Chapter Ten: Found but Lost


Blue Diamond's Flagship, Talu-controlled space.

As the Pearl strolled purposefully through the halls of the ship, none of the personnel paid her any mind. They were used to seeing Blue Diamond's servant running errands for her master, and as such were in no hurry to interrupt her from whatever task she may be performing this time. However, unbenounced to them, she was not acting on orders from her Diamond this time.

She had looked into the strange signal on her own, but had turned up nothing. There was no mention of a planet or colony dubbed 'Moridius' in any of the records she could find. If she wanted to get to the bottom of this, she needed the help of an expert.

Recently, Blue Diamond had been loaned several units from Yellow Diamond in preparation for the upcoming diplomatic conference with Imperator Moloq. One of them was an expert in all things computers, so if anyone could track down the origins of this signal, it was her. Blue Pearl arrived at her office, knocking on the door. "5O4? Have you got a minute to spare?"

The door instantly opened, and a Zoisite with her gemstone over her nose appeared in front of her. If she was surprised to see the Pearl, she didn't show it. "Of course," she answered. "What does Blue Diamond require of me?"

Before she responded, Blue Pearl stepped inside of the room. "My Diamond does not require your services at this time," she informed her. "I, however, do have something I could use your help with."

Zoisite approached the main computer terminal, which Pearl was now standing next to. "What sort of help?" she asked. It was clear from her tone she was growing suspicious.

"Nothing too untowards," Pearl assured her. "A little while ago, I received a transmission from an unknown source. My Diamond is much too busy to be bothered with such a thing now, so I've taken it upon myself to track down its source. Would you be able to assist me?" She held out a data crystal containing a recording of the transmission.

"I suppose I could take a look." Zoisite loaded up the file on the computer, and the two Gems leaned closer in anticipation. Just as Pearl had heard before, what could be made out was from a Tanzanite asking for evacuation from a planet called Moridius. When it had ended, Zoisite leaned back in her seat. "I think I understand. What exactly did you need my help with again?"

Pearl pursed her lips. "My first instinct was to check our star maps for any colonies by that name, but I came up with nothing. I even looked through a list of outposts and moons, but it's as if it doesn't exist."

"I am not surprised by that," said Zoisite. "That planet was a potential colony many centuries ago, only for it to be abandoned after several disastrous events that rendered it unviable. It makes sense that it would not appear on any maps."

"Still, there has to be some way to track down where it came from." Pearl rewound the recording, playing a certain part of it again. "She specifically refers to herself as Tanzanite Facet M8L9 Cut 88C. Surely we have records of her on file?"

Zoisite fiddled with the keyboard. "I am sure we do, but finding one Gem among millions will be far from simple." She began loading up a record of said Gems. "Not to mention, peering into the status of other Gems is generally frowned upon."

As she searched, Pearl stared at the data crystal, as though trying to discover its secrets visually. "I think we can be excused for this, seeing as the Gems in question are potentially in danger. Not to mention, she clearly said that the planet's resources are still viable."

"Got something." Zoisite pulled up the file on the individual identified by the transmission. "There was indeed a Tanzanite M8L9 Cut 88C. Formed on Homeworld proper, dispatched on three successful expeditions before being lost on Moridius. Presumed shattered." She looked at Pearl, seeming much less skeptical now. "Here is our sender. Unless the message was somehow faked…"

Having a face to put the call to made it somehow more tangible, but there was still another major obstacle. "We know who it is, but we won't get anywhere unless we know where it is. …Hold on, why would someone go to the trouble to fake a call?"

"Any number of reasons," answered Zoisite. "Perhaps an enemy of Homeworld wishes to lure us into an ambush. Or perhaps the Gems wanted a better chance of being rescued, and so lied about the benefits of doing so."

Pearl was unconvinced. "No, I don't think so. If it was an ambush of some sort, it's an incredibly sloppy one. And even if they were lying about the resources and the Emerald, they're still trapped on an abandoned planet with no way off. Even if we can't afford to send a full rescue, we can at least send a small ship to pick them up, right? Or at least to check on them."

