The Decision, her Duties and a Dewdrop

"Are you alright?"

It sounded more like a shouted demand than a shout of concern.
Kimberlite sat up slowly, gingerly removing the safety harness from over her chest. Pure habit had convinced her to wear it, despite Peridot having insisted that the artificial gravity being enough to prevent her from shattering should they encounter difficulty.

Ironically, this conversation took place only a few minutes before her reluctant escort was thrown from her position at the ship's main control panel.
Luckily the ship's small size meant that she wasn't thrown very far.
Unluckily, their bumpy landing had done absolutely nothing to improve the engineering gem's temperament.

The Peridot had spent most of their journey either complaining about her current ordeal or chastising Kimberlite for her lack of knowledge about the galaxy and when she wasn't doing either or those, she was criticising the small space-crafts' primitive flight deck.

The grey-skinned gem could hardly blame her though.
The conditions behind this forced trip to Earth weren't exactly the most amicable and following what Kimberlite had managed to read about the failed colony- at least part of it had to be fear.
Earth supposedly had the power to change gemkind.
Whether it was the planet's atmosphere, environment or inhabitants- the ranks of Homeworld whispered in agreement that gems were known to forget themselves on Earth.

They forgot who they were, where their stations were and the purpose that they were originally made to serve.
Supposedly, they all went mad.

Rumours circulated about a band of vicious, shard-thirsty rebels.
A renegade Pearl who bore a weapon.
A former soldier and former aristocrat bound together in a permanent, cross-gem fusion.
A half-formed Amethyst who had the psyche of a human being.
Even a Peridot who had supposedly (quite recently) broke her ties with Yellow Diamond.

And then there were the rumours of the hybrid.
A terrifying creature that was half-gem and half-human.
A creature that inspired horror and disgust among the gems who dared to speak of it.

But they were only rumours of course.

Peridot had also spent a sizeable portion of the journey insisting that the rebels had been entirely decimated immediately following the Earth Wars and that gem life on Earth was officially a thing of the distant past.

Right now, this very Peridot was practically peeling herself from the floor of the ship, inspecting her limb enhancers for notable damage.
Having first ascertained that Kimberlite was still intact, of course.
As much as the unwilling getaway driver disliked the situation she was in, the last thing she needed was for the Diamond Authority's personal DNA Storage Unit to be damaged.

"I am fine, thank you," Kimberlite managed to say, more shaken from the crash landing than hurt.
Peridot seemed to have already noticed this and did not respond, simply rummaging in the wreckage around her.

"Stupid Earth atmosphere. Stupid Earth gravity. Stupid Earth! Stupid, stupid Earth!" she grumbled, pulling forth what appeared to be the last of the navigation board. "Gah! Completely smashed!"

"B-But you can fix it, right?" Kimberlite exclaimed, stumbling slightly as she got to her feet.

Peridot rolled her eyes. "Of course I can fix it but it's going to take time and effort. Ugh. This is not what I signed up for when I volunteered for temple duty!"

Kimberlite felt embarrassment creep over her again.
This Peridot was not the first gem to resent the fact that she had essentially been given the task of "babysitting" her by Blue Diamond.
Though, notably, this was the first time she'd ever coerced one of her personal staff into helping her hi-jack a ship and sneaking her off to Earth.

"Uh…well, the length of the Eclipse on our world is about one demi-circle and that's equal to five Earth orbits, so we have plenty of time to-…"

Peridot abruptly rounded on Kimberlite, immediately silencing the taller gem.

"Time is not the issue here," she snapped. "And you can officially stop attempting to advise me on that! The issue is that I'll have to repair this ship single-handedly…"
Kimberlite bowed her head sheepishly. "I…I'm very sorry…for everything. Is there anything I can do to aid you in fixing the ship?"

It may have been Kimberlite's imagination but Peridot seemed to soften very slightly.
Very slightly.
"No," the green gem sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Without any training, you're not particularly useful in a situation like this, my Kimberlite. What you can maybe do is vacate the area and give me some space to work…"

"You mean go outside?"
For the first time since their landing, Kimberlite realised that they were officially on Earth- a wild, fearsome, uncolonised planet- and her eyes were immediately drawn to the front window.
The sky was the most bizarre shade of cyan, flecked with gold and lit with the transcendent, pale light of Earth's only sun.

