Chapter Thirteen: Adrift


Emerald had regained her lucidity as the skiff sped away from the burning station, but she didn't say anything. There wasn't much to say: not only had they all nearly been killed, but Votaq was likely gunning for them with everything he had, and there was nowhere for them to go. Despite this, the skiff chugged along, racing across the water with no destination.

Nobody else spoke either. Although they likely didn't have long to live, there was still the sense of…well, it could hardly be called determination. But it was similar, the idea that they had to get as far as they could–they've already come as far as they had. Why stop now? But internally, to different degrees, they all knew there wasn't much that they could do.

An hour passed. Two. Three. With no destination in mind, they all felt there was no need to decide on one. Their only goal was to get as far away from Votaq as possible, for even the slimmest chance of avoiding their fate.

A sight in the sky above was what finally got one of them to break the silence. "Look at that," said Yooperlite, pointing upwards. While she didn't sound worried, her tone indicated that whatever she saw certainly wasn't good. And indeed it wasn't: the others looked up to see what looked like several slow-moving shooting stars, thankfully moving in the opposite direction.

"Looks like Votaq called in the cavalry," said Lefty, staring up at the ships moving through the atmosphere.

"You're sure those are Talu ships?" Emerald asked. "Just wishful thinking here, but I don't suppose they could be Homeworld ships?"

She shook her head. "I wish. No, even if that were possible, Gem vessels don't leave trails like that. Granted, that doesn't mean they're Talu ships for certain, but…who else would they be?"

Emerald looked back in the direction of the station, as though she would see the ships landing there. But it had long since vanished over the horizon, where the ships soon followed. "I never should have killed Kiloq."

"What? Why not?" asked a confused Yooperlite. "He was the one goin' after you, wasn't he? I didn't take you for the pacifistic type."

"That's not what I meant," she said. "Because of me, Votaq will come at us with everything he has. Maybe…" Emerald looked away. "Maybe we should have just gone with them."

"We should not have." Tanzanite spoke for the first time in a while. She stared ahead as she drove the skiff, her sudden voice drawing everyone's attention. "Nothing they told us was anywhere close to being true. There is no doubt in my mind they would have killed us the first chance they had–they certainly would have killed you. I do not regret my actions, and in fact would perform them again."

"Thank you, Tanzanite," Emerald said. Indeed, it was thanks to Tanzanite's quick thinking that they were able to escape at all. But whether they could manage that again was yet to be seen–and it didn't look likely. "Hey, Lefty?"

"Hmm? What's up?"

"Back during the fight, Kiloq said something…weird. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now that I've had some time, well…" She was hesitant to meet Lefty's eyes, but forced herself to turn around and do so. "He said I was unique, in a way you would know about. Do you have any idea what that could mean?"

Although Lefty looked for words as though confused, Emerald caught a brief flash of fear cross her face. "Why would anything he said carry water? He was trying to kill us, Mera, it was probably just an attempt to get under your skin."

This was an avenue Emerald had considered. But the more she thought about it, the less sense it made. She held up the arm with her gem: the blade from her halberd, rather than the whole thing, extended from it. "See this?" she asked, pointing. "I'd probably still be fighting with that clumsy spear if it wasn't for him. He more-or-less taught me how to handle myself in combat. He wanted an opponent who could fight him on even ground, so why would he lie about that?"

"I-I don't know! How should I know how these people think!?" stammered Lefty. She began pacing around the ship. "Maybe he just thought you were an unusually good fighter, or the shape of your gemstone stood out to him, I dunno! It's not like there's something wrong with you!"

Emerald stood up, calmly approaching Lefty. "Is there?" she asked. "Back at the communications hub, you wanted to tell me something. Something about the way I was formed…" By now, a conclusion was already forming in her head, but she wanted to hear it from her first. "What was it you wanted to say?"

"Nothing, nothing! You're perfectly normal!" Lefty insisted. "I was mistaken, it was no big deal!"

"What was?" Emerald said accusingly. "You keep saying you had your suspicions about something, but you won't tell me what! What's wrong with me!?"

"You're an off-color!"

With this sudden outburst, the skiff was as quiet as it had been during their escape. Lefty and Emerald had both been shocked into silence. Yooperlite stared at the two, shocked and confused, and even Tanzanite had turned around from her post. The skiff sped on across the sea, undeterred.

"Back then, when I looked at all your data, I…Okay, so, look: Homeworld has a certain limit to how much deviation from the standard a certain Gem can be before it's considered an off-color, and you don't…" She choked on her words for a moment. "...You don't fall under them. Best I can figure out is it's because the Kindergarten flooded before you emerged. And, well…" She sat back down, nothing else to say.

All things considered, Emerald was staying remarkably calm. She knew very well what being branded as an off-color meant for her, and most Gems in her position would probably begin to panic. She looked down at her gem, running her hand along its surface. "Huh. I don't…feel like an off-color…"

"You don't seem like one, either," said Yooperlite, recovering from the initial shock of the revelation. She walked over to Emerald, partly to check her out, partly to reassure her. "You sure it wasn't your equipment that was wonky, Lefty?"

