Chương 35: LOG-031.

The hall of judgement was filled with a vast chorus of murmurs and whispers. The Gems that spoke amongst each other did their best to be quiet, of course, but in a vast space where everything else was silent, even the slightest bit of noise tended to echo, to say the very least. But that wasn't Emerald's primary concern, as of this moment. It was instead the Zircon frantically pacing in front of her, going through several datapads worth of information while anxiously glancing at a still empty throne. A blue throne.

She knew this Gem, though indirectly. She was a popular prosecutor, but dear Hessonite had somehow managed to convince the up and coming lawyer to take on Emerald's case in the hopes of sparing her old acquaintance an unfair sentencing. Regardless of the one that was going to attempt to defend her honour, going on trial for such a massive failure wasn't exactly an unexpected thing.

Stars, even she somewhat desired to punish herself for botching things so badly as the leading officer, even if the enemy fleet detonating Diamond essence was something no one could have expected, nor anticipated! It was simply unprecedented! But a direct trial hosted by the Executioner herself? Emerald's utterly rotten luck seemed to have only gotten worse ever since she was assigned that cursed mission.

Her own Diamond was a pragmatic Gem, and would likely see reality for what it was, but the ever grieving Blue Diamond was a far different matter entirely. Regardless of the reasons for her failure, the results inevitably remained the same.

The wretched organics that even now she continued to mentally curse out within the depths of her mind remained at large, the Diamond essence that had been so painfully stocked up for a future colony had been spent in, at best, a fascinating, extremely wasteful weapons experiment, and she still hadn't gotten back her Stars damned Pearls!

Oh what she wouldn't give to have Sixteen A sing her a song again, or for her Viridian to even just stand by her side once more, listening attentively as she rambled on about whatever came to mind while the ship travelled through Warp space... Ugh. At least they hadn't gone so low as to shackle her.

Such a thing would be an indignity no Emerald would bear without retaliation bar exceptional circumstances, and yet somehow the feeling of a heavy weight remained upon the disgraced admiral's shoulders nonetheless, partly due to the heavily armoured figures of a pair of Tourmalines standing nearby, the Quartz-like enforcers' eyes hidden behind their signature visors, yet their concealed lightforms and elongated Gem destabilizers clearly ready to move at a moment's notice should she prove... defective.

Truly, what an utterly horrible sensation. Unfortunately, that already heavy weight only increased almost a hundred fold as the whispering stopped all at once, all eyes (including her own) drawn to the throne as the familiar light indicative of an active Warp stream made itself apparent.

As the brief burst faded, any attention that may have been paid to other matters ceased to exist entirely, the massive hall's collective of Gems staring at the ancient being with various emotions etched into their gemstones and expressions alike. Fear. Respect. Nervousness. Faith. Adoration. Loyalty. And so so many other complex feelings.

The lithe form of Blue Diamond's own Pearl, dutifully standing next to her far larger owner, merely served to make the significantly uglier feelings brewing in her own gemstone even worse. It was the first time in eons that the venerable Gem had deigned to directly visit the Crystal Confluence, and the sheer shame 8XS felt at being the one responsible for such a thing was almost too much to bear. Yet the cowled figure didn't so much as even twitch at all the sudden attention, merely waving a hand to proceed.

"Inform me of this one's crimes, and begin the trial." And so they did. From there, things went just about as well as she could have expected. Multiple direct witnesses were brought forward, Emerald was allowed to make her own statements, and her defendant Zircon was very careful in ensuring the entire situation (and Emerald's part in it) was portrayed in as positive a light as possible.

"And so with the provided evidence in mind, my illustrious, ever resplendant, beautiful and flawless Diamond... my client did the absolute most she could have done in such a terrible situation! Had she not gathered a fleet at best speed to intercept these vile pirates, who knows what could have happened?! They have shown themselves more than willing to go to extremes, who's to say they wouldn't have, as a hypothetical example, attempted to bombard a station, or Stars forbid, even a colony?"

Silence interspersed with numerous whispers answered the nervous Zircon's proclamation, before the gargantuan ruler shifted in place, leaning forward. Emerald just barely caught a glimpse of the eyes hidden beneath that cowl during the process, and part of her remained shocked at just how tired one of Homeworld's sole three matriarchs seemingly appeared to be.

