Mysterious Hierarchies ((Paddy))

[Paddy]

Padparadscha put on her best stiff upper lip, the one she might wear around her peers or when dealing with a crowd of rowdy subordinates. She looked the higher ranked jet up and down, then took at step forward,"Yes, I'd like a tour of the archives. The lapidary has been so kind as to send her servants to guide me around the kindergarten, I'm taking a look at my leisure now," She spoke in a brisk, businesslike manner, ending her words with the hard articulation of a gem who was short on patience. Though it wasn't ideal to have Serendibite's henchgems shadowing her, they could provide information that she might not otherwise be able to get a hold of; if the gems weren't willing to share their information, well, she saw them as easy enough to crack in an off-the-cuff interrogation. The sapphire motioned forward, passed the jet who stood in her way,"Please, lead the way, and explain thoroughly. I'm very curious about the history of this frigate and it's mistress's work,"  

Meanwhile, 6UE couldn't contain her excitement. After the others introduced themselves, she pointed a thumb toward herself,"Amethyst 8L2S 6UE, but most just call me 6UE. I'm usually a door guard, but sometimes a body guard," She chuckled. Speaking of guards, she swiveled to look in the direction Azurite had bolted, the purple gem's smile deflating a little; it would be a shame if the honor guard wouldn't be able to introduce herself to the gem she had designed-- worse yet, she might miss a possible arm wrestling match between the giantesses aboard the ship, which Amethyst had already hyped herself up over. 

Clinohumite was paralyzed as Heliotrope addressed the smaller gems, her fearsome visage lowering into closer proximity. Straight as a pin, the short red-olivine gem let her eyes flick between the other gems as she tried to figure out which response would be most appropriate in this situation. Amethyst gave the smaller gem a reassuring smile; at this point the bodyguard was convinced there was nothing to worry about from Heliotrope, she had after all made the gem's temperament. Though, she supposed there still might be things she didn't know about the gem quite yet.

The deputy swallowed, and made a precise Diamond salute toward Heliotrope as she gazed up into the gem's glowing eyes,"D-deputy Climohumite 01 01, I'm-- uh, the-- cool, funny, weirdo?" Her eyes darted around in search of Azurite, and her heavy feet clinked across the metal as she continued her search for the gem,"A moment, I have first account evidence of these claims, but she must be located in order to offer testimony," Her voice was lightly shaken as she spoke, and her foot-fall would close in on Azurite's location as she continued her search. 

[Mad Azurite]

The tall jet managed to stifle back a look of hesitation, but the silence she held after the sapphire had finished seemed to allude the gem might have known what was going on here, she had been given barely any briefing on how to handle this guest, rumors spread around the ship rather quickly which spoke of her abilities, and an unpleasant temper. She’d simply have to comply for now, and inform the shipmaster of the events that would follow here when the time was right. For now, the gem would simply bow her head, “Of course, please come this way,” she motioned to the noble before turning to face the doors, the other jet’s standing as far back as possible. The noble would have to take some care following after the gem who’s straw-like hair had become a wild bundle long enough to drag behind her. It would slide open to reveal something that was possibly untypical of a Homeworld Data Vault, the data vault was lined back and forth with triangular modules stacked upon each other, hundreds of lanes shifting here and there labelled with Homeworld decals. Assuming the gem was following her, the jet would stop before a long display glass acting as the only border between a room filled with various jets who seemed to be cataloging and performing maintenance on what seemed like countless data indexes. “This section of the vaults contains data on every gem and gem-template that has been designed here on Kindergarten Sigma. Through alphabetical categorizing, every gem and template are given a home here.”

On the other side of them, seemed to be a much emptier section in terms of personal, it was however lined back-to-back with more of these data modules holding countless indexes. “This portion,” she’d motion to the other side, “Contains all of our data not concerning any of our gem templates. Maintenance logs, visitor records, shipment catalogs and any other necessary documentation.” She’d wait of course, most likely the noble would have questions, request even—unfortunately, since this gem held far more stature than herself, whereas jet’s seem to hold themselves even lower than a pearl, she’d be hard pressed to refuse anything from this noble—even if that meant classified data at this point, all she could really do is protest, but that might not be enough.

Within the templaters’ large compound, the gem they had created had knelt down enough so that her large eyes could truly seek out the details of every gem she was seeing, there was a winged one, whose accent managed to get a playful look from her. She’d shift her now interested beaming smile to 6UE who’d introduced herself next and then Clino, “6UE, huh? And well--hm, 01?” she’d ruminate a moment, before a rather bored look hit the gems face, “Just gonna call you Amethyst, if you don’t mind. And you’re Clinohumite.” She’d declare mostly to herself, and look over at Chevron with a raised brow, “So do you always talk like that or?” the question seemed quite genuine, but Chevron immediately became embarrassed, she looked around—first to 6UE and then back Heliotrope, “Talk Like v’at?” Chevron would pipe up nervously, the larger gem would immediately start giggling, “Like that! Why do you talk like that?” her genuinely happy and carefree side seemed to show and the gems standing around might have felt something like warm aura wash over them. Chevron seemed to fidget for a second, “I’ee … do not undur’stand.” Chevron would ask with an inquiring look, and Heliotrope smiled a little deviously actually, “You don’t? Here, say this. Rarely.” She’d say slowly, and Chevron seemed to smile triumphantly as she went to say, “Rara-Rari- …” she’d stop herself as she became frustrated, but then continued trying to pronounce this word over and over again growing angrier by the second. The sight managed to get bit of laughter from Heliotrope, and again the gems in the region might of felt something like a warm pull over the skin.

