Keeping Up With the Fuscites Closed (Fuscite, Paddy, Soda)

[Sodalite]

It was clear that Padparadscha was annoyed too, from the tone of voice she used, as well as the way she went on to lecture Fuscite after answering the question. Soda was just worried about how Fuscite was going to react. She watched with clenched teeth, as Fuscite seemed to become less and less impressed. She saw the gem's hand start twitching, and wasn't quite sure what to expect when Padparadscha would finish.

When Fuscite's fist went into the wall, Soda bounced back, letting out a frightened whimper as she watched from behind the Sapphire. She shivered every time that the gem's voice boomed, but paid close attention to some of the things she said, particularly when she mentioned her cut and facet. Earlier, she claimed to forget them, but now she knew? And what was with her cut and facet, 88 and 8? This gem had to be ridiculously old to have something like that. Then everything she said afterward made it clear that this gem was not a proper Homeworlder. The way she regarded Padparadscha and Pink Diamond, and then the way she talked about Homeworld. It was all so wrong. Having said that she didn't care about Pink Diamond was grounds enough to call her a rebel as far as Sodalite was concerned. That wasn't the issue here though.

Rebel or not, their best course of action right now was to do what they were told. With the sheer number of gems surrounding them, it wasn't like they really had a choice. Soda was just worried about how things would play out if they couldn't free the gem, or what would even happen after they did. She was fairly certain Fuscite would just let them and the crew go, but part of her worried that Fuscite might be lying about their fate. For now, Soda approached the cell behind Padparadscha, hoping to get a better look at the issue.

[Paddy]

Not only had her attempt to gain more leverage failed utterly, but now Padparadscha fumed; fists clenched, teeth gritting as the cold air around her was brought to a steam. She sneered as Fuscite rose her voice, the sapphire's thin brows floating higher on her face as she became more baffled by the words pouring from this old gem's mouth. But what baffled her the most was that everything this captain said seemed to be genuine. Every fiber of her being wanted to bite back, to show this Fuscite why she was wrong; more so, she wanted to detain this treasonous gem and test her against the Diamond's will. 

Her eyes flicked across Sodalite and Pearl. As the overseer of her compromised team, she knew her actions would have consequences for all of them. Recent events had taught her that her pride could often become cumbersome, and she shoved down any malicious words she had for this gem-- there would be time to deal with her later. For now, she turned her attention to the rebel encased by the holding cells. There were no guarantees that the fuscites would keep their word, but for now she at least had a little bit of leverage; they all expected her to be able to do something about their captured comrade. Her eyes swept over the fuscites closing in around, making any sort of maneuver in this situation impossible. Unless, of course, she could maintain some subtly. 

First, she walked up to the panel, and flicked her finger across it, before she tapped in her clearance codes. The panel lit up, allowing her access to the first grid, but then a frown tugged at her lip. "My general clearance isn't going to allow me to open this cell," She said, peering over her shoulder,"The captain will have the individual keys for each holding area. Though, I suppose you've already had a chat with this ship's crew? Not to brag, Fuscite 88 8, but interrogation is one of my talents. Perhaps you could introduce us to this ship's captain, and we could get this sorted out," While she spoke, she took a close look at the material that the ship's hull had been crafted out of. It would be impossible to tell if it was made out of anything that could cancel her ability quite yet, but she might soon find out. Her eyes again slid to Sodalite, and as her hand dropped from the panel, she made a hand signal for Pearl to recognize. The pearl's eyes widened, but she held her ground-- there wasn't much else she could do. 

[The God-Emperor of Gemkind]

Fuscite crossed her arms as Padparadscha approached the cell, frowning as the gem proclaimed that she needed the presence of the captain. Tilting her head slightly, Fuscite tapped her wrist and engaged the comms. "This is the Captain speaking. Hemlock and Arsenic are to escort the VIP to Rendezvous Point Alpha post-haste," the gem stated. Spinning on her heel to face an adjacent corridor, Fuscite awaited the arrival of Padparadscha's special request.


As Fuscite stood off, fuming at the corridor, a green figure appeared from within the confines of the cell and slowly approached Padparadscha. As it came into the light, it was revealed to be another Fuscite. The gem was in a Homeworld jumpsuit, the style of which had long since been phased out. Her hair flowed in four circular twirls around her head, and a cracked gemstone adorned the explorer's stomach. Leaning on the wall nearest to Padparadscha as she neared, the Fuscite had an appreciative expression on her face.
"The crew calls me Shamrock, miss." she began."Please, excuse my Captain's behavior - she's been through a lot and has been rather on edge lately." Shamrock shivered a bit as her projection stuttered, grunting slightly. "The Captain of this fancy cruiser's an Emerald. She's very...uh..." Shamrock paused for a moment and quickly glanced at her gem. "She's very persistent at what she sets her eyes on." The navigator smiled weakly at the sapphire, placing a forearm on the door of the cell for support. "I have confidence this was just a -" Shamrock stuttered as her projection wavered again. "- a big misunderstanding that we can sort out later." The gem exhaled and placed her head back against the wall of the cell, her eyes shifting to her Captain as she stepped back - Hemlock and Arsenic emerged from around the corner, bringing with them the Emerald captain bound in handcuffs. 

Fuscite swung an arm out towards Padparadscha. "This lovely officer has need of your presence. Padparadscha, meet Emerald. Emerald, meet Padparadshca."

Grunting, the Emerald shook free of her captors and stepped towards Padparadscha with an aggressive posture. "What do you want, you miscolored miscreant? I've had enough of this green monster and her friends to last an entire millenium," she barked.

