"We`ll meet you later today to teach you piloting skills." Sodalite said to Rhodochrosite before allowing her to walk out the door.
"And if you don`t know where to go, just ask, and someone will assist you. We would do it, but Sodalite and I have to work on the starships." Howlite added.
"Thanks guys, see you tonight!" Rhodochrosite walked out the door, leaving Sodalite and Howlite to lightly sigh, like parents sending their child off to the first day of school.
"You know how to summon your weapon and use it accordingly, right Rhodochrosite?" An instructor asked, who happened to be Garnet.
"Yes." Rhodochrosite nodded.
"Good, for now I want you to spar with the human recruits, don`t kill them, just show them how it`s done." Garnet gestured to the several humans waiting with weapons and wearing battle armor.
The humans were paired with Gems, and they began to spar with each other. When selecting recruits, Rose Quartz went for people who were strong enough to pass as a Gem, and people who were eager, educated and aware enough to support a cause such as theirs. Rhodochrosite was paired with a young girl with tan skin and short black hair. She was wearing something like a tank top and a short skater skirt, but with armor in appropriate places. She wielded an axe, just like Sodalite.
"I`m Rhodochrosite." Rhodochrosite held out her hand to shake.
"Are you...one of the aliens?" The girl asked.
Rhodochrosite`s eyes widened, she had never had anyone look at her in fear, look at her like she was different. "I wouldn`t use aliens to describe us, we are just like you, we walk, talk, and act like you. So, as a fellow Earth dweller, I ask of your name."
"It`s Ajax." The girl said quietly. "Ajax Maheswaran."
"I like your name, and it will likely be remembered throughout history. Children everywhere will be inspired by your dedication to helping save the Earth." Rhodochrosite smiled.
"But I had to sneak here to fight for you, I wouldn`t be allowed otherwise. Girls aren`t supposed to fight." Ajax was still speaking timidly.
"So? Who cares what they think?" Rhodochrosite knelt down to Ajax`s level. "Let me tell you a secret, we`re all breaking the rules here. Sometimes, what is right isn`t always what the crowd says." She whispered.
Ajax went from a scared to determined look on her face. She pulled out her axe and got in position to spar. Rhodochrosite smiled and summoned her weapon. "That`s the spirit!" Rhodochrosite shouted.
Rhodochrosite and Ajax sparred, and Ajax was surprisingly a fair match for Rhodochrosite, she was naturally talented at fighting with her axe, and she even defeated Rhodochrosite with this dexterity. Eventually, it was just the metallic shings and clanks of their weapons hitting each other as the other sparring groups watched.
"Make sure your parries are close to your body, parries and blocks are meant to direct your opponent`s weapon away from you." Rhodochrosite advised, and Ajax followed obediently.
After finally finishing, Ajax was exhausted and covered in scratches. She looked almost in tears, and longed for something to drink. Rhodochrosite was confused by this, she had never felt thirst, and not an over abundance of pain. She looked around the base and eventually found a pail of water. She carried it with all of her strength and set it down next to Ajax and smiled meekly. Ajax looked up at the towering figure of Rhodochrosite, then took a long sip of the water.
"Thank you." Ajax said between ravenous sips.
"You`re welcome. You did good today, I would be honored to battle by your side and call you an honorary Crystal Gem." Rhodochrosite replied.
Ajax stopped sipping and smiled at Rhodochrosite, who smiled back. After helping Ajax up, patching her wounds and saying goodbye, Rhodochrosite walked out of the training room to meet Howlite and Rhodochrosite at the vehicle area, where they were fixing a large starship`s rocket jets.
"Hey, I`m ready for my piloting lesson." Rhodochrosite said, standing by the rocket jet Howlite and Sodalite were inside of. The inside of the jet from afar was just a deep, big hole, but deep inside the jet Sodalite and Howlite were working on the complicated workings that get the jet to spew fire and power the ship through the stars.
"Wait a sec, we`re almost done!" Sodalite`s voice echoed out of the jet.
"No we`re not, we still have three other things to do. This bird isn`t gonna fly for another three hours. Hey, mind handing me that torque wrench?" Rhodochrosite could hear Howlite`s voice.
"Ugh, here`s the torque wrench. You`re lucky I gave it to you, since you have been hogging the flashlight. I`ve dropped my screwdriver three times so far, I hope you`re happy. You probably don`t even need a flashlight, Miss Tech Eyes." Sodalite`s voice said with a hint of frustration.
"You`re right, I`ve been hogging it just to make you mad." Howlite replied.
"Ugh, Howlite!" Sodalite sighed in exasperation.
"Aw, you look so cute when you`re mad!" Howlite giggled.