"I honestly can't say," the Peridot replied. "I guess some data could be off, but we've all seen the effects with our own eyes. If we can find another station out there somewhere, I could try running some more tests, but it doesn't look good."

Yooperlite looked helplessly between the two of them. "But…but it can't be that simple! If Emerald was an off-color, how'd she fight so good, huh? How'd she save us from all those thalassaraptors, and take out Kiloq, and…An off-color couldn't do all that! Tell her, Tanz!"

But Tanzanite stayed disconcertingly silent.

It was then that Emerald came to a sudden realization. "They're going to kill me," she said, drawing everyone's attention again. "Even if we get off this planet, even if we make it back to Homeworld, they're still going to kill me." She looked up at Lefty, her eyes helpless. "We really should have gone with them."

Lefty got up, slowly approaching her. "Hey, Mera, don't think like that," she said. "We don't know what they would have done–"

"But we know for sure what Homeworld will do!" Emerald shouted. Lefty flinched back. "If we had taken them up on their offer, we might have been shattered! But now, even if we make it back, I will be shattered, no questions asked! And what about you? Do you think Homeworld will take kindly to us working together, and you not driving me away the moment we met!?"

"Mera–" Yooperlite tried to reassure her, but she wasn't in the mood.

"You said it yourself, we're expendable! The entire reason the three of you are still here is because Homeworld doesn't care about this planet! It's a lost cause–just like we are! I…" Once more, she turned on Lefty. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner? Why try to keep it a secret at all? You were going to tell me earlier, what changed!?"

"I…" said Lefty, unsure of what to say. "A-after everything with Kiloq, it seemed like not a big deal. I didn't want you to worry if–"

"Well, I'm worried now!" she exclaimed. "Worried about what's going to happen to me, to my friends! I mean, what did you think would happen, we'd just head back to Homeworld and everyone would be cool with me!?"

"Yes!" It was Lefty's turn to get heated. "Yes, I did think that! Because off-color or not, you're strong, and you're brave, and you put yourself in harm's way for our sake, even though we're way less important than you are…" Sighing, she returned to her seat. "I just thought that if I could convince everyone what a great Gem you are, they'd look past all that."

Emerald glared past her–though not at her. "And I'm sure you would have given it your all," she said. "But even though I've never actually been to Homeworld, I know that's not the way it works." She sat down as well. "When–if–we find a ship, I'm not going with you. It's better for all of us if I stay on this miserable planet."

"Emerald." She looked up; Tanzanite hovered over her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I wish I could deny what Lefty has said, but I cannot. The facts are the facts, and as much as I wish it was not true, it seems you are an off-color. But even still, even though I have known you far less longer, I consider you just as much my friend as I do these two. No matter what we must do, no matter what it takes, I swear I will get you home–no matter where that may be."

"Hang on, hang on," said Yooperlite. "Are you suggesting we go on the run? Like, fugitives from Homeworld?"

She nodded. "Yes. If it means keeping Emerald safe."

Yooperlite considered this option. "Huh. I guess we could do that. "I mean, I don't want to do that, but if it's for Emerald…yeah. I'll do that." She gave a thumbs-up.

"No, you're not doing that for my sake," said Emerald, shoving Tanzanite back towards the controls. "I'll go on the run, you all go back to Homeworld. Maybe with one of our allies–like Talutar, once that war blows over. Or maybe there's some Gem fanatic out there somewhere…"

"Nah, those guys are all nuts," said Lefty.

Emerald tried to stay solemn, but couldn't resist snickering. Lefty laughed a bit as well. Yooperlite did too, but only slightly. "I don't get it…" she admitted.

And so, the skiff sped onward. Where they were going, both on and off this planet, nobody knew. But what they did know was that they'd go there together.


Votaq said nothing as he was carried up by the lander, even amid all the questions and chatter of his subordinates. All he could do was stare at the shroud covering the body of one of his oldest allies. They were at war, and in war, there were casualties. He had come to accept this…but that didn't mean he had to be happy about it.

Two dreadnoughts, four destroyers, and a small handful of frigates may have seemed like overkill for what amounted to four enemy combatants. But Votaq was never one to take chances. He would not allow those four to leave this planet except in pieces mounted on his wall.

The carrier docked on the Lost Spark, and the troops led the way for their leader. The casket of his fallen lieutenant hovered beside him as he made his way towards the bridge. It was only now that he finally spoke: "What is the status of the Mark Three?"

"Unavailable, sir," one of them said. "It's still deployed on Djeroh."

He muttered some curses under his breath. "Then what about the Mark Two?"

The trooper spoke with some of the others. "Yes, that one's still planetside. We could have it operational and at full blast within a single rotation."

"Do it," said Votaq. "Cleanse everything. Every lifeform, every landmass, make it so not even single-celled organisms could survive. I want this planet to be nothing more than a volcanic husk when we're finished with it." Slightly unnerved, his soldiers left to activate the mysterious machine.

As the troopers returned to their stations, Votaq stayed with the casket as it hovered towards the incinerator. Before it slid in, he placed his real hand on it while offering one last promise to Kiloq.

"You will be avenged, old friend."

With that, the fires roared to life, consuming the box and the body within. Fire roared to life within Votaq as well, who returned to the bridge to finish what he had started. There was still much work to be done.