System Governor's Palace
Prasineropole Tidelands
Kayaenia-3
The Kayaenia System

50-10-4979-2
8:05 - Meridian 10 local time/19:27 - Imperial Standard Time

Illuminated by the tropical sun that filtered in from above, a rainbow of gems flittered to-and-fro beneath the frescoed stained glass dome.

At the far end of this behemoth of a ballroom, an equally colourful assortment of Pearls performed upon the orchestra stage. Sonorous voices of a lyricless choir united with brass and strings, and together, they gave life to a soft, smooth waltz.

All was to the pleasure of their owners, who, on the marbled dance floor, formed up in countless pairs that glided in and around eachother.

Despite the jaunty tune, so cavernous was the interior that the echo almost hit you with how heavy it was. Reflected from wallpapered walls, even the crystalline chandeliers chimed from time to time, for such was the strength of the sound.

In a private booth that overlooked the area, a trio of aristocrats stood. Pink, white and blue, these few pretended to enjoy the atmosphere - just as the guests pretended to enjoy the celebrations.

The white figure by her right held their fan over their face with their left hand, "Governor, my thanks for the invitation."

The blue figure by her left, meanwhile, seemed almost to tip over as they peered precariously past the booth's balustrade, "Mhm, the view up here is… I don't know, I've never seen anything like it before! I feel honoured for the privilege - your clarity," They said, wide eyes still entranced on the view below.

"Think nothing of it," She replied in that signature, low, slow, sharp whisper of hers. Now though, as she waved them off, a little bit of that edge was chipped away, "It was the least I could do. For friends."

'Blue' pulled themselves back from the balcony, then put their hands to their hips as they flashed a grin her way, "Friends? Ha! I'm flattered, your clarity."

'White' meanwhile sighed a long and airy sigh as they switched their fan to their right hand, "Oh, governor, you are too kind. Genuinely. That sort of attitude can get you killed."

She turned to them, slow, and after a short silence, she spoke, "I know… but, we are friends, are we not? At least, I would like to think that type of honest advice can only come from a friend."

"Because it does," They dropped their fan, and after it fluttered in the wind for a moment, they caught it again with a soft sideways swipe, "I was just testing," They winked.

She shook her head, and turned back forwards in silence.

"Ahhh-haha," Then came a chuckle from her left, "don't worry about her. After the first thirty thousand years, you'll get used to her clarity, your clarity."

She chuffed, and a thin smile appeared as swift as it disappeared.

For real this time, her attention refocused forwards and downwards. Disparate as the attendees' topics were however, the conversations among them harmonised together. To the trio, up in their ivory tower, it was as if one listened in on clear glass chimes caught in a breeze on a windy day.

Still, despite different discussions, what remained the same was that they were all dressed in their Radiance Day best. A dozen styles, and a dozen variations of each, were represented among today's exclusive guests.

Of these though, there were two who were the best represented.

'Dolcessimas' dominated the centre of the ballroom. Cinched corsets, extravagant hair-dos and frilly, wide dresses so long that they trailed behind the wearer were the law among these White Courtiers. It was an art of its own to dance attired so, but with the public pressure of today, their easy grace spoke volumes of the long, harsh hours of prior practice.

Among them though, there were many Pink and Blue Courtiers who dressed in dolcessima too. Yet, no matter how truly they imitated that style, or how they danced just as well as anyone else, almost all of these aspirants seemed to be relegated to the edge of that bouquet of dancers.

Still, with the current time already dubbed as 'The Splendour' by many, it was inevitable that they tried anyway.

Dolcessima celebrated recent Imperial achievement, but beyond that, people were simply excited again - and this was the perfect outlet to express that sentiment. After the misery and mourning of the first half of Era 2, there was simply something empowering about showing a bold, confident front once more.

So despite being gatekept by their elders, by its very own nature, dolcessima fashion grew to be extremely popular among younger aristocrats anyways.

