Missing Peace: Chapter 5
Gem Starship 'Destiny Annihilator', Homeworld system, one week after the conference:
The flash of colour streaking past the viewing port turned to a beautiful starfield as the 'Destiny Annihilator' dropped out of gravity drive. From the observation lounge, Sevastien Azarov stared out at the striking image of the Gem home world.
In the week since the Beach City Conference, he had been quick to organise an official visit to Homeworld, eager to ingratiate himself to this powerful new neighbour before the other nations could do so. Homeworld's government; the 'Diamond Authority', had been more than happy to oblige, and had sent the impressive Starship to pick up Azarov and his entourage.
And what an entourage it was; several ambassadors, a small army of bodyguards, and among them (strictly unbeknownst to Homeworld); an intelligence agent. Azarov had noted during his time on the ship that none of the Gem technology present seemed to have any idea how to deal with humans. His people could walk through the forcefields as though they weren't there, the automatic doors wouldn't open for them, and any food they required they had had to bring themselves, as the Gems clearly had no need for sustenance.
If this lack of notice was also true on Homeworld, thought Azarov, his agent's job would be substantially less difficult than expected…
Homeworld, capital city:
The 'Destiny Annihilator' landed in a massive open area near White Diamond's head ship. Like its sister ship; the 'Destiny Destroyer', it cast a menacing silhouette against Homeworld's skyline. As the entry hatch swung open, and the Russian delegation stepped out, the ship's captain, an Emerald with her gem positioned over her sternum, watched them leave.
Emerald was glad to have the humans off her ship. She could barely stand to have them wandering around it with all their noises and smells and… fluids. She found organics more than a little disgusting, but an order from the Diamonds was an order from the Diamonds. So, like a good Gem, she had ferried them here from their little colony world. As the hatch closed and she was once again alone with her ship and crew, she breathed an exasperated sigh, before ordering her crew to begin decontaminating the place.
Outside the ship, Azarov stared around in awe at the Gem city he and his people had just emerged into. It was more densely packed than any city he'd ever seen on Earth, with scarcely a single patch of ground free of buildings, save for the large open square they had landed in. The buildings were every shape imaginable, and shone in various pastel colours, giving off a background light which caused the sky itself to appear a strange violet colour.
The square itself was split into four quadrants; coloured for each of the four Diamonds, and at this moment was bisected by a long red carpet which had been laid out for Azarov's visit. A thinly built yellow Gem with large eyes and a long conical nose stood expectantly on the carpet, flanked by rows of bulkier Gems playing some sort of equivalent of brass instruments.
The yellow Gem cleared her throat, and then spoke: "Greetings human visitors. My Diamond has requested that I be your guide around our radiant city. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Azarov introduced himself, and his ambassadors, but stopped short of introducing any of his security personnel. After all, if they were overlooked enough that the Gems took no notice of their number, it would be all the easier for his agent to slip away unnoticed should an opportunity present itself.
The yellow Gem, apparently called 'Pearl', led the party around various stately buildings bearing carvings of significance to Gem history. As most of the delegation took in the astounding sights of this alien world, one of their number had his mind strictly on business. Yuri Rozhenko loosened his tie slightly, as he felt the tiniest amount of sweat beginning to collect under his shirt. Even after years of training in espionage, conducting a covert operation on an alien world would give anyone nerves.
As the tour passed yet another grand temple, Rozhenko waited until he was certain no Gems were looking in his direction, and seized his chance, slipping silently into an ally between two nearby buildings. Free from prying eyes, he could now set about his assigned task: to gather as much information on the Gem government as possible, and, if possible, procure some small items of technology along the way.
The alleyways between the buildings were dark. The skyscrapers were so tall and densely packed that they blocked out all natural light. The only illumination came from the unearthly glow of the buildings themselves. After only a few minutes of navigating the alleys, Rozhenko came across a slightly more open road. Peering carefully around the corner of the alley, he saw a Gem structure which was clearly considered off-limits.
Its entrance was covered by a forcefield, which was guarded by two yellow Gems, both of whom were built like tanks. They stood at least seven feet tall, and their torsos were almost completely cuboid in shape. In their hands they carried large two-handed axes. The pair of Gems didn't look like the sharpest tools in the box, so Rozhenko was confident he could slip past them fairly easily.
He took a miniscule explosive charge out of his suit jacket, planted it at his feet, and then carefully slunk into the next alley over before detonating it. The blast wasn't big enough to damage anything, but it made a noticeable amount of noise and smoke. As the two Gems rushed to the scene, Rozhenko slipped out of his alley, and walked undetected through the forcefield.
He allowed a small grin to appear on his face. He was in…
Author's notes: Well, I suppose it could only be so long before someone decided to go behind someone else's back, couldn't it? I hope to continue putting out these chapters fairly regularly. Thank you to everyone who's left reviews so far, as the feedback is always appreciated. See you in the next one!