"Flashlight, now. Rhodochrosite is waiting." Sodalite ordered before a loud THUNK echoed through the jet.
"I can`t believe your vision is so bad that you dropped the flashlight during the exchange from my hands to yours!" Howlite was laughing out loud.
"Oh shut up, this job isn`t easy you know!" Sodalite shouted.
"Guys! If you aren`t going to be done, what do you want me to do?" Rhodochrosite asked, interrupting Sodalite and Howlite`s banter.
"I don`t know!" The two voices said in unison.
Three hours of waiting later...
The three Gems were sitting the cockpit of the same ship they were working on. Rhodochrosite was amazed at all the buttons and levers and flashing lights with whirring sounds. Rhodochrosite copped a squat in the pilot`s seat and Howlite and Sodalite stood over her.
"Okay, what do I do now?" Rhodochrosite asked, looking back at Sodalite and Howlite.
"Start it up, flip that switch there, then press that button, then put your foot on that pedal." Howlite gestured to each feature, and Rhodochrosite did everything rather abrasively, just out of excitement. The ship burst to life with a sputter and a series of whirring noises.
"Be careful with the equipment, this is my ship you`re messing with." Howlite scolded.
"You mean, our ship." Sodalite placed a hand on Howlite`s shoulder.
"Yeah, right." Howlite smiled.
"Your ship? Do you guys share everything?" Rhodochrosite asked.
"That`s kind of a part of being married." Sodalite said.
"Married? What is..married?" Rhodochrosite asked.
"Well, when Rose found Howlite, she assigned me to help her around while she still couldn`t see. We got to know each other during that time, and when Howlite didn`t need me anymore, we still hung out together as friends. After a while, it was more than friends, we loved each other, and we still do love each other. After talking to some local humans, we decided to get human married, as a symbol of our love and our acceptance of Earth culture." Sodalite explained. "Garnet was so upset when we told her we didn`t want to become a "permafusion" like her, but she still took up our offer on walking Howlite down the aisle on our wedding day. Of course, you didn`t want to wear that poofy white dress either, Howlite, but I lucked out because I can pass as a boy easier than you." Sodalite grinned.
"Yeah, we had to conform to human gender roles for our wedding to be possible, because it was the humans who helped us with the whole thing. " Howlite said.
"It was snowing, Christmas Eve, as the humans called it. They even hung mistletoe over our heads at the altar!" Sodalite wrapped her hand in Sodalite`s.
Rhodochrosite noticed the golden band around Sodalite and Howlite`s fingers as she turned in her chair and cleared her throat loudly, as though to get the two lovers back on task.
"Oh, sorry. Where were we? Oh yeah, the steering wheel in front of you controls everything, just hold the pedal down and it will move. Try bringing this bird into the air." Howlite said.
Rhodochrosite grabbed the steering wheel and pulled it up, urging the spaceship into the air. She could fell the movement of all the motors inside the ship, it caused the floor to slightly vibrate, which caused her feet to vibrate as well. The ship remained stationary in the air, hovering, and Rhodochrosite awaited orders from her two mentors.
"How about we just take a flight over the base, get it higher, then fly it up and over the temple. Go slow at first, then we can go fast once we get to the correct altitude, and maybe we can just fly over the ocean." Howlite said.
"Perhaps if we get far enough on the ocean we can test out all the bells and whistles on this puppy. We have dual blasters, three missile launchers, ray shields, cloaking device, a plasma cannon, seat warmers," Sodalite began to list.
"Seat warmers might not seem important, but in the winters this thing can get cold." Howlite added. "We also have cup holders, because what kind of vehicle doesn`t have cup holders?"
"Back on task, now let`s fly!" Sodalite patted Rhodochrosite on the shoulder as she urged the starship higher into the air, then powered it over the cliff slowly. By then, it was already at a decent altitude for a joy ride.
"Next stop, the ocean!" Howlite whooped, she then knelt down and turned on the seat warmers.
Rhodochrosite powered the ship towards the ocean, the newly fixed rocket jets spitting infernos as the ship flashed across the sky. Rhodochrosite was in awe as she stared out the cockpit window, the beautiful blue sky, wispy cirrus clouds, miles of endless teal sea, and the crisp, warm light of the sun. Sodalite had all seen it before, but she was still appreciative that she could still gaze upon the magnificence of the planet everyday, and Howlite was just thankful she could see the beautiful celestial body of Earth.
"Press that button here to fire the dual blasters, and that one for missiles, and that big purple one is for the plasma cannon, if you ever need it. Ray shields are activated by that blue button next to the cloaking device, that black one. Ray shields can protect you against blasters and missiles, but it can`t protect you against other stuff like impact, crashing.." Sodalite began to explain.
