Chapter One
Twelve Rubies, ten Moissanites, eight Zircons, six Peridots, two Dumortierite operators, Agate, Onyx and Chalcedony. Forty one casualties plus the destruction of the Trilliant and major damage to the Homeworld Shipyards. A setback that will take decades to put right. Yellow Diamond stared at the figures on her data pad. This was hardly the worst loss for Homeworld. They'd lost more Gems in the Spinel experiments, to say nothing of the war casualties. But this disaster struck the lead Diamond to the core, she hadn't felt this affected since the Duel Of The Long Night during the war. She continued reading and re reading the figures, over and over again. Her room was dark, with just one golden light providing illumination. It was hard for her to take in, hard to believe that this could be foul play. There was no other explanation for it. A super weapon, newly constructed, ready to be launched, destroyed. Could it be an accident? Possibly. But the probability that this was planned was even more apparent. It was time to get to the bottom of this. Time to bring out Heliodor and her people. She deactivated the pad and placed it on her desk. She walked to the door and left her dark accommodations.
The doors slid open with a hiss, revealing the two waiting figures outside Yellow Diamond's accommodations. They were her Pearl, looking refined and resplendent as usual, and Heliodor, the Diamond's assistant, right hand Gem and head of the Retinue. The trio of Gems that stood beside the Diamonds on the Authority. To say Heliodor was pompous would be an understatement. She dressed in robes of gold and brown, the badge of the Homeworld lawmakers around her neck, a golden medallion caked in precious metals. She was golden skinned with jet black eyes, two pale facial markings ran down her cheeks below her eyes. Neatly kept blonde hair topped her head, swept back off her brow, while locks hung down by her chin. The only thing that obstructed her artificial beauty was a small chunk missing from her lip, an unfortunate encounter with a bitter Heliodor who met a swift end. Her Gem, a sough after target for shattering, sat in a golden head dress in the centre of her forehead. As head of the Sphene Interrogator Guild, head of the Diamond Retinue and leader of the lawmakers of Homeworld, Heliodor was more then a little power hungry to say the least. To get to the highest position in the land, to stand beside Yellow Diamond and rule in her absence, she had to bribe, murder, steal, frame and intimidate herself up the food chain. Most of Homeworld hated her, and that didn't bother her in the slightest, on the contrary, she rather enjoyed it, not as much as being at Yellow Diamond's side though.
Both Heliodor and the Pearl bowed as their Diamond appeared, and walked straight past them. Realising this, the two Gems followed post haste to catch up with her. Heliodor began updating her Diamond on her people's progress.
"The Sphene's have begun interrogating the survivors, my Diamond. So far they have only spoken to Moissanites, Zircons and Peridots. The initial reports reveal very little. We will start on the remaining Gems
as soon as possible. I take it I have your permission to proceed?"
Yellow Diamond didn't respond. Heliodor assumed she meant yes and continued.
"We have sent a summon notice, the Authority are assembling in the Throne Room." She gestured to the Pearl who handed a data pad to Heliodor. She spoke up.
"Here is your statement to the public, my Diamond."
Yellow Diamond skimmed through the speech, fairly drab, nothing she hadn't already said one thousand times in the past. She handed the pad back to Heliodor who, in turn, passed it to Pearl. After the long silence, Yellow addressed her two aids.
"What do you two think?"
The aids nearly stopped dead in their tracks. Yellow Diamond was asking them? It was a particular shock to the Yellow Pearl who was so used to standing around and looking pretty, while taking care of her Diamond's administration duties, was never expected to give her opinion on anything. She'd hoped this would be the last time Yellow Diamond asked an opinion of her, she felt ever so nervous on the spot. She hoped Heliodor would speak first, and to her relief, she did.
"My Diamond?" Heliodor replied with a raised eyebrow.
Yellow stopped walking and turned to them. "Who has the most to gain from destroying the Trilliant?"
"Why are you asking us, my Diamond? Surely this is a question for the Authority."
