LOG-131.

  Three years, nine months, four weeks, three days, twelve hours, six minutes, and forty two seconds.

  That was her current count, though Klep (the self identifier had become rooted in her mind as of late, even above her original designation, just another small rebellion she supposed) couldn't be sure that she hadn't messed up her tracking of time, somehow.

  The system was, after all, based on the day and night cycle of a planet. Or of careful allocation of water. Unfortunately, she hadn't seen either in a while.

  Make that seven minutes.

  …

  Sighing, the Lapis Lazuli glanced up from in between her knees, briefly lingering on the garish mess that was her cross-court uniform for a moment before staring at the wall once more.

  How long did it take to get a trial set up? All she'd done was try and keep some plants around! Was that truly so bad?

  "For Blue Diamond's sake, you're supposed to civilize worlds, not keep them as-is! Make them more beautiful. More elegant! More anything that isn't the mudball we started with!"

  Oh who was she kidding, of course it was bad. Because Stars forbid the Empire ever appreciate the concept of recycling, let alone anything a Gem like her could provide beyond cutting apart rocks-

  Klep flinched slightly (an ingrained response from one too many close calls with particularly annoyed wildlife) as a loud buzzer shrieked through her cell, right before the lightform discorporating barrier keeping her locked in abruptly shut down.

  It was the identical plodding footfalls of the pair of Sphenes that had been her only real point of contact with the outside world that motivated the terraformer to stand, hunching up slightly as the two hourglass shaped law enforcement Gems ground to a halt in front of her.

  One opened her mouth, speaking with a disinterested voice even as the other held forward a familiar pair of restraints, a dull but expectant expression on her face.

  "Lapis Lazuli Facet 2W2D Cabochon 2JQ, a Gem of appropriate authority has arrived to facilitate your arranged trial. You will follow us, immediately."

  Staring at the cuffs, Klep resisted the urge to sigh and just put her hands forward.

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  "Fine. Let's just get this over with already."

  —

  Klep stood upon the podium of the accused, doing her best to ignore the various whispers and murmurs echoing around the chamber of judgement. Instead, she focused on the figure that would likely be deciding her punishment.

  The judge herself was very pretty, with a similar shade and hue to some of the various vines and mosses Klep had tried to cultivate, before she'd been ordered to exterminate them prior to her arrest. The bits and pieces of jewellery and physical fabric adorning her frame only served to accentuate the likeness.

  Of course the judge was also a Pearl. Which was…certainly progressive, she supposed. Regardless, her being pretty made more sense with that in mind. It was kind of what her caste was made for, after all.

  Still, Klep couldn't help but wring her hands slightly at the sight, even as that glitch Pyrope eagerly stepped up beside the Pearl, somehow managing to appear subordinate despite towering over the other Gem.

  "Presenting her flawlessness Viridian! Acting Pearl and envoy of Yellow Diamond herself!"

  Oh.

  The singular thought was all that ran through the Lazuli's mind as 'Viridian' dipped her head slightly in acknowledgement of the claim, various cheers and applause from the chamber's various spectators (mostly lesser aristocracy, come to see whether they could get a chance at contracting a punished Lapis for a few centuries) filling the air.

  Since…since when did Yellow Diamond have a green Pearl? Was that new? Had she lost track of time?! Just how long had she been in that cell?!

  The various worries flitted around her like some of the organic insects she'd occasionally observed, even as Pyrope produced a datapad with a small flourish, reading out the damning report that would see Klep likely serving on some backwater mining outpost for who knew how many years.

  "In the interest of expediency and not wasting our fair judge's time, I shall be brief and include only the most important of details. The accused stands before us currently, Lapis Lazuli Facet 2W2D Cabochon 2JQ, a perfect cut terraformer accused of blue-stone major schedule fraud, wasting valuable working time and setting an unforgivable precedent for others of her Gem caste. I trust that the judge has already gone through any other relevant details prior to the trial?"

  Klep cringed slightly as the Pearl nodded her head, staring down at her with cold hard eyes that likely would have fit better on an Agate field officer than some glorified entertainer.

  "I have. If there are no objections, I will proceed with judgement immediately. Yellow Diamond would prefer this matter resolved with all due haste."

  Excited chatter briefly erupted at the judge casually referring to her owner in such a way, before everyone quickly quieted down once more, Pyrope bobbing her head up and down beside Viridian.

  "Of course! So, what shall it be? A dozen centuries of service? Deployment to the outer fringe colonies that border organic wildspace?"

  Klep held her tongue. If…if she could be assigned to the periphery…then maybe-

  "Death."

  Her hopes ground to a halt as several gasps echoed through the chamber, Pyrope herself stepping back slightly at Viridian's matter of fact tone.

  "E-Execution? But…but surely such an ah…measure might be considered just a little extreme-"

  The Gem promptly shut her mouth in a way that would have pleased Klep greatly in literally any other circumstance, shrinking down slightly at the judge's glare.

  "I speak with the Authority of her radiance Yellow Diamond. This mistake has been allowed to fester for too long, and Gems must understand that undermining the Empire, in even the smallest of ways, can not be allowed. You exist to serve us. You will die if you fail to do so."

  She'd always thought that, no matter how bad the punishment might be, she would be fine in the end. She was a Gem, after all. Time was always going to be on her side.

  Now, her entire world was crashing down around her, the sentiment shattering apart into countless little pieces even as the horrible, beautiful Pearl idly flicked a hand at her, utterly dismissive of the Lapis she had just ordered killed.

  "Sphenes, remove this organic loving scum at once. I don't want to see her again."

  Klep could do nothing but whimper, futilely reaching for a water source that simply wasn't there as the two enforcers that had brought her here hesitantly grabbed her by the arms, beginning to drag her away to restrained applause by the spectators all around her.