Preparations
First came the meetings.
Hundreds of them, held across the Gem Empire and beyond it. In storerooms, in service corridors, in shuttle bays and Kindergartens and spaceships.
Pearls, peridots and corals met in forgotten, dusty spaces no elite gem would dream existed. Rowdier gems skulked, unnaturally quiet, in barracks and cubbies: flocks of flints, rabbles of rubies, squadrons of quartzes. Gatherings of every Gem type imaginable, and some in combinations that weren't until now. All making doubly sure they weren't followed, but nonetheless mixing together, speaking openly and freely among themselves
oOo
On planet Gamma-Zed-3, Boss and her people gathered in the arena, crowding around a jury-rigged communication system. A figure appeared on the screen— she made the circle salute, introduced herself as Morganite, and welcomed them to the fold. Together they discussed transport and travel, refugees and resources.
And rebellion.
oOo
On the colony taken from a Benitoite, similar discussions were underway, as the planet's swelling population constructed weapons, spaceships, warp pads, and more.
oOo
Orbiting around that same planet was a stolen Roaming Eye. Its extra-dimensional space was filled to bursting point, packed, as it was, with traitors, rebels, defects, fusions, monsters, humans, hybrids— legends.
They worked to establish a highly-secure comm-link, and the ship's main monitor flickered to life. It displayed a Pearl's face, shown in deliberate monochrome, to further preserve her identity. Her gemstone was hidden, her eyes were hidden too, behind the long bangs which were so fashionable in the Blue Court. Black and white, one pearl among thousands, she should have been impossible to recognise.
Alone of the assembled, only Pearl of the Crystal Gems knew the leader of the New Rebellion for who she was, and knew instantly. Blue Diamond's Pearl, who had heard rumours about the Renegade's return, and immediately known them to be true. Of course they recognised each other. In another life, they had served side by side.
Now they would again.
The Pearls had little time for reunions. They nodded, curt and quick. Then Pearl of the Crystal Gems stepped aside to let her fellows speak. They had a lot of information to share.
In a single meeting, two rebellions came together, and plans were put into motion.
oOo
There were signs, but they were subtle, and easily overlooked.
The occasional Gem late to their post. A few misfiled reports. Important meetings unexpectedly delayed or rescheduled. There were reprimands for all of these, but for the most part everyone appeared to be on their best behaviour.
In fact, it was a time of surging productivity for the Empire. Factories at peak efficiency, Kindergartens reporting an unexpected boost in production rates. Warp pad traffic way up, and space traffic too. Managers smiled to themselves as they submitted reports to their Diamonds to review. It would look good on their files, a chance for commendation or promotion.
And if there had been any increase in equipment breakdowns or system malfunctions, it was nothing worth drawing attention to. It was only to be expected. Technical support was notified and each problem added to the automatic queue. No doubt it would all be fixed quickly.
oOo
On one of the oldest of the Gem controlled planets, there was a service corridor.
It was a very, very old service corridor, found near what was once the planet's surface. It was long, cramped and winding, a place rarely visited by anyone except service Gems. The hallway was spartan and barren, the entire length of the walls lined by stone cabinets, once used for storage. Over the years they had been emptied of mere objects, and instead filled with something far more important: a single dull knife, and thousands upon thousands of tally marks.
It was a place of pilgrimage. Every single Pearl assigned to that planet tried to make her way there, at least once.
Now, those same Pearls— the ones still alive, at least— returned.
Still hesitant, still straining for the sound of footsteps, still looking both ways. Still, they ducked their heads into the cabinets. Now, however, they did not leave something behind.
Where once there had been a single, dull old blade, someone had left an armoury. A knife, new and sharp, for every tally mark.
oOo
In an instant, like a switch, almost every monitor across the Empire turned off.
Everything from peridots' personal screens to the massive information displays in major transport hubs. Each and every one of them went black. No more data, no more propaganda; no more instructions, no more orders.
The buzz of worry and panic began to spread. But before it could get too strong, there was a whine, and every screen flickered back to life. Everyone sighed with relief.
Except something was wrong. The original displays— the graphs, the maps, the videos and conference calls— hadn't returned. Instead, the screens were pure white, like a loading screen. Instead of a diamond in the centre, as was traditional, two other symbols appeared in its place:
Stars and Circles.
oOoOo
Author's Note: Big, big, big thank you to everyone who helped on the editing of this chapter. You guys tightened it A LOT.
Anyway, join me again soon for the finale.