Chapter Four: Reluctant Request
As the Crystal Gems walked through the doorway, they could notice a stark contrast between the previous room and the hallway. Whereas the previous room was smooth and futuristic, the hallway seemed to have exposed piping and black steel plates everywhere. Slowly the Gems moved forward, just in case there were some traps set up. Finally they reached the door at the end of the hallway, a large steel door which slide into the ceiling. And on the other side of that door was…
"STEVEN!" exclaimed the Crystal Gems, rushing forward to embrace their missing ward. Steven expected the hug with a laugh, before hearing the sound of snapping fingers. Alena, looking annoyed, was attempting to get their attention.
"If you are done with your little Hallmark moment, I think it is important we get back to the issues at hand." remarked the Director. In response, the Crystal Gems dropped into battle stances, which Alena just waved off, "There really is no need for that…I will explain:
"My name is Alena Frankfurt, Director of the Earth Defense Initiative. My organization was created for the purposes of dealing with threats…outside the normal purview of the world's municipal and military institutions. Basically, extraterrestrial life! The current issue is one that you are all familiar with: the Great Diamond Authority."
This got the Crystal Gems' attention causing them to relax their battle stances. Smirking, Alena continued to explain, "Recently, there has been a rise in not just Corrupted Gem behavior but Homeworld visitation. Culminating in the little business outside of Beach City almost a year ago." And with that, a holo-screen showing both the landing and crashing of the Gem Warship appear in front of the Crystal Gems.
"Wait, wait. Stop. You're telling me you built all of this since P-dot showed up on Earth?!" asked Amethyst, alarmed at the speed that this organization was put together.
Alena looked puzzled before laughing at Amethyst's question. Calming down, Alena explained, "No, no, no. My group has been in existence for roughly fifty years! I meant that we have recently got more funding and personal because of the…incident. We still were quite busy before then: studying Gem sites, collecting artifacts, dealing with Corrupted Gems. Really not much different from what you Crystal Gems were doing."
"There are treaties in place listing what the Crystal Gems duties are and what needs to be done in order to fulfill them." stated Garnet through clenched teeth. The truth was, she was more angry at not be able to 'see' this organization formation then anything.
"Ah yes. The Rose Accords. Sorry to be the one to tell, but not one country kept to the Accords within the first year of its signing! Truly, the League of Nations allowed you to walk across their soil unopposed, but that was more to deal with Corrupted Gems. My group, however, was built with the inevitable Homeworld invasion in mind." explained Alena in a rather superior tone.
"Not that this isn't a fascinating look into human culture…but I think you should tell us why you brought us here." stated Peridot, hoping to keep the conversation from escalating into violence.
Adjusting her spectacles, Alena pushed a button on her wrist revealing the image of a very familiar face. "I believe you know the individual in question." stated the Director simply.
"JASPER!" exclaimed in various tone from the assorted group, other than Connie. The viscous orange Gem had left a large impression on the group though none more so than Steven, Garnet, and Lapis Lazuli. Jasper seem to have a maniacal focus on destroying Steven, confusing him with his mother 'Rose Quartz'. Garnet, in their first encounter, was handed a swift defeat and defusing,
Though they eventually pay Jasper back in kind. Lapis, however, was the most tragic…
Lapis had been forced to fuse herself with Jasper in order to keep her from hurting Steven. Months spent beneath the ocean keeping that…thing locked down was an enormous physical and mental strain. Even months after finally defusing, Lapis still had problems being around the water. More disturbing than that, despite the pain and horror…there were times when Lapis missed the experience!(1)
"Yes, I assumed that you were familiar with the Gem in question." smugly replied Alena to the groups outburst, "As you can see from the footage, not long after her defusing, Jasper broke into a top-secret facility. What was the facility's purpose? Why to create weapons designed to help humanity in the fight against Homeworld! I won't bore you with the particulars, but sufficed to say, the United States military would be salivating at the possibilities!"
"So…you brought us here to help you deal with Jasper." stated Garnet finally understanding Alena's motives for bring them here. What little contact Garnet had with the Director revealed that she did not want the Gems to help out. Of course given what weapons they had already seen, it was definitely not safe to let Jasper get her hands on anything big.
"You each have skills that would be useful in the upcoming mission." stated the Director before standing in front of Peridot, "Peridot's technical training will allow you to hack into the security systems. Amethyst's shapeshifting should help her get through some of the traps set up. Pearl's dodging ability and additional technical skills will be useful. Garnet's future vision and great physical prowess will also be needed.
