Despite being in charge of the mission, Red still retained all of her regular responsibilities, which meant more time in her office, both on the clock and off. Though, Pearl organized her appointments and kept her abreast on incoming messages so Red could best utilize her spare time to make Morganite dead.
She had sent more tracking vessels, two Jaspers with nose gems and a Peridot to pilot the warship. But all of them had failed. The technician returned with the news that Morganite had captured the soldiers.
All of this was conveyed inside Red Beryl's office. The Peridot spoke with her hands and sweat collecting beneath her visor as images of that horrible pink menace came in snapshots inside the air around them.
There she was—with rapiers in either hand, causing those Jaspers to bleed. Morganite collected their gems in champagne bubbles that she sent away and managed to dodge most of the death beams Peridot herself fired.
Though, one managed to sear her shoulder—the clean, unscathed one—before the gun malfunctioned and Peridot panicked and returned home.
"Why didn't you fight? You had already injured her. One hit with a destabilizer and we would have had her gem. I could have praised you."
"Madame, I wouldn't have won. She had swords—"
"You don't know that, and it's certainly not an excuse not to try."
The technician gulped, and made a wordless apology written inside the constricting of her throat and the steam of her visor.
The scene replayed. The motions of her blades were recorded in Peridot's mind as a series of slashing grey movements and each step Morganite took to defeat those soldiers were censored by anxiety.
She turned her golden eyes to the ship and that's when Peridot fired.
And when the gun jammed and malfunctioned, with the ex-aristocrat collapsed upon the ground clutching her wounded, bloody shoulder, the technician fled.
"You're fortunate I'm not Yellow Diamond. This cowardice would be enough to cost you your life, especially considering the fact that you almost had her. Luckily for you, I don't have such authority, but you will be going back."
"Ma'am?"
Red landed back into her chair. "I could send more soldiers, but it seems the problem here is her powers. Perhaps the only reasonable solution is to go myself, since the rest of your idiots can't seem to get the job done. I have the same abilities, and I also have swords, so you won't need to face big scary Morganite all by yourself. I'll do most of the hard work if you can just get me there. Can you handle that, Peridot?"
The little green gem's nose had grown some wrinkles as her mouth twisted into a severe frown. Formality and ranking kept it from coming to a scowl; though the level of control she had over her expressions didn't truly matter, when Red could feel her flesh flaying from across the expanse of an austere desk. "Yes, Madame."
"Good. You're dismissed. Get out of my office."
"Yes, Ma'am." Bitch!
Well. When you want something done right you have to do it yourself.
Red made arrangements.
She spoke with Yellow Diamond first. Upon hearing that particular mission update, that enormous golden goddess pinched the bridge of her nose and released a hell of a sigh.
"Do you truly need to go, Red?"
"Yes, My Diamond. I'm afraid so."
"Very well then. Come into my control room. I won't have this conversation over a call."
Before Red could say, "Yes, My Diamond," the empress hung up and stole back her sunshine colored light from the noble's office.
And Red returned to the throne room, with a lump in her throat and the crowds spitting voiceless insults at her—unkind sentiments that she wasn't actually meant to hear.
Bitch.
The Queen looked down at her with eyes that may have whispered the very same word. Then, she spoke. "I had a feeling it would come to this, but what reasons do you have for not yet retrieving Morganite's gem, Red Beryl? I was certain you could make this happen without needing to go Earth. I want an explanation. Why is this mission so problematic for you?"
Red nearly choked. "My Diamond, it's her powers. I don't know that the other gems are well enough equipped to capture her, but since I have the same abilities, I believe I'll be able to apprehend Morganite and bring her back for public execution."
Yellow Diamond set her arms upon the edges of her chair, and both she and her Pearl placed their attention upon Red. The Queen chewed up her cheek from the inside of her mouth while those intense eyes scanned the noble before her, as if to test the material she was made of.
"I don't feel good about sending you."
Silence.
The computer babbled in the background.
"How long would you need?"
"Not long, My Diamond. We know exactly where she is."
Again, the empress did not speak. She crossed her long legs and inhaled with her fingers intertwining. "Fine then. You may go. But if you don't come back within a reasonable amount of time, I'll be to coming for you and I'm going to be upset."
"I'll see to it that it doesn't come to that, Madame."
Another pause stretched like a highway between them, but there they stood—at the beginning and the end, looking at one another. Though, Yellow Diamond took her golden glare and pointed it out the window, where she forced two asteroids to crash into one another.
The quiet made the bareness of space even more barren.
That enormous room must have been lonesome, even with the Queen inside it.
"I want you to call me the moment you land."
"Yes, Madame."
The Queen skinned her lips. "And again the moment you capture her."
"Of course, Madame."
"In fact, after each full rotation of that planet, I expect an update."
"Certainly, Madame."
Finally, the larger gem looked to the smaller one. "Think carefully before you go. It's important that you have everything you need. I'll give you one of my most reliable ships." And again, she projected her thoughts back into space.
"Thank you, My Diamond."
"Don't thank me yet. I'm still liable to change my mind."
"You know best, Madame. I'll respect any decision you make, even if I'm personally unhappy. My feelings are of little consequence in comparison to your knowledge and efficiency."
"I still like to see you happy, Red."
"As I you, My Diamond."
"You had better not die then." With that, the empress curled her gloved fingers into the palm of her hand. "Leave me. I have numerous matters to think about."
So, Red bowed and returned to her office to conduct her interrogations and resolve her Queen's problems. Though, the noble herself had plenty of matters to think about too.