp pad adjacent to the Centre, and pointed.
"Hey, there's a warp thing. Or is it a Galaxy Warp? I don't know the difference."
"That's just a warp pad. Like I said before, they allow travel to other parts of the same colony," said Pearl. "Every colony also has a Galaxy Warp which is connected to others like it on different colonies. And they're bigger and far more resplendant. "
"Cool."
"Maybe we'll go on one someday. If, stars forbid, one of our future plans fails catastrophically and we need a way to escape," Pearl laughed nervously for a moment, and then clasped her hands together, calm again. "But in the meantime, well, shall we go down there and look at the architecture?"
"Sure, looks like we have lots of time to kill," shrugged Lars, and Padparadscha agreed.
"I have nowhere else to be, might as well."
They continued walking down, around the spires and the many statues dotting the complex, and pretended to admire and bask in the surrounding opulence for the remainder of what Lars would have otherwise considered a perfectly normal afternoon, if not for the fact that everything that had happened, had happened.