LOG-065.

  I blinked in (mild) concern as the pipe was finally withdrawn from a suitably chastized Brim, the educative tool swiftly returned to Quille's gemstone with a flash of light.

  It wasn't the first time I'd witnessed her method for punishing the Lapis Lazuli for getting very much off track, and though part of me felt just a little incensed at the blatant physical violence...it was rather difficult to view it as anything more than the equivalent of smacking a dog with a rolled up newspaper, both in context and in actual damage done.

  After all, Gems as a whole were tougher than most organic species. Even Pearls could take more punishment, and we weren't really designed with durability in mind at all, outside of those specifically meant to be stationed with Gems in outright hostile environments.

  Besides, I'd witnessed far, far worse at the Reef. This was a slap on the wrist in comparison.

  As for how I knew it was Quille...well aside from hearing her name uttered from a distance, she fit the build I remembered from my time aboard the Avian vessel, even if she lacked her previous outfit.

  She was...definitely an interesting looking Gem, now that she no longer had her elaborate getup on, and part of me winced internally as I noticed the way her lips stretched around the shiny rock embedded right where the center of her mouth should be.

  Some Gems formed with a gemstone for an eye, or an ear, or even a nose. But having one that damn near perfectly kept your mouth from opening properly was...yeah. That was some bad luck.

  Still, her gemstone placement and the appearance of her lightform weren't my priorities right now, namely because aside from Brim rubbing the top of her head and smiling as a suddenly helpful Vermilion leaned on her toes to inspect the nonexistent damage, I could make out two large forms approaching from my side, one yellow and the other pink.

  Rose was glancing around at the other Gems, but Talon's gaze matched my own, the Citrine cocking her head slightly as she took in my largely unchanged lightform.

  "Good to see you again skinny. Seems like you made some new friends! And pretty notorious ones at that..."

  Brushing off some imaginary dust from my dress, I gave the golden warrior Gem a quick nod, even as I finally noticed that Amethyst had settled in between her larger Quartz (one real and the other not) counterparts at some point, with Pearl taking up her usual position beside Rose.

  "It would appear I have, yes. So-" My thin hands clapped together, drawing several pairs of eyes as I stepped forward to stare up at the smiling Citrine. "-as much as I'm glad for this...surprising but altogether not unwanted reunion, I think we're both well aware that now may not be the absolute best of times to celebrate. At least not until we deal with the band of Imperial aligned Gems both within this ship and outside on the beach. Yes?"

  My very deliberate glance towards Brim caused a dark blue blush to erupt across her face, free for all to see until the terraformer ducked her head in embarassment.

  Good, served her right for spinning me around for over a minute. Hmph.

  Heedless of my internal satisfaction, Talon merely let out yet another of her characteristic boisterous laughs in return, before nodding back, her mace manifesting into existence in her hand before she lifted the large weapon up to rest over her shoulder.

  "I figure the same. So let's make a plan of things and get into the thick of it." Her eyes almost seemed to glow at the prospect of getting into a proper battle, even as they continued to pin me in place.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  It was a reminder. No matter her rogue and 'defective' nature, this was still a Citrine. An elite soldier that usually only ranked below an Agate in terms of authority and direct combat ability.

  "You served on this ship. So did your red twin. We never made it to the bridge last time, nor did we manage to take control of the reactor, and part of that was thanks to us not knowing where they were located."

  Her eyes narrowed, smile slipping into something resembling a feral grin as she brought up her free hand, fingers pinching together as she leaned closer, beside her I could see Quille crossing her arms, eyes also visibly gleaming in anticipation.

  "Care to share a little information, Vir?"

  I thought about the many Gems I'd spoken to on this vessel. The soldiers, technicians and pilots I'd gotten to know.

  Then I thought about Earth. About it's differences from my own origin, yet the many similarities that made it feel like home no matter how many discrepancies made themselves apparent.

  "Let me project a map. We have a strong but largely limited force, so we'll need to have Brim cut off certain sections if we want to take the Retaliator cleanly."

