The Calm Before The Storm:Diamond Task Force Conference

[Paddy]

The tumultuous, whirlwind encounter she'd experienced with a certain gem in the room preoccupied her as she listened to Pink Diamond speak. Though she had expected them to be here, she hadn't expected them to be particularly warm toward her, not after the implosion of their rapport not long ago, and certainly not in front of three Diamonds. However, the acknowledging nod they'd mustered was a bit surprising. She pursued her lips, then returned her focus to the front of the room, where the seats had emerged. Her large, sparkling eyes fell onto the name plate with her designation on it, and she allowed her brimming giddiness to bloom across her lips; a full smile graced her expression as she looked up toward her Diamond.

Padparadscha glided over to the table as if she were on a catwalk, a silken trail of orange and pink fabrics fluttering in her wake; she knew that to be sitting at this table in front of the diamonds would be pulling quite a lot of attention her way, and even as her smile became more demure, the subdued curl at the corner of her lip showcased a quiet satisfaction. Without any of her servants in tow, the sapphire slid into her seat, clasped her hands over the surface, and pulled her eyes across the table of gems. Being already intimately familiar with Earth's schematics, the Investigator used this as a moment to get a better read on those around here, especially the ones she found to be suspicious. Though, during time of civil war, who wasn't?

Her brow raised as she realized the strange, off color gem was sitting at the table, among other highly regarded gems in the room. If Pink Diamond acknowledged the importance of this gem, then she would as well-- after all she didn't have much room to talk about off colors-- but there was always a chance that the gem could be hiding something devious under that mask. Her eyes flicked to the name plate, and realized that she had recognized the name, Black Opal, from the roster that she had been privy to some time before the council gathered. Her keen glare settled on the gem for a moment, before she moved to glance among the other gems, and gauge their reactions to Pink Diamonds words. She noted the small interaction between the pearls, but didn't dwell on it. Chip, the pearls, and Euclase all seemed to be listening intently, and her eyes again were drawn to the quartz. She peered at them for only a moment, before drawing her eyes back up to the holograms as Pink Diamond explained for the outsiders what was going on here.

[Order Of The Diamonds]

“Several cycles ago progress on the colony was halted by a small insurgency, led by this defect,"

The Projection of the Earth changed, show a 3d projection of a Pink Haired Quartz gem, wearing the standard Quartz attire. Next to her image showed her gemstone aswell, a truncated pentagonal dipyramid, with a Pentagonal Facet on the front and back.

“Rose Quartz Facet 5 Cut 3L, A high ranking Soldier in my court, and a unique subset of Quartzs that was being developed, she became disillusioned with our empire and led a sneak attack on the colony destroying both the terrestrial and Homeworld side galaxy warps to earth, leaving the colony fundamentally cut off from Homeworld, at the time I was attending business on Homeworld, an intentional decision I suspect, waiting for my prolonged absence before striking. She had confided with me before, begging, no, grovelling that I spare the so called organic life on the planet. After I shot her down it seemed she decided to take matters into her own hands. Regardless she had managed to rally small portions of literal and metaphorical defects with her, a defective Pearl of some form.”

“and a Sapphire and one of her Ruby Guards from my court, who dared to fuse in my presence when my court was attending matters on Earth” Blue Diamond added.

“Those aswell, Initially I had taken the two of them to explore the realm of medical aspects with fusions, but they managed to escape their containment and fled to earth, it seems they met the renegade and were drawn to her side, remaining fused for no practical reason after the fact. The three of them are currently in hiding it seems, but several cycles ago they sent a transmission to Earth, rallying the other defects to fight alongside them, and to label themselves as the Crystal Gems, a warcry that seems to have worked, Rebels forces nearly tripled after the transmissions and progression on Earth was all but halted by their hit and run tactics.”

“They have transcended from a nuisance, to a force that shall be dealt with” Yellow added in a half enthused and unimpressed tone.

“The issue is of course, how, their brazen disregards for castes and roles make them unpredictable, and they have turned their defects, their lack of conformity into a twisted advantage. When we encounter rebels we have no information about whether the gems in question are combat proficient or not.” The projection changed to a basic silhouette of a skinny pearl, and what seemed to be a Bismuth, striking down 10 quartz guards surrounding them “Additional they openly and brazenly fuse when needed creating random and unstable fusions that can often give them a destructive edge or an unpredictable power.” Once again the projection changed, showing a blocky Topaz Silhouette and a Quartz melding together into a large fusion that once again proceeded to stomp on the three quartz soldiers facing them “As such they prove tricky to defeat, and a large strike will not be the most effective action,” She concluded, glancing over at Yellow Diamond and gesturing towards her “as Yellow can explain”

Yellow Diamond herself uncrossed her legs and straightened her back, before this point she seemed mostly bored, with her chin resting on her hand, now though, she had straightened up and began speaking in her authoritarian tone that demanded all listen to her “Over the course of several of my colonies I have encountered a similar situation with inferior natives. Striking down a scattered, unfocused and non-centralised force is usually a practical method,” the projections changed once more showing the generic silhouettes of humanoid figures, in many small groups of 5 to 10, with many of the individuals groups then simply being crossed out and fading away.