"Ah, my people! Beautiful, are we not?"

"Eh. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, your clarity."

"Hmph! Some beholders must be blind then."

In contrast, scores of small and spread-out cliques of mainly Yellow and Blue Court 'austerites' stood recluse in the far corners. Made obvious by muter colours, shorter, shoulder-length haircuts kept beneath veils, hoods, and humble headdresses, their outfits were rounded out by low heels and dresses that went no further than the ankle.

Secluded at the margins by choice then, they played that holier-than-thou charade where they acted as if they were above the gossip.

Despite their pretences though, it was easy to spot when a dance among a pair of austerites wandered off to a spot nearby another group's territory. Often, these pairs then leant themselves perhaps just a little too close to the other dancers for it to merely be another part of the choreography.

That aside, the austerite's sense of style came from a darker place, for their own fashion movement was spawned in the very wake of Era 2. With Pink Diamond's death, within the Blue Court then, it began as a way to sympathise with their Diamond's mourning.

But as it spread beyond there, the meaning changed. With its arrival in the Yellow Court, it was soon seen as practical and patriotic to wear humbler fashions while the Empire faced scarcity.

Even in the modern day though, the style still stood strong. Some said it was too early to celebrate. Others argued that continued personal austerity was still patriotic. Most however had just grown fond of the balance between beauty and practicality - less is more and all that.

Or, as Governor Morganite saw it, 'all of them have grown addicted to humble-bragging.'

And as if to prove her cynicism, as she looked down, she spotted no less than seven incidents that just waited for an excuse to blow. Of these, five were instigated by austerites that shoved their self-righteous snouts where they did not belong.

She sighed. With the venue, the music and the dance, the collective scene was almost beautiful. If only one could ignore the insufferable individuals within it.

Despite it being a source of disappointment for her however, it seemed to have become a source of entertainment for the other two.

"Nice though, isn't it, your clarity?" The Blue Jade in austerite wear by her left said, "A moment when everyone's not shoving knives in eachother's back."

"Who says they are not?" The Goshenite, dressed in dolcessima, by her right replied as they fluttered their fan faster, "How sharp some words can be!"

Their timing was impeccable. At that instant, a pair of dolcessima dancers had finally taken issue to the pair of austerites who had not-so-subtly eavesdropped on their conversation one too many times.

Accusations were flung, then insults were thrown, and eventually, a controversial curse was hurled in as well. But when the pair of blue Dumortierite Quartzes at the entrance - who had otherwise stood still as statues - coughed twice, those four parted ways with abashed blushes and knife-like glares.

Jade only clapped and laughed at the scene as it unfolded, "Ha! Too true!- Ahem, your clarity," They finished with an innocent flutter of eyelashes.

A slight smile crossed those features as they stifled a scoff behind their fan, "Surely it would be exhausting to keep this up for the whole ball? There is no need for it, we are all friends here; up here at least."

"Why, whatever do you mean, your clarity?" They put on that overly soft and demure voice, "Friendship does not override laws and customs."

"Bah, fine, do whatever you want then," They waved them off with a short, sharp flick of their fan.

"And I want to observe custom… your clarity."

"Oh you-!"

A daft, extremely wide smile split across Jade's face for a moment until they, and the other two, had their attention taken back to the stage below.

The initial waltz had ended. Silence came over the orchestra as a piano was wheeled in by a Pink Pearl. Dressed in a similar light pink kimono as Morganite, all eyes were on them as they took centre stage.

At once, their deft hand danced all over the keys to start a swifter, more serious piece. Once the first bar of said piece was done, the orchestra's other Pearls joined back in with their voices, violins and brass instruments. Despite that, the piano seemed to still dominate the scene.

"Congrats on your servant's skills, your clarity," Jade clapped, then turned back out the crowd as they put two fingers in their mouth and whistled, "Woohoo!"

