Emergence

[lazybutt]

This was not good. It had been ages since the last contact with homeworld and Olivine was getting desperate. He sighed as the robonoids welded the last piece of the tower into place, admiring his handiwork. He'd spent several months trying to engineer a transmission device of some sort, even going so far as to remove parts of the small base he'd been stuck in to use as construction material.

But at last, he'd done it. Turning on the holoscreen and letting his limb enhancer fingers dart around it, the gem adjusted the transmitter crystal one last time before beginning to record.

"Attention all forces loyal to homeworld. This is gem technician Peridot Olivine Facet 7G5L cut 1HK. I have been stuck in a remote gem base without pickup since contact broke with homeworld and I'm now requesting backup. I've located a rendezvous point just outside a nearby human settlement, where I will arrive in approximately five hours and I hope that any local force there would be willing to greet me. However, I have so far only scouted this area with my personal robonoids. I am thus infamilliar with the enviroment and the certainly dangerous wildlife I'll be facing and it may also result in my undoing. Should I not arrive within seven hours, I should be considered shattered or poofed and I will thus not expect pickup by local gem forces in case of my succesful arrival. This is This is gem technician Peridot Olivine Facet 7G5L cut 1HK, signing out."

Ugh. That was a huge risk he'd just taken! What there was no homeworld gems nearby? What if there where, but they had no equipment available to receive his broadcast? Stars forbid, what if rebellious gems would be waiting for him when he arrived? Whatever he'd just done, there was no coming back. Bracing himself the gem shut down the holoscreen, getting up and dismissing his robonoids. It was gonna be a long walk through the forest before he'd find out what his broadcast had done.

[Paddy]

[OOC: going to make it expressly clear that Paddy has truth detection as an ability (more info). Let me know if you would prefer we not use it in this thread, but for now I'm going to assume Olivine is being completely truthful in her statement. To any gem on the thread, PM me if you would like Paddy to detect a level of untruth to your gem's words or actions.]



Padparadscha's ship orbited the stratosphere of Earth as she prepared for her warp to the Moonbase after another mission well done. A pink slate hovered in front of her, and she filed her finished dossier into her records with a sweep of her hand. Before she initialized her coordinates, her communicator lit up, and the visage of a gem formed on the screen. An Olivine, coming from an unregistered communication device. Her brows furrowed as she listened carefully to the message, and a pang shot through her chest as she sensed that this Olivine was in true danger.
 


She paused, knowing that there were few other Homeworld allies who would be able to pick up this signal from its range, but she also knew that she was never given explicit orders to answer this call. This Olivine wasn't in Pink Diamond's court, and Padparadscha considered the possibility that this was absolutely none of her business. Yet, her hands motioned into her slate, bringing up her communications panel. She didn't know how old the transmission was or how many times it had been sent out, but the though of leaving a comrade behind in the wilderness of Earth left her hands shaking. 

"Moonbased HQ affiliate Padparadscha facet 10C8A cut 8QE, answering transmission inbound from Peridot Olivine Facet 7G5L cut 1HK, Intercepting at the rendezvous coordinates. Arriving shortly" She made sure this transmission repeated at least three times, knowing that this unregistered communicator could be less reliable than those manufactured on Homeworld. She punched in the coordinates, and her ship plunged back through the Earth's atmosphere. 

[Iolite]

Iolite lazily slouched on her bug ridden couch in front of the tv. She wouldn't have bought a tv herself, but the apartment she bought came with one, so she may as well use it, she's got nothing better to do. It was a very old boxy one, the image constantly flickered. Iolite saw an advertisement for a better one earlier that evening, she probably could have bought it, the ATM machines do give large sums of currency if you punch a hole in them, but that relied on one variable, if she could be bothered.

As Iolite has experienced, human life seems to be pretty boring, she's got enough money, no need for a job and would rather drill a hole in her gem than try to socialize with the disgusting primates that inhabit this mudball. Trying to buy the apartment had been awkward enough due to her abnormality that forces her to stick out her tongue to speak.