Serendibite managed to narrow her gaze on the gem, she was rather sensitive to auras having worked with so many of different gems who possessed these powers, these aura’s are honestly one of the things that make the creator nervous—there was nothing worse than an invisible force that could be performing all kinds of things to your unknowing mind. “Interesting, greetings and welcome.” Serendibite would finally voice herself, “I am Serendibite, and you are on my ship, might you designate yourself, I am very curious.” Heliotrope shifted her gaze at these words and looked forward to Serendibite, whose visage was enough to make the larger gem throw a skeptical gaze, “Sure, Heliotrope 01 01.” She’s muse with a narrow gaze on the other gem.

Azurite stayed hidden, even at the sound of laughter behind her got at her more playful side, what was she thinking making this gem so large? This was just a bad idea, and … did she hear footsteps all the sudden? Not only were they footsteps, but they were surprisingly heavy—she almost though it was 6UE making her way over, but looked to see Clino pass by her—it was odd that she thought about it now—maybe it was her battle mastery that was gifting her with this insight, but this gem seemed off … not mentally of course, but something wasn’t right, she recalled the gems height, and started to hit her that something was going on here. “Geesh, Clino. You made of rocks or something?” And then the honor guard caught unexpected humor from that statement, “Well, duh.” She’d say with slinky smile.

[Paddy]

The sapphire stepped off after the gem without hesitating, keeping herself poised for the moment she would inevitably be stonewalled, once her prying for information would officially begin. While the prospect of learning about everything Serendibite had ever created was intensely interesting, it wasn't the most practical way to figure out what exactly was going on here. The frigate's logs, perhaps superficially boring in comparison, were where the information she sought would be stored. Still, she recognized how strange it might be for her to show so much interest in something so mundane. "Ah, I'm sure the eminent lapidary's legacy is well retained by your staff," She said, a bit short with her words as she tried to think her way toward acquiring the information she needed,"I presume every Diamond has requested her expertise?" Her head tilted toward the Jet,"Are there any recent creations that Pink Diamond has herself requested?"


Amethyst gave a grin; though she was use to being called 6UE, perhaps it was because she wasn't often referred to as Amethyst that made hearing it sound more special than being called by her designation. Nonetheless she gave a nod to Heliotrope in acceptance of whatever she would call her. As Chevron was addressed, the quartz swiveled to look at her fellow soldier and gave a small smile. She'd noticed the accent, and found it rather peculiar herself, but all the same it seemed to fit Chevron. Heliotrope's laughter seemed to fill the air with a strange warmth, but 6UE didn't mind it; her grin widened, and she gave a light chuckle. Seeing how frustrated the younger amethyst got about it was a bit entertaining, but the bodyguard mostly felt like she had to help,"I'm sure there are other words you could say. Seldom? I'd say that's a word I seldom use, but it gets the job done," 

When Serendibite introduced herself to Heliotrope, and vice versa, 6UE turned her attention between the two tall gems. It took a lot of will power to hold herself back from asking to see a match up. Though she knew Serendibite wasn't a soldier, seeing two enormous gems get into a brawl had been on her bucket list ever since she first saw a Diamond, and heard about how big fusions could get.

Clino paused and swiveled to zero in on Azurite. She blinked, putting together what was said, and her eyes lit up at the chance to explain something. Her finger pointed up toward the ceiling,"I am very dense-- the hard-light that composes me that is," She paused for a moment,"My high density contributes to my ability to catch and detain criminals," Then, the gem stuck her broad hand out toward the Honor Guard to gesture at her to follow,"Yes well, I require evidence to bring to Heliotrope 01-- I believe you should come talk to her," Clinhumite turn to go toward Heliotrope, but kept an eye on Azurite to make sure she would follow.  

[Mad Azurite]

“Indeed,” the jet’s voice weakly wrung out as she motioned back to the template archives, she’d then begin to take steps towards a holo-door which would evaporate at her approach. Stepping into the next room, the various modules marked with blue-green indicators named various facets alphabetically aligned in their nodes nodular analogous bleeps signifying their states. As they approached it became clear this was only one section of the data vaults, a clear label of Anonymous Gems on the ceiling, possibly gems designed but unaligned to any certain Diamond, due to post-request, various complications with Diamonds still feeling out whether they were ready to accept the gem, that or simply time constraints. Whatever the case, the gem would step on a hard-light flooring, a circular alter of forms, she’d wait for the sapphire to step in before activating it, and the device would begin to rise showing various floors, the surrounding visible edges past the glass cylinder that they rose in, seeming to state not only what floor they were on, but the Diamond the floor belonged too in terms of the templates and how they were arranged. The elevator system would slow and stop on this floor, all around the numerous jet’s categorized a massive archive of all the gems this particular diamond would has ordered. “As you can see, our wondrous Pink Diamond has asked of us to design various gems upon this ship.” The hard-light lift began to descend again.

This time, they came upon a floor that seemed split, one side adorned with Blue Diamond insignias, but the other was Yellow Diamond. Blue Diamond’s Requested Gem-Template Archives seemed to hint that she might ordered somewhere around about as many templates as Pink Diamond, If not more—but not by a phenomenal margin. The same could not be said for Yellow Diamond’s chambers, there was far less spaced, and the jets here seemed to be far more in a rush to archive these specifics, it would see—just from the sheer density of the amount of indexes and modules that Yellow Diamond implored far more of Serendibite’s services so far than the others. “Yellow Diamond, as you can see is one of our more frequenting Diamonds. With Blue Diamond following close behind, on average, or grandiose Yellow Diamond employs us to design and even redefine already active gem templates, where other diamonds may ask for a small number per annual request—Yellow Diamond gives about seventy-five percent of our usual task.” The elevator kept sliding downward until they reached a door blocked by several powerful holosystems with a large White Diamond Insignia blocking their way, “Behind this door are the various templates designed for our immaculate White Diamond, these areas are off limits to all gems, not even I meet the clearance to enter. Now, my liege, is there anything in particular you would wish to see?”