But Goshenite had a decidedly different response, "A different Pearl so soon?" They whispered to her as they slow-clapped, gaze still locked on the performance below.

"It's been twelve thousand years," She replied as she turned away, and though she tried to keep to her usual whisper, there was a certain bite to it here.

A narrow-eyed sideways glance came her way, but after a short pause, they returned to their slow-clap, "That is still far too soon. It is almost my two-hundred and fifty-thousandth year, and yet, I have only had to replace my Pearl once. You ought to take better care of yours my friend."

'If only you knew the half of it,' She only shrugged and joined in the motions, 'at least this one made for a far more sensible replacement.'

At the performance, the audience's claps were now joined by cheers. Cries of, "Shabash!", "Wah, wah!" or, "Bravo!" and a hundred other phrases of praise sang out.

Each encore was in a dialect of Old Lithoii more obscure than the last, she noticed. Likely, it was as the arranged aristocrats duelled against eachother to be seen as the most cultured and refined.

Goshenite eyed her with a smirk then, but just as Morganite's eyes popped out and she motioned for them to cease, they had already turned towards the masses.

They cleared their throat, then let out a crowd-stopping, "Euge!" To the stunned looks of the other guests.

Whispers and mutters broke out as they all turned to eachother, but within moments, half the guests seemed to turn up to the private booth and now sang their praises towards them instead.

At that, she resisted the urge to groan as they basked in the artificial sweetness of hundreds of false flatteries.

"Oh, she could just have made it up," One bitter Pyrope muttered beneath their breath as they clapped in spite.

Even from atop the booth, the trained senses of an aristocrat as ancient as Goshenite picked up the displeasure.

She watched as they perked up, then leant over the balustrades with their bemused face locked squarely on target, "Is it my fault you are not learned enough to know even a few words of Regian?"

Instantly, the Pyrope shied away with a peculiar blush; perhaps embarrassed at being caught out so easily. A flock of people that had otherwise clung beside them for the whole event, supposedly their 'friends', flew away, and they were left surrounded by those that offered false forgiveness and sympathy.

Morganite though betted that, until today, most of their hecklers likely had no idea what language that was either. She certainly did not.

Still, as amused as the other two beside her were, she turned with a harsh glare to Goshenite.

"Why do you always feel the need to be like this?" She hissed, "We need to keep a low profile. As low as possible, anyhow."

"Hmph!" They stood stock straight and pretended to turn their nose up to her, but she could well see the cheeky smile that remained, "Governor, once you have lived to see and do as much as I, you will know 'low profile' is impossible. I only hope you will embrace it before it embraces you, darling."

Her perpetually blank features did not match the reply that came next, "It seems that sort of wisdom is for later on in life then, so let me enjoy my youth for now."

"Pfft!" Apparently though, the mismatch only added to the effect. Wide-eyed, Blue Jade jerked forwards a distance before their hand clamped over their mouth to stifle a yelp of laughter.

In contrast, as their processors worked at it, Goshenite's own face stood still for a second before they scrunched up, incensed.

Or at least, they pretended to be. They hid behind their fan, and a playful slap from a velvet glove landed on her shoulder, "You impudent- you dare!" They giggled.

"Ha, way to take the hag down a peg, your clarity!" Jade barged forwards with a guffaw, then shirked backwards in an instant as Goshenite shut their fan to reveal a glare, "...Uhhh, ahem, uh, if you two are done sparring, let's, uh, go down and join in before everyone else starts to wonder - your clarities," they then made a mock curtsy.

Morganite ignored them, but Goshenite only 'tsk'd,' then let out a good-natured eye-roll before they opened their fan again and fluttered it in front of their face.

At the signal, the trio made their way down the spiral staircase to the dance floor below. Immediately, as though magic, the many pairs of dancers on either side parted without a word and without missing a beat.

Jade flew off to her fellow austerites in the corner. Meanwhile, Goshenite and Morganite took eachother's hand, and they melted into the flowing tides of people.

