Aftershocks (closed w. Paddy)

[Paddy]

Amethyst hardly had time to feel relieved at Padparadscha's initial response, before 7XB side-stepped her attempt at evading further questioning. The sapphire gave a small smile to the clear quartz, before glancing back to hear what 6UE would say. 

"Uh, well," She paused as she concentrated on walking and thinking of ways to get around it. Her eyes glanced over the other quartz before her eyes flicked to the floor,"It's a protein powder. I dunno what that really is, but..." She tried to suppress her expression in remembering the human's reaction to her decidedly wrong use of the item,"It's some kind of tech they use to-- er...well it's really bizarre stuff. I really don't get it. But they gave it to me, so  I might as well take it right? I mean, they said it helps them with their goals, whatever that means," She pressed her lips together, trying to think it through before she said anything else,"If it helps the humans with their goals, then it must be kinda important? Maybe it means something?" Was she reasoning with her superiors in this situation or with herself? Even 6UE couldn't really tell, but she had a feeling about it. As they neared the door, Amethyst became a bit self conscious as she neared the other amethyst's guarding it.

Padparadscha listened, and she brought her hands down to clasp in front of her. She watched where she was going as she started up the steps and out through the busy hall. Before becoming too preoccupied with other thoughts, she found herself interested in what 6UE was saying. Knowing their goals would certainly help in the over all case that she had been building for the rhetoric behind the rebel cause, she found the information useful if not the powder itself,"A case could be made for having it, the organic research department might be able to scrape up something useful, in terms of data" The sapphire's words were imbued with some of her own impatience, though for her own reasons. She contemplated what the goal of her mission had been, and seriously considered if she had enough data to make a sound analysis from. Sending Amethyst away had come as an unlikely source of additional cross-referencing data she hadn't initially realized the move would make, and took a moment to feel a bit relieved that it worked in her favor. Her eyes went to 7XB as she anticipated their thoughts.        

[7XB]

The quartz was careful to watch their head as they ducked under the archway that led out into the moonbase proper, into the hustle and bustle of the main thoroughfare; Pursing their lips, they gave a nod of their head, “As you say, Your Clarity.” They were not the type of soldier to disagree with a superior gem to their faces, but it was clear that 7XB highly doubted the value of 6UE’s discovery. But who knew, perhaps they were wrong to think that? After all, they had been, up until this point, completely unaware that this moonbase had a..organics research department?

Certainly not something Yellow Diamond would have bothered with, but it was very clear that Pink Diamond did things.. differently. As seen by the fact that this rebellion had not been suppressed in it's infancy. "Either way, I shall be happy if I never have to see Empire City ever again. Unless I'm helping to demolish it."

[Paddy]

When it was between them and her, the clear quartz had contested her enough times in the past that she knew from this laconic tone that there was more on their mind, more to say. Seeing them stifle themselves around others was one of the more presently frustrating aspects of this and the situation the two of them had put themselves in at large; who should her resentment have been aimed towards? The other gems, for pushing 7XB to keep their truth thoughts hidden? Herself, for being unable to cultivate the openness she craved? Society at large, for creating these unspoken edicts? 7XB, for letting any of that stand in the way of the truth they knew she wanted from them? Combined with her prior frustrations, Padparadscha had a lot to stew on as they neared her office. 

At any rate, it would be uncouth to pressure them at this time. Aside, their next words rung truer to her, easing some of her edge as she nodded in agreement. She'd been the victim of enough attempted attacks by the hands of humans to know she didn't exactly enjoy the creatures, and their society was only interesting where it pertained to her research,"Hmph, I should like to be there when you do," Her eyes flicked from the quartz, to the path forward,"Though it seems we've already gotten a head-start," Between her own building burning capers and 7XB's recent crippling of the ECPD ground force, the sapphire found herself musing on just how long it would take for just the two of them to tear the city down together. 

