Chương 68: LOG-064.

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Rose Quartz? Pink Diamond? Rose Quartz? Pink Diamond? Rose Quartz? Pink Diamond? Rose Quartz? Pink Diamond? Rose Quartz? Pink Diamond? Rose Quartz? Pink Diamond? Help Us! Make us whole! Please! Help Us! Make us whole! Please! Help Us! Make us whole! Please! Help Us! Make us whole! Please! Help Us! Make us whole! Please! Help Us! Make us whole! Please!

"-re you alright? Rose?" She blinked, staring down at a visibly worried looking Pearl and reflexively shooting the renegade a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine. Just... it's been a long time since we've seen... well, other Gems!" True, technically. Unsaid was the fact that she'd been horribly off kilter ever since her... conversation with the Cluster. Even the glancing memory of it nearly prompted another shiver, one that was ruthlessly suppressed as she gave Pearl a soft pat on the shoulder. She really needed to step up more than she had been, no matter how distracted she might be. Stars, but it... they had been all but screaming at her.

Crystal Gems and Imperials alike. It was all she could do at the time to put them into some semblance of rest, directing them both as their leader and as their Diamond to bubble themselves and each other. In the face of that, was it really so strange that she was more than a little shaken? At least she'd been able to keep it from the others. They didn't need her breaking down with all of... this going on.

She'd been lucky enough to hand off some of the load to a certain green Gem, since the rogue servant in question was far more familiar with this vessel than she was and seemingly more than willing to settle things, but even that was enough to make her feel horribly selfish. She had no right to be placing responsibility on other's shoulders, after all. Especially not at a time like this.

"Brim! We're in a fight! No more spinning!"

"Three more spins and I'll stop!"

"You absolute birdbrain! Put me down!" The rebel leader turned, long voluminous curls swaying slightly as she glanced towards the center of the hangar, where the still cheery Lapis Lazuli (Brim, she needed to remember that) was still all but dancing around with a steadily complaining Viridian in her arms, even if said Gem's objections didn't really feel all too heated, judging by the tone of her voice.

Garnet was still quietly smiling off to the side, while Vermilion was apparently moving to join her fellow Pearl in interacting with the terraformer as well. Amethyst in turn was apparently exchanging squawks and chirps with several visibly perplexed organics (Viridian had been spot on with her 'avian' term, and oh how interesting they looked!), her own feathered lightform now mirroring theirs, though judging by some of their lost or vaguely bemused demeanors, the language barrier was still proving a distinct problem, no matter how hard the purple 'bird' tried to mimic their sounds.

"I just... I hadn't expected anyone friendly! Especially with how all of this started and-and how it's going I suppose. I guess... I guess I just thought we were the only ones who'd ever gone against Homeworld. It... really is a bit silly in hindsight. Of course others would rebel on other colonies!" And how hard it must have been, especially without the 'leader' of said colony actively sabotaging Imperial efforts to put out the initial sparks of any potential rebellion.

Still, before Pearl could open her mouth to respond to the statement in full, two sets of footsteps drew both Gems' attention. It wasn't the first time she'd seen a Citrine. They'd been common enough sights back during her earliest days on Homeworld. Usually acting as subordinates to elite Agate guards following around Yellow. There'd even been a rather effective trio that had defected and joined the rebellion when things were really getting heated, just a little before everything had gone so terribly wrong.

"So... you're actually real, huh?" The bittersweet memory was only enhanced by the golden Gem's rather irregular uniform. The typical Diamond insignia had clearly been traded out for some kind of winged emblem at some point, something that, now that she truly cared to look, was present on all of the Gems associated with these bird-like organics in some way or form, including both Brim and the silent figure following along behind the Citrine.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Thick strong arms crossed over the soldier Gem's chest as she finally came to a stop, blatantly looking her up and down. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose noticed Amethyst turning away from the organics, lightform shifting back to its default as she began to approach with a curious expression on her face.

Shaking the stray details away like the distractions they currently were, Rose nodded quickly, giving the Citrine a wide smile.

"I suppose I am! Rose Quartz, it's wonderful to meet you...?" Smirking, the yellow Gem lifted a hand, fingers curling into a fist that thumped solidly against her chest.

"The direct translation in Gemish would be Talon. Brim is the lovestruck wonder getting Viridian annoyed, and behind me is Quille." The hidden Diamond's eyes flicked towards the darker Gem in question, widening slightly as she noticed the rather... unfortunate, placement of her gemstone. She couldn't quite tell what she was. Her first thought was yet another Pearl, but Quille was far larger than the usual average, and less thin as well.

The smoothness and distinctly smoky pattern of her gemstone vaguely reminded her of something, but the thought was eluding her at the moment. Judging by the silent Gem's quirked eyebrow, she had more than noticed the attention, prompting Rose to hastily turn her gaze back towards Talon in embarassment as the Citrine let out a knowing chuckle.

Pearl (Stars, but the name was getting more than a little confusing with so many other candidates for the caste now being around) seemed more than willing to get into a silent staring contest with the unidentified not-Pearl in her stead, so there was that at least.

"I've read about you in some of the data repositories we've managed to salvage from larger ships, you know. Real impressive stuff! Imperials love to go on and on in some of their propaganda about how you were obliterated after shattering one of their vaunted Diamonds. Just another lie they're feeding themselves, it seems." Her briefly excited tone turned slightly bitter near the end, even as Rose nodded in agreement.

"Homeworld does like obscuring the truth, in more ways than one." Hypocritical, coming from someone like her? Absolutely. But no less true in the end. Rumble. Before anything else could be said, nearly everyone stumbled, the open hangar doors displaying the outside world tilting ever so slightly as the stream quickened, flooding past them to disappear down the way they'd come.

"Brim! I'm going to cracking slap you! Let go! We can hug and dance later damn it! Go say hello to Vermilion or something!"

"Fine! Fine!" Blinking, Rose watched the byplay in bemusement for a moment, before turning back to the sudden appearance of what almost seemed to be a stand off, namely that of Amethyst now looking up at a curious Talon. The two Quartzes stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, before the Citrine finally grinned.

"I like your outfit!" Purple cheeks darkened as the overcooked warrior blushed, kicking at the floor slightly in response to the sudden compliment.

"Uh-thanks. I like yours too!" Nodding happily at the defused tension, Talon turned back towards Rose, tilting her head slightly and smirking.

"So, not to cut introductions short or anything, but I think the situation from here on out is fairly clear. We all hate the Empire, and there's a flight of Imperial Gems both on and off this ship. Want to join forces and teach them a lesson?" Smirking right back, Rose nodded firmly, the other Gems enthusiasm passing on to her.

"Yes, yes I think I do. We... might want to go rein in your Lapis first, though. Just a thought." Birdbrained seemed rather accurate a term, as possibly offensive as it was. Though considering they hadn't been attacked by what remained of the warship's crew, maybe the hydrokinetic had enough multitasking ability to get away with devoting some of her attention to doting on Viridian and now Vermilion.

A flash of light briefly caught her attention, and for whatever reason Rose felt a slight chill pass through her lightform as Quille pulled what seemed to be a very dented metal pipe out from her gemstone, turning and beginning to silently walk towards the still smiling Brim, apparently distracted by the pair of Pearls now standing at either side of her. Bringing up a hand to sweep back her hair, Talon let out what seemed to almost be a worried croon.

"Yeah uh... Quille's got it. I think." The subsequent metal clangs and panicked squawks more than illustrated just how the rogue Gem planned on reining in her blue counterpart, it seemed.