It was an awkward arrangement, what with her stood at four-seven tall and them at five-ten. But the two had practised relentlessly before the event. Neither would make a fool of themselves.

Yet, it was more than just their moves that they had practised.

Goshenite dematerialised their fan into the gem at the back of their neck, then met her eye-to-eye, "Så, hva er i dag?" Their voice was hushed, and still, the strange sounds were a rumbled thunderstorm.

'This is new,' her mind raced even as they spun her into a pirouette.

This was to be expected however. The time before the advent of FTL travel was vast, and so left alone to evolve in distant and disconnected colonies, the sheer width and depth of Old Lithoii reflected that. Yet, the attendees today were both prestigious and diverse, and so an even rarer tongue had to be used right now if they wished to keep things secret.

She soon realised this conversation was to be held in the obscure Graobjerg dialect - from the world of Hirvitagard, Morganite recalled.

'Interesting choice, and a good one too,' Apparently, before teaching her and Jade, Goshenite had learnt the dialect from a friend of theirs, and they in turn had learnt it from a different, even older Goshenite created from Hirvitagard.

Thankfully, she was always a quick learner and had done her research, so she picked up the conversation easily.

"I ask of you a few favours," She kept her voice in that sweet spot - faint enough as to not attract attention due to the strange language, but also not so faint as to become a shushed whisper that just invited suspicion.

They tutted then, "My my, always so demanding. What could you possibly have that interests me?"

She ignored the insults, "You would be surprised to know then that one of the… the…" She struggled to articulate - a common issue. With Standard Lithoii having taken over so long ago, the archaic vocabularies of these languages have been fossilised for aeons, "Big-Makers has been-"

"Big-Makers?" They giggled even as they twirled, "I think Big-'Selskap' makes more sense."

The world blurred for a moment as her mind processed the word. Her own translation matrices used context clues, and her own knowledge of the Graobjerg dialect, then soon told her that it meant something like 'group'.

She hummed at that, it seemed very appropriate.

After all, what were the Amalgams if not the end results of the old local colonial industries being grouped together into singular, sinister monoliths? Monoliths that, with their now enormous powers and vague mandates to increase efficiency, already casted long, ominous shadows across the Empire.

And if one were to say, be put in charge of one of these Amalgams, even a very small person could cast a very big shadow indeed, "Ahem, yes, one of the Big-Groups has been put under my leadership."

Their cheery expression was wiped off their face in an instant, and what could only be described as a death glare took its place, "Really?" They said, low and dangerous, "Which one?"

Just then, she resisted the urge to gulp down the lump of fear caught in her dried mouth. When someone ten times her senior stared at her like so, the fight or flight instincts in her could not help but flicker about.

In an instant, all their boundless beauty mutated into fiery ferocity.

Their sharp, symmetrical features bore down on her like a drill to granite. Their lips pursed, and the once inoffensive black heart painted at its centre compressed down into a spearhead. Their gunmetal grey eyes aimed at her very core, ready to fire at the slightest bit of ire.

Reprieve came, if only brief.

The dance routine had the pairs turn apart, glide away, then twirl around eachother and the other dancers. From above, mathematics itself was beheld in this spectacle of perfect precision. Their many movements mesmerised as a fractal pattern pulsed across the parchment that was the dance floor.

Yet, such was the dread that she almost ruined this perfection, for she misstepped and nearly bumped into another dancer as she spun around.

On the return, she again held those cold hands, and beheld those stabbing, steely eyes.

Somehow, her nerve held, and without a stutter, she simply replied, "The Imperial Interstellar Mining Group ltd."

They seemed relaxed again after that. Shoulders unstiffened, they leaned into their dance moves more, and that genial grin returned.

Perhaps her leading one of the smaller Amalgams meant they sensed she would not be a rival to their own power, Morganite thought.