"The hand of an Alpha Quartz." Howlite whispered under her breath before getting slapped in the leg and glared at by Sodalite.
"Will I be flying this into battle?" Rhodochrosite asked.
"No, no. The plan is, Sodalite and I will be down in the heat of the battle for a little bit, but my ship is expected to come and pick me up, with the help of autopilot, and take me into the skies, see if I can take down as many reinforcement ships as possible." Howlite explained.
"This is just in case, you know, if the war continues after Operation Orosu tomorrow. This operation is supposed to shut down the Kindergarten, but fate is a river that can never be charted." Sodalite said.
"What will I be doing in this whole thing?" Rhodochrosite asked.
"Oh you`ll be a foot soldier, just hold off Homeworld troops, the real plan is placed upon the hands of experienced soldiers." Howlite said.
"Okay Rhodochrosite, we still have to try out speeders, be sure to land the ship and not crash it. " Sodalite instructed. "Do it gently.."
Rhodochrosite landed the ship gently, Sodalite only had to maternally gasp a few times when Rhodochrosite was landing it. When making their descent, Rhodochrosite had the ship facing nose down until Sodalite frantically took the wheel and corrected the ship. After landing, Sodalite, Howlite, and a jet-lagged Rhodochrosite sauntered off the ship and they began their walk to the speeder garage.
"Do I have to ride another thing? Can I just sit down on a stationary chair first?" Rhodochrosite groaned.
Sodalite chuckled. "You haven`t ridden a speeder before? They actually have these on Homeworld! That spaceship used to be a Homeworld spaceship, but with modifications. These puppies are in their purest form." Sodalite said, walking up to her speeder and patting the seat.
Howlite walked over to speeder and mounted it, ready to start, Sodalite mounted hers.
"Wait, what will I be riding?" Rhodochrosite sure had a lot of questions.
"Oh, you`re going to be driving me this time." Sodalite smiled and scooted backwards in the seat, giving Rhodochrosite room to sit at the mount.
"Oh Gold help me..." Rhodochrosite sighed in perturbation as she walked over to the speeder and sat down at the driver`s seat.
"You`ll do fine!" Howlite smiled as she powered on her speeder.
"Just let the speeder do the work in the beginning. All you have to do is put your hands on that holographic screen that comes up, and then move your hands the way you want your speeder to go. There are bayonets on the ends of our speeders, so if you don`t know how to use your weapon while riding a speeder like Howlite and I can, then you`ll survive. Don`t worry though, you won`t be riding these into battle." Sodalite explained.
Rhodochrosite forcefully put her hands into the holographic screen, causing the speeder to lurch forward and power out of the garage at full speed, much to everyone`s surprise.
"Whoa, hey! I`m supposed to be leading you two!" Howlite shouted, driving after the runaway speeder.
"SLOW DOWN! PLACE YOUR HANDS INTO THE SCREEN GENTLY, I FORGOT TO MENTION GENTLY!" Sodalite screamed.
Rhodochrosite eased her hands out of the screen, causing the speeder to stabilize and slow down, both Rhodochrosite and Sodalite sighed in relief.
"Woof! I thought you were going to crash my speeder!" Sodalite said between pants. "Let`s take this nice and slow..."
Rhodochrosite powered the speeder at a leisurely speed, allowing Howlite to catch up so they could have a joy ride together. They rode through the hills of the area, caught a view of a very primitive version of Beach City, and sped along the beach, scaring all of the crabs and seagulls away. It was exhilarating for Rhodochrosite, for ignorance was bliss, but Sodalite and Howlite spent most of the ride worrying about the battle soon to come, what it meant for them and their future. Battles were never a happy occasion, it meant a maelstrom of destruction and death, it meant the fear of losing the people they loved, and that every moment up until then could be their last. Although fighting for Earth was a conscience and perhaps right choice, Sodalite and Howlite dreaded the thought of fighting.
That night, Sodalite played with Howlite`s long crimped hair like she always did, humming to her the same lullaby, before kissing each other goodnight and falling asleep in each other`s arms. Warriors in peace time never want to admit it, but it was moments like these that made all Crystal Gems wish and wonder, fantasize for a life where they didn`t have to fight, for each one in reality was afraid, and they knew it.
Operation Orosu was happening tomorrow, whether they liked it, or not...
Hi! Sorry for taking so long...
Last chapter of this arc is next! I didn`t take a lot of time to get to know Rhodochrosite, which is sad, but like I said, fate is a river that can never be charted.
I would love to know what everyone thought of this little arc, so please review below!
Happy Thanksgiving!