"... This was a failure." Her voice remained a distinct mixture of cold, exhausted and melodic all at once, prompting shivers from just about every Gem within the hall. Blue Diamond's hand lifted into the air, before clenching into a fist.

"You did your best, and an Emerald isn't an easy thing to replace. I declare you to be innocent." The admiral let loose a sigh of relief, ready to deliver a firm salute in thanks to the very generous decree-"However, an example must be made nonetheless. Too many mistakes were made during this unsanctioned operation for it to remain viable, and those involved require a lesson to... inspire them when it comes to future decisions. Emerald, what vessel do you command?"

The urge to shiver increased as the Diamond's attention practically pinned her in place. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"T-the Retaliator, my Diamond. A twin-linked assault cruiser manufactured in-" Her attempt to list off the proud vessel's origin was interrupted, and Blue Diamond's next words almost made her fall over with how utterly final they sounded.

"Your crew, we'll schedule all of them for Harvesting. They will take on the burden of acting as an example to the rest of the Gems that participated in this mess. It shouldn't be too large of a loss if we recycle them. Most ships like yours are manned by cheaply produced batches anyway. Maybe we'll even manage to find you some Era One veterans." Her voice caught in her throat as the Executioner slowly nodded to herself.

"Yes, perhaps we can pull an actual opportunity from all of this... those old twin-links are getting far too outdated anyway. You'll be assigned a new ship entirely, and from there I'm sure Yellow will ensure a freshly organized fleet is granted to you, one that will allow you to properly track and eventually purge these... organics. It will serve as a fitting way to redeem yourself in the face of your failure." It was everything she wanted. A better ship.

Another, more carefully assembled fleet to hunt down those that had wronged her. But... those who served under her had been loyal. They'd been following her commands! How could any of this be their fault!? They'd performed as well as could be expected of them for Stars' sake! And that wasn't her only concern either!

"And... what of my Pearls, my Diamond?" That stare returned, and Emerald wilted as those distinctly shaped pupils focused on her, their owner's eyes narrowing slightly in apparent thought.

"... It's an unfortunate loss. I grant you leave to requisition another pair from the Reef, if you so desire." Another pair? Another pair!? She didn't want another pair! And she didn't want another crew, either! She liked her current one just fine damn it!... She needed to convince Blue Diamond, somehow. But how? Even going to her own Diamond likely wouldn't help matters, especially if her actions were taken as a refusal of orders. It was fine. She'd just explain things properly and go from there.

Surely a Diamond would see the inherent waste in all of this? Right?

"M-my Diamond, if I may-" More eyes turned to Emerald, and out of the corner of her vision she could just about make out the Zircon's triumphant expression vanishing as she began to rapidly shake her head.

"-As a fleet admiral with some experience, I firmly believe my crew would be better served being transferred aboard whatever new vessel I am given. They're an efficient lot, and to just throw away such valuable knowledge and loyalty would be-" The veritable wave of emotion that hit her was almost physically painful, the admiral falling to her knees as tears began to stream down her eyes.

Around her, everyone else was also quietly beginning to sob, and she could clearly see Blue Diamond's Pearl sniffling slightly at her place atop one of the gargantuan throne's armrests. Stars, even the normally emotionless Tourmalines were beginning to shake slightly, the rich purple Gems practically sagging in their armour at the Diamond powered onslaught.

"I will not be argued with in matters such as this. As the crew of the flagship of your temporary armada, they will have appeared untouchable to everyone else involved. Their fate will remind those around them of the price of failure without having to penalize the entire fleet. Have I made myself clear, Emerald?" Choking back a sob herself, the admiral bowed her head, forcing her arms into a salute.

"Y-yes my D-diamond." There would be no changing of decisions, now that the Executioner had rather clearly made up her mind on the matter.

