Relic Safari (Closed w/ Paddy)

[Paddy]

The sapphire appreciated the other gem's forethought, and took a moment to reclaim the leftovers of the last bridge as the rest of the team crowded onto her new platform. "I've certainly never seen anything like it. To think there is a carrier vessel buried here somewhere," will we ever find it? She wanted to continue, but she kept her doubts to herself. Padparadscha found herself looking to 7XB, and wished her silent question would receive an answer. They always seemed to be a bastion of confidence, even in this organic maze. Of course, she knew, the commander didn't have any more insight than she did on that particular matter. The team would have to continue treading on until they found any kind of lead. 

She brought out her holoscreen to get her bearings on where they were relative to the transmission site. It was irksome to see that they were moving away from the target. Already this assignment was becoming one of the most troublesome she had undergone, and the mission hadn't even begun in earnest. How long would they have to skirt in circles around their target? She loathed to think that they would go through this odyssey, only to find nothing at the transmission site, leaving them with no way to find the carrier. If only we could just burn this place down, we'd find it so much faster...

With a gust of wind, there came an eerie, deep echo that boomed over the chatter of the water. Her eyes tore away from her screen and she glanced around, trying to pin point the sound. It didn't sound like something that could come from an organic, or anything alive for that matter. A deadened howl, it sent chills down her nape. "I don't suppose you know what that could be?" She blurted, her anxiety crawled into the open.   

[7XB]

Though they hardly spoke a word, 7XB felt a great deal of sympathy for the Sapphire, as it was plain to see that this was one of, if not the first, first missions in which she had been in charge of other gems. They knew was well as any gem that the response, and stress, of such an honor was a heavy burden to bare; But they had been designed with such things in mind, while she..well, suffice it to say that 7XB was curious to see how she handles it. And, as always, eternally wary any possible danger that such things could lead them into.

They were hear to assist, yes, but certainly things had to be learned. Having just opened their mouth to speak, they found themselves, and the rubies, silenced by the loud, unnatural moan.

'Oh, no. Not here.' 

If they could have gone pale, they would have, but other than that the Quartz was not one to lose face. "To be truthful, Your Clarity, " they began, " I believe it would be better to not know." For now. Eventually, they knew, it would be important to know.

[Paddy]

Better to not know? The sapphire stared at 7XB, analyzed the gem as she tried to put together the implications of their words. In her eyes, it was always better to know the truth, or at least as much of it as was possible to know. They wouldn't have said it without good reason, but she was tempted to debate the statement. "If you say so...but..." Padparadscha paused, bit back any protest she would've had, and put away her holoscreen. This wasn't the time or place for philosophy, she decided. "I suppose we should get moving, then," She sighed, and rolled her shoulders. Her eyes focused the rock, which would serve as a stable support for the platform as she stretched it over the algae coated surface. The plasma sank into the cracks, steaming away the dew on the the surface. 

It was a careful, slow process, but she made sure she was thorough with each step forward. The powerful moving water to one side, and to the other, a tumble down the sheer outcrop would lead into a tangle of rocks, weeds and unstable sand. Despite the fact that she needed focus, her anxiety swirled, she couldn't quiet her mind. Not going to fail this time, She began to tell herself, taking it on as her mantra, not going to fail. Steadily, her solid path grew, changing the structure of the stones in her wake.

Padparadscha had gone out of her way to find a team, specifically for this mission. 7XB, and the team of rubies they had been with for so long-- If something happened to them, it would be her fault. That fact tugged at the back of her mind, as she tried to drown it out with her mantra. Not. going. to. fail. Her entire form was tense, she chewed her cheek as she continued to lay down the foundation. As was her nervous habit, she spoke up again, hoping to shut up her critical inner voice, "H-how is everyone fairing?"

[7XB]

Though understood her hesitation to accept such a vague answer from them, it relieved 7XB when she accepted it. Truthfully they did not enjoy being so obscure in their explanation, as it went against their personality, but they had done it for the same reason she had: for the sake of the rubies and the mission as a whole. Things were already difficult enough, seeing as it looked like they were going to end up on the wrong side of the river. There was no need to...wait..

Was the plasma bridge.. wobbling a little bit? Either that, or the quartz was developing some sort of vertigo.

"Ah..your.. Your C-clarity?" They said with some sort of..edge to their voice? Concern, or maybe fear of falling in the water? "Is everything.. well with you?"