[Sodalite]

When Sodalite got near the holding unit, she moved her eyes slowly around it, inspecting the door closely. Wearing a frown as she failed to recognize the door's material make up. All she could really tell, was that it was much stronger than she would've expected a cell like this to be. Two doors made from some fortified glass like material, with a wall of heavy duty destabilizers. Soda stared down at the cell's floor, coming to the conclusion that breaking the door would likely be a lot harder than simply getting the captain to open it. Her eyes shifted up, as the prisoner came closer, coming to a stop on the wall next to Padparadscha. She actually seemed rather pleasant compared to the other Fuscites they'd seen, she was polite, and... Soda's right hand went to her mouth the moment she noticed the crack. 88 8 wasn't kidding, they cracked her gem.

Then the captain of the ship finally made an appearance, the Emerald that she'd heard so little about. The way she spoke to Padparadscha already brought Soda to dislike this gem, but as much as she wanted to give Emerald a piece of her mind for the way she was talking to Padparadscha and how she went so far as to crack an obedient prisoner's gem. She knew it was better to hold off for the time being. Padparadscha was an investigator, if those two had a chat for a while, they'd finally figure out what really took place.

Soda manged to keep silent a little longer, but she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold. She wasn't a quiet gem by nature, and there was a growing need to give everyone her two cents about the situation.

[Paddy]

Finally, something seemed to go right-- her request was granted. Now would be the matter of turning the situation into her favor. Though, as she strategized, Shamrock spoke up. Her eyes slid to regard the voice of the imprisoned gem, lips pursed as she listened. "Oh, I'm sure," She answered carefully, some bite in her tone as she was still miffed. Though, Shamrock seemed to be decent, at least a meager sense for etiquette. Her lips drew into a line as she realized how gravely the gem had been damaged, and her perceptive eyes narrowed. 

She pivoted on her heels to turn toward the sound of steps behind her, and took in the sight of Emerald. Immediately, the gem's words struck Padparadscha like a brick to the face; she gave a start, and her entire body was eerily, uncharacteristically still for a long second as her molten eyes cut into the verdant gem. Then, almost as if a switch had been flipped, the small sapphire gave a smile that might've been sweet, if not for the flicker of fire in her gaze. Back straight, shoulders rolled back, her heels came together and her delicate hands flew up to articulate a precise diamond salute,"Padparadscha 10C8A 8QE, Moonbase Headquarters special task operative, Pink Court judicial affairs," She decided to give herself more preamble this time, then swung her arms around to clasp behind her back,"Emerald, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I have been dispatched on orders by my Diamond following a rather peculiar report. From what I've gathered, you seem to be in a tough position. Might I see your clearance for the operation you've undertaken that involves this gem?" She gestured toward the cell, occupied by the glitching gem,"The unsanctioned questioning and subsequent torture of an accused individual is a rather serious offense, captain, so I'm hoping we could get this cleared up before I continue. As I recall, it isn't often within the jurisdiction of an Emerald to carry out interrogation aboard her own vessel," The sapphire spoke with a cheerful lilt, as if she wasn't being held by a group of militants, as if she hadn't just been given an ultimate insult straight to her face. Her lips came together, and she tried to suppress the smirk tugging at her lip; it was within her own jurisdiction to put nearly any gem under scrutiny. "Sodalite, forgive me but I lack the proper equipment to double check our dossier; had there been mention of whether this ship was meant to carry a prisoner?" Padparadscha said it as if it had been an after thought, but her plan stewed on internally. 

[The God-Emperor of Gemkind]

Fuscite leaned against the wall as Padparadscha began conversing with the Emerald, casting a concerned look towards Shamrock.

"I am Emerald 3412 T96, operating under the direct orders of Rear Admiral Ferriclinoholmquistite," the captain uttered as she straightened out her uniform. "My mission is..." she shot a murderous glance at Fuscite. "... was to apprehend and extract information from rebel gems on the planet before sending them back to the 78^th Fleet for processing. The soldier currently housed in that cell over there," Emerald pointed at Shamrock, "Is the only remaining captive I have after her captain punched my ship out of the sky. Unfortunately, she won't disclose any information about the rebellion. I will not be releasing her, and she will answer for abandoning the Authority to the Rear Admiral. Now, is there anything else you'd like to ask about me, Sapphire?" Emerald spat out as she clumsily manipulated a holopad with her cuffed hands. Angling it so the Sapphire could see, Emerald displayed her mission statement upon the screen.

Fuscite's eyes furrowed as Emerald droned on and on, arching an eyebrow at Padparadscha. However, some of the captain's words had struck a chord with the navigator and she stepped away from the wall, placing a hand on the cell door and looking in at Shamrock. "I've said it before, I'll say it again, and I will never stop saying it, Emerald; the Authority abandoned us, not the other way around. And as for th-"

" Don't get all flustered again, captain," Shamrock interrupted as she looked up towards Fuscite. " There's no reason to get all up in arms abou---" the injured gem's figure contorted and phased incoherently for several infinitely long seconds before dissipating. Shamrock's cracked gem core fell to the ground and rolled around, coming to a rest inches from Fuscite.

The commander stared down at the gem core, speechless for several minutes. Raising her head, Fuscite blankly stared off in the general direction of Padparadscha and Emerald. Her face seemed eerily devoid of expression.

"Ready rifles." Fuscite softly stated as her crew raised their arms at the crowd of captive Homeworld gems, a wave of unease starting to set in as the Fuscites took aim.