Iolite flicked through the channels one by one, there was never anything to watch. Then she came across one that almost made her jump out of her seat. A gem was on the other end reading out coordinates. Iolite waited till it looped over and began to listen intently.




Iolite sat in her chair, thinking. The looped broadcast had repeated at least five times now, but Iolite couldn't make up her mind.
Finally, she stood, gritting her teeth in determination.
She couldn't care less about some backup or rescue team, she wasn't planning on leaving earth, yet. Iolite put on her leather jacket and grabbed her belt. It was specialized to hold bubbled gems. She had already captured two gems, an Amethyst and another gem she didn't recognize. They were a pair of corruptions she had previously defeated, but corruptions aren't going to satisfy homeworld. She needs some rebels on that belt.

And where better to find them? Iolite had no doubt that there were crystal gems dumb enough to attack a homeworld gem broadcast. The location wasn't far from her apartment. She would be there soon. 

[lazybutt]

Ow. Ow. Ouch. Ew!

Olivine yelped as he walked into some sort of small, see-through webbing, sticking to his smooth, dark-green skin. Quickly brushing it off, the gem quickly checked to make sure none of the webbing was left. By the stars, what a horrid place! If he got out of this alive, Olivine swore to never touch anything organic ever again. Olivine collected himself and sighed, brushing off whatever random bits of foliage had stuck to his suit. He decided to press onward, promptly stumbling over another root and getting a fourth twig slapped in his face. He really hated this place.

A few hours later, the gem finally emerged out of the woodwork, his hair covered with leaves and twigs, dirt up to his knees and an expression of pain and general malaise on his face. Letting out a last frustrated groan the gem catched his breath, an immense feeling of relief washing over him as he finally realized he was out. He quickly snapped himself out of the feeling however, as he started looking around for any potential homeworld gems coming to pick him up.

"Please tell me SOMEONE got the message..."

[Iolite]

Iolite whistled a tune she had made up while on her spacecraft, it was a pretty long and boring journey to earth. Now it turns out the earth is pretty boring as well, at least not when you have a rebel to tear limb from limb.
She looked down from the tree branch she was sitting on at the small Peridot stumbling out of the foliage, it was definitely the same one from the looped broadcast. An Olive Peridot with their dainty little limb enhancers.

Iolite jumped down from her branch to meet this gem, first time she had seen a gem in quite a while, well, a non-corrupted one that is.
Howdy, fancy meeting you here. I'm Iolite 

Facet-7C4H Cut 3XG, nice to meet you.
Iolite extended her hand to be shaken then immediately took it back, embarrassed. She's been around humans for too long.

[Paddy]

The pink craft hovered in the troposphere, just above the treeline as it neared the coordinates Padparadscha had dialed into her control panel. Before making her descent, she scanned the area, and realized there were multiple gem signatures in the area. Her hands balled into tight fists, the message Olivine sent out may have been intercepted by traitors and fugitives, rather than allies. In moments, she calculated the possibility that she and Olivine could fight off any given attackers, but she knew she didn't have much time. Padparadscha prepared herself for her least favorite part of the job, physical confrontation. 

She guided the ship to a nearby clearing in the thick canopy of the forest, and made sure her vehicle was hidden and locked. She left a trail of hardened plasma which would look like pebbles to those who didn't know what to look for, and used her slate to guide her toward the rendezvous point. She peered through the brush.

From her vantage point, Padparadscha made out the shape of Olivine, and the silhouette of an enormous gem she could only assume was the enemy. She summoned her katar, and with a white knuckled grip on her weapons, stepped out into the open. 

"In the name of the Diamond Authority, stop your advance!" She called, her voice strong and clear as she brandished her weapons and began to summon boiling hot plasma.  

[Iolite]

Iolite turned to Padparadscha with a confused look.
At ease, there is no fight here. For some odd reason, Iolite poked out her tongue whenever she spoke, it was also the location of her gem.