6UE, on the other hand, had drawn a different conclusion about the humans and their establishment in her night spent celebrating with a hocky team drinking shakes and who knows what else, seeing sights and learning about this part of the world she'd never been to before. It would certainly be a thought she would keep hidden as she followed quietly, but-- before the real gauntlet of her odyssey began-- she had quite a good time. She wondered what the other two gems had been up to the whole time; she couldn't imagine that gems like these would ever allow themselves to have fun, let alone enjoy any silver lining of the situation that had come about.

As the group neared Padparadscha's office, Pink Pearl scurried ahead to get to the door before anyone else, prepared to open it so no one would have to break stride. She would linger next to the door panel, waiting for everyone to file into the room. The sapphire entered, and the lights flipped on to reveal the pink motif of the office. She gestured toward the conference seating along the elegant, elongated holodesk as she made her way around it to her own seat.   

[7XB]

Lumbering deftly forward, 7XB was quick to notice the sudden rush of movement out of the corner of their eye; Movement that, it turned out, was simply nothing more than Padparadscha's faithful Pearl quickening her own pace to pass the trio of gems. They relaxed somewhat with this knowledge as the servant brushed past them, yet the change was so miniscule as to be all but impossible to notice.

Great as their pain was, 7XB found themselves squeezing the cube rather tightly against their palm, discreet as they allowed the soothing energy to radiate outward from the source. The quartz could practically hear the irritation in the Sapphire's tone, but what was it she expected them to do? They couldn't exactly act as she would have liked here, around other gems! The talk of the destruction of that worthless human city, an event that they certainly hoped to be imminent, pulled their face into a grim line.

“That?” They promised, in reference to the destruction already caused, “That was nothing.” Their motions flowed easily as they entered the officer, momentum carrying them easily into the chair.

[Paddy]

Before she sat into her chair, her eyes flicked up and she looked straight into 7XB's gaze. The light caught there, a glint in their pale eyes-- and she remembered. A gem who had been removed from overt forms of violence for most of her life, there were things that 7XB constantly reminded her about themself, and about herself. Their dour expression, and their short words, spoke volumes to her.

"Nothing?" She echoed, astonished. She leaned forward to brace herself on the desk as she got a closer look at their expression, her habitual search for cues intensifying while she focused solely on them in the passing moments. From the day she'd met them, they had impressed upon her that they were exceptional, they knew it, and could prove it time and time again. There was an intrinsic factor of danger and intimidation to this gem that couldn't be forgotten, no matter how many tender moments they might have shared. The sheer intensity of their emotions fed the energetic flame of the sapphire's own passions, but times like these reminded her that she still stood under an enormous wall of ice and snow, hundreds of years forward in its construction. Her mind churned over everything she wanted to say, but for now the air rung silent, except for the shuffling of Pink Pearl, and the door as she took up her post next to it. Silent, because the sapphire couldn't yet dive into the bone she had to pick with them, "Hmph!" She straightened her back and lowered into her chair. There was nothing more frustrating than not being able to say what she wanted to say, when she wanted to say it. 

Despite every frustration she had been cooking up, she was still impressed, and their own pride in their abilities never ceased to make her proud too-- even if it still fueled her argumentative side. "If that was nothing, commander, then I should say that nothing would be one of the most ruthlessly effective things I've witnessed," Aside from what she had seen back in the arena or the jungle, and even then she'd never seen such a cold, keen wrath as she had today. 

6UE's brows floated up as she sensed some tension in this exchange. She wasn't the most nimble conversationalist, her social skills amounted to attempting to be helpful when it was called for (or even if it wasn't), but there was some kind of something going on that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Were they mad at each other, or was this just what happened when two obstinate gems got to talking? She tried to linger near the door as she usually did during meetings, but this time, she was a part of that meeting. The sapphire motioned for the purple quartz, and with some hesitation, Amethyst stepped up and plopped down into a seat next to 7XB.

