LOG-060.

  "That way! I recognize the hallway!"

  She could feel it, all around her. So very close, yet stubbornly remaining just out of reach thanks to the presence of who knew how many armoured walls and bulkheads. If she was as strong as her original sisters had been, maybe she could have taken control of the literal ocean of water around her right then and there, regardless of the obstacles in her path.

  Unfortunately, Brim was more of a precision specialist (or at least that's what she liked to think), and thus was forced to make due with what Quille had managed to scrounge up instead.

  "Keep moving, just a little more and we'll reach their hangar!" Talon's voice continued to ring out, even as they passed through yet another seemingly identical intersection after the golden hued Gem dispatched of another trio of startled Imperials, even if these ones seemed to be looking for them, unlike the last few.

  Another Gem (a Peridot, like Long Sight, she thought) saw them, screeched and promptly tried to reach for one of the panels on the walls, only to sieze up as a thrown blade slammed into her back, shortly followed by the rest of Quille's complement of knives, which in turn heralded the technician's fake limbs scattering all over the floor as her lightform was broken apart.

  Seeing the normally mysterious Gem outside of her usual outfit had been...alarming, to say the absolute very least, though it had made sense in the end. After all, why would the Imperials let them keep anything after taking them all prisoner? Luckily enough then, that they hadn't known about the old servant's hidden nest of items.

  Regardless, breaking out from there had been a relatively simple task, with her cell's glowing field being disabled by a well placed pair of throwing knives to the projecting unit above, right before she'd gleefully accepted the containers of water her rescuer had given her, using the liquid within to rip through the doors leading to the others' cells.

  It had all been rather quick, in her humble opinion. So quick that by the time the pair of Imperials assigned to guard their particular hallway had returned, they'd been rather abruptly introduced to Talon's summoned weapon crashing into their heads through an opened doorway.

  "I'm...slowing you...down."

  Stubbornly ignoring the elder's weak protest, the Lapis Lazuli kept his feathered arm firmly wrapped around her shoulder, cooing back reassuringly and carefully pulling him along even as the rest of the liberated prisoners began to accept whatever weapons Quille could provide, the dark Gem practically vomiting various odds and ends out of her storage space. Some blades, here and there, alongside the usual liberated destabilizers she liked to collect, but others were forced to make use of anything they could get their clawed hands on, up to and including old teaching implements.

  Thankfully for their prospects of close quarters combat, Brim was able to handle most of that with just a single hand, directing several blades of water ahead of the group as yet another patrol stumbled upon them, their eyes only just beginning to widen before their forms were scattered apart by the rapidly moving, buzzing liquid.

  Their feathered kin were flagging as they continued to navigate their way through the ship, all of them, though considering they'd likely been fed less than scraps during their stay here, that didn't exactly come as a surprise.

  Thankfully, they just had to keep moving a little longer, if Talon was to be believed. Once they reached the hangar bay, they could hopefully lock down the area long enough to let their resident hydrokinetic finally make use of her full abilities and pull up the mass of potential she could feel beneath them, allowing her to flood the entire ship and take control shortly afterwards.

  It was a rather abrupt, and most certainly dramatic plan, but she definitely liked the idea of giving that crazy Emerald a good thrashing, especially if it meant they could keep the ship for themselves afterwards.

  From there...well, she'd figure that out when they all got there. Maybe they'd finish off where she'd started and find Viridian, or maybe they'd try and find a way to search for just where the rest of the fleet had gone.

  Just a bit longer.

  ---

  Beep beep.

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  Peridot Facet 8R6V, Cut 1DK blinked as the console in front of her emitted two light tones, eyes narrowing as she swept a hand across the interface, isolating the alert.

  "...Hm?"

  A nearby Jasper (the second one currently shuffled towards bridge duty for this cycle, as the admiral decreed) leaned over from her own position managing the weapon systems, curious at the technician Gem's perplexed glare.

  "Something wrong?"

  Glancing at the burly Quartz out of the corner of her eye, 1DK nodded.

  "I'm...picking up something. Looks like an IFF."

  The soldier's eyes widened, now fully leaving her seat to inspect 1DK's console.

  "Is it the Roaming Eye?"

  Tilting her head, the green Gem stared back down at the indicated signal uncertainly.

  "Not sure, there's a lot of interference. Maybe cause of distance, or perhaps there's a lot of terrain in the way. Regardless, it's flashing in and out. Uhm...give me a second, I'll see if I can't get a message down to the landing party, the admiral should be informed-"

  Then she was rather abruptly cut off as the ship shook, causing every Gem in the bridge to glance up from their stations.