Yellow Diamond crossed her arms and looked out of one of the many stain glass windows in the corridors of the Palace, specifically the yellow tinted one. "If someone is intent on making our losses their gain, then I want to find out who. I can't be sure that person is not on the Authority. Peridotite, she could be whispering lies to her green spawns, there were enough Peridots there at the shipyard. Aegirine, she and her forgers supplied the metal for the ship, they could have slipped anything in there. Carnelian, she'd do anything to get more power and status. Amethyst Prime and Black Moissanite Prime, unlikely but still possible. Then of course, the culprit may not be in the Authority. Any number of those forty one shattered Gems may have been a traitor."
Heliodor thought for a moment. She didn't particularly need to frame anyone, no one was really a threat to her at the moment so she didn't need to lie. She answered truthfully. "I wish I could offer some lead, my Diamond. I have complete faith the Sphene's will find a lead."
Yellow gave a half nod as she turned to the small, fragile assistant. "Pearl?"
Pearl immediately blushed, her face turned golden. "If I may be so bold, my Diamond, I don't believe one of the Authority is behind this. It would be too easy to guess and….." She began to fumble on her words. Oh, she hated this. "Well, they must know they'll be the easy suspects, so why risk being found out when you're such an easy target? B….Besides, they wouldn't dare risk loosing their status or being shattered."
Yellow looked at Pearl with an intrigued expression. "Yes….." She turned on her heels and continued to walk. Heliodor's shoulders lowered as she relaxed, Pearl would have let out an audible sigh, if she hadn't reeled herself back in.
Outside the throne room, the other two Diamonds were waiting. White Diamond leant against the wall, her arms crossed and her head looking down. She was counting the white, yellow and blue tiles on the floor while they waited. After a yawn, she chuckled to herself. Blue turned and raised a curious eyebrow. She was standing upright, straight and proper, as oppose to her slouching sister.
"There are more white tiles then yellow on this floor. Wonder what that said about the designers? They must prefer me." She joked with a playful tone. Of course Blue chose not to respond. White's head shot up when she saw her sister approach. She straightened up her posture, flicked some of the white locks from her face and pulled down on the neck of her form fitting silver and white suit. She stood by her sisters side as the doors to the Throne Room flung open.
The Authority were already assembled in the huge meeting place, tiled with the same yellow, white and blue flooring as the hallways, the three thrones were perched on a plinth and behind it, a huge stain glass window, with yellow, blue and white glass running down and meeting the ground where the corresponding Diamonds sat. The Throne Room's high roof let the late afternoon sun in, bathing everything in the Diamonds colours. The Authority, made up of the three Diamonds, their assistants, aka the Diamond Retinue, the six Gems deemed of high enough responsibility and status to stand before the Diamonds. The six Gems stood at either side of the room, on one side were the age old Gems who have been around almost as long as the Diamonds. They were Nacre, the matron of the Pearls, Peridotite, matron of the Peridots and Aegirine, the weapons forger who crafted the weapons of many a famous Gem, including the Diamonds and continued to forge weapons for Gems, even after all these millennia. Excluding the Diamonds, the three non combinative Gems were the oldest Gems in the Authority with Aegirine being created shortly after the five original Diamonds.
The Forger Prime didn't look her age, even by Gem standards, she was ancient. Her skin, eyes and hair were a uniform raven black with a fringe hanging from the left hand side of her face and her long, tidy bangs resting on her shoulders. Her eyes had cat like slits for irises and a light scar ran across her cheek. Her Gem was, like Heliodor, on her forehead, encased in a head dress, though Aegirine had chosen a simple silver band to contain her Gem. She wore simple robes of grey and black, with a belt and an empty scabbard hanging from it. In public and in the company of the other Aegirine Forgers, she wore a calm and unrevealing expression. She stood with her hands behind her back as they awaited the arrival of the Diamonds.
