Alone in the City (Paddy/Closed)

[Paddy]

The sapphire watched Hematite's movements carefully, eyes flicking between each of the ingredients she combined into her tool. At first, Padparadscha pursed her lips,"Hmm," she hummed, and prepared to think of a way to get the fusion to elaborate more on what she intended to use this distraction for. The answer she'd been given had even managed to crop up more questions for her; what was a shinobi, and why would they be so cagey with their techniques, unless this was something prototypical in human culture? Her lips parted to ask these questions, among others, but as if on cue, Hematite spoke up again. Padpara blinked, and let her mouth close back up as she thought about the implications here. She would have to keep an eye out herself, though for the time being she would have to accept the fact that these little bombs could stave off their common foes.  

"Sounds as if it could be handy to have," She uttered quietly, then her eyes flicked back over to her holoscreen as the data transfer finished up. It seemed the transfer had gone without a hitch, none of the data had been corrupted to her knowledge, and she flipped through it just to make sure. A small smile formed on her lips, before she let it fade; what would come next might prove to be an arduous gauntlet, and everyone would have to be on high-alert. Padpara was not ready, but she didn't think she would ever be ready to throw herself into the cross-hairs of danger, no matter how many times she might have done so in the past. Her limbs began to feel a bit weak as she anticipated the trials ahead. 

The small pink-court gem eyed the translator as she turned to Proctor Yelle, and gave her a concise nod. Then, she put away her own holo-tech, rolled her shoulders, and clasped her hands behind her back. Internally, she calculated what her next moves might be, depending on 

[Hematite]

Hematite would smile at the sapphires’ reply, they were quite handy to have, essentially non-lethal but very effective smoke bombs. She rocked to her feet and watched as the peridot nodded to the two and started to navigate her way around the command sequences of the node.


[2/3 attempts, Yelle succeeds, rolled dice to see if she could do it]


At first it seemed she was having trouble finding the correct directories she’d need access too, but with enough back-stepping and file searching, she located an express protocol for the emergency access sequences. First there was entering her passcode, and suddenly the device came to life promptly. “Access Granted, Welcome, Proctor 219D Cut-08358.” The cry of steam and some form of pressure release echoed through the facility and the massive segmented sliding door seemed to fall apart and reveal its interior.


An interior comprised of somewhat fashionable seating, decorative shelving, a large opaque desk at its end and several nodes to access various controls of the facility. The peridot walked inside half expecting an alarm to signal their entrance. But it remained unsettlingly silent. Hematite would also follow them in and peer about with some interest.

[Paddy]

Relief rolled over her as she heard the AI confirmation, but she knew that this was only the first test. Still, this was a good start; she'd even gotten to figure out what the Proctor's true name was in the process, though she wondered if the peridot would still prefer the name she'd given herself earlier. Nonetheless, the curious sapphire would have some more leads on the truth behind this whole debacle if she knew that designation, and it would be handy to know once the loyalists returned to base. If she were to introduce a gem who didn't remember what she was called to the managers, it would be very difficult to assign her a new schedule. "Good work," She asserted, out of habit, but also a genuine appreciation for the peridot's handiwork. 

Padpara remained on alert, her eyes flickered to and fro as she allowed the Proctor and Hematite to enter the room first-- mostly to see if Hematite would trip off any kind of security protocol. There came to be another relief when the room seemed mostly benign for the time being.  Despite how ancient it was, the setup of the room appealed to her sensibilities, reminding her a bit of the command centers in older ships she'd been aboard in the past. But there was no doubt that this room, and its outskirts, were armed to the teeth with hidden defenses. In anticipation, she focused on her center, closing her eyes for a moment to bring clarity as she prepared to summon her plasma in a defensive maneuver, if needed. Being already unfamiliar with older technology, she wondered what sort of prototype tech this facility had tested and been outfitted with.