An ecstatic smile began to creep across Kimberlite's face.

"Oh, no, no, no!" Peridot immediately interjected. "There is no way in the stars that I am letting you-…" The engineering gem paused lengthily, looking around at the battered consoles and weighing up her options. "…well, I could use the extra space…" She exhaled, slumping her shoulders as she looked around. "I can't believe I'm saying this but if you could step out for a moment that would probably assist me in getting started…"

The taller gem needed no further coaxing.

Gleeful in adjusting her chiton around her waist, Kimberlite made her way to the ship's back hatch, only to be barred by Peridot's outstretched arm.
Her extended fingers floated upward to activate the lock on the door.

"Halt right there," the green gem ordered, gritted teeth evident in her voice as she regarded Kimberlite with a glower. "You are not just going traipsing around outside this ship through uncharted territory! Oh no, no no! Rule number one? You stay inside the airlock. You can have the door open but you are not going outside. Rule number two? If I call out for you, you come straight back inside to me without question. Rule number three? If anything alive and/or organic comes anywhere near the ship, you do not- under any circumstances- interact with it!" The green gem's eyes briefly widened into an earnest stare. "You're the Kimberlite. You have a responsibility to the Diamond Authority to uphold and an important role in our society."

That little reminder stung slightly.

Peridot opened a console with her free hand, the device whirring to life and seeming to blink in perfect synchronisation with the lights above their heads.
"I've just enabled the ship's cloaking system…" She glowered up at Kimberlite. "Do you think you can follow those simple guidelines until I'm ready to supervise a proper expedition?"

Kimberlite nodded dumbly, keeping her tongue behind her teeth.
She didn't quite like being spoken to so coarsely but she wanted to help Peridot and if this meant she could finally experience Earth, she was willing to let the smaller gem speak to her in whatever manner she liked.

"Good!" Peridot folded her mechanical arms, satisfied at last as she retracted the last of her extended digits. "Oh my stars!" The verdant engineer laughed a little, shaking her head. "A Peridot ordering the Kimberlite around? What would they think of me back on Homeworld?"

Kimberlite laughed a little too, though she didn't find being shouted at funny.

She had to restrain herself mentally to prevent her legs from breaking into a run when Peridot finally conceded and unlocked the ship's main exit hatch. Excitement was brimming within her at the prospect of finally being able to see this planet.

She made her way through the corridor and gathering her nerves, opened the external door with a trembling hand.
Her legs grew weak and she found herself squatting at the very edge of the open door.

The first thing she noticed was that the sky seemed to be trapped between two zones of time.
It was awash with a startling iridescent glow, filling the crevices in every shadowed slope of the silhouetted skyline.
However, the sky was also partially dotted with small, sparkling stars that seemed to line the sky in their glittering estuaries.

The second thing she noticed was that the ground- only inches from her curled up feet- was lined with the oddest of green fibres.
At first, they almost looked like shards of firoplast or silica substrate but a tiny, pearlescent drop of moisture rolled down the tip of one, travelling the span of its body before disappearing into the ground below.
It caused the sweet little protrusion to bend in its wake.

Was this strange form of life, soft?
Was it organic?

Kimberlite's felt herself smile as she hesitantly reached out to inspect the little green fibres.
After all, Peridot had said nothing about touching anything…

She marvelled as the odd, soft, little blades tickled the palm of her outstretched hand.
Kimberlite tested her mettle and leaned forward a little more to touch the clumps of moist, brown bedrock that the green bits seemed to be sprouting from.
It smelled like bedrock anyway.
It was oddly soft though.

The gangly gem let out a cry as something cold glazed the back of her hand and couldn't help but giggle softly at the realisation that it was just water.
The water felt different to the water on the Homeworld though.
It plaited around her fingers as she tilted her wrist, commanded by the gravity surrounding her form.