To describe Peridotite as anything less then matronly just wouldn't be true. She had helped turn every Peridot that had ever crawled out of a hole in the ground, from the very first, frightened little pale green Gem, to the latest in a long line of scientific servants to Yellow and Blue Diamond. Like her Peridots, she was pale green, with a small upturned nose and a pointy chin. But that's when the similarities end. Unlike the standard Peridot, she wore no visor, instead, she wore a dark green head dress that kept her hair hidden and reached down to her neck. Her robes were also dark green and brown, with long sleeves and a skirt that reached the floor. The robes had brown markings running up it's centre and sleeves, a stylish choice to remind herself of her origins, of Brown Diamond. With her Gemstone placed in her palm, she is often seen with her hands held together infront of her.
The last of the trio of ancient Gems was Nacre, mother of Pearls. Like Peridotite, she mothered the first Pearls and has done so for the millennia she's been on Homeworld. Like Peridotite, she had to become accustomed to a new way of thinking, having to teach her Pearls and Peridotite's Gems this was difficult at first, but one gets accustomed to it after thousands of years. Nacre was a tall Gem, the tallest of the three. Much like the typical Pearl, she was pale skinned and slender, with light blue eyes. Her hair was formed in a sensible rounded bob cut, her iridescent hair appeared silver in the darkness, but when exposed to certain light, created a light hint of rainbow colours, much like oil on water. She wore a teal coloured top and matching dark pink coloured bolero shrug top and skirt. Her shimmering Gem rested in a golden ring in the centre of her forehead.
On the opposite side of the Throne Room, the other three Gems, the younger Gems, born into Yellow Diamond's rule. Carnelian, head of the distribution of resources on Homeworld, Black Moissanite Prime, the stoic leader of the millions of Moissanite soldiers in White Diamond's army, plus her own Black Moissanites, the elite militia under her command and finally, Amethyst Prime, leader of the Quartz, and unshaken from the Trilliant disaster.
In human terms, Carnelian would be a banker, the worst type of banker too, the kind that enjoys their wealth while people around them suffer. That is Carnelian. As head of the distribution of wealth on Homeworld, she makes sure that the low level Gems stay under the thumb by siphoning off their resources and redirecting them to help the Authority. For example, a small settlement of Gem bystanders was once levelled to the ground to make way for a new Kindergarten. She revelled in the power and status she gained, keeping her hands clean and her corrupt consciousness clean. While the other Gems in the Authority dressed modestly, Carnelian's dress sense was over the top by comparison. She wore an ornate red dress to match her dark red skin and red eyes with no iris or pupil inside. Her dress, complete with black, leather gloves and cape held to her neck by a small collar with a jewel in it's centre, was decorated with black feathers that formed a second skirt around it. Her hair was a mix of black and red thin, dreadlock-like strands and on her head sat a jewelled tiara. Of course the jewels were not legitimate Gems, she wouldn't stoop to wearing her "subjects", they were fake. Fake, much like her self confidence and pride. For all the Gems smug arrogance, she was easily the most pathetic Gem on the Authority. She is a non combat Gem, much like the other three, but she had no weapon to summon unlike Nacre and Peridotite. She had never held a Gem Destabilizer in her life. To make matters worse, her memory was absolutely appalling,she wouldn't remember who she just spoke to if it wasn't for her Red Pearl who was constantly by her side, acting as her mistresses personal memorizer.
Black Moissanite Prime was almost indistinguishable from the Black Moissanites under her control. The same tetrahedron shaped helmet with it's one red eye moving from left to right and back again sat atop her head and obscured her eyes, leaving only her mouth exposed. What set her apart from the other Black Moissanites was that she wore a black cloak that reached to the floor and her uniform, a sleeved, black and grey version of the standard garb worn by your average Peridot or Jasper, had no Diamond symbols on it. As a member of the Authority, none of the Gems wore Diamonds on their outfits. Black Moissanite Prime herself was the ideal leader for the Diamonds to control. Obedient and an effective commander, but she also possessed a self confidence in her abilities that made her unafraid to speak up, or to suggest something outlandish which has lead to many small victories.