“S-selle'dem, ‘ah ee’t t’ees much easi’erre, z’ank you. Z’o …” Chevron would shift her head back to Serendibite with an unhappy, questionable gaze. Why did this creator of hers give her such a strange accent, “Meiser Serendibite, might I’ee ask z’is quest’ion?” Serendibite shifted her gaze to the little winged gem, “Hm?”

“V’at tee’s z’eh purp’eese of z’is … ‘accent,’ you have gee’ven me?” She’d ask, and Serendibite smile, “It was a challenge, I had to study a human language—I found the speakers of these odd tongue to have a refined and appealing tone to their voice. It took me months to find a way to program this into your identity.” Serendibite Actually seemed rather proud, though Chevron’s face showed she was getting impatient. “To be honest, the reason I programmed your voice that way is simple.” Serendibite, leaned over, smiling warmly. “Its cute.” And Chevron immediately flatlined in the face, “Z’at ee’s all?” She’d ask dryly, and the larger they thought before replying astutely, “Hm, yes.”

Heliotrope managed another smile, “Hah! Nice!”

“That would explain your heavy limbs, a smart idea—makin’ such a small fighter this heavy, means you have the pluses of heavyweight and lightweight and not necessarily their negatives.” Azurite wondered if she had underestimated the Sapphire’s combat prowess. Fighting a gem who was essentially a stout piece of tungsten would be very unpleasant to deal with without the correct training. Then the shark in her beamed with a wide smile, formulating the early phases combat strategies, a just in case thing, you know? She invited intimidation at times, she’d love to see this one in the arena. But that would have to come another day.

“And, uh … yeah, um. Hm.” She’ paused, “Nah.” She’d reply stiff face and flatten against the column.

Heliotrope a shot a few glances in that way—distracted from what was a great laugh and fine introduction to this whole existence thing. But now she watched as the little orange one scattered off and began talking to someone hiding behind a pillar of cords. She raised a brow and started making her long strides towards them to which Azurite immediately held her breath and took off under a small leading around the room. She leaned over staring suspiciously at the two, “Who are you talking to over here?”

[Paddy]

Padparadscha followed the jet closely, and kept a keen eye on her surroundings, noting little bits of information here or there that would come in handy. She wouldn't dare to record it in her holotech database, only to have it vanish after she left this frigate; she made mental note to have her technician help her change the security protocols of her devices, along with the information she would need to make a true determination about what this frigate was even doing here in the first place. 

The jet confirmed her suspicions, that the yellow court ship was mostly here to cater to the whims of the Empire's military commander. Why exactly this frigate wasn't orbiting one of Yellow Diamond's planets, instead circling Pink Diamond's one and only colony, that was the question. There were only a few options she could think of, but she kept her lips shut tightly as she allowed the jet to give her an overview of the situation here. As they came to a pause in front of the White Diamond template archives, her eyes passed over it quickly. Padparadscha had never seen White Diamond, and had rarely interacted with any of her court members; but for now she would steer her investigation clear of any involvement from the most elusive of gemkind's empresses. 

The sapphire turned to more fully face the jet, and gave a thin smile. It was difficult to take on her interrogative persona when she was so weary from the day, but while there were questions to answer, she had to pursue them,"Ah, you know, I am quite interested in the goings-on involving my Diamond and her precious colony-- but it also fascinates me how our triumphant Yellow Diamond has taken an interest in the development of it as well. Have there been templates commissioned by the resplendent Commander solely to aid us in our pursuit here on Earth?" 


Everything seemed to be going swimmingly, and 6UE found herself feeling more good humored than she had all day. When Chevron asked her question, her attention turned to Serendibite, and the quartz found herself a bit bemused by what was said. The tall, mysterious gem never struck Amethyst as the type to do something just because it was cute-- but to the Pink Court soldier it was as good a reason as any, and honestly, it was cute. 6UE tilted her head toward Chevron and gave a bit of a wry grin,"Y'know I haven't met many soldiers who could say they're cute, fancy, and deadly," She hoped the young gem would find some pride in the way she was, especially since Amethyst wasn't sure she'd be able to take on a flying, specialized gem like Chevron without some struggle.

When Heliotrope caught sight of Clino's attempt to return Azurite, 6UE glanced over and let her lip pull to the side. Was the Honor Guard that afraid of her own creation? That, she imagined, wouldn't be a good revelation for any of the gems now involved in Heliotrope's life. Amethyst glanced at Chevron, then back toward Azurite's hiding spot.  

Clinohumite had been a bit viscerally intimidated by the threatening smile the gem had taken on, but nodded in agreement as she turned, trusting that Azurite would follow. Then, at the Honor Guard's next words, Clino swiveled and her brows furrowed as she realized the gem had scattered. The short gem frowned, and turned toward Heliotrope,"It would seem she is unable to provide the evidence that I required at this juncture, Heliotrope 01 01. I shall make a secondary attempt," The little detective snapped her gaze away from the looming gem, and marched after Azurite. 6UE frowned, wanting to seek out Azurite herself and perhaps find an answer for her behavior, but worried the Honor guard might feel cornered if everyone started going after her. 

 

[Mad Azurite]

“Plenty.” She motioned to a holopanel of which she seemed to jot in a few commands the lift would rise again. The lift rose, and where it would stop, the two arms of the diamond order lay as choices. The jet gesture to the Yellow one, the door sliding open and the archives foyer branching out into a vast array of data systems. “Please follow me, my highness.” And she’d bow her head and continuing on, showing a respect the sapphire might have thought scarce on the ship. Assuming she had followed, the jet would lead her to an inactive apparatus, “Various custom, altered, and revived templates are currently being evaluated and tested,” the jet motioned to the strange device cantering in front of them and a coalescence of light would swirl into existence, taking the form of Pink Diamond’s new found colony, small, digital stipples seemed to mark the location of various gem-templates currently being deployed in various regions of the planet—all commissioned from within this facility. “All of these various templates are currently in action, performing various deeds in the name of our Diamonds, some of which have been sacrificed.”

