Jasper and Peridot had tied Tammo and Pasque up with ropes. Now they lay on the floor of the control room, just a few feet away from each other. Their captors sat in chairs nearby, steering the ship. "At least we can see each other now," Pasque whispered to Tammo. "Our situation's improved a bit, wot."
"I wish we'd been able to escape along with Lapis," Tammo whispered back. "I hope she'll be okay."
"You ought to be worrying about yourselves," Jasper eviled. "Quiet down there!"
Suddenly Pasque jerked her head up and gave a little gasp. She had seen something outside the window of the spaceship. Tammo rolled over so he could see what she was staring at. As best as he could, he pushed himself up to a sitting position. He looked through the window and got his first glimpse of Homeworld.
It had two rings around it, like Saturn, although the surface of the planet was solid like Earth. But it was all smashed up. It looked like it had been broken into two halves, and gravity was the only thing keeping the fractured pieces of the planet floating so close together. "Golly, it looks like the planet itself has been shattered!" Tammo murmured. "Wonder what could've caused that?"
He could see tall buildings dotting the surface of the planet, many of them shaped like pyramids or obelisks. Most of the buildings were white, but there were shades of pink, blue, and yellow mixed in there as well. They became larger and larger in Tammo's eyes as Jasper brought the ship in for a landing. Soon it touched down on the ground.
"Well, looks like you're finally gonna see where your ancestors came from," Pasque said to Tammo.
A nasty thought occurred to Tammo suddenly. "I say, I hope we can breathe the air down there."
"Why wouldn't we be able to breathe?" Pasque asked. "I mean, the Gems all come from here, and they can breathe our air."
"I know, but Gems aren't organic lifeforms, dash it all! Maybe the air here's all right for them an' it ain't for us. I'm only half Gem, and you're not a Gem at all. We could jolly well suffocate!"
"Well, nothing we can do about it either way."
Jasper and Peridot jumped up. "On your feet, clods!" Peridot commanded. "We're going for a little walk."
Tammo and Pasque struggled to their feet. It was hard because they were tied up, but they managed to stand. Then Jasper pushed a button on the wall, and a hatch opened up in the floor, revealing a ramp that led down to the ground. Jasper and Peridot marched their prisoners down the ramp and into the streets of Homeworld's capital city.
The two hares were relieved to find that the air was breathable after all. The atmosphere actually seemed quite similar to that of Earth. There were no plants or animals to be seen, however. Gems were the only visible form of life, wherever they looked. Tammo glimpsed many Gems, hurrying from place to place or working at various tasks, but none of them appeared to be very happy.
Finally, Jasper, Peridot and the hares came to a big white building that looked like a prison. Two Amethyst guards stood outside the door. They were much bigger and more muscular than the Amethyst Tammo had grown up with on Earth- and they didn't look anywhere near as friendly!
Jasper addressed the guards. "I've got the prisoner, Rose Quartz, here. She didn't put up too much of a fight."
"What's that thing?" one of the Amethysts asked, pointing at Pasque.
Jasper shrugged. "One of her pets from Earth. It was with Rose when I captured her, so we brought it along as well."
"She," Tammo said. "Pasque is a 'she.' And I'm not Rose Quartz, wot! I'm Tammo flippin' Tussock, and I'm a hare!"
The other Amethyst stared. "Has she been talking crazy like that the whole way?"
"Yeah," said Peridot. "It was pretty annoying."
"Well, they're all yours now," said Jasper.
"Great. We'll take 'em from here," said the first guard.
Jasper and Peridot walked off, and the two Amethysts grabbed Tammo and Pasque and hauled them inside the prison.
