Missing Peace: Chapter 10
White House, USA/ Kremlin, Russia:
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Dalton knew he wasn't being very diplomatic, but the time for that had passed. "Do you have any idea what might happen if you've turned the Gems against us?! Militarily, we don't have anything that can touch them. If they decide to go back to the way things were, we don't stand a chance!"
Azarov fixed him with a steely glare from the monitor. The Diamonds had provided them with translation technology shortly after the Beach City Conference, which meant this discussion could be held without translators. This, in turn, meant that they were able to do without the false politeness that usually typified these discussions.
"Everything I did, I did because I believed it would further my country's interests. I tried to gather intelligence on a powerful new neighbour, as any leader would do." Azarov finally replied.
"And how did that go for you?" Dalton snapped back.
Azarov had to admit he was right. He had never been particularly worried about Russia being unpopular on the world stage; that was just par for the course. However, there was only so much he was willing to damage his country's reputation for the sake of advancement, and this situation had long since crossed that line.
Before Azarov could put a retort together, a strange electronic ringtone sounded from both ends of the call. It was the communicators the Diamonds had given them following the conference.
For a moment, Dalton and Azarov just stared apprehensively at each other. Each could tell that the other was thinking the same thing: "How much trouble are we in?" After all, there had been no news from Homeworld since the Facet 31 broadcast. They didn't even know for sure if they were being called by the Diamonds, or by Rose Quartz.
Overcoming their trepidation, they simultaneously activated the devices. A second screen appeared on each of their monitors, as their call was patched into the Diamond Line. They were relieved when the face that appeared on the screen was that of White Diamond, closely followed by Steven, after he clambered onto her shoulder. As soon as Steven was safely in place, White started talking:
"Ah, Mr Dalton, Mr Azarov, good that you're both here. We need to act quickly to defuse this 'Facet 31' situation. I'd like you both to come to Beach City as soon as possible, preferably discreetly."
Dalton wasn't sure if what he was hearing was good or bad news. When he had seen that it was White on the line, he assumed that that meant the situation on Homeworld was under control, but if she was organising meetings in secret, perhaps the mood on Homeworld was turning against humanity, or against her, after all.
Still, the fact that she was with Steven at least proved that Rose Quartz's sentiments weren't shared by the Diamonds, and the fact that she was even talking to Azarov suggested that she hadn't been severely offended by his agent's actions. It was enough to put Dalton at least slightly at ease.
"Of course Your Clarity" he said, using Homeworld's formal honorific in the hopes of appearing as diplomatic as possible. "We'll both be there as soon as we can. Won't we Sevastien?" Azarov looked irritated at having been spoken for, but, realising the situation he was in, managed a disgruntled "Agreed."
And so, both international leaders arranged discreet passage to Beach City, all the way dreading what news they might hear when they got there.
Beach City, Delmarva, one day later:
Dalton stood on the pleasant sandy beach outside the bizarre temple that the Crystal Gems called home. Around him stood Steven, White, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. They watched as Azarov's helicopter landed a few feet away, White shielding them from the sand it was kicking up.
Azarov had had a much longer journey than Dalton, so there had been some time before his arrival for Dalton to get up to speed on the situation. He knew now that the Diamonds were still in control of Homeworld, but that there was a significant portion of the population who would be sympathetic to Rose Quartz's cause.
If what he knew about the Diamonds' history was accurate, their Gems had revered them almost like gods up until very recently, when Steven had convinced them to transform Homeworld's society, and they had begun to counteract their own propaganda. Ironically, that positive step put them in a weaker position now. No Quartz would have dared start a rebel faction on the old Homeworld, but Rose Quartz had evidently perceived this new wave of democracy as a show of weakness. As dire as the situation was, Dalton had to smirk at the irony of it all.
Once Azarov had disembarked, and had been welcomed by White and Steven, he too was brought up to speed. He expressed some concern that White was spending time on Earth when the situation on Homeworld required a strong presence, but was reassured when he was told that Yellow and Blue had remained there to hold the fort.
As the group were about to head inside Steven's house to begin hashing out a plan of action, a Gem flew towards them from the direction of Beach City, shouting Steven's name as she approached.
Her skin, eyes and hair were various shades of blue, her monochrome look broken only by the whites of her eyes and the tiny patches of gold on her sandals and trousers. On her back sat transparent wings that appeared to be made out of water. From what little Dalton could see of her face, she looked visibly panicked.
"Lapis!" Exclaimed Steven. "What's wrong?"
"You might wanna come into the city." Lapis replied with a concerned look. "There's this group of humans acting really strange..."