Her eyes opened, and immediately after, she began to sweep the perimeter, planting bits of plasma here or there in order to secure it. Having those bits of plasma live in the area around her would mean she could react quickly from any direction, as well as sense if there was any change to them following the activation of the main power grid. The sapphire sauntered along the wall, keeping herself moving at a measured pace as she scanned every nook or cranny she could get her eyes on.

[Hematite]

The peridot gave the sapphire a quick nod, her eyes slightly brightened at the compliment. Though she spared no words, maintaining her concentration as she made her way towards administrative panel which coalesced from a sprawl of rotating halo-orbs that seemed to be the only appear when prompted. It became a rather vast network of panels displaying several categories and a labyrinth of data. Navigating this ancient browser, she eventually came upon the roster displaying the nearly 100 head-count of working gem sin the facility. “Okay. I found the roster, now I need to override the overseer’s controls and add you to the registered gems within the facility.” Overriding the controls would be the more challenging of the two task, but hopefully she could find some kind of safe route or protocol to override the system.

[She succeeds!]

For a second there was a look of hopeless on the gems’ face, at first she seemed certain that this particular node wouldn’t allow her access to overseer’s controls. But then, right when she found it hopeless, she saw a command for an emergency override-specifically designed for the proctors of the establishment. Upon reading its prompt, it seemed this command, though quite hidden, was used in the case that the overseer may become incapacitated or went missing … or even go rogue for that matter. With this, the panel suddenly shifted hue, and an operating voice mechanically spoke aloud, “Access granted, overseer control overridden, emergency control activated.” She smiled widely and went to access the register. “I’m going to have to scan your gemstones in order for the system to properly register your light-frequencies. This will then be added to the security protocols list of managed gems, ensuring your safety.”

Hematite was a little off put letting whatever this system have its way, “It’s not dangerous is it?” The proctor reached for a glowing icon on the panel, it would detach seamlessly from the rest and float in her hand as if ready for some kind of action. “It’ll be fine.” The peridot examined the fusion, but couldn’t see her gemstones, “Uh …” Hematite seemed to read her expression and turned to show her the gemstones lining her spine, the peridot then extended the icon to them and a small scan-light began to pass back-forth across her gemstones. “Unidentified gem type, category not found in known Homeworld database, gem will be listed as miscellaneous? Proceed with registration?” A confirmation prompt appeared from the proctor and she jotted in a sound ‘yes.’ “Gems registered.” Oddly the register updated, but added three gems to its count, it seemed odd fusions ended up being logged individually. Though there was no photo identification, red spinel, moonstone and onyx would appear on the registrar.

She then turned to the sapphire, “You next please. And then after this, we can work on reactivating the main power reactor.”

[Paddy]

Despite the fact that they were more or less safe for the time being, she left her preparations in place just in case something were to go awry; it was better to be safe, than to be descended upon by prototype battle drones without proper defenses, she mused. She allowed herself to feel more at ease now that there was a way to get them all safely out of this situation. Though, as she listened to the AI register the series of gems that made up Hematite, her lips pulled into a line. She wondered if the machine would recognize her, a relatively new model of only a few hundred years in age, though there had been different models of Padparadscha before her; true prototypes, the experiments that paved the way for the test of her own creation, and the eventual discovery of her disparate abilities. Ever self-conscious about these circumstances, she didn't want the machine to reveal anything about herself she didn't particularly want these other gems to be privy to. But, she decided the gems here had no right to judge her, if it did somehow have information on her cut. 

At the request from Yelle, the sapphire hesitated for a moment. Not only for her self-consciousness, but for the instinctual protectiveness she had about her gem core. Proctor Yelle seemed to go about the process rather deftly with Hematite, but the sapphire traced the gem on her throat for a moment before stepping up. "Right, let's go ahead with this-- and once that power reactor is activated, it should be a breeze to get to the main elevator," She said, mostly just to stifle her nerves, before lifting her chin a bit to allow the peridot to get a proper scan on the baguette shaped, multi-hued gem.

