LOG-056.

  "We...we have arrived, my Emerald. Standing records within the ship's database indicate we are currently within...the Crystal system."

  A pregnant pause followed the Peridot's statement, as the rest of the crew processed just what that particular name meant. Triangulating just where their wayward Pearls had gone had been a task in and of itself, especially considering the Retaliator had been forced to jump around between systems like a rabid Quartz dodging ranged fire.

  The trip to the indicated coordinates had almost been worse, following the nearly faded energy trail (barely detectable at all thanks to the unique signature the Essence explosion had left all over it) left behind by a far smaller ship with a frankly ludicrous headstart on their own. Caution had begun to rise once Emerald realised that they were actively leaving Homeworld's native galaxy. Stars, they'd even had to swap to the auxillary gravity drive halfway through, just to help preserve the Warp engine's integrity for future jumps.

  But now...they were here at last. In an entirely different galaxy. And it was all that the admiral could do, to stare down at the innocent looking blue and green world displayed upon the primary holographic screen.

  "A Diamond was shattered here..."

  Sharp glances were turned towards the Jasper who had spoken out, the warrior Gem flinching and flushing at the sudden attention before angrily gesturing to the indicated planet with a raised hand.

  "What? Am I really the only one who thinks this place is a little creepy?!"

  The question prompted murmurs amongst the bridge crew, hesitant notes of agreement slowly filtering through the air as they collectively thought about it.

  "Enough."

  Silence reigned once more as Emerald stood up from her command throne, striding forward to glare up at the screen.

  "...Sensors. Are we picking up anything from the planet? A distress signal? The Roaming Eye's IFF, perhaps?"

  It was another Peridot that responded, Facet 9Y3Q, Cut 5LF, her visor flashing as detached fingers ran across her console.

  "There's a lot of garbled trash data. Looks like the local organic infestation has only grown since the Empire pulled out of this place, considering they seem to have gotten up to a basic industrial level of technological advancement. Hm, I'm also getting some old return signals from structures that might have been part of Pink Diamond's original colony...or what's left of it."

  The name was uttered reverently, and a few nearby Gems ducked their heads in sadness at the reminder of just who had been lost to this planet and the rebellion it had spawned. No matter their current defiance of Blue Diamond, her younger counterpart had been beloved by all in the Empire, save for the apparent traitors that had gone on to shatter her.

  And yet, the green technician's eyes slowly widened behind her visor as something apparently caught her attention, Emerald stepping closer as the Peridot grew visibly excited.

  "Wait a second, I'm picking up something a bit more modern coming through. Still old but, it isn't an outright relic like the rest of this stuff...I...I think it might be our lost ship, my Emerald!"

  The admiral finally got behind the enthusiastic technician, eyes narrowing as she stared down at her subordinate's console.

  "...There. Isolate that signal. It must be the Eye's internal beacon, or at least an imprint of it." Said imprint would indicate that the vessel had been present there very recently, at the very least.

  Another second of tense silence passed, before the Peridot let out a whooping cheer. A little unprofessional, to be sure. But Emerald allowed it, considering she was letting out her own wide smile at the results displaying themselves upon the screen.

  "That's them. Viridian and Vermilion. That's our Pearls." She still wasn't quite sure of the second name that the prisoners had given up, but she'd made her decision. Once they recovered their missing crew members, the admiral would bestow the designation upon the crimson Gem in celebration of their safe return to the ship.

  Letting her hands rest behind her back, Emerald nodded firmly.

  "Track that beacon. We'll leave the Deserter-" Stars, but she'd somehow already gotten used to the crew's horrible little nickname for the robonoid corvette. "-in orbit in case of potential threats from above. The Retaliator should prove more than enough in defending against any local wildlife while we send down an away team."

  The same Peridot raised a limb enhanced hand.

  "We might want to send a second team to acquire some additional organic foodstuffs. The synthesized nutrition packets we've been feeding the fleshies in the brig have kept them alive so far, but their health has been steadily deteriorating."

  Which in turn would result in them losing their only leverage against the three rogue Gems currently locked up alongside said organics. Hm.

  "We'll determine the need for it once we make it through the atmosphere. I see no reason to keep hold of them after we get our lost Pearls back on board."

  Tones of agreement answered her as she settled back down atop her command throne, adjusting her cape.

  Naturally, time passed as they drew closer to the planet, but from there, it was largely standard procedure. This wasn't the first time the Retaliator had scouted out an alien world, even if back then it had mostly been for the sake of scanning for potential future colony or mining sites.

  The Deserter split off to enter a steady orbit before her mothership advanced forward, sharp green hull allowing her to slide through the atmosphere with relative ease, any hint of resistance failing to affect an armoured hull designed to withstand far worse than simple planetary pressures.