“Of course, the majority of these gem templates currently in action only came into fruition due to the rebellions.” She would reveal, which would also make sense. “In fact, before this rebellion—the usage of our platform was evenly spread between the Diamonds, excluding our most reverent White Diamond.” It would seem war truly did change the face of the arts.


Chevron seemed to be a little miffed by what Serendibite had said, she looked over at 6UE embarrassingly, it simply felt odd really. Her speech pattern felt like it lacked any real purpose to her. Will others appreciate her accent? She felt it was very irresponsible of this so-called gem designer to make such a choice. Chevron simply went quiet, a slight pout on her face she looked away disgruntled, eventually shifting her attention to the other three.

Azurite was on the move, sneaking beneath the stool Beady had conjured to herself. Seren herself, keeping a rather interested gaze on the newly made creation, whose curiosity grew by the second. The large gem would lift herself to tower over them, she thought she saw something of an odd blue glint dash under the bottom plating of the stool, but instead, her attention shifted to again the other gem who managed to earn a bit of intimidation from the only who look her in the eyes. “Might I ask, Heliotrope.” Serendibite seemed to inquire as they searched for Azurite, “You’ve yet to state your purpose, I am curious what you are designed to add to our lovely empire.” The way she put it, it almost sounded like she was genuinely honest in that regard—though it was the farthest from the truth.

“Purpose?” Heliotrope would ask as she straightened up, “You mean my designation?” she asked inquiringly. “No, your purpose. What were you designed for?” Beady asked and Heliotrope made a confused shake of her head, "What?"

[Paddy]

Padparadscha's eyes narrowed at the data slots, and at the words the jet had provided. This wasn't proof, but she found it awfully suspicious. The words seemed to support at least part of what she had feared; Yellow Diamond was on the move, and her diligent subjects were very busy. "I see-- how generous of Kindergarten Sigma and the marvelous Commander in Chief to provide so much aid to our colonization effort," She had a hard time making herself sound all so pleased to hear the news. The sapphire found herself curious about why White Diamond used the service of this kindergarten to an inequity compared to the other Diamonds, but it seemed uncouth to ask. "I can only imagine there are more templates being created for the cause..." As guilty as the yellow court seemed at times, she couldn't allow it to blind her to other possibilities. Still there was more to know about these particular templates, wherever they were on the planet's surface as she spoke,"It would be fun to meet them all, unfortunately I find myself short on time-- but as the curator of these archives, you must have an idea of their uses?"  

As Chevron fell silent, 6UE's attention was caught by the movement under Serendibite's enormous seating arrangement, and she spotted Azurite lurking around. Though, she didn't want to alarm the gem by giving away her position, so allowed her eyes to flick back up between Heliotrope and the lapidary. As Serendibite began to ask about the gem's purpose, Amethyst's brows furrowed slightly, then more deeply as the brand new gem seemed not to know what she was doing here. To her, it had been obvious that Heliotrope was a soldier. However, as she was given a moment to ruminate on that, she wondered if it was altogether fair to stick this gem with the label of soldier just yet. "Huh-- you know," 6UE swiveled to face Heliotrope and projected her voice up for the tall gem to hear,"I thought you'd be a great warrior. I mean, you're named after a type of quartz, you're huge and got a fierce look-- with abilities that would make you an absolute tank on the battlefield. But I guess I dunno what your weapon is...and really, you could probably do whatever you wanted," 6UE gave a shrug. It was obvious from her excited tone that she wanted Heliotrope to be a soldier, just like her, Chevron, and Azurite, but as far as Amethyst knew there was no law saying Helio had to be one. She tapped her chin,"Can you summon a weapon? Like this," 6UE's hand swung down over the gemstone on her hip, and she pulled up her glimmering falcata. 

Clino continued her single-minded search for Azurite, her expression completely neutral as she systematically hunted every nook and cranny for the gem. However, internally the gem became increasingly frustrated, and the heavy thump of her feet sent more reverb around the room as she marched around with more haste.   

[Mad Azurite]

“Well, unfortunately not all of our templates are optimized for cultural interactions, as such not all of our gem templates designed here are ideal for such situations.” It seemed the guest had assumed that the sapphire was more interested with the cultural aspects of the ship. She simply didn’t realize the sapphire was obviously more interested in the military aspects of things. However, at the sapphire’s response, the jet would input a few commands and the various markers showing gem-template locations expanded. This ‘gem-template diagram,’ seemed to not only show the templates currently in action but the various gems under each template as well. Oddly, some of the gems had no photo identification, some were simply classified as ‘essential,’ while others were deemed sensitive information. The system’s visual apparatus shifted until it reached the regions of Empire City and Beach City. “Heaviest known rebellious contacts seem to stem from these two regions.” Then the map lit up, showing a more detailed and intuitive delegating of the templates currently in action. Oddly, there were about fifty-five operatives on the field. It would seem the indicators for these also seemed to show what Diamond’s they were representing, and who their orders came from; though they lacked any real details on the mission objectives or the task given to these operatives.

Most likely to a keen investigator, there were something’s that stood out oddly, small abnormalities. The indicators showed that a few of these operatives were commissioned in tandem, as it was often Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond seemed to involve these custom agents into service together—but there was, namely three gems on the list who were solely sent as units directly under Yellow Diamond’s control. And, all of them seemed to have photos except three:

WM – 5A 67X – Special Unit

BO – 5A 67X – Special Unit

RS – 5A 67X – Special Unit

If things weren’t odd enough the units all seemed to be in one place, Beach City. “Most, if not all of these templates are issued as scouts, reinforcements, saboteurs and hidden agents.” She’d mention as the list revolved showing various templates in action. But again, the actual directives of their missions was left unanswered. “I cannot, without certain punishment, reveal information on the current actions, or the mission objectives of these gems. I would need direct confirmations from the Diamonds or their Pearls to give clearances for divulging information on these particular squadrons.”