[Hematite]

She nodded to the sapphire, and lifted the scanner to the gemstone at her neck, the scanner activated and there was uncanny moment of silence, “Scan complete, Unidentified Gemstone detected, classification unknown. Register?” She answered the prompt, and the sapphire appeared without any photo or classification in registrar, with the rest of the recorded members.

“Alright, now it’s time to reactivate the main reactor to get the silo back online. Hopefully, with you two on registrar, the security system will be more lax.” She then took her strides to the large halo panel, which Hematite found her attention saturated in, she couldn’t help but be curious what the lot of these things meant, if it even has a log on the types of security in the facility. As she was staring at the access files-she noticed one that even mentioned the ‘overseer’s private logs.' Part of her wanted to see just exactly what it was, but was far more important to be concentrating on escaping this place. She looked over at the peridot, and part of her wondered if she noticed … she lifted finger and tapped on the file and suddenly a voice filled the room much to Hematite’s disappointment, as she simply wanted to gleam at what they said- the peridot had just looked over quite angrily at Hematite, “What are you doing? Don’t go pressing things without my - …” And then she heard the familiar voice of the previous overseer, a recorded message, her voice exasperated and lacking patience:

“Log 15 – Overseer’s Terminal …



*Tired sigh* This is Morganite facet 336AV Cut 4437E …

I’m done with the stupidity of some of the gems in this facility. If I had my way, half of them would be relocated under Pink Diamonds’ counsel and the rest could be scattered to the wind for all I care. Idiotic morons, every single one of them. A few of the proctors are tolerable-including that … odd peridot whose coloration I’ve never seen before. I half wonder if she’s faulty in some way. Sweet little gem but far too ugly to be anything more than an asset-even my pearl couldn’t help but laugh at how odd she looks.”



Halfway through what she was saying, Hematite’s head very slowly tilted towards the peridot with a wide gawk, as Yelle had a betrayed angry look in her eyes, “I’m not ugly! I can’t believe this …” she silenced herself as the overseer’s voice continued to blare from the speakers.

“But that’s of another matter. Something else is setting my ire on fire. Eight times now, eight times! I’ve told the maintenance section that we need to keep up with the tectonic sensors surrounding the complex. And they failed to follow the simplest command, I understand having nearly fifty of these sensors scattered across the facility means it’s difficult to check on one’s own but they have literally thirty-percent of our registry, they should be far better than this. All it takes is one tremor, one earthquake, and this facility could be pushed top ground thanks to the pressure.

If the matter is not handled soon, I’m contacting my Diamond and requesting an immediate change in our roster.

End log.”

The Peridot remained scornfully angry, she had shown so much kindness and loyalty to this gem, if she ever sees this gem again she was going to give her one for! Hematite couldn’t help but suppress her laughter as she turned away from the panel, this was actually pretty golden, she wondered what else the overseer had been keeping in her files.

[Paddy]

It seemed today was going a lot better than she could've hoped; the only thing that could be surmised from her lack of presence in the database was that she was a new model, and that she wasn't particularly ashamed of. She too decided to take a look around the room as the peridot announced that she would begin to bring power back. Though, as she waltzed around taking a look at everything, she began to wonder about something else. This facility had long been abandoned and shut down, and that meant that it had been purposefully left like this. When the peridot reactivated it, she doubted they would be able to shut it down again once they all made it to the surface. Thus, a highly dangerous compound, filled with technology that the rebels could use to their advantage, would be left live and more easily accessible. That thought didn't sit well with her. 

The sapphire pulled out her holoscreen once again and decided to take a sweep of the place with her documentation reel, to not only prove that she had been here but to document the process of it going live once again. The manager of the moon base, as well as the Homeworld officials who had sanctioned the shut-down of the compound would want to know about this. Perhaps a team of gems would be sent to shut the place down once and for all, though she imagined it would be difficult to remove the facility discretely-- or perhaps, it had been left for some other purpose. Was it slated for use some time in the future? She tapped her chin as she moved her apparatus about to get a good 360 on the place. 