[Paddy]

She grimaced, is it that obvious? The sapphire turned so she could get a look at what was going on behind her. Then, realized what prompted 7XB's apprehensive tone-- the weight of the gems on the thin sheet of plasma, along with the extreme tempering the substance was undergoing thanks to the cool, misty air, caused it to warp and bend. Her lack of focus had resulted in a clearly unstable foundation. Eyes widened, her gaze trailed back along the path. The oldest of it was already beginning to crack, it would crumble if they continued to rely on it for too long. Then, her eyes were caught by the thing she'd avoided this whole time-- the speeding water below. "W-well? Of course!" She babbled, unintentionally letting her irritation tinge her tone,"Everything is going swimmingly--ahh, I mean, we're a little watered down but--err--It's going to be fine! I just need to hurry--focus, ah, both!"

Great! The sapphire had let her panic loose, and her shame was plain on her flustered expression. She whirled back around, hoping that she could at least hide the redness in her face. Strike me useless, my Diamond! There was no telling when the platform would give out, she only knew that it would. With the plasma she was about to use to create the next step of her bridge, she redirected it to attach it more securely to the outcrop, and reinforce the part they were standing on. As she tried to redo the steps behind her, it became clear to her how drained she already was. "Actually," She muttered, with the realization that they would soon not be able to rely on her powers. The outcrop of dark stone was too slippery to simply walk upon, but they might have to take their chances, or something."I...we need to think of another way to follow the river,"

[7XB]

7ZB could have, quite literally, cringed at the sight of Padparadscha practically melting down before them. It was a little.. shocking, and they just hoped that their face didn't give away their sudden urge  to allow their face to twist in sheer discomfort.

They weren't doubting the mission, not at all, but 7XB was the last quartz gem you wanted to put into any sort of emotional situation. When the situations arose, like they always seemed to do, they didn't what they could to reassure, but it wasn't their wheelhouse.

"Er..right," they said quietly, shaking the discomfort from their limbs as possible solutions cobbled themselves together in their head. "Don't worry, Your Clarity, we'll.. we'll think of something."

But what?

[Paddy]

Though she was turned away from them, she felt the uneasiness in 7XB's voice. It was nice to hear them trying to reassure her, but at the same time, did she deserve any of their sympathies? It was bad enough that the group had to take this convoluted detour, but now, they had to do it with the full knowledge that the sapphire was not coping so well with her current circumstances. Pressure in the court room could mean life or death-- usually for the defendant. Pressure out in the wild meant anything could happen, to anyone. It was safe to say she wasn't particularly prepared for the distress that this place was causing her. 

She closed her eyes, and centered herself, the way she would before a trial. The place of quiet in her mind was shrouded by all of those doubts, but they couldn't bother her right now, of all times or places. Padpara sighed, "I'll...gather myself, I'll keep going, but if we're to cross when we find a narrower pass, I need to do some conservation," She knew more or less, that it could be attributed to her fatigue. Many of her dispatches had gone off the rails as of late, leading to a slump in the confidence she had in her abilities. She began to muse aloud, hoping to calm herself, "We could take our chances with this stone...but I wouldn't want to do it without some kind of security. We could try to climb down and follow it from the forest floor...but it could be easy to lose the river,"

[7XB]

"It's not going to be an easy call either way," 7XB began, perfectly willing and, perhaps, insistent upon putting her lack of confidence in the rear view, talking a bit more carefully, and louder, "But I no doubt we will figure it out." They were doing this for the well being of the rubies, giving them as little time as possible for doubt to set in after her display; If they had something to put their mind to, or to distract them.

'Hm.' staring out over the rushing black water didn't affect them in nearly the same way it did her, but it did register with them as a danger. "I..think I see a bit of bank down there, on the near side." Still, it was going to put them over the wrong side. "I believe I could get a good enough grip to.. carry us all down the cliff face."

It was slick, yes, but there had to try something to keep them moving.

[Paddy]

Her eyes widened, and she peered down. Her avoidance had made her miss the fact that there seemed to be a steady deposit of minerals that went for some ways up the river, though it was quite a drop. She looked back up to 7XB. Even in the face of this challenge they'd kept their calm, and she found herself envious. All of the quartz's experience had culminated into a gem who had such confidence in their abilities, even when things weren't going well. You're a true gem, commander, She thought to herself, though she was still plagued by her own doubts.

How many trips up and down would it take them to haul five corundums down the slick rock? Perhaps not many, she'd gotten a sense for the strength behind 7XB's size when she'd pulled her little stunt at the moonbase. Still, no matter how many times they scaled it, there would be a steady probability for something to go wrong. The clear quartz seemed to have certainty in their ability to pull it off, or at least, from what she could see, so she too wanted to let herself have confidence. She'd chosen them for a reason, after all. 