“but in certain cases all it does is invite unification. With an enemy spread so thin its inevitable that survivors will exist, these survivors, desperate and broken will congeal together, While you have wiped out a portion of their forces, the three other conglomerates have now all linked together, making a larger army then what would have remained if you had done nothing.” The humanoids figures left all moved together into one larger group now, forcing back against the generic silhouettes of Quartz soldiers that entered on the side of the projection. “Nothing unifies a cause like desperation and with a large strike you give them the exact desperation they need to inconvenience the empire with a frantic and larger force.”

“It’s reasonable to assume that a similar situation is unfolding on Sigma 1 right now, with the Rebel Quartz currently in hiding they have no point to rally to, several smaller groups are likely showing up with their own sub leaders, and a large scale strike will simply cause the rebels to scatter, a portion may be wiped out and destroyed, but the others will consolidate and create a stronger group then before. Creating a greater resource and time sink then what was intended for what amounts to a very insignificant issue.” She concluded.

“So while we appreciate your enthusiasm Black Opal,” Pink started again, sparing a small smile at the gem “you can see while a simple onslaught will not work, ontop of this” The projections flickers, showing various images of the Earth’s Natural and Dangerous weather events, such as storms, lighting, hurricanes, lava streams “The Planet itself also presents a unique geographical challenge for us, Sigma one is one of the more extreme planets in terms of weather phenomena and other dangers. With its natural atmosphere and meteorological elements the Planet itself can quickly fight against us, torrential downpours of the planets natural liquid that reduce visibility and can cause massive floods, currents of air that can unearth gems and even ships alike along with charged ionised burst in the air that can strike down our ships and even gems on the ground. Not to mention the more standard elements, tectonic faults that cause molten lava to erupt from mountains, difficult to traverse terrain and a general wide fluctuation of Biomes and Terrains that can effect elemental Gem abilities. While at points Lapis Lazuli can thrive with the liquids present, at other points even the atmosphere is so dry that liquids cannot be drawn out of it and so on. It is because of these aspects that we elected to hold this meeting; we require the unique perspective of many gems before we make a finalised decision. So for all that I present, I wish, we wish to hear what you believe an attack should consist of, and how mobilisation efforts should begin. It is unorthodox, but taking the gems present’s thoughts into deliberation was seen as an effective move."

“Our final decision will still be absolute and all are expected to follow it, despite any of your own personal reservations.”

“With that in mind” She shot another glance at Blue “We are, metaphorically, all ears”

Paddy 7XB Black opal Melody Chip the Fire Opal amaranthpearl Euclase

[Euclase]

She listened astutely to the points present, and honestly was a little bit surprised when Pink opened the table for discussion.

“If I may present another element My Diamond, it seems based on my own skirmish that the Rebels have begun implanting footholds and traps onto the Planet, 7XB can attest to this statement, during a mission to gain more healing liquids we found that the healing fountain had been besieged by some form of plant based traps, they engaged in an attack when we attempted to part some liquid from the fountain. We escaped, but the injuries were significant enough to warrant recuperation on 7XB’s part and a Regeneration on my own. As such I think the prospects of intentionally set up traps may need to be considered in our deliberations, as the rebels have likely set this up at key points they assume we will attempt to overtake.” She speculated.

“There is also the factor of the natives, in my tenure of Earth over 30% of the Quartz expansion force ended in being damaged in a way that warranted healing from the fountain and my crew, of that group 10% easily suffered these injuries at the hands of natives, and in several cases we were forced to manually drive back the natives who attempted to invade the healing fountain. “ She paused, trying to somewhat hide the painful memories as she dredged them up “and over the course of working at the fountain no less than 14 gems were shattered by these natives, 4 of which had their some of their fragments stolen by the natives, I myself became dangerously close to being one of those numbers if not for the fast acting of the Quartz guards and my fellow Euclases. Regardless that was over 4000 years or so and based on intel the ‘Humans’ while primitive have still evolved technology with somewhat of a pension for warfare, I think if there is a possibility, even if slim, that they may rally with the rebels in a chaotic effort to protect ‘their’ planet. Then it should also be noted.”
She looked down the table at all the other gems “I simply bring this up to the table, and the supreme Blue Diamond,Yellow Diamond, and Pink Diamond as a factors that we should consider in the upcoming discussion.”

