Chương 71: LOG-067.

There was something to be said about the sensation of one's own lightform giving out and receding back into the gemstone projecting it, but just what that was, she found difficult to say. It was the very first time she'd had her body discorporated, after all. For all the various dangers in the universe, it wasn't very often a fleet admiral found herself placed directly in the path of oncoming fire. Such a thing was usually reserved for ground elements. Like Rubies. Or Quartzes and Agates.

Though she had heard (during this or that interaction with fellow military leaders) that in the most severe of ground battles, Hessonite generals did occasionally come under direct assault. Usually in desperate attempts to assasinate them, thus depriving the local Imperial army of proper leadership. All in all though, and regardless of her stray thoughts, her time spent trapped in her own core remained... brief. Seemingly. There had been, for lack of a proper descriptor, a blip, at the very edge of her awareness.

Ignorant as she was in regards to her current state, it remained a mystery as to just what that unknown feeling was. For now at least. Still, focused as she was on trying to reform in spite of the damn near lethal amount of energy she'd been exposed to, the effort needed to actually project some semblance of a working avatar back into the physical world took time, no matter how desperately she rushed it.

After all, Emerald wasn't the only one to have been fired upon by the Retaliator, which in turn was likely still under the control of the band of rogues that had just a short time ago, been its prisoners. If she had fared this badly, Stars knew just how the rest of her crew were doing. And so she continued feeling around in the not-space within her gemstone, commanding, or perhaps simply willing a return to the waking world beyond. And eventually... it worked.

She could feel her body reforming, feet already hitting the ground before she could actually see anything. But eventually, her eyes followed along with the rest of her features as she stumbled to a stand. Idly, part of the admiral registered that her cape was missing. Not... entirely unexpected, the physical attachment had been a gift fashioned as an award for service, and thus wasn't actually part of her lightform like everything else.

In all likelihood, it either remained where she had been struck down, was now in tattered pieces, or had been confiscated by her captors. Emphasis on captors, considering she was in what she recognized to be one of her own ship's cells. The knowledge of just how soundly she'd apparently been beaten weighed heavily upon the admiral, and almost as if in direct response to her mood, her hair began to sag downwards slightly, reflecting her own thoughts.

Shaking her head and quickly smoothing back the uncooperative locks with a hand, she pushed the rogue thoughts aside before striding forward to stand as close to the translucent barrier preventing her escape as she dared. Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Perhaps, had she been isolated, Emerald would have risked a charge through the energy field.

While it would have no doubt been an unpleasant experience at the very least, she'd likely last long enough to make it through. The sight of a guard on the other side however, halted that particular plan. Not a Gem, but rather one of the organics that had been confined deeper within the ship, at least up until recently, apparently. Its beady eyes narrowed as she approached, levelling a glare at the feathery thing even as it stared right back at her in utterly brazen response.

Clutched in a clawed hand, she spied an inactive destabilizer, most likely ready to be used at a moment's notice. Likely stolen from one of the ship's armories, judging by its familiar make and model.... Well, there went her first plan. No point in attempting a breakout only to be apprehended while in the midst of trying to keep her lightform together, after all. And where there was one guard, there were likely more. So, direct escape wasn't an option. At least not yet. That left either observation...

or perhaps communication. Adopting as authoritative a pose as she could from within the confines of a cell, Emerald stared down at the organic with all the weight her position (well, former position, but that was getting into technicalities) allowed.

"You. Report to your betters at once. I would speak with them regarding the fate of both myself and the Gems under my command." The answer to her command was a seemingly bored look. It was enough to cause parts of her lightform to bristle ever so slightly in irritation, even as she waited for some form of actual response.

Though to its (ever so slight) credit, the guard seemingly either understood Gemish, or at least was capable of interpreting her intent, judging by the way it glanced to the side, shifting its weight from one taloned foot to the other. Eventually, after a solid minute of silent judgement, a keening cry escaped its beak, followed by a series of chirps and caws, eventually answered by another distant cry, near identical to the first.

Then it settled back into its position, watching her carefully even as she observed it in turn. It certainly looked... healthier, compared to the last time she'd been in the brig to inspect the prisoners. The nutrition cubes had supposedly been enough to sustain the organics, she knew. But their forms had depleted nonetheless, as time passed. Yet another weakness inherent to beings formed from flesh, in comparison to light, the Peridots had assured her.

Still, it was another piece of information she was able to tuck away. Enough time had apparently passed that the fleshlings had recovered to their former strength. That, combined with the fact that her own cruiser's brig had been converted into a prison to house herself and (judging by the distant complaints she could just barely make out) other members of the crew meant that no small amount of time had passed.... She'd been bubbled.

The realisation came quickly, in direct contrast to the creeping sense of dread slowly making its way through her lightform.

"... How long have I been in here?" The question went ignored by the guard, who was now staring in a different direction entirely, a single digit idly tapping against the surface of the detabilizer's outer casing. Bubbling. Hm. While the concept wasn't known to all military Gems, it was a fairly basic technique taught to most officers, ostensibly for when a misbehaving subordinate needed to be imprisoned until further notice.

Agates tended to use the ability the most, though the advent of new forms of containment technology had seen the practice largely diminish, in time, though it still remained a reliable alternative in moments of particular desperation. More importantly, it meant that the organics had Gems of their own actively out and about, though that was no surprise by now. That damned Lapis Lazuli was likely leading their efforts. Or perhaps the Citrine, if she wanted to take individual expertise into account.

Lost in thought as she was, pondering just who the enemy leader might be, and just how long she had apparently been placed into stasis, Emerald only truly noticed the sound of light, slowly approaching footsteps right as a shadow began to cross into the stretch of space directly in front of her prison. She tensed, ensuring that, at the very least, her posture remained strong and her expression unwavering in the face of her incarceration. The admiral had expected a rogue Citrine. A smug Lapis Lazuli.

Or perhaps even the largely silent countenance of the third, unknown Gem making up their particular rebellious (something that they had in common, a treacherous part of her thoughts dutifully reminded) trio. Stars, even another organic was a possibility she'd somewhat accounted for in the utterly miniscule time she'd been active upon reforming. What she got in the end was... unexpected, if she had to put a word to it.

And in turn, only a single word really managed to escape past her lips, as she looked down upon the lithe, ever elegant lightform that she'd been hoping to see, albeit in altogether different circumstances.

"... Viridian?"