Amethyst Prime, a huge, bulking Gem, was just plain cocky. Sure she obeyed the Diamonds in all things but as leader of the Quartz, she possessed the cocksure attitude of all the death or glory Quartz's in the Diamond's army, all bundled up into one buff, purple and white package. Her hair was messy and full, reaching down to her waist. She wore a plain but practical outfit of a grey bodysuit with fingerless gloves, white thigh combat boots and padded shoulder armour with a circular belt. Under the high collar and above the v shaped armour that crossed her chest was her deep purple Gem. She had been spending the last few hours trying to recall all the events of the Trilliant incident she observed, so as to hopefully avoid an encounter with Yellow Diamond and Heliodor's Sphene interrogators.
The three Diamonds sat in their thrones, with their aids stood next to them. The members of the Authority descended onto one knee and gave the customary salute. With a small gesture from Yellow Diamond, they rose.
"I want the facts. What do we know?" Yellow's tone was as stoic as her expression, which if looks could kill, would massacre the whole Authority. Black Moissanite Prime stepped forward.
"We believe the fire was started when a munitions crate fell on top of a fuel canister my Diamond. Though the cause has yet to be discovered, we believe….."
"Facts, Prime." Yellow interrupted, causing the soldier to stumble.
"Y….Yes my Diamond." She produced a data cube from her uniform's belt and held it out as it created a square screen. The cube floated in the air and looped various read outs.
"The security cameras were destroyed or short circuited in the fire, less an act of sabotage and more an all round systems failure. The shipyards are already being repaired but it will take….."
"We don't need reminding." Came White Diamond's reply.
"Truth be told, my Diamonds, we have very little in the way of facts. We don't have much in the way of evidence. We are all hoping the Sphene interrogations reveal something."
Yellow sighed as she leant on her hand as she leant on her throne's arm.
"If I may, my Diamond?" Nacre spoke up. When Yellow gave a nod of approval, she stepped up. She could feel the hateful, probing gazes from Heliodor, Amethyst Prime, Carnelian and Black Moissanite Prime. She had heard it all before, how she, Aegirine and Peridotite were not to be trusted or weren't deserving to be on the Authority. She paid them little heed. They were young, inexperienced Gems who gained their positions through backstabbing, trichinous means, whereas the trio of ancient Gems were bestowed their status at birth, something the others were jealous of. To be gifted with responsibility at birth they were envied, where as the ancient trio were envious of the younger Gems, who could only dream of the responsibilities they had on their shoulders, as matrons and forgers.
Nacre spoke with no sign of intimidation from the Diamonds. "We must proceed with caution. Regardless of the culprit, if there even is a culprit, Homeworld will already be speaking of this. If we don't find out who is responsible, fingers will be pointed and blame will be thrown to someone."
Yellow gave a small nod as she thought through her options.
"What would you recommend?"
This angered the younger Gems, the old matron was doing them out of a job. How dare she think herself important enough to stand before the Diamonds?
"I would suggest you make a public address to put their minds at rest. Assure them that the destruction of the Trilliant is a minor setback, that our Empire remains as powerful as ever and that it won't affect the day to day operations on Homeworld. With any luck, that should silence the doubts in the public's mind, long enough for us to get to the bottom of this."
She was cut off by Carnelian. The interruption broke Yellow from her deep thought.
"Who's we? All you do is look after your little Pearls while we do the real work! Besides, how are you so sure the destruction of the….The…."
She snapped her fingers and tapped her Pearl in the chest.
"The thingy…"
"The Trilliant?" Her Red Pearl asked.
"Yes, that one. How are you so sure the Trilliant won't cause an uproar? There's already been a gradual decline of resource stocks since the ships destruction. You can wrap it up and make it look like there's nothing wrong, Nacre, but it will affect us all!"
Nacre remained silent, she still had her back turned to Carnelian. The only movement she made was to flick some hair from her face. Yellow Diamond was not impressed.
"Interrupt Nacre again Carnelian, and I will have you removed from the Throne Room."
If Carnelian wasn't already blood red, she'd be blushing and if she had pupils instead of her soulless red, featureless eyes, she'd be looking at the ground.
"Apologies, my Diamond."
Peridotite was honestly trying not to smile at the sight of such a proud Gem like Carnelian put in her place.