"I am afraid that is above my station," she answered. "If it was My Diamond who needed convincing, then perhaps, perhaps, I would be able to urge her to send someone. But seeing as this is Blue Diamond's ship with her rules, I cannot imagine I would have much sway."

"No…but I might," said Pearl. "If she were to hear about a planet filled with resources and an Emerald, she just might be persuaded to send a ship or two. But we have to know what we're getting into. Would the Diamonds know where to find this Moridius?"

Although Zoisite nodded, her expression seemed unsure. "I…believe they would, though it is questionable if they would want to revisit such a place. Colonies that end in such a complete failure to begin are best left forgotten, at least in their eyes. I am hard-pressed to agree."

"Maybe so," said Pearl, "but I can't just give up on those Gems trapped there. I'm not sure how, but I'm going to do something…though I'm not sure what, either. Thank you for your help." After giving her a small nod of gratitude, Pearl reclaimed the data crystal and made her way out of the room.

"I wish you good luck," Zoisite said as she left. "You will very likely need it."


"Mera. Hey, Mera, wake up!"

"Hrrmm?" Emerald stirred from her sleep, waking up to Lefty not-so-gently shaking her. "Did I…was I napping?" she asked. "What did I miss?"

"Yes you were, and I think we found something," answered Lefty. Tanzanite and Yooperlite were both gathered around the skiff's console, transfixed by something it displayed. Emerald groggily pulled herself up from the floor to investigate.

Tanzanite was fiddling with some buttons, apparently adjusting the frequency. "There is no mistaking it–we have detected an orbital monitoring station several miles to the east. There will likely not be any ships docked there, but with its superior scanning tech, we may be able to use it to find a refueling depot, if not radio for aid."

"That is, if it still works," added Yooperlite. "...But if it doesn't, I'm sure we can fix it up!"

"Yeah, hopefully," Lefty said. "Alrighty then, full speed ahead! The sooner we can get off this rock, the better." Tanzanite silently agreed, steering the skiff in the direction the signal was received from.

A small bit of silence followed their discovery. They had all talked in depth about their hopes of getting home so far, so nobody felt any need to reiterate. Of course, there was the unspoken knowledge that this was far from a guarantee of their escape, but this seemed to be innately understood among them.

The silence was broken when Emerald had a sudden thought. "Hey, Lefty? Moridius is pretty big, isn't it?" she asked.

"Not as far as planets go, but yeah, pretty large," she replied. "Why?"

"Well…I couldn't help but wonder if we aren't the only band of Gems stranded here after everyone left. I mean, you did say most of the higher-ups were pretty quick to leave when things went south. It stands to reason that there might be some out there, right?" She looked out over the sea, where these other hypothetical survivors might be hiding.

"Unlikely," answered Tanzanite. "All other outposts during the evacuation were either fully extricated or destroyed by the planet's hostile conditions. Ours was the only one remaining by the time of the accident." She paused briefly. "Although, given what we survived, there is a possibility, though miniscule that there are others out there."

Yooperlite rested on the railing next to Emerald. "I wondered the same thing from time to time during the first few years here. I didn't want anybody to be stranded here, but it made it feel less lonely, yanno? The idea that we weren't the only three Gems around for lightyears. Why do ya ask?"

"Because," said Emerald, "if we're the first ones to successfully escape Moridius, I want to come back. To make absolutely sure no one else shares our–your fate. Left abandoned and forgotten. I'm not going to do that to anybody."

Lefty grinned slightly. "That's very noble of you," she said. "But how are you sure the Diamonds are gonna okay that? I doubt they or any of the other upper-crust wants anything to do with this place anymore."

"You said it yourself: Emeralds are the upper-crust. Even if I have to come here alone in between assignments, just to scour the place for survivors, I will."

Emerald felt a hand placed on her shoulder. She looked up to see Lefty, also leaning on the railing. "You're gonna make a great commander one day," she said. "I envy those Gems who'll get to work under you."

"Thanks. But, you'll be one of them, won't you?" Emerald only saw Lefty nod, unaware of the slight shadowed look that crossed her face as she did. "Good. I'd hate to be without any of you."

The skiff continued on across the waves, traveling to the monitoring station over the horizon.