Then, Padpara jumped when a voice suddenly spoke out around them, her plasma nodes ready to fire in all directions. After swiveling  her head around frantically, she realized it was some kind of log, and much to her luck, the documentation reel managed to pick up the facet and cut of the Morganite who had been in charge here. This was a huge lead, if she were ever going to learn more about this facility and its uses, she would have to find that Morganite somehow. It was likely that she was still somewhere in the star system. "Hmmm..." She hummed as the log finished up. The bit about the tectonic sensors also gave her an idea of why this place may have been abandoned, though she didn't want to jump to any conclusions yet. 

The insults to Yelle were not of concern to the sapphire, though she did feel a bit embarrassed for her-- and for the Morganite as well. Padparadscha herself had always tried to keep her opinions on her subordinates on the review records, except for in some very special cases. "Ah, well," She tried to interject, to take the peridot's mind off of the rude comments her overseer had made a millennium ago,"Proctor, you're such an effective gem. Look at how far we've gotten because of your skill!" She cleared her throat,"Hematite and I...likely would have been shattered in some kind of botched escape attempt if not for the excellent work you're doing now," Though, there was still no telling what would come next. She worried whether the systems would be corrupted, or if something else were to go awry completely unrelated. 

[Hematite]

Hematite actually remained quiet, she was contemplating on if what the sapphire said was true, would the two have made it out of here without the help of this gem? Already they’ve walked into a position that could have taken their lives and now she wondered if the same will happen here. Her eyes then shifted back to the logs and she used finger to slide scroll through it. Maybe there was more this overseer had to say, the last log-the one right after the one they heard interested her the most. It had a completely different title, ‘final log/emergency log/’ and she looked to the peridot who was still trying to get the rude comments of her previous overseer out of her head. “Yo-you’re right. I’m above this, she could barely keep up with her own duties and I happened to have cover for many of the other proctors here. If it wasn’t for me this place would have fell apart.”

Hematite tapped the Peridot on the shoulder to grab her attention, “There’s one more and I feel like this one is important. We should hear it.” The Peridot felt odd looking through the overseer’s personal data but this was probably the only time she’d feel remorseless doing so. She peered at the title, it did garner her interest. “It’s her final log, she made this during the emergency evacuation protocol.” She wanted to access the activation panel, but something told her she should see. She played the real, and the room filled with sound again.

“Final Log – Emergency Evacuation Protocol – Flash Report.

It happened … a subterranean level tremor has caused a massive pressure build up in the material extraction room and the steam-based hydrokinetic reactor! As the pressure builds, the facility will be shoved high-ground or until it hits something strong enough to stop it. This wouldn’t normally be cause for full evacuation and destitution of this facility, but …

Something else was released. Project H-3567 has escaped containment, damage to the control parameters and the left wing has caused the experimental automated machine to go rogue and is now rampant. We’ve managed to lock it in the left sector, but as long as power remains to the facility the radio-emitters acting as both its power and activation control will emit.

I watched it charge through a thirteen-layer steel sliding-panel … this experiment cannot escape. Not with the amount of power it contains. I have authorized a full shutdown of the facility, after we exit the silo all reactors will be remotely shutdown and monitored thus far, reactivation of this facility will be immediately registered by interested Homeworld officials.

Log out …”


The peridot looked to the sapphire, “I’ve never heard of this experiment,” though the part where she mentioned it was charging through steel sliding-doors was enough to make her hair stand up. "Just a second, maybe I can access the information on this data before we activate the reactor. I’d like to know what this thing is before we mess with.” Her eyes panned up down the navigation bars until she found a section known as experiment reports. “Project H-3567, also known as The Harvester Class Assault Drone. Use for gem rebellion containment and directed hostile contact and possible introduction to ‘cleaning out' the ‘lower levels,’ of homeworld.”