"Your plan is sound, Nacre. What does the rest of the Authority think? Peridotite, Aegirine?"
"I believe it will assist in the long run, best to reassure the public after all." Peridotite responded.
"My views are the same as Matron Peridotite." Aegirine added.
Yellow turned to the other side of the Throne Room. "You've been quiet Amethyst Prime, do you have anything to add?"
There was a reason why the soldier had remained silent. "To be honest, my Diamond, I'm just a soldier. I leave the politics to Gems who know what they're talking about. Whatever you decide, you know you'll have the full support of me and the Quartz."
Yellow's eyebrows raised. "I see. Good to know, Prime." She turned to Black Moissanite Prime and Carnelian.
"We don't need to hear from you Carnelian. Black Moissanite Prime?"
The black Gem stood to attention. "I too support whatever decision you make, my Diamond."
White turned to Blue Diamond and leant over. "When did the Authority become a group of yes Gems?"
Yellow leant back and looked up to Heliodor.
"I will return to my quarters and prepare a statement. Heliodor, you tell the Sphene's to continue as planned. Keep the Yellow Moissanites patrolling the city, tell them to report even the slightest whisper of decent. "
Heliodor's head bowed as she replied with the customary "Yes my Diamond."
Blue Diamond turned to her aid, Eudialyte. "We will continue running the simulations as planned. Inform the Peridots and Zircons they will be working overtime on this." Eudialyte gave a silent bow.
White put her hand on the small Kimberlite's shoulder. "I want you to spend some time with the soldiers. Get a feel for the mood of the little people. You okay with that?" Kimberlite replied with a smile. "Of course you are." White returned the smile and gave her aid a pat on the back.
The three Diamonds rose from their seats. "This meeting is adjourned. You all have places to be." Flanked by their aids, the Diamonds made their way down the steps of the thrones and out of the Throne Room. Shortly after they left, Amethyst Prime promptly headed out. Carnelian watched closely.
"Where's Purple Prime off to in such a hurry?" Black Moissanite passed her on her way out of the Throne Room.
"We all have to be somewhere Carnelian."
Not long after the meeting, Amethyst Prime had made her way to the wing of the Palace occupied by the Heliodor's and the Sphene's. It was a bare place, a thin corridor with dull, metal doors and seats for waiting Gems.. Small, yellow lights were placed above each door and they were all glowing, indicating interrogations were in progress. As the doors to the intimidating wing of the palace flung open, Amethyst Prime was surprised to see she was not alone. Sat on the bench with her head hung low was Aventurine, the same Gem who survived the Trilliant incident. She approached the Gem soldier and stood close to her side. She cleared her throat as the green Gem looked up and immediately shot up to her feet, saluting.
"Prime, I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention."
Amethyst Prime just stared at Aventurine.
"You afraid?" She asked as she looked into the green soldiers eyes. She was not exactly showing the cold, relentless, merciless tendencies she expected from her Quartz soldiers. "Why would you be afraid?"
Aventurine swallowed hard. "Well…." She didn't get a chance to finish before Amethyst Prime continued.
"If you got nothing to hide then you shouldn't be feeling nervous. You're practically shaking. So what are you hiding?"
She pinned Aventurine against the wall and stared her down.
"I'm not hiding anything!"
Amethyst Prime stared deeper into Aventurine's eyes.
"I lost my Agate Major and my Chalcedony Minor. My two subordinates died in the Trilliant incident. That just leaves me left, and once I'm out of the way, it's all the glory in the world for Aventurine Prime isn't it? Isn't it!" She yelled, covering her soldier in spit.
Before Aventurine could respond, one of the doors to the interrogation cells flung open and a figure emerged.
"Aventurine, we are ready for you."
