LOG-071.

  She was a Citrine. A strong Gem. A powerful Gem. An elite Quartz warrior only a few steps down from an Agate.

  "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

  "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

  "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

  And yet for all her strength, and for all her power, Citrine facet 3M6A, cut 7XA, could do little but listen on, utterly transfixed as the lithe, delicate looking Gem her Emerald had brought aboard continued to sway back and forth, limbs all but flowing through the air, just as the melodic sounds she was making did so in turn.

  A Pearl. She knew what she was, of course. Everyone had known exactly what she was the second she'd stepped aboard the bridge behind their Emerald, though no one had mentioned it at the time. They were considered the highest prize a singular Gem could achieve. Something that was intrinsically theirs, and held no attachment to function or station. Besides, even on a ship as well run as the Retaliator, certain contraband was all but inevitable. Like decorative holoprojectors.

  Though considering how lenient the captain was when it came to most things, that wasn't a surprise. She was fairly sure that even if the thing was ever discovered, the high ranking Gem likely wouldn't care enough to even give out a reprimand for it, so long as more important rules continued to be followed.

  "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

  "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

  "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

  The Pearl in front of her looked so very similar to the pretty little holographic dancer her batchmate had brought aboard one day, supposedly found discarded in some empty hallway, deep in some manor her fellow Citrine had waited within while guarding their Emerald on a trip transporting spare supplies down to a newly established colony.

  Compared to the translucent, ever spinning Pearl attached to the small device that easily fit within her palm, however, this one had a few notable differences.

  She had different hair, for one. Alongside a different outfit, an elegant dress with funny looking shoulder bits, all flowy and fancy. She was also green, with a similar hue to her Emerald, in fact. Though that was likely by design.

  Supposedly, the servant was custom built for the admiral, who'd finally succumbed to the constant pressuring and teasing from her fellow Emeralds (she knew, for she had been on the bridge when a few of the friendlier fleet admirals and commanders had hailed her Emerald while in orbit of Homeworld) and exasperatedly placed in an order for her very own servant from the Reef, amidst numerous cheers and laughs.

  It was a fascinating thing to ponder. Even Citrines came out relatively random in terms of appearance, in their own sections within this or that kindergarten. Sure, they all followed a standard template as dictated by the Diamonds, but it wasn't like the Peridots that had welcomed them into the world had custom programmed what colour they'd be upon emergence, or what their hair might be like. Gems came out however they did, and then the Empire adapted them for use afterwards.

  Not Pearls, though. Pearls were bespoke. They had everything decided for them before even being set to cook. This one even had a nickname apparently already set for her, similar to the ones some of the Jaspers liked to give each other whenever they got bored of punching one another.

  Viridian.

  It was a nice name. For a nice Gem, who was more than willing to converse with a bored bodyguard standing at the back of the bridge, whenever she wasn't busy entertaining their Emerald (and by extension the entire bridge crew) with this or that story. Or song. Or dance.

  Or sometimes all three at once. Those were particularly fun.

  Still, regardless of Viridian's talent when it came to mixing various forms of entertainment together, 7XA been passing through the area just outside the bridge itself (it felt nicer to walk around than to simply stand in place during some of the longer Warp trips) when she'd caught a few stray Gems seemingly idling in the hallway leading down from the heart of the ship.

  The only Gem permitted to traverse the ship freely was either the captain, the captain's bodyguards, or more technically, the captain's Pearl. After all, their Emerald had been gracious enough to assign her to the upkeep of crew morale, and the lithe Gem had been quick to fulfill said assignment, traversing the entirety of the cruiser's various halls and chambers in order to seemingly entertain everyone she could.

  This time, it was apparently a Rutile and two Peridots. She'd been prepared to question just why they'd (for whatever reason) chosen to stand around and do nothing at all, only to pause when the first few familiar notes had hit her. From there, it was easy to see how they'd likely gotten 'caught up' in between getting to their next few tasks.

  "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

  "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

  "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

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  After that, she'd almost inevitably joined the fighter pilot and pair of technicians. From her position leaned up against the wall behind her, and with no immediate duties to attend to while they remained in Warp space, 7XA had ample time to simply...watch. To listen as those musical tones continued to echo throughout the halls around them.

  Eventually, the other Gems reluctantly returned to enact their various duties, though the Citrine had stayed, tilting her head ever so slightly as the Pearl slowly wound down from her wordless song.

  "That sounded nice."

  Green eyes turned to stare up at her, even as the beautiful Gem bowed her head.

  "I'm very glad you think so. I was cleaning when the others came and asked for one, so it was a bit impromptu."

  Nodding along, 7XA admired the elegant posture the Pearl seemed to effortlessly maintain for a moment, before posing a question.

  "It's been close to a cycle now. Are you settling in well?"

  A redundant question, perhaps. Wherever the Pearl went, Gems seemed to get happier, and the servant herself was always smiling or gazing at others with a light expression on her face. Still, it didn't hurt to ask.

  "The Retaliator is an excellent ship, with an even better crew. It's been a pleasure getting to know all of you so far. The captain is very kind as well."

  She wasn't some fresh faced Ruby, but even 7XA couldn't help but bring up a hand, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly at the Pearl's beaming expression.

  "Heh, yeah well we all try I suppose. Hey uh...I'm gonna head over towards one of the observation decks. Watch the colours outside. Wanna come?"

