Chapter Nine: Hostile Work Environment

May 6, 2017. BAINE Headquarters.

Gina, for what felt like the hundredth time, rewound the footage to get a better look at the ship. She had never seen one that looked like that before–granted, she hadn't seen many Gem ships overall, but this one still stood out among them. "And you're sure this isn't the Sunset Apogee?" she asked.

"It didn't look anything like that," Garnet informed her. Unable to be there in person, Gina had to share their findings over video call. "This one is some kind of reconnaissance craft. The Apogee was a cargo ship."

She already knew that. "Well, whatever it was, it was still active, and it packed enough firepower to give our flyboys a run for their money. I guess what I'm wondering is, is there a chance that Echo has any more ships like this one?"

Garnet adjusted her glasses, a telltale sparkle telling Gina she was peering into the future. "It's hard to say," she replied. "Given all the ships we've found recently, it's entirely likely he managed to repair a few more. But there are far more dangerous weapons out there than mere scout craft. I would be more worried about what he plans on doing with that Plutonium."

"Mmm. You and me both," Gina mumbled. "I doubt he's bold enough to go straight for Beach City, but there's no harm in keeping an eye out. And we've got our satellites watching above and below, so you'll be the first to know if we find something."

"I appreciate it. Take care of yourselves, and don't hesitate to ask if you need help." Garnet pressed a button on her tablet, ending the call.

"Good news? Bad news?" asked Rhodes from the other side of the room. He was further refining his defense array, trying to find a way to pinpoint which ships were currently active or otherwise. "That didn't sound like the most productive chat."

Gina shrugged as she spun around in her chair. "You can't expect the Gems to have all the answers. As much as I wish they could just point us in the right direction so we could take Echo on directly, he's got a bit of a head start on even them. All the more reason to get that satellite thingy working as soon as possible."

"It's not that it doesn't work," Rhodes replied, "I'm trying to make it work better. Right now, all we can do is locate the ships, when ideally we should be able to tell whether the ships' systems have been activated recently, what kind of systems they are, anything that can help us tell if Echo's been busy. Because we know he's getting these Rhinestones from somewhere."

"You know what I think?" said Gina. "I think he's still working with St. Augustine somehow. Like, yeah, he's old and everything, but it's not like he's omniscient. He's gotta have someone helping him with all this stuff, and who better than the guy he apparently cut ties with? All these attacks on Polaris convoys could just be a trick to throw us off the scent."

Right now, Rhodes wasn't exactly in the mood for entertaining conspiracy theories. "I'm sure. And has he secretly replaced Aster as the Radiant One of the Children as well?"

"Hey, I'm telling you, it adds up!" she said. "Why would he just toss aside this ally who has access to pretty much all the same resources BAINE does? And for that matter, how do we know he's not working with the Children either? We shouldn't just be going off the word of the same guy who tried to lead an army against us, we need to be open to any possibility."

"Any feasible possibility," said Rhodes. "I try to put baseless speculation aside when it comes to matters like this." He paused for a moment, before clearing his throat. "Though it wouldn't surprise me if the Koh'i'Noor were involved somehow…"

A grin slowly spread across Gina's face. "Now who's the one baselessly speculating?" she said, turning around to face him. "C'mon, it's fun, and you know it! Gimme some more!"

Trying to resist smiling, Rhodes attempted to stay on task. "I guess maybe the Xevellans haven't given up yet," he suggested. "Or there might be some kind of SEEN cell we didn't know about."

"Maybe there's some Gem faction that's still active on Earth, and they somehow avoided getting corrupted," said Gina. "Ooh! Because they weren't on Earth at the time, they were on the moon, or some other nearby planet! And now they want revenge, yadda yadda, fill in the blanks."

"Oh, here's a good one!" Rhodes said. "What if it turns out that Alex Pierce isn't actually dead? And he's been pulling the strings this whole time?" After a second or two of looking at one another, the pair both started laughing. "What are we doing?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Finding ways to cope with not actually being helpful," remarked Gina. "Now I know how the others feel when they have to wait for us to work our magic." She turned back to what little remained of the Rhinestone they had managed to salvage. "Maybe if I had another one of those things, a fresher one, I could track down where he's getting his oil from."