[7XB]

7XB had never before met a gem that seemed to be able to look at them so deeply as Padparadscha, and her wide, inquisitive gaze always had a way of leaving them feeling open and vulnerable, something that, in situations like these where they found themselves in the presence of other gems, never failed to make the Quartz uncomfortable. As was there nature, they battled the urge to squirm beneath her gaze, leaning back in their seat as completely as possible.

“You are too kind, Your Clarity,” they replied, taking a moment to gaze about the pink-lit room to hopefully cut the tension, “I was rather impressed with your plasma-work, if I may say so.” Eyes cut sideways towards the Amethyst as she finally took her seat, sighing in exasperation. So, now what? So much had occurred between the Quartz and Padparadscha, and, in reality, they had uncovered quite a bit of information about the unique nature of this connection that existed between the two of them, but they couldn't exactly talk about it, and what had come to light that they could discuss, even on the note of their supposed motive?

[Paddy]

The sapphire was caught off guard as she swiveled to look back at them, her tendency toward a combative verbal exchange fizzed at 7XB's compliment and their redirection. The apples of her cheeks flushed as she looked at them quietly for a second, then her eyes flicked away,"Oh! It was noth--" She paused, reevaluating what she wanted to say,"--it was what I felt necessary," Another moment passed before she could quell her awkwardness, but she couldn't suppress the small smile that showed, before she got herself back into the mode. 6UE quirked a brow, but quickly caught herself and returned to a more tense, withheld expression. The only times she'd seen her patron change color in a similar manner was when she was beat-red in the face with anger. 

Padparadscha's movements were curt as she tapped the closest spot to her on the desk, and a series of documents loaded up,"Since we've discussed 6UE's circumstances I think it's time to get your first impression evaluation, 7XB," She quickly wanted to get this pretense, a loose end, tied. Whether or not she would keep this bodyguard was a thought she'd stewed on just as hard as she had her decision to get one in the first place; her interest was legitimate, but there was the impulse to send her servants away, so she could further analyze what she could guess was as much on the forefront of the clear quartz's mind as it was hers.

"You have every clearance toward anything you have to say to 6UE now," She stressed, her eyes were on the documents until they flicked up to look at 7XB once again,"I am no expert on the work and conditioning of quartz gems, so your opinion will greatly influence my decision 7XB; I want you both to know that," Her eyes flicked between them. The sapphire wished to know of this amethyst had any capacity for improvement, or if there was something she had missed about the purple quartz's performance. After so many fumbles, it was hard for her to see the gem with confidence; especially in comparison to the perfect quartz, though perhaps that comparison simply wasn't fair.  

Padpara felt that gems generally had a right to know what sort of position they were in, even if that were contrary to the opinions of much of the aristocracy, even if it made the gems in question uncomfortable. Amethyst was, in fact, very uncomfortable. At least the other amethysts weren't around to see her get torn into by this clear quartz again; she silently braced herself for whatever would be said, turning to look more directly at 7XB. 

[7XB]

Though surely 6UE felt it much more intensely then themselves, 7XB couldn't shake the feeling of being put on the spot as Padparadscha handed the reins of the conversation over to them; It was never an easy thing, to take the fate of a fellow gem into their own hands, but such was the burden of command, something that Quartz gems had to deal with in regards to lesser gems, and something the Amethyst would have to understand were her career to continue, either in it's present state or otherwise.

But, as things stood currently, 7XB was in a rather tricky spot as well, and in more ways than one. Had they truly been spending the night observing the purple Quartz and her methods, as had been the supposed reason for joining the mission, then it would have been easy enough to articulate something to say, but they had only her performance at the end of their little adventure to base a theory upon.

“Well..” they would have to buy themselves some time to fabricate, “there is quite a bit to consider.” They could feel the two pairs of eyes upon them, trying to axe their way through the Clear Quartz’ calm demeanor. “I cannot say, from what I have seen, that I am overly pleased with 6UE’s performance.” They didn't want to come down too hard upon the young quartz gem, nor did they want to bring her budding career in it's tracks, but with Padparadscha's safety on the line, there was absolutely no room for error. “With your safety in mind, Your Clarity..” they hesitated a moment longer, as if the anticipation wasn't bad enough, “I cannot say that 6UE is fit to provide you with adequate protection.” That was not to say that she was a lost cause.