  In the end, it really wasn't a choice at all. My desires were that of comfort and familiarity, and as a result my loyalties lied with Earth and humanity, in whatever form they might take.

  ---

  "Where's our damn fire support!? Where are the fighters!?"

  "They're all probably busy fighting off the water leaking in the damn ship! Just focus and don't let these things get past us! I'm not looking to get surrounded and clawed to pieces damn it!"

  Shouts and roars continued to fill the air, even as Emerald advanced ever forward. The distinctive crackle of energy blasts soared past her, slamming into several of the abberations and drawing growls, hisses or even yelps of what seemed to be pain from their discordant maws. Though Peridots weren't strictly designed for battle the way Quartz or Ruby soldiers were, each technician aboard the Retaliator was outfitted with limb enhancers that, in a pinch, could be recomfigured for combat.

  "What about the corvette?! Can't we call it down?!"

  "Only the Gems on the bridge can do that! And I think they're-urgh! I think they're maybe just a little occupied right now!"

  They were the crew of a warship, after all. And in the face of vastly superior armaments and shielding technology, most opponents they faced tended to favour boarding attempts above all else. That mode of operation was helping them now, with their primary fighters keeping the swarm largely contained while the team of technological specialists they'd brought down did their best to act as adhoc fire support.

  Her train of thought ended just as yet another creature lunged at her. Even as its gaping, serrated beak sailed closer, she noted what almost looked like the gemstone of a Zircon nestled on the center of a long, revoltingly sinnuous tongue.

  In response, the admiral curled her fingers and spun, the digits closing around a familiar handle as light flashed forth from her own gemstone and formed a short blade within her grip, one ideal for dealing with unwanted guests.

  The brief reorientation was enough, the beak darted past her shoulder, the sudden wind generated from the missed attack whipping her hair about even as she answered the attempted assault with a strike of her own, ramming her blade into the twisted thing's side.

  The resulting squeal was a dreadful thing, but as she reached forward with her free hand and took a grip of a thin leg jutting out from its underside, her opponent found greater things to worry about than a mere stab wound.

  She was a high class Gem, incubated and emerged near the very height of Era One. Above all else, Emerald was a Gem that was built well. Her mind was one suitable for the countless calculations and stratagems needed to lead a fleet of starships in the midst of three dimensional warfare, and her lightform in turn was strong, fast and durable enough to ensure that any and all Gems beneath her command showed respect to the long chain of authority, with her resting at the very apex when in the deep void of space.

  All in all, it meant that for her, it was a rather simple matter to forcibly lift the abberation and hurl it through the air, its lightform flickering for an instant as her blade was forcibly removed from its feathery body before it finally collided with a pair of additional creatures clawing and biting at each other right behind it, sending all three of them to the ground in a heap, with her makeshift projectile discorporating in the process.

  It had been some time since she'd personally participated in a fight. Good to see she still had it in her.

  Nonetheless, she could feel eyes on her. Not just that of her Citrines, who remained locked in their own duels in an effort to protect her from further harm, but the eyes of all those she had brought down upon this alien soil in her search for their missing Pearls.

  And so Emerald did what she was designed to do. Command. She let a snarl split her lips, raising her sword high above her head before swinging it downwards to point bladefirst at the remaining swarm of abominations.

  "They might have gemstones and lightforms but they're little more than imitations of organic beasts! Divide them and show these monsters who the superior Gems are! Forward!"

  An order worthy of a Hessonite ground general, if she did say so herself. And as a resounding battlecry erupted from the Jaspers behind and around her in response to said order, quickly followed by the ground itself shaking under the weight of numerous charging feet as the warrior Gems allowed their more aggressive programming to take control of things, she allowed her snarl to briefly transform into an eager grin.

  Yes...things were finally starting to look up.

  Unfortunate then, that she'd allowed her attention to remain so fixated on resolving the battle on the ground. Enough so that she didn't at all notice the fact that the Retaliator was changing position up until one of the Peridots finally announced it with a cry of alarm.

  A cry of alarm quickly followed up by many others, as the cruiser began to power up what she inherently recognized to be its point defence weaponry.