  "That's...a lot of water."

  She didn't know just who had said it, but the admiral couldn't help but agree.

  "Someone send a message down to the brig's security detail. Make sure there are additional guards in place in the event the Lapis Lazuli attempts a breakout. Have a couple Rubies on standby as well."

  The order given, Emerald allowed herself to relax ever so slightly as the Retaliator continued to dive deeper and deeper, eventually piercing the lower layer of clouds entirely and settling above what appeared to be a small settlement of some kind.

  Her eyes roved back and forth across the area, even if it wasn't much to look at. Aside from a large quantity of sand, primitive dwellings that likely belonged to the natives, and a few nearby mountainous areas, it really just wasn't much to look at. Though there was one area of potential interest.

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  "I don't see the Roaming Eye. Is it possibly nestled somewhere next to that...statue?"

  The admiral bit her lip, bringing up a hand to cup her chin as she stared down at the strange structure, a Jasper glancing at her and deciding to speak up.

  "It...almost looks like some kind of Gem. Maybe. Think they took shelter within the arms? Looks fairly defensible compared to everything else."

  But why? Surely the safest place for them would have been to remain away from the locals. Of course, Gems as a whole were stronger, faster and simply more durable than most organic life, but Pearls weren't made to defend themselves, why would they have landed here?

  ...Unless the fringe theory of the vessel being under the control of their captors was, in fact, true. Then they likely wouldn't have had much of a choice in the matter. Concerning, to say the very least.

  "Prepare my shuttle. We're going in."

  ---

  The usual hiss of the boarding ramp lowering brought no small amount of comfort to Emerald, especially considering it was swiftly accompanied by an entire strike team of Quarts shocktroopers bursting forward to finally plant boots on the ground in what had likely been almost several hundred years by now. The soldiers were clearly eager to stretch their legs, that was for certain.

  "Move out."

  Her Citrines followed as the admiral stepped forward in turn, both golden Gems sneering slightly as they caught notice of the small crowd of natives gawking at the warship casting a shadow over their settlement, several of them backing away as the Jaspers spread out, establishing an initial perimeter.

  A small barricade formed from what seemed to be crudely processed metal impeded the rogue officer's path for less than a second before the obstacle was swiftly sliced apart by a summoned weapon, Morion nodding her head as Emerald stepped through the new opening, repressing a smirk.

  The off colour may have appeared professional on an outward level, but it was clear she was excited to actually be doing something outside of the ship for once. The fringe benefits of no longer operating within the laws of the Empire, she supposed.

  Regardless, one significant issue presented itself as Emerald strode towards the clasped hands of the gargantuan statue before her.

  There was, rather unfortunately, no Roaming Eye to be found.

  Clenching a fist in frustration, she swept the limb forward, cape billowing behind her in response to the violent action.

  "Scour the area! I can see what looks like a Warp pad in there, leave no stone unturned!"

  Repressing a snarl, Emerald twisted to stare at one of her Citrines as the sound of pounding feet and shouted orders and observations began to fill the air behind her.

  "The Roaming Eye isn't here now, but it must have been present, at the very least before we arrived, considering how quickly beacon imprints tend to evaporate."

  Her eyes narrowed as she glanced to the side, towards the direction the crowd likely still was.

  "Bring me a few of those organics, see if we can get something out of them. Primitive though they might be, they no doubt have working eyes. Some of them must have seen something. Send an alert up to the Retaliator as well. It's possible that the vessel might be submerged or buried somewhere. Could be throwing off our scans."

  ---

  The very first native to be brought forward was by no means an impressive specimen, and didn't contribute much in regards to finding her Pearls. They did provide a rather valuable insight before Emerald had ordered them thrown back over the primitive barrier, however.

  These...humans, somehow knew Gemish. Or as they had apparently taken to calling it, English. Sure, there were differences between them, and there was a noticeable level of drift, but the language, largely, remained recognizeable.

  Amusing. And also utterly fascinating when one truly thought about it.

  She could already imagine how that had come about in her mind. Their ancient ancestors likely watching and observing Kindergartens and Spires slowly forming in the distance, getting a little too curious for their own good. It was more than possible a bored Rose Quartz had considered it an amusing way to pass the time, trying to domesticate a local.

  It was simply unfortunate that such a decision had somehow progressed to choosing the planet and organics over the Empire and her own species, but that was long since irrelevant at this point.

  "H-hey! Lemme go! I've got rights you know!"

  This latest example of a human didn't inspire much confidence either, but until the bridge crew sent down a response or her strike team returned from raiding the interior of the statue, Emerald unfortunately didn't have very many options.

  "You, human being. State your purpose and designation."