“But I do think she has potential.” Though speaking to Padparadscha for the sake of professionalism, it was clear that most of their stern explaination was directed at Amethyst. “I believe the best place for her at this time is in a squad with her fellows. Perhaps a few more years at her back is what she needs.” Then, pointedly, they look across towards the purple gem, “Self efficiency comes from working with others. That is, of course, simply my opinion.”

[Paddy]

Amethyst was tense; it wasn't particularly good to hear, but at least they weren't talking about ejecting her into space or something. In fact, what 7XB said turned out to be something of a relief. At their advice, she gave a nod, her expression relaxing a bit. There was of course the underlying sting of having not been good enough. Maybe this sort of thing she just wasn't cut out for, or maybe she really did just need some more experience.   

Having heard some horror stories about gems hired to work for aristocrats, 6UE had harbored unease about the job she'd taken on. It wasn't until then that she realized just how wound up she was about this whole evaluation, but if it meant going back to guarding doors all day, she wondered if it would be all that bad. Going out on investigations with the sapphire and her pearl had been stressful sometimes, strange other times, but it was a whole lot more interesting than being a door guard on a moonbase.  

The sapphire nodded as she listened, looking at them as they spoke, and what 7XB said made a lot of sense to her. As they turned toward 6UE, she continued to listen, and felt an impact from their words. Padparadscha had always tried to do things herself, until she gave in to the realization that she would need a team to more effectively go about her work, but it was still hard to admit to herself. 

"I see, I will take that into account among my other considerations," She said, looking away to interface with the holodesk and enter information into some of the documents. As she worked on filing her records, she mused aloud,"But for now, among those considerations is that I do require protection for my work, especially in these troubled times," The sapphire's eyes focused onto the clear quartz. She wondered if any gem could live up to their standard, but had to move on nonetheless,"We'll of course have further discussion. 6UE, I will give you a full determination in 60 hours or less. Before then we will have a cross-examination on today's mission. For now, you are to escort pearl to the extension office to drop off this protein powder," As she spoke, Pink Pearl perked up and swiveled to face the door panel. 

6UE didn't know what to say. As she stood up, she gave a sigh, and considered if it was worth it to say anything at all. Then, with a look toward 7XB, the young soldier set down the box and saluted to them,"Thanks," She uttered,"I'll--...do better in the future," Her eyes fell onto Padparadscha,"Right on it ma'am," She attempted to make herself sound enthused, but the attempt was dampened. It was easy to guess at this point that the sapphire was sending her servants away, to discuss whatever it was she had alluded to earlier. Dwelling on what had been said, and what was soon to come, 6UE let her arms fall to grab the tub, turned, and made her way up to the door.

[7XB]

As the sliding closed behind the pair of gems, leaving only themselves and Padparadscha in the office, the Quartz relaxed somewhat, though it was more akin to them melting into their seat; A sigh passed their lips, thick fingers rising up to soothe the bridge of their nose with closed eyes. Solemn and serious as they were, 7XB was not a cruel gem, and the words they had spoken to 6UE, truthful as they were, weighed heavy upon them. The young Amethyst's sore pride did not chafe them a great deal, but they could certainly sympathize with the feeling. They had been in her shoes once, and even now they carried many of the experiences and memories of their time in a unit with them every day.

Some of them, though, were much heavier than others.

“Don't think too harshly of her.” They added in a low voice once it became clear they were alone. “6UE is young and stubborn, but so was I, once.”

They all were.