  It was a hobby of hers. Watching the various patterns that sometimes made themselves apparent in Warp space. Sometimes her batchmate joined her, though 7XB usually just stayed in the bridge instead.

  In the end, the green Gem didn't hesitate to accept her offer. By the time they'd reached their destination, a small frontier waystation that had sent out a request for temporary reinforcements to scare off probing vessels belonging to the nearby organic star raiders, she'd even tried singing along with some of the songs the Pearl had eventually broken into.

  It was fun. Even if Viridian was definitely better at it. Besides, the Pearl made a good point. 7XA was better at guarding their Emerald.

  ---

  She was a Citrine. A strong Gem. A powerful Gem. An elite Quartz warrior only a few steps down from an Agate.

  Clang.

  "Damn it!

  Clang.

  "Damn it!

  Clang.

  "DAMN IT!"

  And yet for all her strength, and for all her power, she was powerless in the face of the Retaliator's hardened plating. Though in her defense, what Gem would ever expect to be imprisoned in the brig of the very ship she served on, outside of those who might misbehave?

  "Give it up already, you're not punching us out of here."

  She whirled around, ready to tear into her counterpart, only to falter at the hopeless look in her fellow Quartz's eyes.

  Out of their entire batch, only her and 7XB were left. The rest had long since been reassigned to various new posts, usually guarding high ranking Gems just like their Emerald, though the admiral in question had mentioned that some of them had likely been relocated to the frontier colonies in order to assist in the defence of some of the more vital kindergartens, like the ones pumping out Peridots.

  Nonetheless. It was only them left now. Perhaps if they'd had more than just two Citrines, they could have-

  No. No, it likely would have resulted in just about the same thing happening, elite guards present or not.

  Still, 7XA sincerely hoped the rest of the batch were doing better than they were right now, even as she slowly lowered her clenched fists from the barely dented surface of the cell and stomped over to her counterpart, sliding down against the wall until she was seated in a mirror to 7XB's slumped form.

  "...We're so cracked."

  The words only seemed to cause her fellow elite to slump even further.

  "Yeah. Can't say I ever expected to be locked up by a bunch of meatbags, if I'm being entirely honest. Though having a traitor on their side probably helped."

  ...

  "Can't say I wouldn't do the same, though. If I thought I was gonna get shattered the whole time.

  ...

  "I was already planning on ways to escape the Retaliator the second I stepped aboard, after you picked me up from the Reef, Emerald."

  It was quieter, now. She could still faintly hear the sound of some kind of conversation, but the crackling of the destabilizer barrier keeping them imprisoned drowned out most of it.

  "And then you arrived! My new owner! I was thrilled, even though I hated that I was going to exist as your-your servant. Your property."

  It hadn't been enough to drown out the argument, though. The fortune...or misfortune, perhaps, of having been placed in the cell directly adjacent to their Emerald.

  "But hey! At least you were getting me out of that...place. Sure, I'd need to keep up the damned act lest you realize there was something wrong with me and decided to send me back, or maybe even just shattered me yourself, but by then I'd gotten used to that particular song and dance. Just more of the same, really! Duties duties duties! Cleaning and saluting and following and bowing and scraping and yes, my Emerald, no my Emerald, let me sing for you and dance for you and help you because I'd be ever so pleased to, my Emerald!"

  ...

  "Hey."

  Blinking, 7XA glanced to the side, arching an eyebrow as her remaining batchmate slapped at her shoulder.

  "Yeah?"

  Her counterpart's eyes stared at her for a moment, before flicking downwards, seemingly interested in the floor more than anything else at the moment.

  "Did...did Viridian ever sound like that? All angry. You know, before the freighter."

  The freighter. The thrice damned freighter. That's where everything had gone wrong. Where their lives had turned upside down. It was because of the freighter that they were scheduled for Harvesting. Because of the freighter that their Emerald was forced to either rebel or allow them all to be taken away and recycled.

  Part of her wanted to scream. That it was the freighter's fault that Blue Diamond had chosen to kill them all. That the Retaliator's resident Pearl had only apparently feared for her own life even as she danced and sang throughout its halls, uplifting the crew whenever possible and at least listening to their problems whenever such a thing wasn't plausible, after that damned explosion.

  Part of her wanted to desperately believe that Viridian hadn't apparently been walking on glass around all of them the whole time, and that they hadn't been utterly unaware of that fact, even as the reality around her rather clearly dictated otherwise.

  "...Nah, she always...always sounded like she normally did."

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw 7XB's expression twist, ever so slightly.

  "She sounded mad, just a little bit ago. Like the way our old Agate got sometimes. Stars, I didn't even think she could be mad."

  7XA nodded, resting her elbows atop her knees.

  "Yeah. Neither did I."

  Her eyes stung. For some reason, they felt wet. Like when the rogue Lapis Lazuli had splashed her and a bunch of the Jaspers with all that water. But smaller.

  Rubbing at them only sort of helped the feeling go away, and it somehow had distracted her enough that she only noticed the sound of approaching footsteps after the figure apparently walking over to their cell was already standing in front of the destabilizer barrier.

  "On your feet, Citrines."

  7XA slowly looked up, and gasped as two luminous green eyes stared back at her own, somehow both utterly foreign, and yet so very familiar at the exact same time.