[Paddy]

The sapphire nodded as Yelle spoke, trying to reaffirm what she had said. She had no idea if they would've found some alternative route, but it seemed so unlikely that she decided it was the truth. Though for now it wasn't so practical to think of what could've been, as they did have the peridot with them As Hematite brought attention to another log file, Padpara was keen on keeping her holoscreen up, still documenting; she had no qualms with this data-mining exercise, and as the proctor announced the nature of the log, her eyes widened-- perhaps she wouldn't have to do too much hunting to figure out what happened here after all. 

As the Morganite's morose voice carried through the speakers, Padpara's color drained. It didn't help that the peridot didn't seem to know anything about this Project H-3567. The sapphire herself had dealt with highly classified prototype technology that she had little information on in the past, so she hoped that experience could translate. However, there was something extremely ominous about hearing the words Harvester Class Assault Drone subsequent to hearing about the devastation the thing could cause if given the opportunity. Now she realized that this wasn't just a danger to leave live because rebels might loot it; rather, it was a danger because they could have potentially let loose a mechanical nightmare onto Pink Diamond's colony, which could wreak all kinds of unintended havoc. 

"I'm...having second thoughts, Proctor," The sapphire turned to give Yelle a hard look,"We don't know if these interested Homeworld affiliates ever actually came back to take care of that issue, as it seems that at least two projects here were left suspended without further action. Activating the main grid will mean activating that project, and who knows what else. We know from these logs where it most likely is, I think it would be prudent to try to get there before the power is activated, and try to dismantle it if possible..." She pursed her lips, and felt the need to qualify herself,"Perhaps it isn't necessarily within our jurisdiction, but as your former overseer has detailed, that thing cannot be left live on the grid, and we do not have a hasty or strategic method of initiating a remote shut down...unless, you do of course?"

It seemed that this place was a frayed end waiting to burst into flames at any moment. Perhaps she and the proctor would get some kind of commendation for doing something to quell the likelihood of further catastrophe from striking this sector; or perhaps they would be reprimanded for even being here in the first place. Either way, the sapphire felt she had a duty to do what she could in order to prevent a disaster from unfolding, that would cost her Diamond precious resources and gem-power to take down otherwise. But, she anticipated that the other gems might not feel the same. Her eyes darted between them, and her holoscreen apparatus, as she consolidated the recordings she'd picked up.

[Hematite]

When the sapphire pepped up with her inclination to try and ascertain the situation before stepping forward, Hematite was generally surprised, she couldn’t quite understand why a homeworld official would care about whether this machine actually escaped or not—but then as she thought about it, this drone could cause all sorts of problems and as Padpara aptly put, would simply be an issue that would caused more problems than good, on both sides. “I agree with her,” the fusion expressed, and then looked to the peridot. “If this machine escapes the facility; countless lives, will be in danger. Humans and gems alike.” She feared more for the humans actually, a gem could get away and regenerate if her body was damaged just enough, but a human.

It’d be over for them.

“I will have to agree as well. This honestly goes beyond any of my knowledge,” the proctor thought or a moment, at what the overseer had said, “Apparently, there is a remote signal to activate the reactor.” She started to search the protocol commands and seemed to find its source file-she forced it to download to her limb-extenders’ halo-panel. “With the codecs included I can activate and deactivate the facility even from outside, as long as we are in range.” She stepped away from the panel and finger grazed her chin as she went to think, “Maybe we should check and see if there is a safety measure to ensure it’s reactivation remains incomplete, and stays that way.” She then used her panel to erect a map that displayed in the rooms main panel, “The left wing of the sector will require my clearance to access.”

[Paddy]

The sapphire herself was a bit surprised that Hematite agreed, brows floating up slightly; the rebel had otherwise seemed to be an ambivalent force, though at the mention of humans she realized that the fusion was perhaps even more attached to the creatures than Padpara had originally anticipated. Her attention shifted to the peridot as she prepared to get to work on this revised strategy, and she felt better knowing that they weren't going to be leaving what amounted to a time-bomb behind in this place, or letting it get the opportunity to put its cross-hairs on them. 