Iolite inspected Padparadscha's weapons. Hehe, I guess homeworld really is running out of ideas.
She held out her arm, materializing her weapon around it, another Katar, albeit a much less shiny, pretty one.

(Just a note, what are the chances? I didn't copy you I swear, If I knew I would have gone for a different weapon)

So, Iolite added. You here for the broadcast? And Just a question, did you come by ship? Becuase if so, Please do send my message to the diamonds, I will be coming home with some nice shiny presents soon.

[lazybutt]

"Er..." Olivine was unsure how to react to all this sudden activity, still glad SOMEONE had gotten the message. Brushing himself off some more, the gem quietly raised his hand, waving it lightly. "H-Hey, you two are both homeworld gems, right?"

It certainly seemed that way, but the gem's banter and the pair of weapons summoned made him uncertain. In any case, he knew to head for the Padparadscha, as she had use the name of the diamond authority. Granted he didn't know WHICH diamond, but any diamond would be preferable over homeworld gems. Stepping out from behind Rex and positioning himself roughly between him and Padparadscha, the gem again waved, still feeeling confused by the situation. "I-I'm Peridot OLivine, Facet 7G5L cut 1HK. I assume you both got my message?"

[Paddy]

(OOC: Lol! I don't mind, they're a good choice! I wanted my character to be India-themed since Padparadscha a Sri Lankan word, so I chose one of the coolest weapons from that area. I can't help that Katar are so flippin cool )

Padparadscha stood, her eyes narrowed as she circled the situation. The large soldier gem seemed to be telling the truth, she recognized her as an Iolite. Still cautious, she put away her plasma and weapons, but stayed her distance.

"Padparadscha facet 10C8A cut 8QE, one of Pink Diamond's Court affiliates, answering a distress signal I picked up on my way back to HQ. I only got confirmation of one gem, Peridot Olivine Facet 7G5L cut 1HK. I came by way of ship, yes, but I'll have to hear your station. On which Diamond's orders are you here? Will I find this order in my records?" Padpara crossed her arms, her keen eyes sweeping up and down both gems in front of her.

[Iolite]

(Gota agree with you there)




None, Iolite grinned. none at all.
She walked back to the tree she was resting on and hauled herself back on to it.
Haven't been under the order of a Diamond for a.. oh I guess the best part of a century I'd say. Iolite recalled, chuckling to herself.

Well, of course, there were gonna be more gems here, peridot here broadcast the message to almost the whole bloody country. By even the way the way she spoke, it was easy to tell she had been on earth and around humans for quite some time.
So tell me, Iolite continued, letting one of her legs dangle lazily from the branch. Seen any crystal gems around?

[Deleted]

Glad, to be leaving town, the spotted jasper made a beeline for the fence, marking the outskirts of the human settlement. She'd been dying to leave this place, her latest "adventure" making it even more so. Heaving herself over the wire fence, 82 could hear shouting in the distance. Figuring that she'd probably wouldn't be coming back here anyways, she might as well investigate the source.

As she drew nearer, the jasper could hear voices, along with a few footsteps here and there. Pushing a few leaves aside, she spied a small crowd of gems.

"I am Bumble Bee Jasper, Cut 82YS, Facet 5BB. If you're able, state your cuts and facets." she announced, words curt and to the point.

[Paddy]

As the Iolite spoke, Padparadscha's eyes remained narrow and keen. "Besides you, I've seen no suspicious gems. Are you speaking in some kind of hyperbole? Are you with or against the lustrous Diamond Authority?" Padparadscha was sensing that Iolite was genuine in what she was saying, yet what she said didn't fit together. Their mannerisms were strange, nothing like a gem of homeworld, and this gem seemed to have no sense for homeworld convention. 