Azurite managed to catch a glimpse of 6UE glancing over at her, this was a little bit embarrassing to say the least. She managed to flatten herself against one of the stool’s legs, hiding her enough that she managed to catch a breath. She had forgotten somehow—it was maybe being in the presence of Beady again, the partial reason as to why she disliked large gems, especially giant women. She had gotten mostly used to Beady, not completely however as the huge gem managed to make her uncomfortable still. It was terrible circumstances really, Azurite loved giant things, but the issue with giant women was one of the past ... one she wasn’t sure anyone should hear of. She caught ear of what she could essentially define as metal hooves stomping across the ground to immediately shift her head over to familiar orange sight, Clino was just across the corner from her. She managed to throw the gem an angry look, she was going to get her caught! “Clino!” She said in a hoarse whisper, “Go walk over there!” She motioned to some off place hoping the gem would listen.

Serendibite shifted her gaze between 6UE and Heliotrope, the larger of the two seemed to glance at the Amethyst and her expression shifted to interest as she summoned her weapon, she of course had to kneel down again to see exactly what they were working with. A falcata was the kind of weapon that no matter how simple its design, it had a stark look and design that appealed to the eyes. She would peer at her own gemstone on her chest. She kept attempting to summon her weapon, but nothing was happening. She would look to Amethyst a bit confused and then to Serendibite, who always had her weapon drawn, and it was in plain sight.

“Seems I can’t.” Heliotrope would mention, “Guess I’m not a fighter?” She said as she stood, and then scratched her head, “And I don’t know, I feel like I should have a purpose, but I honestly have no idea where to find it.” 

“Its quite possible that, your weapon hadn’t been customized which means it will simply have to naturally develop with your own abilities.” Serendibite asked, “But still, it is interesting—I was designed with an ingrained, programmed purpose to design gems—which is what I do.” But Serendibite cast her eyes over the other gem, “But you on the other hand, you had no purpose defined upon your creation. You could make yourself almost anything you wished to be.”

Chevron listened carefully after pulling herself from her quiet inner turmoil. This was odd, to be honest he knew her own designation and post at the crest of her making, why didn’t Heliotrope?

[Paddy]

Padparadscha nodded along with what the jet spoke, keeping her eyes moving across the data, picking out items of interest that she would have to remember for later. Overloading herself with too much information would leave her without leads, because she'd end up forgetting it all. She resisted the temptation to stew over how she would get revenge for the loss of her data, and the sanctity of her personal database, and allowed her concentration to rest on the three gems who came to her attention on the screen; most notably for their lack of a complete identification profile. No stranger to classified and under cover work herself, she quickly surmised that the three gems not pictured were spies. It would be better for as few gems as possible, friend or foe, to recognize a spy; but it was lucky for her that she had a powerful tool for unearthing the secrets others kept hidden in their minds. 

The jet was clearly under the impression that she were a typical sort of aristocrat, which played into her favor, even though it rankled her. Such assumptions always reminded her of the disapproval and doubts in her field work by not only her peerage, but other field agents. Underestimation was a dangerous mistake to make. "Oh of course, I'd never request you to break your protocol, and I'd not want to interfere with such matters-- it's simply beyond me," She said cheerily, her mood seemed to inflate as she took on a mask of vapidness. At the risk of descending upon a delicate operation, the sapphire decided she didn't need any more information about those three from this jet; they were her next leads, and she would be able to root them out. Her own operation was a fragile one, especially after the system breech that Serendibite had orchestrated, and the information that she had divulged to the lapidary earlier."It's been a lovely tour, I've learned quite a bit. Are there any particularly interesting facts that you would like to share, before I take my leave?" She gave a sweet smile. 

Clino was unfazed by Azurite's attempt to get her to leave, rather, the attempt helped the deputy detective zero in on her objective, and she proceeded with haste over to the blue gem. "I would like to pose follow up inquiry and appeal on your denial of my evidence request," She clipped, some of her annoyance peeking through her short tone,"I must protest to hasty closure of this appeal," Her finger pointed up toward the ceiling as she went on with her spiel, "It is unfortunate that you do not wish to help me present my case to Heliotrope, and I can only ask why you have denied my primary request?"

6UE had to keep herself from frowning when Heliotrope had decided she wasn't a fighter. She didn't want the gem to feel forced to do one thing or the other, but her dream of seeing some kind of battle between titanic soldiers felt like it was fading,"Well! Uh-- wait," She glanced toward Serendibite, then back to Heliotrope,"Maybe you're just better with good ol right and left?" Amethyst held her fists up, squared herself and made a few quick jabs into the empty air,"Maybe...arm wrestling is your thing, eh?" She canted forward, her eyebrows gave a bounce,"Or maybe you're more of a rap battle kind of gem? Her clarity, my patron, actually told me about how devastating those can be," She wasn't all together sure what a rap battle was, but based on Padparadscha's description, it sounded like a difficult fighting style. 

[Mad Azurite]

The jet listened carefully, as her fingers tapped light-panels at her wrist, the index collapsing back to a locked, deactivated slumber. “Thank you.” The Jet knelt to the noble courteously, “Might I mention that if you do intend on travelling about the ship without a guide, keep in mind, as you traverse the ship that the main paths leading between the sections of this facility are decorated with glyphs that span the floor.” She’d make a gesture with her hand, and a few of the glyphs would appear. “I will send you a basic dossier for tourist—please, if you see a glyph on the floor that you do not recognize, I would recommend not following that path.” She seemed to be inputting the last of her necessary details before sending a confirmable attachment. “Certain areas of this ship are somewhat dangerous due to their environment, while others have highly classified documentation that requires strict access credentials, these areas are highly prohibited to unrecognized personal.”