“oh” She turned back to the two Pearls beside her, speaking in a quieter tone “and of course if it wasn’t obvious already, Cream and Amaranth you both have permission to speak your thoughts freely aswell, you were selected as part of the board aswell.”

[amaranthpearl]

Amaranth could only barely hold back a gasp at the sight of Rose Quartz, shocked by the sight of such a fearsome gem wearing Homeworld attire. He'd never seen the rebel leader, only caught snippets and rumors...but oddly, she didn't seem altogether that terrifying, with the familiar Diamond logo adorning her chest. The sight of a Pearl silhouette mid-battle, however, was terrifying. Eyes widening, Amaranth nearly took a step backwards, horrified at the thought of hurting a fellow gem. 'It can't be possible, it has to be a trick...'

No matter his internal protests, Amaranth couldn't really deny the truth. Not when the giver of such things was his own Radiant Diamond. Sparing a glance at his smooth, unmarried palms, he tried to imagine his fingers curling around a weapon like the one wielded by the Pearl in the hologram.

'Would I even be capable of that? Surely not...right?'

Snapping back to attention when His Diamond deferred to the Luminous Yellow Diamond, Amaranth shivered at Her tone, bowing slightly lower so his hair would obscure any unintentional slip in expression he may have. Yellow Diamond, in all Her Radiance, was purely, unwaveringly present in a way His Diamond never was - Her voice impossibly loud and sharp as a dagger, leaving such deafening silence in Her wake that Amaranth could pretend the natural sounds of the atmosphere conditioning in the room were clearly audible.

The story, too, was daunting. Having never met with organic life, his mind conjured unbidden the unnatural details of the humanoids shown, features pulled and stretched in alien, fearsome bloodlust as they pooled, cracked, and shattered gems in their way. The topic finally turning back to Sigma 1 was welcome to Amaranth, whose thoughts left tremors of anxiety running through him. This, at least, was familiar to him, and allowed him to sink back into a more perfected posture.

Blinking in surprise as his owner, Euclase, addressed him personally, Amaranth automatically bowed in acknowledgement and gratitude, eyes flicking over to assess his fellow Pearl's thoughts. Speaking in a whispery tone that didn't entirely hide his low alto, he replied, "Yes, Your Clarity." 

[Black opal]

At the mention of her name, Black Opal frowned, did they know what she was? Were they allowing her to continue being together? As much as it didn't matter, she was concerned, she nodded at the given information and looked about to listen to those who spoke. She decided against speaking up again, she had rough many rebels before, but not a whole army at once, she knew how to analyze a gem's fighting style, but she still lost a couple of fights. She wasn't going to get caught up in the moment again, she needed to think of something better than 'hit them with all they've got.' Perhaps she might have an idea too. "What if we got them all in one place?" She asked. "We corner them with our sheer numbers and snuff them out?" She suggests, hoping this would be accepted, she hadn't had too many meetings like this, only ever really planning on the fly for herself.

[Chip the Fire Opal]

It seemed that the Diamonds were taking the Crystal gems quite seriously. And why wouldn't they? There really were a lot of them and some of them were pretty impressive. Not to mention they were able to make pearls great fighters. When it came to fusion... yeah, he wasn't going there right now. He was a bit surprised when he learned he should speak.
"My Diamond, the Crystal gems are indeed a force, that shouldn't be taken lightly, but they are not the only danger lurking on the plants. There are the gem monsters, the corrupted gems that will instinctively attack anyone, humans, gems, anyone. And some of them are insanely powerful. I once met a drone shard that was easily 30 meters longs and shattered at least a dozen gems. And then there is the Old one, a monster living in the sea... they might seem stupid, but they can overwhelm even strong gems. With their ferocity..." he explained.
"My mentor, the wrath of Blue Diamond - Morion, used the humans against Crystal gems, while they are surprisingly resourceful their loyalty can be easily bought with gold or trinkets, " he suggested. 

[Melody]

There weren't many occasions when Pearl was able to hear more about the war details. She glared at the hologram of Rose Quartz. She looked like a simple healer, but Melody knew that she was responsible of this mess. Melody only wanted to know why... why sould she even consider betraying her own Diamond? She wanted to believe that the quartz was just defective, but Pearl also felt that there must be something more to this story.