Kimberlite gleefully played with the little droplet for a moment, mimicking the manner in which she'd once seen a Lapis Lazuli toy with an orb of water.
She'd barely seen any of Earth so far.
And already, she found it beautiful.

Strange but beautiful.

The Dawn Hobby

If star-gazing was one of Sadie's favourite pass-times to enjoy in company, one of her favourite pass-times to enjoy alone was seashell collecting.
It wasn't the most productive of activities but it was certainly one of the most therapeutic.

Whenever she was fortunately unfortunate enough to pull an early morning shift at The Big Doughnut, Sadie would head down to the beach around sunrise- just in time to see dawn peek her sleepy head over the horizon.

With at least an hour left to spare before opening, she could take a leisurely stroll along the beach and line her pockets with cockles, purses, conches and scallops galore.
Whether she put them into her backpack for later or tossed them back into the waves from which they came, finding the secret, sandy bullion was the fun part.

And from time to time, she'd find something a little more interesting!
Like an arcade token or a nickel or a G.U.Y. or G.A.L. figurine to give to Steven or Onion.

Sadie stooped to lift another smooth-topped mussel from the sands beneath her feet and gently dusted the grit from its ocean-chipped body.
"Haven't seen one of these in a while…tides must be changing…"

Her stomach growled slightly as she inspected the shell.
Mussels made her think about oysters.
Oysters made her think about oyster crackers.
Oyster crackers reminded her that she hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

"Well, I could always grab some of yesterday's jelly-stuffed doughnuts and put 'em in the fryer before opening," she mused, smiling slightly with a sigh. "Farewell diet. We never really got along anyway, did we?"
She slipped the mussel shell into her coat pocket and brushed her fringe from her eyes, taking a good long look along the horizon line.

The sea wasn't exactly calm but it wasn't too violent either.
It was nicely choppy, small breaks of white foam lining the sparkling waves as they crashed at the surface.
Good surfing weather, she thought.

Sadie was just about to head back up to the boardwalk when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.
A thin black shape seemed to be protruding from some of the rocks on the far side of the beach.

The young woman stared at the shape for a moment, taking a moment to realise that it was shaped like a human being.
It was a human being, Sadie realised.

It was a human being standing on the rocks.
Standing way too close to the edge of the rocks when the waves were like this.

"Hey!" Sadie called out, waving over at the person. "H-Hey! Hey! Don't stand so near to the water! Hey!"

The person appeared to lift their head, still silhouetted by bright morning light, as they slowly turned to look over to where Sadie stood.

A bizarre feeling suddenly came upon her.
It was a strange creeping warmth coupled with an overwhelming shyness.
It was as though, even though she couldn't see the person's eyes, she knew that they were looking right at her.

For what felt like an eternity, she and the stranger simply stared at each other.
No further words passed between them.
Only the crashing waves served as a soundtrack to their silent exchange.

The person looked as if they were about to move towards her.
Suddenly their form was engulfed by a wave, pulling them into the waters below.

Little Friend

Kimberlite had never had seen such an odd little creature.
"How fragile you look, little Earthling," the gem whispered, extending a finger to the tiny life-form.

Its entire body was glinting and black, like an Onyx or an Obsidian, though its legs were spindly and filament-like.
Its face was so tiny that she could not quite see its eyes or mouth but the creature's both remarkable feature by far was the fact that it had two majestic wings.

It opened its wings for her, unfolding them with the gusto as though determined to show off its own magnificence.
Kimberlite beamed at the hues of auburn, ochre, gold and russet.

"Did you pick out these colours for yourself? Or were you created with these? I've heard that here on Earth, you're quite liberal about appearances…"

The tiny Earthling flapped its pretty wings, scuttling around the greenery it was perched upon, brushing against Kimberlite's fingers.
The gem cooed with delight as it clambered on to the back of her hand.

"Are you going to be my first ever friend?" she whispered, (praying to the stars and every being that governed her fate that Peridot wouldn't finished repairing the ship any time soon).

The little winged creature did not reply, merely flicking one of the stiff tendrils that protruded from its head.
Perhaps it did not speak her language, Kimberlite thought, or perhaps it lacked an audible voice entirely.