Her short trip out of the hall of judgement may have outwardly appeared triumphant, what with the Zircon that had represented her excitedly babbling about how well the trial had gone and how this was going to boost both of their respective careers, but Emerald felt quite literally anything but victorious. If she wanted to be spectacularly dramatic, she'd even say it almost felt like losing Viridian all over again. Regardless of her internal...

pity party, eventually, she reached the Warp junction her shuttle had landed next to, and it was all she could do from there to avoid looking the two usual Peridots patiently waiting outside for her arrival in the eyes, all as she marched up the docking ramp. From there, getting back to the Retaliator almost felt like going through old motions. Dock at the hangar. Accept the greetings from the Gems awaiting her return and proceed to the bridge.

The distinct difference in it all were the stares as she finally settled down in her command throne, each and every Gem within the bridge occasionally glancing at each other before returning to look at her. The tension was too much, and the admiral snapped perhaps just a little too harshly because of it, drawing minor flinches from the crew.

"What? What are all of you looking at?!" One of her Citrines hesitated slightly, the burly Quartz elite looking pensive as she rubbed a hand against one of her arms.

"Apologies, my Emerald. We just... we're glad to see you're back. Trial must have gone good, huh?" The soldier chuckled slightly, before biting her lip.

"And well... we've all been wondering uh... what's next?" 8XS couldn't help but hold back a flinch of her own as a nearby Jasper raised a hand.

"Yeah, the ship's ready to go Admiral. Are we gonna go smash those dirty organics apart or what? I'm itching for some payback!" Then it was a Peridot, visor almost seeming to glow as she glanced to Emerald's side.

"Are... are we going to look for Viridian and uh... Sixteen A again? They're probably still lost somewhere. Stars knows how frightened they must be..." Every question was like the electric barbs of a destabilizer painfully digging into her form, making her feel worse and worse as all those earnest, loyal and utterly innocent eyes stared at her, waiting for answers. They had no idea what was coming. She was the one in charge of telling them after all, and she could scarcely speak.

Her eyes flicked downwards as a nearby console attached to her throne lit up and let loose a light, pleasant tone, a flight path emerging for her to follow. It led to one of the Confluence's larger hangars, with one simple directive attached to it. Report for shipbreaking. It would likely be the Retaliator's last act, alongside that of her crew.

"My Emerald, are you alright?" Her other Citrine, glancing down at her with a worried look. Emerald followed the gaze, and... Ah. Her hands... appeared to be shaking. That... wasn't quite right, now was it?

"I'm fine." The admiral lied, even as she began to input commands into the console, the Retaliator conceding to her will as it always dutifully had and detaching itself from the exterior docking clamps it had used to remain fixed outside the Confluence's primary visitation spire. They were away, now. And as per Blue Diamond's directive... it would be their final journey, save for Emerald herself. After all, there was no feasible way to go against a Diamond's word.

Her own superior would do nothing, as to act contrary to another Diamond's will would bring far too much trouble, even for an Emerald's sake. She couldn't plead to the courts, since the Executioner was, naturally, the highest authority second to White Diamond herself when it came to matters of the law. So... so there was nothing she could do, really.

"Engines are running smooth, my Emerald!"

"Weapons are fresh as well, my Emerald!"

"Navigation is clear too, my Emerald!" My Emerald. My Emerald. My useless, utter crackup of an Emerald.

"All systems read optimal, my Emerald. Awaiting inputting of destination!" There was nothing she could do. Not legally, anyway. Emerald facet 2M7G, cut 8XS hesitated for less than a second before her feelings solidified into something beyond a vague sense of frustration and hopelessness, before she angrily took a stand, cape billowing behind her as she swept an arm forward, a snarl twisting her lips apart.

"Plot a course for the rimward territories, get us as close to the previous battlefield as possible!" Wide eyes almost brought a second of doubt, before the admiral rather firmly reminded herself of just what was going to happen to every Gem under her command should she hesitate again.

"Get us out of here, now!" The scramble to follow the order was familiar, and the jump to Warp space was almost enough to help her pretend that she hadn't just committed a direct act of rebellion against a Diamond. Almost. She wasn't stupid. She never would have made it to where she was in life if it weren't for the collection of Gems around her supporting 8XS throughout every battle, every journey and every problem. And if Blue Diamond couldn't see that?

Couldn't see beyond punishing a fleet for doing their absolute best in serving the Empire and in defending Homeworld? Well then she could just go and get cracked. Authority be damned.