“You’d like to follow a whatta on the denial of my wha?” Azurite would fumble as she looked over at the gem with an annoyed expression, who seemed to either not care that she was trying very hard to stay hidden, or just seemed oblivious to it. “Look, Clino? Your protest and … appealing, ain’t happening right now. I made a stupid choice and now I’m paying for it,” Azurite frowned, how could she get so excited she’d forget one of the only things that truly irked her as a warrior, “And I’m sorry yo, I just got problems.” She seemed to scrunch inward embarrassed to reveal the next part.

Cocoa shifted her gaze between the two—this strange subtle feeling gnawing at her curiosity. But what was it? She remained silent, listening.

Heliotrope would lean in with a curiosity brimming in her eyes, her gaze lifted back to Serendibite where she’d again make a look that showed she was still a little intimidated by this other giantess. Serendibite looked down at the Amethyst, she was starting to wonder if she asking for something with such an odd statement. Then again, Serendibite recalled at some point in her younger times showing a strong curiosity in larger gems and how they work. But at the words ‘rap battle,’ an excited gasp could be heard, Azurite had overheard it and immediately turned to stare at them from her little hidden nook under the chair-stool, her eyes feverishly excited.

The infamous rap battle? The one gem in here who would know of such a thing, she wanted to scream! This was so unfair!

Serendibite honestly had never heard of such a thing, “A rap battle? As a gem designer my combat skills are limited, it would seem appropriate that I’ve never heard of such a combat form.” She tilted her head at the thought of arm-wrestling, it was a strange thing to throw out—but honestly she was already she would lose, brute strength wasn’t one of her strong suits. Heliotrope would stand, and of course the thought would run through her head, “I guess a little experimentation could help,” she’d throw something of a pleading look to Serendibite, though it would seem it was front for a more competitive fire in the giantess.

“What do you say, Serendibite? Was it? Care to help me explore my strengths a little?” Heliotrope would ask, as innocent as it sounded Serendibite easily gathered that the newly crafted gem was challenging her. Chevron seemed to puck this up as well, it made her a little nervous.

[Paddy]

Her eyes lit up as the jet revealed the secret to getting around this labyrinth without that irritable pearl to guide her. It was enough to give her a more genuine smile as she recieved the dossier,"Excellent! Very convenient!" She sounded almost too excited about it, but managed to tone herself down as she continued,"Ah, well, I'm sure your mistress already knows of your stellar work, but I will be sure to put in good word for you," She gave a courtly curtsy in return to the respectful treatment allotted by the jet,"--and I'll be sure to follow this guide,"  

It was the truth. As much as she wanted to continue snooping around the frigate, she would have to find a way to invite herself back another day for more investigation. There was only so much she could remember without her database, and she was running short on time before her next assignment would begin. After she stood back up and straightened her outfit, Padparadscha turned to exit the archives, giddy about the telling information she had come across, and began heading down the hall, her holotech screen presenting the dossier guide. The sapphire meandered, keeping her eyes peeled for any more leads. 

Clinohumite was utterly baffled and lost at Azurite's response,"But--" Her whole expression twisted with confusion, she didn't understand many of the things she'd come across already, but this Honor Guard was an entirely perplexing one,"...if there is a problem, should you not divert your resources toward solving it?" Clino asked in her stately manner, then pointed toward herself,"I shall help you in the process of determining a solution for your predicament, since it would be advantageous for us both if this problem were resolved," Her lips parted into a big smile; as awkward as she was, it was a genuine one. 

At first, the soldier had become more reticent after her suggestion, worried that Serendibite would shoot down the idea right away. Padparadscha certainly would have, and sometimes it was hard to imagine important gems being any less stringent than she was. However, as Heliotrope and Serendibite discussed, there were stars in Amethyst's eyes, and she glanced toward Chevron,"This is gonna be intense!" She muttered excitedly, then raised her voice as she glanced back toward Serendibite,"Yeah! Experimentation! I for one think it would be great if Helio got some action in! We could all see what she's really about-- but uh, I guess I should clarify. So, in a battle of rap, you fight while trashing your opponent with poetry, crazy stuff!" 

[Mad Azurite]

Jet simply left her head down—she was concerned of course, not even just for the safety of the ship—but this noble’s safety as well, there weren’t a lot of dangerous things here on the frigate, but there were places best left alone here. She could only hope the sapphire would understand this. The sapphire would leave and already the ship’s use of glyphs would point out several sectors of the ship that weren’t labelled on the visitor’s dossier. These locations seemed to take her farther into the core of the ship if she chose to follow.

Azurite shot Clinohumite something of a coarse glare as the gem continued, “I’mma ‘bout to divert your resources in a second,” she made, getting a little annoyed, “It’s not that simple, I got a problem. A problem with height discrepancy.” She sort scrunched inward as she was already sitting, she was upset enough at this point that she might have and to think a rap battle had to be brought up now of all times. Azurite had her own specific poutiness that was hot unlike a brooding child with the adorableness of a typical crocodile. It looked much worse than it really was. “Its cool, Clinny, go chill with the others or something.” She insisted.

The excitement wasn’t readily matched by Chevron who watched with a growing worry at the lot, this sounded like it could get a little out of hand. Serendibite herself seemed to be listening, though eventually her expression revealed the idea hadn’t really moved her. Serendibite stood from her chair, much to Azurite’s surprise as the light shifted above her, and crossed her arms, “The use of poetry in the combat field is certainly far from my expertise, but I will try.” Cocoa wasn’t too surprised Serendibite didn’t turn them down, the gem was quite the fencer—even if she only trained with holograms.

