Chương 103: LOG-097.

"Status report, how is my fleet doing?" The Nephrite officer's response washed over her, only half heard as the green Gem lounged in her command throne, staring out the primary viewport hanging in front of the bridge.... Her fleet. Hers. Something about that thought still sent a slight thrill through Emerald's lightform whenever it passed her mind. Sure, Emeralds were supposed to actively command fleets by default, but she had been an exception to that rule.

Exclusively captaining the Sun Incinerator had been her purpose, rather than the usual procedure for her caste. The rest of her assigned fleet had usually remained docked within this or that waystation, or were occasionally loaned out to other admirals in need of reinforcements while she went about testing and making use of the Empire's fastest, most cutting edge warship. Not anymore. No, now she was fulfilling her true purpose, acting in accordance to her very design!

And of course, while she wouldn't trade her lovely ship for the world, some part of her being nonetheless clicked very well with the fact that she now commanded more than a single vessel at any one time, even if the circumstances surrounding the situation were... unfortunate, to say the very least. A rogue Emerald. It was almost inconceivable! Such a thing hadn't happened in... well, a really long time! And for 8XS of all Gems to be the one to do so! Sure, the trial itself had been...

difficult (Emerald wasn't quite sure how she would react if she was ordered to scrap her darling Sun Incinerator, if she was being entirely honest with herself), but to defy and flee from the direct order and authority of a Diamond? Madness! Thankfully, said madness most certainly wouldn't last too long. No matter how experienced its captain, the Retaliator was no stealth frigate, and had left behind telltale signs of its passing through certain systems. Cruisers weren't exactly subtle, after all.

Why, they'd probably track down the traitor within a century or two, given proper searching protocols were followed! The neighbouring galaxy she'd apparently fled to only had so many systems after all, and they'd narrowed it down to only a few hundred potential locations-"Admiral."

Emerald did not startle at the abrupt uttering of the word, but the confident grin that had been plastered over her face did recede ever so slightly, her singular eye narrowing as she turned to regard the hulking wall of lightform armour pretending to be a Gem beside her. A Tourmaline. One of two, though the other enforcer was conducting a general inspection of the crew, supposedly. The rest of their cadre were instead scattered throughout the rest of the fleet, presumably to ensure an even spread of Gempower.

The rich purple Gems were an unsettling sight, even for high ranked individuals like herself. Though considering their purpose in apprehending such individuals if they went rogue... that might have been by design. The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Speak." Emotionless eyes stared at her for a moment, the rest of the enforcer's face hidden behind her projected warhelm, before the elite warrior shifted in place, the gauntleted hand tightly clasping her halberd gesturing towards a nearby console.

"That indicator. What does it mean?" Turning to glance at the flashing symbol in question, Emerald leaned forward slightly, running a hand along the screen and bringing up a more detailed projection of the disturbance.

"It's... a general distress call? Ancient, though. This is a middle to late Era One code, I recognize it from some of Yellow Diamond's initial expansions." The enforcer tilted her head at that, the long plume of hair pushing up out of her helmet following the motion.

"The Imperial controlled worlds in this galaxy are few and far between. From where does this signal originate?" Bringing up a second screen, Emerald resisted the urge to bark out an order to get back to work as she caught some of the bridge crew watching her, instead focusing on inspecting the series of glyphs now running across the console.

"This is... Pink One? The Crystal System. But what kind of-no. It must be some kind of malfunctioning machine, that wretched planet was declared off limits by the Diamonds during the transition to Era Two!" The Tourmaline merely hummed quietly at that, staring at the still flashing indicator for a long moment. Emerald sighed, moving to swipe the disturbance away and-"Investigate." Pausing, the admiral stared at her heavily armoured counterpart.

"... There's a procedure to this hunt. The chances of this just being some ghost signal heavily outweigh-" Emerald's objection died before it could truly pick up any substance at the enforcer's unrelenting stare, the ends of her hair wilting slightly, even as she turned to input the new navigational parameter to the console. The rest of the fleet would be informed shortly, given just a few seconds for the command to cycle through. Still though...

Turning back to glance at the Tourmaline who had instead resumed standing at attention, she bit her lip.

"I can... see the logic you're following. A failed colony world, considered off limits to most Gems, if I were a rebellious captain-which I'm most certainly not, of course! Nonetheless... I'd probably at least consider it." Those cold eyes slid back towards her, and Emerald repressed a small flinch, reminding herself that she was technically in command here. Technically.

"Just... isn't it too obvious? And besides, while it is technically on the list, we still haven't actually received permission to enter the Crystal system yet! Wouldn't that be against the Diamonds' wish-" The admiral shut up as the purple Gem shifted in place, the bottom of her halberd impacting against the flooring beneath them both with a dull thump.

"You are an Emerald of the Gem Empire, hunting a rogue admiral, and if my understanding is correct, you were informed previously by a Hessonite of excellent standing that this system was of interest, and may just harbour the one we seek." A heavy hand fell upon her shoulder, damn near buckling the Sun Incinerator's captain.

"These are nothing if not extenuating circumstances. It is a good thing, that you defer to the will of the Diamonds so readily, but in this matter, we are allowed a certain level of freedom." The Tourmaline's eyes narrowed slightly, glaring at the console.

"I will take responsibility for the breach in protocol should we be proven wrong in this course of action. Divert the fleet with all due haste, Emerald." Contemplating the blatant out she had been given, the admiral slowly nodded, turning back and reclining in her command throne and relaying the new protocol to the various Nephrite captains making up her direct subordinates.

The Sun Incinerator would be the first to reach the Crystal system, thanks to its experimental nova thrusters, but the rest of the fleet's more traditional gravity drives would ensure they weren't too far behind. And besides, it couldn't hurt to make a brief detour, right? Either they would find and capture 8XS, returning her to the Diamonds for punishment, or they would suffer a slight delay, and the Tourmaline would take the blame.

More importantly, her rebellious counterpart had failed far worse than merely going against protocol, and Blue Diamond had practically rewarded her for it! Plus, Emerald had always wanted to see the fabled Crystal system for herself, even in spite of all the horror stories surrounding it. It was an all win scenario for her, really.