Missing Peace: Chapter 43

Connie watched on in horror as Rose Quartz explained her plan. When the Gem finished her speech, a deceptively peaceful image of Earth hung on the viewscreen. Connie knew that if she and the others didn't do something, that peace would soon be shattered; wiped away in an instant by Facet 31's terrible weapon. The Quartz soldier who was restraining Connie had let go of her head now, no longer needing to directly threaten her to ensure Steven's cooperation. Instead, the huge Gem simply held her tightly in one arm. Connie could turn her head, and move her legs, but her arms were pinned firmly to her sides. Connie had tried to wriggle free while her captor was focused on Rose's speech, but the arm that restrained her was like concrete, not giving an inch as she fidgeted.

Accepting the futility of this particular idea, Connie turned to look at Steven. He was still on his hands and knees where his own Quartz captor had dropped him when they'd first entered the command centre. The revelation of Rose's true plan had obviously been a blow to him, so much so that he now seemed lost in his own thoughts, staring off into space and paying little attention to what was going on around him. Connie knew that, as usual, he was probably beating himself up over this. Despite his recent discovery that there was no part of his mother still alive within him; that his gem was entirely his own, he still seemed intent on carrying the weight of her mistakes on his shoulders. It had been his mother who had earned Rose's ire in the first place, so Steven saw it as his job to clean up her mess. He had always risen to the challenges his mother's legacy had thrown his way, but being faced with the people she had hurt over and over again was clearly beginning to wear him down, as it would anyone.

Connie longed to help him somehow, but thus far she felt as though she'd been little more than a hindrance. She and Steven had formed Stevonnie during their first confrontation with Rose, but it hadn't been enough. Connie had accompanied him on this second mission to try to make up for it, but she found herself again feeling useless. Steven and Bismuth had allowed themselves to be captured because she had become a hostage; because she hadn't been strong enough to look out for herself. And now, they were all prisoners, being forced to watch the destruction of their home. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like to feel Steven's second-hand guilt over his mother's actions, but Earth's impending doom hit her just as hard as anyone else. As she gazed at Earth's image on the viewscreen, she couldn't stop her thoughts from wandering back to her mother and father, and the residents of Beach City; everyone who would be killed if they failed. She fought back the tears that were threatening to form in the corners of her eyes. She knew that seeing her break down would only make things harder for Steven. She needed to be strong for him; for everyone.

Rose, meanwhile, stared down at Pink, drinking in the look of defeat on the tiny Diamond's face. Her former leader's bizarre, organic form was still unpleasant to look at sometimes, but Rose would gladly stare if it meant she could see the moment when Pink's spirit broke. Still, that wouldn't come for another few minutes, when the beam would be ready to fire, and she could finally unleash hell on the failed colony world that had taken everything from her. She turned back to the viewscreen. The command centre's window was facing "upwards" relative to the station, but with a couple of taps to her console, she brought up another screen showing the view of where the weapon's tip was aiming. The narrow tip of the station pointed towards a star that looked from this distance much like all the others, but Rose knew that this was not just another star; this was the star that sustained Earth. Her Peridots had somehow managed to make the device so precise that it could target a single planet in a system billions of miles away. She admired them for their ingenuity, just as she admired the rest of Facet 31 for their bravery and dedication.

As she reflected on this feeling of pride, one face occupied her thoughts specifically; the smiling visage of a small, blind Sapphire. Rose wasn't sure why she was thinking of Sapphire at this moment, over even her fellow Rose Quartz, but she supposed it did make sense. After all, everything that had happened in the last day had been made possible by the small blue Gem. Rose had always expected that Pink would attempt to interfere with her plans; hell, she'd actively been hoping for it; but it was Sapphire who had been able to tell her specifically when and how Pink would make her move. It was her precognition that had allowed Rose to set her trap so successfully. When Rose had first met Sapphire, she had been blind, scared, and uncertain. But now, with her future vision restored, she had become an invaluable, if slightly overenthusiastic member of Rose's team. Though Rose had to admit, she was less perturbed by Sapphire's attention than she used to be. Initially, the borderline euphoria Sapphire seemed to demonstrate whenever she spoke to her had made Rose a little uncomfortable. Now though, she found it a refreshing source of positivity that prevented her from becoming lost in her bitter old memories. She had even found herself actively seeking out conversation with the soothsayer when in need of cheering up, or when she just felt like seeing her smile. Rose found herself wishing that Sapphire was by her side now, so that they could witness the moment of their victory together, but she knew that her fellow rebel had a personal matter of her own to attend to. At this moment, she and a squad of Quartzes were surely putting an end to the Crystal Gems' permafusion; a being who was the target of Sapphire's rage much the same way Pink was for Rose. If seeing the fusion meet its end was what would make Sapphire the happiest right now, Rose was content to wait.