She swung around when she heard the rustling of leaves behind her, and stood in alertness as the Jasper introduced herself. Padpara gave a salute worthy of her station, "Padparadscha facet 10C8A cut 8QE, I was answering a distress signal when I came upon this apparent rogue gem, who claims to have something for the Diamonds,"  

This is getting a bit out of hand Padparadscah thought, knowing that she hadn't been sent here on any explicit orders herself. Of course, being an associate of the Court, she assumed there wasn't much trouble she could get in. Still...my reputation could be on the line...

[Iolite]

Iolite grinned hugely, this was hilarious, or at least Iolite found it so.
Suspicious? What makes you say that? Is it the black leather Jacket? It's gotta be, right? She was struggling to take this seriously, it was just too funny.


I'd say I've been kicked out of the homeworld club for at least a century,  but I'm not sure, I wasn't counting. I was serving under the authority, but the yellow court decided otherwise.

Iolite was a little startled to see Jasper casually walk in, but Iolite doubted that any crystal gem would bother to remember their face and cut.
Iolite Facet-7C4H Cut 3XG, nice to meet you.

She couldn't help but let out a joyous laugh at the title of a rogue. Oh Padparadscha, you flatter me. Iolite figured that she'd have to be a little more serious and open up a bit to get anywhere.

Look, a long time ago, the yellow court made a... mistake. While lying on the largest limb of the tree, Iolite was holding one of the branches for balance, one about as wide as her wrist. As she paused, the crunch of broken bark could be heard as Iolite gripped the branch harder.


I was one of the best, I bet I could have taken any of the other Iolites one on one any minute of the day. Iolites are made for flanking, getting the opponent by surprise, they were smaller than most gem soldiers, a good half a foot shorter than me. I came out different, one of the Peridots mistook me for a weirdly colored Jasper. I could have practically fought on the front line, yet somehow, this.

Iolite ranted, pinching her tongue and stretching it out. 


Somehow took all of that away, my status, my respect, everything. All it took was one botched sentence and one strict Agate. Even after the court found out that I need to hang out my tongue to talk, they didn't redo the trial. They didn't care!
Iolite gripped the branch even stronger, making a huge snapping sound, then she let it dangle uselessly by a few fibers.
She undid her belt, holding it out for all to see. It was a specialized belt, with 2 corrupted gems bubbled on its side like little ornaments.

I plan to fill this with the rotten crystal gems, to prove that the court was wrong. 

[lazybutt]

Olivine maintained a state of confusion, the rabid look on his face complementing his body, which was covered in mud and foliage and made the gem look like he had spent several months in the forest (which in all fairness, he had.) Blinking a few more times, the gem straightened himself, taking a deep breath and putting his limb enhancer "fingers" together. "Ahem. COULD EVERYONE PLEASE GET IN LINE?" the gem didn't wait for the others to answer as he began pacing back and forth, growling in frustration and maintaing the rabid expression.

"Okay. I have spent the last few months alone in the forest with no contact with homeworld. I have spent the last several hours in a state of confusion and terror as I traversed an alien biome. I sent out one message asking for help and now I've got three homeworld gems running all over the place. Now, could everyone please calm down and introduce themselves in a proper fashion?" In all honesty, Olivine was actually delighted to know his message had been picked up. Goodness, the three of them showing up almost made him feel important! But they where no help when they ran all over the place and interrupted each other constantly. Olivine was normally extremely attached to authority and chain of command, but SOMEONE had to sort out this mess.

[Iolite]

(Sorry that we were skipping a bit, maybe we should have a post order, such as lazybutt, me, Bumble and Font's paddy or something like that)


Uh, well. Iolite answered, surprised at the sudden change of Peridot's behavior, Iolite almost felt intimidated, almost, she was still a good foot taller than him, even with his limb enhancers on.

Iolite looked at the tree branch, hanging precariously off of the tree by a few precious fibers. She observed the area and its surprised inhabitants. She was quite embarrassed about her explanation gone confession, Iolite felt like she revealed a little too much information, making her quite uncomfortable.

I uh, think I've said enough, maybe time for someone else to talk.
For the second time in her life, she felt like curling up in embarrassment, away from the prying eyes or those around her.