"Hmph, respectable enough I suppose," They said as they said as speedy violins began and they pulled her in close for a swift set of back-and-forth trots, "and is it fair to assume your circle of snitches already knows which of the Big-Groups I have been entrusted with?"

As the last trot happened, as one, the pairs in the ballroom slid out and away again. They twirled and twisted around eachother, and when the pattern looped, all the dancers inevitably found themselves in the company of their original partner again.

Morganite and Goshenite both made the motions in silence before they rejoined once more. Then, heralded by the swift return of violently fast violins, the trots began again, and they pulled her in even closer than the last time.

Hands locked tight, and with their firm grip on her hip, aggressive movements within their close, cold embrace soon shook the answer out of her.

"Ergh- yes."

The music slowed to a soothing slide again, and the pairs glided out and apart one last time. Even now though, even in the rare glimpses the two caught of eachother in the crowd, even as they twisted and turned, she was interrogated over and over by the sudden sight of their stabbing stare.

Piano keys danced, violins sang, brass brayed, they met, and she was pulled in again.

"Entertain me then, oh Governor. Regarding my new position, these favours are..?"

The trots began anew, and again, Goshenite forced a fiery tempo. Now however, she had barely the energy to resist, and with a sputter, answered in short order.

"Nkhhht- ergh, forgive me," She breathed, "not completely related. First, I merely need you to inform me if you find any unique individuals. Refer them to me if you can, or keep them in sight if not-!" She stilted after a small stumble forced her to repair her rhythm, "Aghhh… ah, second, I have some plans involving a… a mutual friend that might need your blessings depending on how it unfolds."

At last, this last set of trots finished, and so marked the finale of the first half of the dance.

Yet, even as she almost toppled over with the momentum, no sympathy came from the other side.

"How splendidly unspecific," They replied as their grip slipped from her hand and hip, "Still, you do not seem one for fooling others or for flights of fancy. Send me the details later, and if they are reasonable, and I will see to it."

The violins ceased totally this time, and as Goshenite flew out to the right, Morganite flew out to the left.

As she took a deep breath and set a hand on her next partner's shoulder, she heard one last mutter from them.

"But I expect plenty in return."

She could only sigh, light and airy as the piano solo that began just then, and which also signalled the change of partners.

Having arranged the whole event, she already knew who was to be with her next.

There still was that little gritty bit of doubt of course, as blind confidence was a habit she refused to fall into. Though when she felt the familiar cloth beneath her hands, and beheld that gable-hooded figure as she turned around, what little of it which remained fizzled away.

Her posture slackened, just that little bit, 'at least one thing has gone right,' and besides, with Jade at five-two tall, this dance would also at least be a bit more comfortable.

"Jeg trenger noe fra deg."

Jade narrowed their eyes for a moment, but then they nodded fast, and with wide eyes and a wider smile.

They did the diamond salute, knelt, then offered an open hand forward; such was custom when accepting a dance from a higher caste, "Din renslighet."

She almost forgot her manners as she stood there and stared, "...did you just call me 'your cleanliness?'" She asked before she remembered to take the offered hand.

That gave them the signal, but as they rose up from their knees, a tilted face, with its soft and roundish features all scrunched together, met her, "...No?"

"I believe clarity is the word you are looking for."

"Eh, same-same."

"How much time did you bother to spend learning the languages we sent you?"

"I am understanding you now, no? So enough, feels I."

She resisted the urge to slap her own face, "You must be joking, or else."

And just when she thought she could not have been antagonised any further, they lit up with that damned daft smile, "Baha, of course I am!" They sighed, long and with a whine at the end, "It was still a chore though, even if it was an important one."

She glared at them then, but only a silent stare escaped her as she resigned to the dance ahead. Dealing with their antics was necessary, unfortunately. A Beryl-Civilian like her may have had heavy and direct control over those below, but anything more subtle was difficult, if not outright impossible at times.