  The fleshy thing stared at her in utter bewilderment for a moment, before shaking her arms about as the two Jaspers holding her released their grips, stepping backward.

  "Uh-Bill. Bill Dewey! I'm a delivery driver!"

  Arching a brow, Emerald noted the organic's deeper voice. She was clearly different to the previous human brought before her, but for the life of her, the admiral simply couldn't figure out how beyond seemingly having a bulkier frame. Was this one a member of some kind of warrior caste?

  No...she had stated her purpose. A cargo transporter, of sorts. Perhaps it was a bit presumptious of her to assume they were similar to Gems in function, no matter how many apparent traits they shared.

  "Very well, delivery driver Bill Dewey. You will answer several questions. Upon completion of this task, you will be promptly released to return to your natural environment. This is acceptable?"

  A momentary flicker of utter confusion passed across the native's expression, before the Bill Dewey seemingly accepted that this was how her day was going to go.

  "Alright, I guess. Make it snappy though!"

  How very pragmatic of her. It was nice to see that even lower lifeforms could appreciate not wasting time.

  Taking on a slightly less formal tone, but not diminishing the authority she'd established over the organic, Emerald gestured towards the statue.

  "A vessel was here, recently. Smaller than my own, with red colouring and a vaguely spherical hull. Did you see it?"

  A blink, the Bill Dewey's eyes flicking towards the large structure before turning back to her.

  "What, there? Nah. That's just where the weird space ladies live. They friends of yours?"

  Weird...space ladies?

  ...

  ...Pearls?!

  The Bill Dewey stepped back in fear as she advanced, but not quickly enough to escape Emerald's grasp as the admiral hauled the far smaller organic towards the shuttle, already snapping an order towards an attentive Peridot.

  "You, route your limb enhancers to the bridge! Access our most recent security data and project an image of Viridian and Vermilion!"

  The directive was followed quickly, and soon enough ten floating fingers were forming together into a diamond shaped border, linking in order to project a holoscreen in between them.

  Yet the Bill Dewey didn't seem remotely interested in the newly projected image of her Pearls, instead staring back at Emerald with her own raised brow.

  "Wait, you're all looking for Viridian? Why didn't you just say so?"

  Success! Truly, this interrogation session was going far better than she had initially expected!

  Taking a breath in order to restrain the excitement roiling within her, Emerald brought her hands together, palms flat against each other as she gestured to the screen with the tips of her fingers.

  "Yes. We are looking for Viridian. And her counterpart, Vermilion. They are rather important to me, so if you would please divulge their locatio-"

  She was cut off as the organic snapped a pair of fingers together, producing a clicking sound.

  "Sheesh, you her mom or something? I can kinda see the resemblance I guess...you're both green and all."

  Mom?

  Shaking her head rapidly, Emerald waved her hands to indicate that the question was irrelevant.

  "I know not what a mom is, nor whether I am one, what I need is-"

  And yet again, she was interrupted. The gall. The impudence. She was almost tempted to strike the uppity Bill Dewey, if she wasn't certain such an action would no doubt result in the organic delivery driver's immediate expiration.

  "You know, a mom. Like, family and stuff."

  The admiral blinked at the term.

  "Family?"

  The native crossed their arms, nodding even as they took on a lecturing tone.

  "Yeah, you know. A mom. A dad. Some kids. All living together as like, a unit or something."

  Finally, a term she could understand! Nodding quickly, Emerald gestured to the ship hovering far above them.

  "Yes! Viridian and Vermilion is a member of my unit! As are the rest of the Gems present here! But due to circumstances I would rather not get into right now, they were separated from us, and are likely stranded upon your world. I need to know where they are, please!"

  It was below her, to plead to a primitive, fleshy organic of all things, but if she was being entirely honest with herself, she'd sort of been finished with propriety the second she'd decided to disobey the direct order of a Diamond, so whatever.

  Thankfully, it worked, the Bill Dewey taking on a more sympathetic tone in response to her clear desperation.

  "Ah man, I get it. I got separated from my girlfriend once while on a trip to Ocean Town. Freaked me out real bad. Don't worry though, Viridian's been around here for a good while now!"

  The native gestured behind herself with a thumb.

  "She usually works at the Big Donut. Nice lady, fun to chat with every now and then."

  The Big Donut.

  She knew not what it was. Or how a Pearl had apparently decided to 'work' at it.

  But that didn't matter to the rogue admiral. Because it was a start. A start to finally getting her Pearls back. A start to finally making up for her mistake in losing them in the first place.

  "Very well! Take me to this...Big Donut!"

  "But-"

  "Immediately, delivery driver Bill Dewey!"

  "Alright alright! Don't get your green knickers in a twist..."