Though, there was something that bothered her. The fact that they needed the proctor not only to get proper clearance, but to activate these remote shut-down protocols, meant that they would have to continue to rely heavily on this gem. If something were to happen to her (as much as she didn't want to think it) there would be no way for them to continue safely. Padpara looked Yelle up and down; she was a technician, there was already no doubts about that, and a good one. But could she fight, if necessary? Would she be able to defend herself, or employ tactics to her advantage if things didn't go according to plan? There was no indication that she could, and the sapphire pursed her lips. Hematite and herself would have to take on the roles of escorts for this gem, who would take on situational importance in this strategic maneuver. Though, hopefully with the grid remaining down for the time being, they would be able to get there without that kind of crisis unfolding. 

She took a moment to study the map, looking for something of interest while she spoke,"Whatever we do, we can't take chances. If you're not totally sure about it, we should stick to what we know, within a small margin of error, will happen. The question is, can the left sector be entered while the power remains out?" The risk-reward ratio here was too imbalanced, playing it safe was the most practical call for now. Another thing crossed her mind as her eyes swept over the different sectors of the map, and she considered where the radio-emitters would most likely be lined up,"When we reactivate the facility, there is a possibility that it will pique a Homeworld satellite and send a notification to the Moonbase. My communicator doesn't get signal down here, but that will at least alert the managers at Headquarters that something is up. If something goes wrong, there is the chance we could eventually receive back up," That was a hopeful outlook; there was also the possibility that Headquarters wouldn't have the gem-power to respond immediately, and even if they did, it may take hours for the information to be processed. She also considered that Hematite might not see either option as entirely uplifting, though her capture would eventually be for her own good. 

[Hematite]

Yelle tipped a finger to her chin again and began to think of what the or proctor said, “Yes, we can still access the left wing, just not in the traditional manner.” She made her way besides the sapphire and drew her map, pointing to an obscure point of entry at the top of the left wing. “and yes, there is a possibility that Moonbase will be prompt to respond, if possible we can make our way back to the sites’ main control room and we can ping them then, but this is only after we have activated the reactors.” Hematite’s arms crossed over her chest and she showed some visible distaste to what the two were talking about. She was well aware that she was going to have to do something hectic to escape. But what exactly she was going to do was beyond her.

This brought up an issue she’d been trying to keep silent for a bit, but now she would speak up, “Well, it seems I’ll have to part ways with you after the activation of the reactor. I’ll aid you up until that point, but calling your comrades isn’t within my interest.” She threw out, and the peridot seemed to grow troubled looking over at the sapphire as she said this.

Hopefully she could stop an argument before it happened, “Hematite, that’s quite unnecessary, I doubt reinforcement will be concentrated on you considering there will be more problematic issues to deal with. Why not stay while we get in contact-…” Hematite’s voice suddenly broke her sentence, “Nope, I think you two will be happy enough to travel with your companions on your own.” The peridot’s smile went flat she realized instantly how stubborn Hematite really was.

[Paddy]

She gave a nod at what Yelle said, but tilted her head slightly and narrowed her eyes as Hematite began to speak. Right away she knew that the peridot's efforts to placate the fusion would be futile; the only thing that would bring in this rogue would be force, and though it wasn't her favorite method, she would use it if need be. Her eyes flicked back to the peridot-- the timing of the reactivation would be important, not only to preserve their lives against possible mishaps, but to capture Hematite swiftly. After all, Padpara had gone through all of this turmoil in her efforts to capture the gem, it would be a grating failure to see her slip away once again.