"However, you two have the most important parts to the mission." stated Alena, stopping in front of both Steven and Lapis, "Steven; because Jasper views you as a different form of 'Rose Quartz' you will be able to, given the proper incentive, fall for an feint or trap you are involved with. If necessary, Connie can be brought in to allow you to become Stevonnie. As for you Lapis, given the submersible state of the base, you'll be key for not only sneaking the group in, but also distracting any outer defenses under Jasper's control."
"Wait, submersible? Where exactly are we headed?" asked Connie curious as to where they are going. Just then, a hologram of a massive manta ray shaped ship, with a massive mouth-shaped hangar appears in front of them.
"Behold! The XSS Triton! The first submersible battleship-carrier ever in existences!" exclaimed the Director before explaining further, "It was supposed to be a mobile base of operation for our forces, able to go anywhere touched by the oceans. I currently carriers some of the most advance robotic units operated by one of the most advance AI systems in the world, next to IVO of course."
"Anyway, you could give us an idea of the security systems?" asked Peridot, before Amethyst interrupted.
"Wait better question: how the heck did Jasper get control of this?! She's a warrior Gem, she's more into punching everything in front of her. I mean Peri could probably takeover that, but not Jasper!" exclaimed Amethyst truly confused by this turn of events, not noticing Peridot's blush.
"Truthfully, Jasper hasn't really 'taken control' of anything. Her attack simply switched the Triton to defense mode. It was designed in case of a prolonged Gem attack to prevent reinforcements from getting in while the defenses take care of the intruding Gems. Unfortunately…" Alena started to explain before trailing off embarrassingly.
"You never installed a 'friend or foe'' function of this defense mode, did you?" finished Pearl seeing where this was going.
"It was a simple mistake! We were actually set to install it when Jasper attacked!" exclaimed Alena before continuing, "Thankfully, once you get inside, the AI system will be able to aid you. Of course, Lapis will have to stay outside in order to keep the defenses focused on her."
"Are we even sure Jasper is still…?" asked Pearl, hesitant to imply shattering in front of the children.
"Amazingly, she is still alive. I'm rather impressed with her resilience and resourcefulness. I'm hopeful the AI's partial control over the defense can give you a hand in that regard." said Alena.
"Why does the AI only have partial control? I would think the point would be for it to run all the minutiae of running the ship." asked Peridot. You see, one technologies Homeworld avoided was Artificial Intelligence despite her seeing it as a good way to improve efficiency. Something about the idea of 'AI rebellion'…
"I don't know what experience Gems have with AI systems, but I've found they develop much like children. So in a sense it's safest to limit their responsibilities until it is seen that they have both the capacity and the personal sense of responsibility to handle higher tasks. Right now, the AI aboard the Triton is in charge of basic internal security and functions." explained the Director.
Waiting for a moment for the Gems to process this information, the Director decided to add, "I should also mention that there may be Corrupted Gems either onboard or around the Triton."
"WHAT! Why in the world would you have Corrupted Gems?!" exclaimed Garnet furious at this new development.
"Simple. I need Gems to test my weapons systems on and you can only capture so many Gems. Don't worry there is no shattering involved…" Alena quickly corrected.
"There had better not have been!" retorted Garnet, not believing the Director for a minute.
"The point is that you will be facing Corrupted Gems along with Jasper and the automated security system. Still from what I've learn of your abilities, your combine skills should keep you intact." replied Alena, "Well that should be everything…Oh there is one last thing. The last known trajectory has the Triton heading towards Beach City."
The Gems, Steven, and Connie were horrified by this latest piece of information. A stealthy death machine was about to collide with their hometown…and Jaspers at the wheel! There was no choice…whatever misgivings the Gems had about Alena would have to wait. They looked towards Peridot and Lapis who nodded their heads in agreement, understanding the seriousness of the situation. So with that, Garnet only had to ask:
"So…what's the plan…Director?"
Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe nor any characters or elements that are contained in the series. I only own this story and the original characters (i.e. villains and monsters) and concepts that go with it. This is a slightly shorted intermission chapter before we head to the Triton. I should probably note how the Summer of Steven has blown a lot of my plans out of the water, specifically involving Jasper. So this will be AU, although I will keep some details like the stuff involving Yellow Diamond. I'll explain more as I write. Any, please Read and Review!
1 Spoiler alert: this little factoid comes out in the episode 'Alone at Sea' which is technically way ahead of this stories canon.