It suddenly took flight, taking up new lodgings on a larger clump of green things nearby.
"I didn't mean to offend you! We do not have to be friends!" the grey gem called out pleadingly. "We can be acquaintances! Or maybe you could just show me more of your planet?"
The creature paused slightly- almost obligingly.

Desperate not to lose the first friend she'd made, Kimberlite looked over her shoulder warily before slowly getting to her feet.

Surely Peridot wouldn't be calling for her any time soon…

"With my gem protector on, I've nothing to worry about," she reasoned, adjusting the thick, black piece of armour that covered the gem on her forearm. "I won't be going far…I am just going to let this little creature show me around…"

She shuddered when she'd finally rose to her feet, noting that the air here was quite thin. The gravity felt much lighter than Homeworld's typical atmosphere. The ground beneath her feet was soft and moist but it did not give way as she walked across it.

Smiling with awe, she moved herself over to the little winged being once more.
It alighted once more, fluttering away from her and leading her further into the strange cluster of sloping, organic structures of browns, greens and blues.
Everything seemed to have its own texture, its own scent and its own aura of life.

She continued to follow the little winged being until finally, the great clusters of green gave way to a craggy wall of monolithic origins.
Kimberlite had lost track of where the little creature had gone but finally able to recognise something on this planet, she didn't really care.

Rocks!
Lots and lots of large, reddish rocks!
She'd never seen a mineral composition quite like theirs before.
She tried to make conversation with them but finding them to be largely unresponsive, instead busied herself in climbing over them.

There was something novel about being able to climb on top of something without hearing a Pearl screaming for her to "GET DOWN THIS INSTANT BEFORE YOU SHATTER YOURSELF!"

With shaking, trembling limbs, Kimberlite finally managed to stand up atop one of the rocks.
And up there, she saw one of the most stunning sights she'd ever seen.

Around the base of the rocks, was a magnificent garland of whitish gold powder that stretched far off into the distance.
But merely inches away from where she stood and framing this glorious tundra was quite possibly the largest body of water that Kimberlite had ever seen.

And it didn't sit still either.
Rather than the mirror-glass plane formed by the water in her personal ponds and fountains, the surface of this water was alive and alert.
It spat. It babbled. It roared. It sprayed.

Kimberlite moved closer, leaning over and looking at her own splintered reflection in this vast liquid miracle.
Suddenly a flick of water cast a spray over her but she could only grin in the wake of the shrapnel.

"Hello," she said softly, prepared to entertain the idea that here on Earth, the water was sentient too.

"Hey!"

Kimberlite stood up straight in surprise, having not expected a response at all.
She whipped around to the source of the noise, finding it to be a gem-like, bi-pedal being standing upon the distant powder.

She could not make out its features, only that it was swinging its arms at her.

Frozen in fear, Kimberlite could neither move nor speak.
Its tone of voice did not appear to be aggressive or menacing but she suddenly wished that she'd never left the ship.

Trembling all over, she searched for the creature's eyes, hoping that it would leave her alone.
Then she heard it- that note of concern, of kindness, of compassion- so perfectly interwoven into the individual's voice.

It made her feel warm.
She felt as if the person wanted to care for her.
To rescue her.

Kimberlite turned to face the being properly and carefully lifted a foot from the rocks, preparing to walk over to the creature.

Then, without warning, the great body of water reached out an arm and swept her into its embrace.

A Rescue

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…"
Throwing aside everything she had learned in her high school water safety class, Sadie broke into a sprint down the beach.
Perhaps her first move should have been to call the Lifeguard Service but the watch-tower was unoccupied. At this rate, it would take at least half an hour for the nearest Lifeguard to get there and her cell-phone was low on battery.

Her head was spinning and by the time she reached the rocks, her face was flushed.
Breathing heavily, her eyes frantically scanned the surface of the water as she clambered atop the point where the stranger had been standing.

"C-Come on…there's no riptide…you couldn't have fallen far…"

She dropped to her knees, using one hand to anchor herself upon the crag and the other to swill away the foam that lined the edges of the rocks.
It didn't take her long to catch sight of the stranger's form beneath the water; it wasn't deep but she was stunned to see that the being had already reached the bottom.
How heavy was this person?