Lapis and Peridot stood by the door to the humans' cell, peering in through the inset window. The humans were slightly calmer now, but were still clustered at the back of the room, casting frightened glances as the two Gems. Peridot pulled her face away from the window and let out an exasperated sigh. Sensing that her companion didn't need to see any more, Lapis put her down. "Urgh! How are we supposed to get the humans off the station if they won't come near us?" said Peridot. "If we open the door now, they'll probably just rush out and disperse around the entire zoo." It was unfortunate; up until recently, these humans had been very trusting of Gems, but Facet 31's treatment of them had seen to it that they were now much more on edge around their alien keepers. Peridot was sure that it would be difficult to move them without causing a panic, and if humans ran off in every direction, some would surely run into Facet 31 guards, and end up in even more danger. Regardless, something had to be done, and soon. Steven's plan hinged on getting the humans off the station before the real fighting started. Peridot cupped her chin between her thumb and forefinger, and began pacing in small circles, trying to come up with a solution.

She had only been at it for about thirty seconds when she heard the cell door slide open. Startled, she looked up to see Lapis standing with her had on the door panel. "Lapis?! What are you thinking?!" The slender blue Gem looked slightly confused, but otherwise unfazed. "It'll be fastest if we do it like this" she replied. As if on cue, hone of the humans floated out of the cell, restrained from the neck down by a bubble of water. The human looked like a gibbering wreck, but mercifully, they were at least staying quiet. Peridot didn't much like the idea of traumatising them further than they already had been, but she was also aware that their fate would be a lot worse if they didn't get out soon. "Alright, fine" Peridot relented, "but try not to scare them too much, ok?"

"I'll try" replied Lapis. "Where are we taking them?" Peridot brought up the map of the zoo on her tablet. If it was right, and despite Facet 31's modifications it probably was, then the escape pods weren't too far from their current position. "This way" she said, beckoning Lapis with one arm before jogging off down the corridor. Lapis followed, levitating the long precession of humans behind her, each one in their own bubble. Having all these humans out in the open put them in a pretty vulnerable position, but she didn't see any other way to make the plan work, so she simply prayed that the next phase would go off without incident.

Sun Incinerator:

Lars paced anxiously around the bridge, occasionally looking out of the front screen at the imposing sight of the zoo. The behemoth hung motionless in space, its thrusters having fully stopped its turning motion. He didn't know what the purpose was behind moving the zoo in the first place, but he was sure it wasn't good. Part of him wanted to fire up the incinerator's power core and charge in there, but he had held position for now. Steven had been very specific than no hostile action was to be taken until either the hostages were safely evacuated, or they were left with no other choice. The question was whether or not the latter condition had been fulfilled yet. Lars' instincts told him to wait a little longer. If all the stories he'd heard were true, Steven had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat countless times before, usually at the last minute. He had to hope that his friend could do it again.

The entire time he had been waiting, he had been staring down at his communicator from time to time, hoping for some signal; any signal from the away team to tell him what was going on over there. After an agonizing period of waiting, he finally received one. An irritating burst of static filled the previously silent bridge for a moment, drawing Lars' attention back to the Cookie Cat-shaped communicator that hadn't left his hand since the away team had departed. Once the static subsided, a voice finally came through. "Come in Sun Incinerator, this is Peridot." "And Lapis!" "Uh…and Lapis. Anyway, we have the human hostages, and are loading them into the escape pods now. I doubt they're capable of piloting them, so once they're in space we'll need you to pick them up." Lars was overjoyed to finally get some news, but he was eager to know more about the situation over on the station. "Sure thing guys! What happened on your end anyway? You all went silent for a while." Peridot replied almost instantly. "We were all jumped by Quartz guards not too long ago. Facet 31 must have known we were coming somehow. We haven't been able to raise the others yet. We'll call again once we know their status. Peridot out." The small green Gem closed the channel before Lars could get another word in. "Wow, rude" he said largely to himself. He had only met Peridot shortly after returning to Earth and since then had learned to expect her impolite nature, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

Regaining his composure, he turned to face his crew, knowing that they would need to respond quickly once the hostages' escape pods were loose. "Fluorite, bring the main power core back online! Rutiles, as soon as the pods are loose, put us on an intercept course! We've gotta get them on-board before any of Facet 31's ships notice them floating around out here." As the Off-Colours set about their tasks, he settled himself back into his command chair, feeling a lot more at ease now that there was something to actually focus on. The bridge's lights flickered back on as main power came back online. Within moments, the first pods were breaking loose of the zoo. The spherical pink pods seemed to phase straight through the hull, rather than being deployed out of any sort of bay. As they popped free of the station, like droplets of water pinching free from a dripping tap, they slowly drifted away from the massive station, clearly under no internal power of their own. The Rutile twins piloted the Incinerator over to the pods without hesitation, and the ship began scooping the pods up with its tractor beam. "Guess it's about to get a lot more crowded in here" Lars thought to himself. He wasn't sure how comprehensively the hostages had been filled in on what was going on, so he tried to mentally prepare himself for the fact that he might have a lot of explaining to do very soon. But before all that, there was one more thing that needed to be done. Lars lifted his communicator to his mouth. Given that things had apparently gone south in a big way over on the zoo, he wasn't expecting an answer, but anyone on the other end would still hear his message, and that would be enough. "Everyone, this is Lars. We are go for phase 2…"