"We'd have to actually know where they're being deployed for to get our hands on one," Rhodes pointed out. "Something tells me he's being much more careful after we stopped that last raid. If our satellites could track plastic, I'd look, but even then I doubt that'd be much help."

"Maybe you should try tracking the plutonium he stole," she said jokingly. At first. However, after a pause, her eyes widened. She once again turned to face Rhodes, who, given the similar look on his face, had realized the same thing. "Well!?"

"Working on it, working on it!" he said, rapidly pressing keys as she ran over to his desk. "Okay, I isolated the atomic signature, but there's no guarantee it'll show up. As sensitive as this system is, he's probably got it locked up tight, so it might not show up." In a few moments, he had managed to pinpoint exactly what he was looking for–but not where it was. He scanned the entirety of the Middle East for any sign of the plutonium, but it came up empty.

Gina sighed. "Welp, it was worth a shot, I guess. Back to the drawing board it is." She walked back to her desk, dejected.

"Hold on, let's not give up on this just yet," said Rhodes. "I might not be able to detect the Plutonium right now because it's still inert. But if he's planning on turning it into a bomb, it won't stay that way for long. Once he puts it all together, there's not many places he could hide it from a system this advanced. And even if he can, he has to take it out of his base at some point, right? You don't typically build atomic weaponry to display on your shelf."

"But if we can only detect it when it's ready to blow, by then it might be too late," Gina said. "Should we have some of our guys ready in the area, just in case?"

"I was thinking the same thing," said Rhodes. "We'll have to be subtle about it, though, so Echo doesn't see us coming."

Gina laughed. "Well, if there's one thing BAINE is good at, it's subtlety."

"Psst! James! Hey, James!" hissed Ichigo, peering out from the bathroom door. "I need to talk to you! Pssst!"

Several people passing by gave him an odd look, including James. "What are you–?" He couldn't get his question out, as he was subsequently grabbed and pulled into the bathroom. "Hey! Why are you being so paranoid all of a sudden!?"

Ichigo made sure the door was closed, and then proceeded to glance underneath all the stalls to ensure they were alone. "You can call it paranoid all you want, but if that's what I get called for being concerned about one of my friends, then I'm okay with it." Once he was satisfied of their solitude, he joined James by the sinks. "Have you noticed that Vargas has been acting weird lately?"

James blinked. "Weirder? Yeah, I suppose. But since everyone's been treating him weird lately, it doesn't surprise me."

"That's what I'm talking about," said Ichigo. "Ever since he dropped the bombshell that he used to be part of the CoH, everyone's been acting like he's some sorta ticking time bomb. He says it doesn't really bother him, but I can tell it does."

"So…what are we supposed to do? Aside from vouching for him, there's not really any way we can change people's minds. And how can you be sure he isn't still secretly working for–"

Ichigo slapped a hand over his mouth. "Don't you talk like that! Don't even say that! The last thing we need right now is to contribute to the stigma that's already developing! C'mon, you haven't known him for as long, but I know you know that Vargas isn't a bad guy. I mean, sure, he enjoys violence a bit more than is probably healthy, but who among us hasn't given in to our baser instincts once in a while?"

"I'm not sure I like what you're implying by that," said James. Still, he did acknowledge that Vargas didn't strike him as the type to be secretly working against BAINE. He was fairly blunt, kept to himself, and that all added up to someone with secrets that could come out at any moment. This, coupled with his love of aggression, made for someone who was easy to suspect. "What exactly are we supposed to do?"

"I'll tell you what we're supposed to do: we have to find proof that he's not the bad guy," Ichigo replied. "Or better yet, get proof. Nobody will suspect him if he saves somebody's life, or helps track down where Echo is hiding, or otherwise does something that a traitor wouldn't do."

James glanced at his reflection in the mirror, not sure what this conversation was accomplishing. "So, your suggestion is to engineer a situation? I'm sure that'll go over well…"

"Look, do you have a better idea?" Turning to look at Ichigo, James saw that he wore a defeated expression. "Nobody's gonna take me seriously if all I have to go on is my gut. And you know Vargas, he'll never accept an offer for help like this. Please…I don't know what else to do."