After a moment of standing, not sure whether to protest or to agree, she finally gave a terse nod. "Let's do it." It made her queasy to think about what might happen if the rock itself wasn't sturdy, or if the algae was thicker than it looked. If it became necessary, she might be able to use her powers to save them from a ruinous plummet into the ground, or the water. Might. 

[7XB]

It relieved 7XB to see that, despite her clear concerns, the Sapphire was willing to indulge them: there were unfortunately more than a few gems who would rather follow their own plans to ruin before they allowed any other gem to alter it. 

So, though 7XB would likely never say a word about it, they had a lot of admiration Padparadscha in that, despite her inexperience, she understood the value of allowing those beneath her to make use of their skills.

"Alright Rubies," they would begin after final confirmation, drawing the attention of the little gems as they came near, lowering themselves down onto their haunches so they could be grappled onto, "Hold on tight. I'm in no mood to jump in the water after you."

[Paddy]

She stretched her arms and rolled her shoulders to loosen the tension in her body. What was so different about this, compared to the other cliffs she'd scaled? The water? The fact that she wasn't alone this time? But in that case, why did it feel so much more terrifying? If anything, she'd thought that having them along would give her more peace of mind, but she found that she wasn't use to being worried about other gems.


Why was she so worried in the first place? If anything, she should have been putting her faith in these soldiers. It was hard to shake that feeling that something wasn't right about this mission, and that they were a long way from help if something did go arwy. She stood by, waiting anxiously as the rubies clamored up around 7XB, "B-be careful," She uttered, What am I saying? Of course they'll be careful...

[7XB]

Having all three of the rubies latched onto them fairly securely, 7XB rose carefully to their feet , steeling themselves for what was to come next.

They turned towards Paddy, giving a solemn nod at her request, the blades of their gauntlets sliding out easily; Those would be their makeshift climber's picks. Suddenly, they rushed forward, jumping forward at the last possible second before the small outcropping of rock would have vanished from beneath them, their blades embedding into the slick, mossy rock a long moment later, feet bracing uneasily against the vertical surface. Then, after assuring that their position, and the rubies, were stable, they wrenched one blade from the slippery wall, jamming it into the wall again a foot or so down, removing the other, and gingerly walking themselves down, slipping one or twice.

[Paddy]

A gasp left her lips as 7XB jumped down, and she scurried to the side of her platform to see them catch the rock with their razor sharp blades. I said be careful! By the Diamonds! Her heart was ready to jump out of her chest each time the clear quartz and their rubies slid or veered, but it made her feel a bit better to see them making their way methodically, steadily down the cliff face despite a few hiccups. The moments it took them to get down felt too long, but it appeared that they were being careful after all. Again she had to shake away her dismay and let the soldier to their job-- anything she did right now would just get in the way.

Though she kept some of her focus on them, just in case, she used this moment to pop open her dossier. Something had been bugging her since the assignment had been given to her by Pink Diamond. About the ship, and about the technician who had sent the transmission. Why had they waited so long to send help? Why was the technician only able to send out one, poor quality report? Where was that gem now? Maybe I shouldn't be doing this right now either, the sapphire thought to herself with a bit if frustration, and quickly shut away her dossier. 

[7XB]

The rest of the rather dangerous descent was made in utter silence, both the Quartz and their attached rubies growing harder to see in the dim light. The whole ordeal was painfully slow, and it seemed like an eternity before they began to climb again, what little light that had trickled in before now almost totally gone.

Finally, they reached the top of the sheer cliffs again, executing a rather impressive move as they pushed themselves back of the wall, doing a quick flip to catch the corner of the outcropping, but hardly. Turning, 7XB lowered themselves down onto their haunches, holding a hand out to Padparadscha's, "Your Clarity," they began, voice seeming a bit raspy through all their exertion, "It's your turn."

[Paddy]

Though she liked to think of herself as patient, it was a nerve-racking wait. She paced, fidgeted with her hands, and checked their progress, until finally 7XB hoisted themselves up and flourished onto the foothold. To see them just barely make it sent shivers down her spine, her knees were a bit weak. Her brows came together, and she looked up into the clear quartz's eyes. It hadn't been an easy climb for them, she could see, and now the soldier was going to have to go through it all over again. 

She placed her small, lithe hand into 7XB's palm,"Are you sure you don't need a moment? We don't need to rush..." One small sapphire wouldn't be has heavy as four rubies, but they still had to carry their own weight down the perilous rock. Was it unfair to push them to such exertion, just so she could conserve her own energy? Then again, they'd already gone through all of that, it might be something of an insult to refuse. Her gaze flickered away from 7XB's austere eyes.