Helio shifted her growingly excited eyes between the group here, “So, what is it a yes?” She’d ask as her patience got the best of her.

“We certainly can’t do this in here.” Serendibite would motion with her hand as a door would slide open towards the eastside of the room. “Come with me.” She began to make her way to the training barracks. Cocoa was ready to follow when again some kind of irking voice was nagging at her conscious, what was it? It took a typical moment of awaiting everyone’s comments in the room when she realized something. The noble had been very quiet up to this point.

She shot her gaze around the room, refusing to move even as Helio and Chevron follow after the ships’ commander. It didn’t take long for her to notice the missing noble. “We seem to be missing a sapphire.” Cocoa would say, Seren stopping dead in her tracks as she did and looking back incredulously.

[Paddy]

While she strolled along through the winding halls of the frigate, she made mental note of the glyphs she saw. Frustrating as it was to not be able to use her database safely, she new she wouldn't be able to pin down the meaning of these glyphs without doing some exploration. The words the Jet had gave her seemed like good advice, despite her temptation to follow her thread of curiosity down one of these mysterious halls-- especially since she knew that her holotech wouldn't be a viable way to gather information. However, there was the option of using her ability to create matter linked to her senses to allow her a more primitive but effective way of tracking her position and areas of interest. As she continued to fight with herself over whether or not she were going to give in to her investigative instincts, she came upon a hall that seemed particularly enticing; the glyph representing it was radically different from many of the others she'd seen, and it was nowhere to be found on her list.

What was the harm in taking a quick peek? Padparadscha pursed her lips as she reasoned. Her eyes shifted from side to side as she looked for confirmation that she wasn't being immediately followed. As sure as she was that Serendibite's guards were watching her movements, perhaps they wouldn't be quick enough to stop her from getting just a small look at whatever it was going on down this strange hall. The sapphire stepped off down the hall, keeping herself vigilant.

At Azurite's words, Clinohumite was stumped. Unsure of the best course of action, the brand new deputy detective pressed her lips. There had to be some solution, and she wasn't altogether interested in this business of rap or wrestling at the moment; rather, she found herself more curious about the Honor Guard herself. "Height discrepancy?" She tapped her small fingers together as she thought,"If you would rather that my resources are concentrated elsewhere, I can comply with the request..." Her voice was a bit crestfallen, and arms crossed, she really didn't want to just leave without getting her answers about Azurite's strange behavior, as intimidating as the gem was,"-- but problems of various complexities have equitable solutions. Perhaps Heliotrope would be more approachable were she to meet your height requirement through shape shifting?" 

"Yes!" Amethyst exclaimed as Serendibite officially accepted the match, and Helio expressed her own excitement for the match up. The quartz was so excited she was practically bouncing from side to side, as giddy as she was before any combat exercise, but looking back toward Chevron, she realized something was up. She opened her mouth to say something about it, then Cocoa's words struck her and she straighted like a pin,"W-wait," 6UE glanced around, and her excitement drained into something more akin to horror as she realized the sapphire really was missing,"What? Oh no--" If her sapphire was missing, would she be able to watch this match? Where could the aristocrat have scurried off to, and why would she leave when such an exciting prospect was unfolding? One of her hands drew up and she slapped her forehead as she mumbled mostly to herself,"I can't believe it-- How am I gonna do anything if I've gotta chase her around like this..." Perhaps being fired from this job wasn't so bad after all; she would've never had the chance to see these gems battle it out if she hadn't been on the investigations unit, but she wasn't even able to enjoy the opportunity because of her patron aristocrat. Amethyst gave a ragged sigh. 

[Mad Azurite]

The long path would take the noble across a catwalk standing over a deep cavernous abyss below, straight-ahead, the glyphs vanish as the sapphire entered an eerily dark space, the only visible light coming from a very dim backlight across the flooring which expanded into a mind-bogglingly massive room, stacked top-to-bottom are cube-shaped rooms, collectively grouped in columns of four and counted almost thirty before reaching the ceiling above, which ominously was also unlit. But these odd glass rooms—if the material which made up these simple cube-shaped quarters could be called that, were glowing, creating an almost eerie cityscape throughout this section of the ship. As one passed these rooms, the barrier before them seemed to grow translucent and eventually revealed what was inside of each of the.

The simplest description is gems; each room had a number of occupants in them, innumerable types of gems sealed in each of the rooms. They didn’t seem to be working, some were even smiling as they coerced with each other in these doorless retreats. Some did look quite bored, others even angry or impatient, but what was obvious was that there was no immediate or visible way in or out of these spaces. Were the gems inside trapped? One particular gem pacing back and forth by the windows, staring outside as if she was about to have a meltdown might suggest these were a one-way-in, no-way-out contraption. The numerous gems inside carried their own reactions as well as the sapphire would pass by them, some giving her curious looks. It seemed even they were knowledgeable about what seemed familiar or unfamiliar here. But there were also some who seemed to be too upset to give her even smile, simply throwing her a glare as she passed by. As she would continue the sound of humming could be heard, the light tones coming from a young pink-haired gem, she was tall and to many not unfamiliar, it was a Morganite.

She strode by each room, stopping, jotting something into her holo-systems, and then moving to the next. One of the gems in her sealed room actually rushed the window and started yelling vicious threats at the Morganite, who looked up at the gem despondently.

“You listen you strawberry-top, limp-legged, sooty faced, clod! Let me out! Or so help me I’ll wring your little neck when I get the chance!” The gem in the room shouted, causing some of the others to watch with knowing anxiety or in some a growing excitement for another comedic scene to unfold. “Let me out! I didn’t fail, you saw what happened!” The gem begged.