With how ossified the Imperial Caste System is, it is simply the way of things.

Interaction up and down the castes was governed by laws with too much pain to cross, and by customs with too much momentum to stop.

So she held her tongue when, as the pair twirled around eachother, their amused face met her now and then, "So, you need something from me, hmm? Wait, no, let me guess, you need an in?"

"Of course. What else?"

"So boring," Their lips pursed to one side, and as the other pairs did so, they fell into her arms too. With an extra dose of dramatics however, with an open palm on their forehead, their eyes stared up to the sky as they cried out to her, "So many different people approach me, and still, they all ask me to do the same couple of things!"

She hummed again, but this time, low, and with an unusual rumble. Jade was… an unknown, to say the least. Gregarious and extroverted by nature, they shared alot to anyone, yet, whatever they shared was often of very little real substance. Their inner mind, then, was an enigma to everyone then. Whenever anyone asked of their opinions on anything of import, they would always deflect it with that same, spread-out, stupid smile.

In fact, neither had they ever proclaimed any allegiance to anyone, or not for long anyhow. If Goshenite's account was to be believed, that had been the case with Blue Jade since even long before Morganite was born.

In her experience though, those like that were opportunists nine-in-ten times, and lazy for the last one-in-ten.

In Jade's case however, their endless energy made the latter unlikely.

'Opportunistic parasite it is then,' She judged.

"Why not? It is what you are good at," She shook her head as she said, honestly, and with just a little envy, "The reward will be generous of course. As you might know, I now head the Imperial Interstellar M-"

"Dirt and dust!" They whisper-shouted as they went revenant, shot up and out of her embrace, then twisted and turned as a tornado, "I have all the minerals I need right here," They flicked the gemstone on the waist of their dress with their spare hand, "I want more from life than just to be another piece in the game."

'Or a thoroughly thick thrillseeker,' Perhaps she had to recalibrate her judgement's odds then.

Again, her dance partner chose to add aggression to their moves. A vain attempt this time though, she knew. As the senior, if not in age, then in rank, Morganite took back control at the bargain cost of a mere silent sneer from Jade.

She had no idea how someone like that survived the grinding wheel that was the Imperial Courts, nevermind gathered as much influence as Jade had, but she pressed on.

After all, "You have many connections among the middle castes."

"I do."

"I have need of them."

"Tch, since when do Beryls need for anything, especially you?" They fell back into her arms again, and this time with a glare that shot right back, "You have this planet - probably after My Diamond held a pity party in Pink's memory - and you have your dirt digging group, again, probably from pity. What else could you possibly want?"

'Alot,' She resisted the urge to nod at all points.

It was true that Blue Diamond put an odd amount of stock into her. As the highest aristocrat that remained from Pink's old court, she often felt that they projected their feelings onto her somehow, if silently. Perhaps via her successes, as artificial as some of them were, Blue Diamond could fantasise of a different world; one where their precious Pink's court not only survived, but thrived.

Whatever the case though, she had not been idle. She took easy advantage of their emotions, their grief, and the promotions it granted her.

And yet, "That is exactly my point. I have been put on a pedestal to be stared at. I cannot act, not without everyone eyeing me and everything I do."

"And you think I got to where I am without bringing a couple eyes my way too? A basic Jade doesn't get as many connections as I've got by strictly legal means, you know."

"I never said that, only that you can be more subtle than me," She did her best to keep the bite out of that reply, "It does not even have to be yourself doing all the work. Get one of your contacts to do it for you if it bothers you so much."

If they were not locked in a dance, at that moment, she had a sneaking suspicion Jade would have clapped their hands right around then.

For now though, their spite vanished, and when they rose up from her embrace and they twirled around eachother again, they only gave her a wide smile, "Ha! Now that's something I can always get behind."

'Finally.'

"Now, about what is in it for you."

"Ah, a touch! After my affections are we?" There was a wink there.