"O-O-Ok! You just relax! I've got you!" she called out, unsure if the person could hear her as she plunged her hand into the briny waves.
Her fingers immediately came into contact with a cloud of long, sinewy hair.
She was almost shoulder-deep by the time she reached one of the stranger's arms and she was extremely relieved to feel the person start to move in her grip.

"Come on…let me help you!"

With one hard pull, Sadie managed to heave the person through the surface.
What struck her immediately was just how light the person actually was- despite having somehow immediately sunk to the bottom of the miniature reef.

Her first instinct was to get the person immediate medical attention.
Where should we go?
There's a med-bay near the Arcade?
Could I carry them that far?

She shrugged the person into her arms, lifting them into a bridal-style carry. Her rescued victim was apparently unconscious, lying motionless in her arms.
This was also about the time that she noticed the stranger was apparently female.

While trying to adjust the woman as she awkwardly ambled across the sand, Sadie started to notice one or two unsettling things.

Firstly, her body was extremely cold, even for someone who was soaked to the skin with salt water.
Secondly, her skin was an odd colour: in places it was a pale white but in others it was a weird mottled mixture of green and grey.
Thirdly- and most frighteningly- her torso was completely motionless against Sadie's chest, the unfamiliar woman's own chest not rising nor falling.

She wasn't breathing!

Sadie froze on the spot and immediately set the woman down in the sand.
These were all the primary signs of asphyxiation!

"Don't panic, don't panic," Sadie muttered to herself, trying to steady her own nerves before trying anything. "What comes first? Uh…M-N-C-B…Mouth-Neck-Compressions-Breath…ok, first comes her mouth!"

As carefully as she could, she moved her hands to the woman's jaw and tried to lightly prise her lips apart. She moved with caution; after all, she had no idea what injuries the woman had sustained in her fall.

But no sooner had she managed to open the woman's mouth wide enough to check for obstructions- without warning or whimsy- the stranger's eyes snapped open, staring right up into Sadie's.

"Ahh!"
The blonde-haired lady immediately stumbled backwards, having been squatting on her haunches. "Oh my God, I am so, so sorry…I just…you fell…and I thought you were…are you…? Have you…? Do you…?" Her voice slowly vanished from her throat as the woman continued to hold her stare.

She had never seen eyes as big and green as hers.
In fact, it was the deepest, most vivid green that Sadie had ever laid her own eyes upon.

She tried to will herself to keep talking but she found that her ability to do so had been momentarily disabled.
The more she looked at the stranger, the more amazed she found herself drawn in by the stranger's appearance.

Her oddly coloured skin, beneath slivers of pale morning light, seemed to blend into an elegant dappled silver. Despite her argent hair having been sopping wet, it appeared to curl and frame her very round face and very long nose.
Very slowly, the stranger sat up and after a moment of hesitation, offered Sadie her hand.

First Meeting

Her skin was so warm.

It was the same creamy hue of a Pearl's yet around her facial area, it was sprayed with a soft quartz-like pink.
She must have had the strength of a Ruby, thought Kimberlite, but she spoke with such gentility- there was no way in the galaxy that she could be a military being.

The hair that framed her face seemed to made of spun ivory gold, curling into delicate ringlets where they fell.

The being was not a gem…as far as she could tell but she spoke so quickly and with such anxiety that Kimberlite was immediately set at ease.
This being posed her no threat.

She helped the Earth being back to a more upright position, their hands still clasped even after the creature was properly settled.
Something immediately dawned on Kimberlite for the first time:

Was this a human?

The could-be-human's very beautiful, very coppery eyes darted back and forth from Kimberlite's own eyes to their connected hands for a moment before she let out another mirkish cry and released the gem's clasp.

"Uh…"

They fell into silence again.

The Earthling held her gaze for a few more moments before finally speaking.

"Hello…"

Kimberlite couldn't help but break into a smile, overtaken by a kind of joy that she'd never known before.

"…hello."