  It was quickly followed by another shake, coupled by several emergency lights activating as the entire hull seemed to lurch, causing several crewmembers to tumble to the ground with various panicked noises escaping their lips.

  Barely holding on to her own console, 1DK ignored the Jasper's annoyed yelp as she slid towards the nearby wall, instead focusing on redirecting the interface towards whatever was smacking the ship.

  Then it was her eyes turn to widen drastically behind her visor as she shuffled through various sensor views until finally finding the source of the disturbance.

  "What the-schist! We've got a breach in the brig! Alert the remaining Jaspers and Rubies and-oh Stars, get the ship moving! The damned Lapis Lazuli is trying to pull us down into the cracking ocean!"

  ---

  The item remained delicately clutched between her hands, even as Emerald stared down at her Pearl's visage.

  "Delivery driver Bill Dewey, what does the text below Viridian's visage say?"

  The human blinked dumbly for a moment, before finally leaning around the admiral's shoulder and glancing down at the...physical picture that had apparently been taken of her lost servant at some point.

  "Uh...oh hey, employee of the month! That's...fast, then again she's the only one that works here, so...good for her I guess?"

  Her eyes narrowed as she sharply twisted to stare at the organic, tilting her head as her cape briefly fell over the transporter's head, causing the flesh covered creature to duck slightly in order to be free of it.

  "What is the meaning of this? What is an employee of the month?"

  Another slow blink was her immediate answer, the organic looking at her as if she was the strange one for asking a perfectly reasonable question!

  "...You know, employee of the month. It's like...when you're the best worker, or whatever. For that month."

  Turning to glance back down at the picture (was Viridian wearing a physical appearance modifier? This establishment's uniform, perhaps?), Emerald slowly nodded, a sense of mild satisfaction filling her gemstone.

  An indication of her servant's perfect nature, then.

  At least that much made sense. If there was anything she could truly rely on, it was the green Pearl consistently excelling at just about any task placed upon herself. With luck, Vermilion was also faring just as well, most likely following along behind her Batchmate while stuck on a primitive, wild world such as this one.

  Her next question was, unfortunately, cut short as the communicator strapped to her side let out a sharp tone, prompting the rogue officer to bring it up and activate it with a soft swipe.

  "Emerald speaking, give me the situation."

  Her eyes widened as the holoscreen emerged, presenting one of her Citrines, the yellow Gem visibly concerned.

  "My Emerald, we need you back as soon as possible, there are...a few issues occuring."

  It wasn't like the elite guard to be so vague, which meant something was very much wrong. Forcing her eyes to narrow, the Emerald glared at her direct subordinate.

  "Don't hold back words, Citrine. What's the issue?"

  Visibly cringing, the warrior looked back at something out of the projector's sight, before turning back to look at Emerald with a sigh.

  "Well, there's a wave of...things apparently attempting to pour out of the structure the Jaspers were infiltrating. The off colour Quartz returned with a pair of discorporated soldiers, ranting and raving about twisted, insane creatures with gemstones attached to them. The landing force is holding them back for now, keeping them locked down within their exit point itself since they're fighting each other as much as they are us from what I've been told, but that's only the secondary issue."

  Some hidden trap left behind from after the war, perhaps? Or some other ancient danger inherent to this failed colony?

  Also, how in the name of White Diamond's lost star was this a secondary issue!?

  Regardless of her internal ponderings and questions, the officer's silent glare not letting up for even a second quickly prompted another forlorn sigh, before the view of the projector shifted, her Citrine most likely physically turning the communicator in her hands to face whatever she was supposed to see.

  And see she did. Namely the shape of her ship, slowly listing side to side as a long but thin stream of water continued to rise up from the ocean, steadily snaking around the Retaliator's shining hull before disappearing somewhere within.

  Choking back a gasp, Emerald set the physical image of her Pearl within her (somewhat limited) internal storage space, brushing past the startled Bill Dewey and ducking her way out of the door of the Big Donut, immediately followed by the other Citrine she'd left waiting outside.

  "Rally the troops on the ground! We'll seal whatever hole those three opened up and then reinforce the ship!"

  The response was prompt, as she expected from one of her top subordinates, even as the admiral began to sprint down the primitive road and eventually sandy beach with utterly thunderous steps heralding her approach, her bodyguard following along just behind her.

  "Yes, my Emerald!"