The morganite took a more relaxed, disciplinary stance, taking a breath before continuing, “You did fail, by about 0.03% percent, you failed to reach 97% efficiency—which is the standard for a gem with abilities like your own.” With that, the proctor kept walking, which threw the gem inside into an even greater rage, “What? Don’t you dare walk away from me! Come back!” She seemed to have mixture of pleading fury in her tone, she was obviously very upset.

“I swear it! I’ll crush you! I’ll-I’ll…!” The morganite stopped in her tracks at this, throwing the gem a glare as she threatened her. She pressed a few keys on command pad, and the entirety of the gem’s room went dark as the glass obstructed the gem from view- and her voice.

The morganite would continue until her eyes caught movement in a reflection, and she shifted her gaze to the sapphire. Her expression somewhat suspicious of the new sight, despite not actually doing anything about. What might have been even odder, was that the gem bore a Pink Diamond insignia on her back.

-

Azurite groaned at the words that Clino spoke, she didn’t want to shoo the gem away, especially considering she was wearing her shoes for the first time today. She looked over at her with something of a lighter expression, though her wicked features tended to obstruct any softness this warrior might be able to express. “I can’t ask her to do that!” She’d say, never minding the first part of what the Clino said, “That’s like asking me not ta’ wield a big sword and ride around on it like that Silver Surfer guy I need to meet, or asking you to not be heavy—it’s like asking someone not to be themselves. I can’t do that.” Just as she said this Seren had stepped from the stool which lit up the space below her of which Azurite was hiding? Was everyone leaving?

It would seem so, until she heard that the sapphire had gone missing, having jobs like these before, she knew one person in this room would lose their hair to hear that her assignee suddenly went missing. Why, unless she was ordered directly by the Diamonds, she refused the varying attempts of nobles to hire her as a strong-arm. This kind of stress. Just as she was about to move, the stool would liquefy into an abysmal substance, of course revealing both of the two as it condensed into a black spear that join Serendibite.

Azurite and Serendibite’s eyes met for a moment, where Serendibite would look tilt her head, “This isn’t about what happened is it?” She was worried about noble, but Azurite was one of her more precious creations and there was history here. “I was hoping you would have gotten over that by now.” To which Azurite frowned, embarrassed to admit her fears. Azurite made it a point not to look at Helio, who looked down and saw unfamiliar blue sprawl of color, she knelt down again to get a better look of course, “Oh! This one is interesting?” She beamed as she stared down at her and Azurite shivered some a she turned to look the gem in her giant red eye. “H-hey sugartop, names Azurite.” She got out in a nervous tenor.

Serendibite would shift her attention to the Amethyst, “6UE is it, allow me to advise that it would be safer for you to stay with the rest of us as Cocoa searches for our noble.” Cocoa would walk over towards the Amethyst, “You’ll get lost out there, and then I’ll have to find both of you. Don’t make me have to do that.” A bunch of holo-apparatuses appeared with a wave of her hand, “I will track her down and bring her back.” She spun a heel and marched away, “Now I’m hunting pink runts, what a day.” She uttered.

Serendibite had already continued away and Chevron who heard all of this managed to keep herself quiet and simply listen, honestly she couldn’t believe the Sapphire managed to sneak off with no one noticing, it was actually quite impressive.

[Paddy]

Padparadscha kept walking with purpose as she craned her neck around to get a look at this dark expanse. However, her nape prickled as she began to put together the pieces of what was going on here. There was a sinking in her, it was all too eerily familiar; the farther she walked, realizing these gems were all stuck in small lit boxes as if this were some menagerie, the more it conjured an urge she hadn't felt in quite some time. The sapphire ignored the irritating reflex that bit at her heels as she walked, becoming increasingly uncomfortable with her surroundings, until the sight of the Morganite and her agitated subject stopped her in her tracks. Frozen, Padparadscha watched what unfolded as a pallor washed over her usually glittering complexion. Her small feet began to slide back, she hoped to get out of here before being seen, before her urge could drive her to take irrational action in response to what she had just witnessed; to shatter the barriers, to let them out.

The reeling sapphire almost didn't notice as the Morganite caught her, she brought a hand to her forehead as it became harder for her even to stand. Padparadscha's wide eyes focused onto the box that had gone dark; the visceral rage of the gem within resonated with something the sapphire had kept under lock and key for her entire existence. The rage permeated throughout her body, a white hot anger and confusion rushing up through her. She had wanted to refuse to believe that places like this existed, but she couldn't when it stared her in the face. She wouldn't let that morganite just walk away, she marched straight up to the gem, shaking with the tumult of emotions quaking through her,"Do you know who that gem is?" She demanded, her voice echoing over the dark. Even if this Morganite had no idea what was going on, the sapphire felt in her churning heart that she did.



Clinohumite titled her head and furrowed her brows as Azurite answered her. "Noted," She responded quickly, filing away the words for later retreval in similar future situations. Though, before she said much more, Serendibite noticed them, and she clammed up to watch what was going on. She gave a bit of a grin as Helio and Azurite made their introductions. Though, soon, one part of the group seemed to be moving in one direction, while the other moved elsewhere. Clino tapped her chin, feeling that she should be going with Cocoa, but the pearl had already announced her reasoning for going alone. 

The quartz guardian's brows floated upward at Cocoa's words; she was torn between fun, and what she knew her job should be right now. The pearl seemed to give her an easy out, an excuse to simply enjoy the adventure that was now unfolding in front of her, but Amethyst wondered if she would be able to relax at all until she could set her eyes on Padparadscha again. 6UE gave a heavy sigh, flexed her hands, and scratched the back of her head as she struggled with the decision. It was difficult to do anything without someone telling her what to do, but that was always the easiest, to just accept orders. Perhaps this time, it really would be better to just do as she was told. Jaw set, she gave a nod, trusting Cocoa would be able to find the sapphire on her own. Her eyes flicked toward Chevron, excitement drained from her, but she gave a smile anyway,"Well...let's hope for a bit more fun today,"