[Paddy]

She looked at them as they spoke, and having the room with just them quelled some of the feeling that had been churning uneasily beneath her exterior. But, Padparadscha didn't yet know what to say or do. Her business mode had been initiated, the overwhelming urge to get her work done compelled her eyes to cast back down to the records she'd been filling out. Stacks of corporeal data zipped across the desk, seeming to arrange themselves in different patterns as gemmic glyphs scrawled across them in half seconds. Once filed, the record would simply disappear, and make way for the next. The sapphire dwelt on what she would answer with as she filled the records, then paused to reread what she had just wrote down; the interface had picked up interference from her thoughts. Despite the pressure she felt to get her data down as soon as possible, she took this as a sign to take a break on that, and sighed heavily.

Her eyes slid back up to them, her gaze more disarmed as she let her shoulders relax,"It's just...It's difficult," She began slowly, trying to conceive of the right way to say what she had in mind. The sapphire had difficulty comparing a gem as refined as 7XB to one as oafish as 6UE, even when they claimed to have been comparable at some point. Nonetheless, she took their word for it. "I don't believe she deserves punishment per se. If you believe she has potential, then I believe it too, I'll probably relocate her as per your suggestion," She leaned to brace herself on the arm rest of her chair, her eyes flicking to her desk, then back to 7XB,"But you know how Earth is...and with these blasted rebels bumbling around, it feels I can't do even an hour of investigation without being harassed in some capacity. Diamonds!" She tossed her head with some indignation and gestured as if letting something go. For a moment the sapphire paused, and brought a hand to her chin, tapping it until she continued,"6UE was, on paper, one of the best candidates for what I had in mind," Her eyes floated away from 7XB, she gave an exasperated huff,"But like many things I have in mind, it doesn't go the right way. I--need--for things to go the right way," She pressed her lips together. When she continued to let her thoughts pour out, her gestures became more loose and casual, she spoke in conjunction with them,"It's an absolute gamble to pick another bodyguard. What will I tell the manager? I don't even know if there is a gem who will fit the criteria,"

She came to realize she was venting, but there was a point to her ramble. "Well," Her eyes focused on them, she canted forward and let her gaze trace their angular form, her voice softened, "That isn't quite true. I know a gem who fits every criterion, except for one," 

[7XB]

The silence was allowed to linger in the time it took Padparadscha to work, 7XB remaining fairly still as she did, eyes roaming across the reverse images that they could make out from the back of the holographic screens, though they were not seeing very much of interest. A phrase or two, here and there maybe, but nothing of consequence- not that they were really looking.

They drummed quietly upon the arm rest until she spoke again, perking up somewhat. They of all gems understood the myriad dangers that the Earth presented to a dignity- and while there were very many much more dangerous places in the universe, the lethal nature of this planet and it's inhabitants could not be understated. It was a relief to see that she agreed with their suggestion in regards to 6UE. But, as she said, she would still require protection on her missions; A smile graced their calm features at her suggestion, more of a grin. “You are very kind.”

But it was as she said, there was an ever-present reason behind their inability to serve her in anything more than a temporary capacity. And even then, affliliation aside, they both knew that the Quartz's abilities were better served elsewhere. "Perhaps I can assist in the search for a suitable candidate?"

[Paddy]

"Would you?" She returned them a smile, but her gaze cast to the side with a glimmer of melancholy,"I'd appreciate having your advisory," if nothing else. Her hands pulled together to clasp into her lap, and her eyes flicked back to 7XB. There were many things she wanted to say, too many for her to not spend a moment organizing her thoughts. "I'll hold onto 6UE until that candidate is found," As much as she wished she didn't have to pull around a team in the first place, something was better than nothing. Despite the headaches that had often come from the amethyst's actions, the gem had tried, and had grown on her a bit over the course of their time working together. Still, in these dangerous times, there was really only one gem she would trust with her life; the one who had already saved her time and time again, in more ways than one. Whoever they chose, she hoped, she would be able to trust by proxy.