The green Gem was all too happy to get away from her superior. She practically sprinted into the room. Of course as soon as she entered the cell, she immediately wanted to get out again. The cell was small, with just a table and a chair on either side. Strobe lighting came from the floor which cast shadows on the two Gems that were occupying the room. A Heliodor, who looked similar to Yellow Diamonds Heliodor Prime save for the medallion and her shorter hair, and the fact that her Gem was on her neck, sat on one side of the table. Behind her, a Sphene Interrogator. The Sphenes had a reputation on Homeworld, you did not want to ever have to meet one, and if you did, Goddess have mercy on you. With their golden skin, hair and eyes, they wore black uniforms with golden embroidery covering their chests and hung on their backs were their weapons, scythes which have been detracted into small poles, ready to be extended into their weapons at a moments notice. What made them so intimidating and so effective as interrogators was the fact that they were psychic. Through tactile contact, they could connect with their victims minds and search out the truth, then report to their Heliodor. Aventurine was weighing her options, and she felt like Agate and Chalcedony got off easy, being shattered.
"Aventurine Facet 12-B9-H Cut 2XY, created Facet seventy two, ocean colony four." The Heliodor stated as she flicked through the data readout on the table.
The warrior Gem sat down, keeping her eyes fixed on the Sphene leaning against the wall.
"That's correct."
The Heliodor deactivated the data readout and crossed her arms.
"This shouldn't take long. Sphene will probe into your memory and recall your experience in the Trilliant incident."
Aventurine clenched her fists nervously, sweat dripping from her forehead.
"I…..I understand." She replied, her voice breaking.
The Heliodor gestured the Sphene who approached the green warrior.
"Try and relax my dear." Sphene instructed, her voice having a certain theatrical flair that unnerved Aventurine.
The green Gem felt herself jump out of her own Gem when she felt the cold, sharp sensation of the Sphene's hand on her head. The interrogator closed her eyes as she began to form the connection. Aventurine firmed up as the Sphene opened her eyes. Having made contact, the Sphene's eyes glazed over, all white. Aventurine felt the Sphene inside her mind, probing past repressed memories and programmed skills and powers. It felt like the Sphene was actually digging through the memories, picking them up and throwing them aside, until she reached the Trilliant disaster. Immediately, all the fears came flooding back in one painful punch to the gut. The intense flames, the sight of her superiors, Agate, Chalcedony, being consumed by fire. All these experiences, these memories, these feelings, were all being transferred to the Sphene who continued to probe deeper. It was causing the golden interrogator physical and mental pain in probing so deep into Aventurine's mind, but she kept going deeper and deeper. Both Gems felt like their heads were about to split open. After a short scream from both of them, the Sphene staggered back, her eyes returning to normal. She looked to the Heliodor and shook her head. Aventurine on the other hand was grasping her head and panting, her eyes full of tears.
"Thank you for your time, Aventurine."
She looked up at the Heliodor with hopeful eyes. "You mean I can go?" As soon as Heliodor nodded, she rose from her seat, feeling light headed and shaky. "Thank you…." She didn't waste any time getting to the door. The Sphene regained her composure by straightening out her uniform and returning to her Heliodor's side.
"Amethyst Prime." She called out.
Outside, the two Quartz Gems passed each other. Aventurine looked down, not wanting to face her superior who was giving her a stare of death. As Amethyst Prime entered the cell, Aventurine leant against the wall and breathed deep. She remained fixed in her position for a good few seconds before her head shot up, hearing a crashing noise from Amethyst Prime's cell and muffled shouting from the Heliodor and Sphene.
"Hold her down!"
"Get out of my head freak!"
"Prime, calm down!"
"Don't touch me!"
"Hold her down for Goddess' sake!"
"I'm holding her down!"
"Probe her, probe her!"
"I am probing her!"
After more loud smashing, there was a lull and a moment of silence. The Sphene spoke up first.
"But why would you….?"
"Shut up!" Amethyst Prime replied. "So am I free to go, or what?"
After a few seconds, the door to the cell flung open and snapped off it's hinges thanks to the Quartz leader's strength. She stomped past Aventurine without even looking at her, muttering her instruction.
"Never speak of this again."
Aventurine looked into the cell as a bruised Heliodor was being helped up by the Sphene. The table was split in half with the Sphene's scythe sticking out from it.
"That…..Could have gone better." The Sphene lamented.