"Hey, we'll think of something," James assured him. "If Vargas is innocent–which he is, of course–time will prove it. Why don't we go and ask him about–"

Ichigo cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh, yeah, I don't think he wants to talk to me right now… I kinda-sorta confronted him about it earlier, and he thought I was accusing him of being a traitor, and snapped at me. He's not gonna wanna talk to me for a while probably."

At this, James sighed. "Then I guess all we can do is hope he doesn't do anything to implicate himself further…"

Meanwhile, Vargas was alone in the barracks, pacing back and forth. Something was clearly on his mind, lost in thought as he tuned out the rest of the world. Not that there was much of a world to tune out, as, again, nobody else was present. Eventually, he reached some manner of consensus, going to check if anyone was by the door before going over to his bed.

Vargas picked up his pillow, producing a small phone hidden. With no small amount of anxiety, he called the lone contact registered as he sat down. After a few rings, somebody answered.

"It's me," he said gruffly. "Look, I don't know what you want me to do, but I can't keep this up. They're starting to suspect something's up, and I don't know how much longer I can keep lying." A response from the other end. "Yeah, well, they still don't know anything's up, so I still count it."

Whoever he was calling spoke calmly, informing him of something that he seemed uninterested in. He listened with glassy eyes, occasionally nodding as information was fed to him.

"Hey, if you'll recall, I was the only one willing to work for you," he snapped. "I can walk at any time–or better yet, maybe my friends would be interested to hear what you have planned? That wouldn't be so good for you, huh?"

After some quick, frantic speech from the other party, Vargas leaned back, satisfied he had struck a nerve. His demeanor softened as they further assured him that wouldn't be necessary. However, one thing they said caused him to perk up in confusion.

"What do you mean, 'they're coming?' Who's coming?"

May 9, 2017.

"I…slow down, slow down," Mills urged, speaking into the phone. "Yes, I understand, but we're never going to get anywhere if you… Alright. Start at the beginning."

He listened as the person on the other end described what he had seen, his voice frantic and near-panicked. Mills' face went pale at what he heard, reaching over and pressing a button on his desk. By the time the man was finished, it was clear how grave the situation was.

"Thank you for informing me, Samuel. For now, stay indoors, and do not answer your door if they return. And please, do not inform anyone else about this. It is imperative we avoid a panic." After an answer from the man, he hung up, waiting for another to arrive.

A short while later, Captain Steele stepped into his office. "You wanted to speak to me, sir?" he said, a little unnerved by the Director's expression.

"Indeed I did," Mills said. "I just received a call from our informant in Beach City, and it seems our situation has gone from bad to worse. He told me he was visited by a pair of strange figures: a hulking yellow woman, and a small blue fairy."

Steele immediately knew what this meant. "Gems," he said breathlessly. "Homeworld Gems."

Mills nodded. "Apparently, the smaller of the two asked him if he was the mailman. He told her no, and they went on their way. Now, what exactly they meant by that, I can't say, but if Homeworld has sent some of its agents to Earth, it can only mean one thing."

"Maybe the Diamonds subscribed to a magazine, and the delivery was late," said Steele, attempting to ease the tension. When it didn't work, he cleared his throat. "Should I mobilize the troops?"

"Not yet," said Mills. "Right now, the only advantage we have is that they don't know we are aware of their presence. We have to inform the Gems as soon as possible, before whatever these two are planning comes to fruition."

"I'll get on that right away, sir," he said. "Is there anything else I should know?"

Mills thought in silence for a moment. "Yes, actually, there is. Homeworld's interest in this planet has renewed sooner than I anticipated. And because of that, there is no choice but to step up our timetable regarding Project Aftermath. We can't afford to keep it confidential any longer: once this issue with these two Gems is handled, we will inform the other Captains of our plan."

Just like the Director, Steele was quiet for a time. "Understood. I'll see to it that the Gems are aware of the threat." He exited the office, leaving Mills alone once more.

Left at his desk, Mills contemplated the trouble that had just arrived on his doorstep–or, more accurately, Samuel's. BAINE had been able to overcome many challenges since its founding, and he had no doubt it would be able to handle many more. But Homeworld itself returning…that was a fight he was hesitant to join.