Her eyes fell onto the insignia on their uniform, and she wondered what sort of gem they might bring to her. Surely anyone they found to be up to standard would be a stellar, refined gem. But all the same it made her a bit nervous; there had been a reason why she preferred to take a full-time bodyguard specifically from the law circuit of the Pink Court. How would they think of such a criterion if she spelled it out? Padparadscha figured she'd never know, because something like that would be hard to explain to them. 

"You know, 7XB, if you're going to be advising me in this matter, it would do for us to keep in closer contact," She mentioned, her tone breezy, but her eyes continued to express her underlying feelings. As she leaned back she placed her white cube onto the desk, and reached under it to pull up a small, sleek communicator, dialed into the frequency of her network by default,"When you find someone...or, have need of anything at all," The sapphire's tone became a bit more withheld. If it were up to her, she would have them talk with her all day, but she wondered if the more reserved quartz would entertain such a fancy,"--You can let me know," and, with any luck, stave off the longing that had grown so strongly over the time she'd spent having no contact with them after their last dispatch together. She stood, and reached over her desk to hand the device to them. 

[7XB]

They hardly needed the investigative skills of a Zircon to see the sadness in Padparadscha's eyes, it was as plain to see as a star against the inky darkness of the cosmos. Her feelings were not so different than their own; They couldn't help sometimes but to admire how easily, whether it was intentional or not, Padparadscha was able to connect with her emotion, and display it for all, well, some to see. They had trouble even with that, as the fortified walls that they had erected over the centuries were so well-built that 7XB doubted they could tear them down even if they had wanted to.

Which they didn't. For the most part.

“It's my pleasure to assist you, when able, Your Clarity.” They could tell that the little gem was practically brimming with emotion, but as for exactly what all those emotions were, it was impossible for them to tell. As much as the stoic gem wanted to put her mind at ease, there was only so much they could really do, and present surroundings made it even more difficult. Truly, it was a difficult pill to swallow, this realization that the planet they both so detested may be the only safe place to explore their connection.

Unregulated color flushed their cheeks as she offered them the sleek device, reaching to wrap delicately around the device, and for a moment, her fingers..”Yes, I..uhm..I definitely will.” The smile offered was genuine, but even now they wondered when such a thing would be appropriate.

[Paddy]

Some part of her still had doubts; how could a quartz possibly feel the same way as she did, especially about something like this? The alienness of this feeling, combined with the prompt and respectful, yet generally detached demeanor of the quartz, made her wonder. But, it was small moments such as this one that gave her a spark of warmth to light her eyes. At their blushing words, a smile grew over her expression, her own cheeks became warm and rosy. A gesture so simple as their hand around hers, as fleeting as it was, had been enough to remind her that there was something powerful shared between them. What exactly the nature of that power was, she couldn't be sure. Every quiet, affectionate, or passionate, charged moment, what did it mean? To understand that, she needed their help.  

The simple, giddy joy afforded by their momentary contact was overshadowed by something of more complexity that had been bothering her; ultimately, the source of her doubts, and the question that had been burning on her mind since the beginning-- the question she had answered many times aloud, but never had she heard 7XB's thoughts on it. In a way, their acceptance of the communicator was a sign. Whether it were good or bad wasn't something she could determine until it was in hindsight. Either way, the silence from the quartz on this matter had been deafeningly loud-- it ate away at her to be without answers.  

She attempted to capture them, first by placing her free hand over theirs, then looking them straight in the eyes. No matter how many times the sapphire quietly searched, she couldn't find what she was looking for. As much as there was a connection, there was a disconnect between them, somewhere. "Will you?" She asked, some heft to her tone as the prevailing dejection took over again, and a soft fragility showed itself in her words as she continued,"I do mean anything 7XB. I-- I want to keep up with you. I want to know that you're okay-- or if you're not," Questions polluted her thoughts. Could she just ask them? Often the quartz demonstrated the same desire to get to the point of things as she did, but what if that point were sharper than she wanted it to be? Would it be for the better or worse? Did it matter, so long as they got to express themselves together? Surely if something bothered her this much, it mattered. "I want to be here for you,"