"Hematite," Padpara's tone took on a matter-of-fact quality as she turned to face the fusion completely, and clasped her hands behind her back,"You're a live for the moment sort of gem, so I'm wondering if you've thought this through," Her eyes bore into her opponent, her lips pressed together before her eyes flicked onto Yelle for a moment before sliding back over to Hematite,"On the contrary, knowing what I do now about the highly classified nature of your creation, and subsequent botched dispatch under questionable circumstances, your detainment will be a high priority endeavor. There is only one way out of this hole-- are you planning to fight your way through a specialized unit of Homeworld soldiers? I can assure you, Headquarters wont react lightly to the sudden activation of a long-dark, hidden compound. It would be easier for you to come quietly," It was likely that she would be the highest ranked gem on the scene if Headquarters was able to respond in time, giving her the leverage to start handing out orders. If the gem-power would be spared anyway, why not make good use of it? A small smirk tugged the corner of her lip-- it seemed her target was running fast out of options. "Aside, if you did come quietly, I could make a case for you to my Diamond. For you to aid in the rescue of Homeworld officials is all the more reason for management to consider your reassignment, rather than for your gems to be harvested for power, or shattered," She gestured casually, almost as if she were tossing something over her shoulder.

[Hematite]

Yelle took in an exasperated gulp of air as she backed away, Hematite was walking over with a tell-tall look of indifference toward Padapara’s words. Firstly, she seemed a little off put but the summary of her position and outlook on life, “Live for the moment?” she thought out-loud, and then her eyes narrowed as the gem explained that Homeworld may be more inclined to come after her due to the circumstances of her creation. Her fingers clenched tightly around her arms as she leaned over to look the sapphire in the eyes. “And what? You think I’m afraid? Before any of that I may put you down beforehand. It’d be as simple as dispatching your form and leaving you in a bubble to stew for a bit while I’ll be on my way.” A clear threat straight to the sapphire’s face, “They can send as many solders as they like, I’m sure my skills will keep me safe. But as it stands, you make any attempt to inform your allies and we’ll be at the end of each other’s blades once again.” And then she straightened her stature and eye the peridot.

“Unfortunately, despite my liking you, the same goes for you, proctor.” And the peridot receded in response. “Look. I want no trouble, I’m not one to get into scuffles. I think all she’s trying to say is that your situation looks quite grim no matter how you look at it and that it may be better, for your safety of course, to simply turn yourself in.” Hematite made an uninterested face at the gem.

“I can care less.” She said even faster than before and then looked back at the sapphire, “You can make a case without me being there, I’d find it far more humorous that way.”

[Paddy]

Though she wasn't altogether sure who would come out victorious in a one on one (or should she say three?) fight between herself and the fusion, as Hematite went on to claim she'd be able to face an entire unit of soldiers, the sapphire's smirk became a disbelieving sneer, her narrowed eyes searched the hard expression of her suspect. To her, the words seemed to be more evidence that rebels were entirely out of their minds; they would have to be to lead such lives as they did. The gems that made up this fusion may have been designed as soldiers, but according to her own account she was not fit for duty-- so what gave her such confidence? Or was this just a show of momentary defiance, something that would ultimately amount to a bluff? 

Padpara wouldn't let herself be intimidated. Instead, she prepared herself to get this fusion detained as quickly as possible; she momentarily considered hashing things out here and now. After all, Hematite had little leverage in this situation and had just made a serious threat. Certainly her abilities and dexterity may come in handy on the way, but perhaps the journey would be just as easy without Padpara's nerves been tested by the fusion's refusal to relent. Still, the sapphire was ever careful to weigh the rewards of her risks. Considering the fact that Yelle had professed to being non-confrontational, it would indeed be a risk to try to take the three-gem fusion on now, especially when it would be more prudent to wait for those hypothesized reinforcements. But there were no guarantees here, perhaps Hematite would elect to make the decision for her in due time. 

"Hmph, you'll be regretting those words soon enough," She muttered, raising her nose into the air slightly,"I do wonder whether our benefactor here would be so willing to help you, if you were so brazen as to follow through with your threat." Then, she pursed her lips, and turned her head to look toward the peridot, "I suppose it'll always be futile to get a rebel to listen to reason. At any rate, we have an escape to make. Proctor, what's our next move?"