She stared blankly back at them.

The smile remained, and it was joined by a curt chuckle, "Oh, of course, typical. Corruption and clientelism. You do something for me, I do something for you, right?"

She nodded, "So…"

"So?"

"As I understand it, you have ambitions for a post on the Blue Court Sector of Homeworld."

At that, there twinkled something more in those eyes. Of what though, she could only guess.

Naught but that empty placeholder of a smile remained, "I do."

"Deputy to its Governor is your final goal."

They narrowed their eyes at her, and their response was strange and slow, but again, the smile still stuck, "It is."

"And, as you said earlier, I have connections to the highest ranks of the Blue Court."

"...I see," They positively beamed at her now, "I'll see what I can do."

The orchestra slowed, their tune drifted off, quieter and quieter until it became silent.

Soon after she split off from the dance, she turned back to them, "Be warned though, I cannot work miracles. I can, however, open up paths. They will not be sure, they will not be direct, but they will be there."

They waved her off with a grin, "Psssh, it's better than anyone else has offered me recently. Still, I appreciate the honesty. It's too rare these days."

'Hmm,' Morganite looked back at all the fuss at the start of their conversation, 'that was far too easy.'

Not a moment after the pair parted however, the whole crowd chanted.

"""FIVE!""

Jade joined in instantly.

"""FOUR!""

She shrugged. Rare were the occasions that aristocrats gave up their decorum in public, but this was a once in a decade event, and if everyone else was doing it, 'ah, stars, why not?'

The slightest spirit of a smile snuck its way onto her face, and her voice raised above a whisper for once as she followed suit.

"""THREE!""

That one was louder than the last, for the various groups had begun to compete on who could celebrate the loudest.

But in a rare moment of free and fair fun, no one jockeyed and no one jeered, everyone only cheered. Indeed, meek as they were, the Pearls of the orchestra tried their best too.

"""TWO!""

Louder again. Even the ancient and revered Goshenite, now stood with their dolcessimas, seemed to get lost in the party fever. Her hands and fan waved wildly as, at the very front, she took the helm and conducted their efforts.

"""ONE!""

And as one, everyone held their heads up high, then held a diamond salute to the sky before they let out their final cry.

"""To the new decade everyone!"""

Despite the tropical morning sun, fluorescent fireworks bright enough to be seen in the light were launched.

"""To the new decade!""" Everyone replied to eachother as they embraced together.

Remote controlled drones arrayed with neon lights were visible too. They began their performance where they arranged themselves into the dignified, yet delighted, side profiles of the three Diamonds. From there, the drones moved in synchrony, and their depiction of the Diamonds smiled as they waved their hands, almost as if to join in the farewell of the decade as well.

"C'mere partner!"

"Oof! H- hey!"

A small laugh escaped her as she let herself be swept by the jocular embrace of Blue Jade. For once, she felt real optimism. It was faint, it was fraught, but it was there.

The modernisations had gone as she had hoped, she had avoided The Commission's almost supernatural gaze, and she had gained a few precious tools to use in the battles ahead.

As Jade set her down to join their austerite friends, Morganite waved on the passing decade too, "Goodbye."


A/N:

Ah, this chapter was a tad difficult to write properly. The clash of wildly different aesthetics and themes, and a few experiments in writing style, was hard to pull off, but it was quite fun trying.

Anyhow, welcome to Cyberenaissance-5077 everybody.

#

Also just to clarify when this is all happening, according to the SU wiki, Era-2 began 5050 years ago. But 5050 years ago from what? From that, I'm working off that the beginning of season 1 is what to reference it off of. Since the show first aired in 2013, that is when I'll assume season 1 is set.

So if 5050 of Era-2 is equal to 2013, then as of the end of this chapter - where 4979 gives way to the 4980 - it is around the year 1943 on SU-verse Earth.

So in summary, this fic is currently set around 70 years before the start of the show.