Melody couldn't help, but feel as if someone shot her when she saw the Pearl out of all gems fighting for the rebelion. And she noticed she wasn't the only one who felt this way, Amaranth seemed nervous as well. Pearl simply stared with a partly opened mouth at the projection. This gem was a mistake, she represented everything a decent Pearl wasn't suppose to be, but... what if she was no different? What if any Pearl was able to become this? Cream coudn't feel her legs, she felt as if everyone was looking at her direction to judge her. Her eyes were stuck looking at the floor. She was avoiding any kind of eye contact, it was just too much. She wasn't a perfect Diamond Pearl, she was a common one. The fear of being considered dangerous started to overhelm her.

Her eyes soon looked up again at her Diamond when a discussion was mentioned. Soon after this her Euclase started to talk about her mission on Earth to point out dangerous factors of this planet. Euclase never told Melody about any of this, there was never a need to. It was interesring to say at least. Pearl knew that humans were primitive and brutal creatures, but that was too much. She didn't feel any sympathy to those creatures after hearing how they harmed Euclase and those other gems.

She raised her eyebrows when her master mentioned how she and Amaranth are also able to speak up "We can?"

The other gems soon started to point out their ideas. This Black Opal suggested a rather risky tactic. Personally, Melody was thinking about avoiding the big conflict, but she decided not to mention this since she had no battle or tactic experience. Chip from the other hand brought up the topic of corrupted gems. Cream, a gem who worked in the medical station, was fully aware of how dangerous corrupted gems can be. This reminded her of the plan she and Padparadscha had in mind. She turned to Amaranth Pearl and whispered something "Wish me luck."

Scrawny Pearl raised her hand and looked around to see if noone else wanted to say something. She then made a diamond salute and concentrated on Pink Diamond, ignoring everyone else. Just by looking at her beloved gem she felt more confident. "My Diamonds." She made a small bow before continuing "As a Pearl I lack any sort of knowledge or experience when it comes to war tactics. But... I do worry about safety of our people. There is no place for gems on Earth to restore energy and heal wounds, even the healing fountain is not safe anymore. That is why our Moonbase and medical station are so important, it is the only place where injured gems can safely be healed. I believe we should focus on our defences here on the Moonbase before attacking." She looked worried at her Diamond "It is also for your safety my Diamond." Her hand moved gently towards Padparadscha "I would like to go more into details with my clarity, Padparadscha Sapphire." She bowed once again and returned to her previous position with her head turned into the table and her hands clenched together.


(I am so sorry it took so long)

[7XB]

The mention of their designation pulled the tense Quartz gem's attention, their dark slate gaze falling across the table towards Euclase. Stars above, it had been a long couple cycles since that fateful mission to Earth's surface with the Moonbase manager had crossed 7XB’s mind- It had been one of their first excursions to the planet after their arrival in the system, and their first encounter with gems who had been..changed. Corrupted. As much as they would have liked to have simply nodded in agreement with Euclase rather than risk faltering in the face of their Diamond, it would not be proper to do so. “Euclase speaks correctly, my Diamonds.” The Clear Quartz reaffirmed as the Manager's words faded out into the clamour of the room, voice lifting as they straighten to better project to not only the Diamonds, whose radiance they avoided looking upon too directly- especially their own, but the other gems around the long table as well. “And in addition to sabotaging several key sites across the Colony, from what we can tell it seems as though the rebels have set up bases of operations at several different human population centers. Most recently,” They rose to their feet, gesturing with two fingers towards the eastern seaboard of the northwestern hemisphere- a sector called 'Delmarva’ by the humans, “I was part of a operation that uncovered what seems to be a major nexus of rebel activity, similar to what we've seen in 'Empire City’, despite claims to the contrary.” Their reports some time ago in the City were.. extensive.

[Paddy]

Her body language was full and open as the Diamonds, especially Pink, gave their initial assessments of the situation; the sapphire's perfect posture wasn't rigid or forced, it was simply the natural way she carried herself, and it allowed the fluid lines of her form to stand elegantly against the bright light of the room. Though her expression had become more muted, her eyes sparkled as her Pink Diamond spoke, and as the gems at the table were beckoned to speak for themselves, the gemstone set gently into her neck glimmered as she shifted. Her hands pulled together into a precise steeple, and her large, unblinking glare leveled onto each gem as they spoke. The normally loquacious gem was quiet for now, deep in thought, analyzing the words and body language of each gem in the room as carefully as she would study any interrogation subject. Even the Diamonds themselves weren't free from the investigator's calculating stare. 

As Pink Diamond brought up Rose, Padparadscha could only dwell on her severe disappointment with the pink court quartz. No-- it was greater than mere disappointment-- just mention of the heinous Rose quartz was enough to conjure a boiling temperature within the sapphire; who would turn their blade against their own comrades, if not an evil, defective soldier with a Diamond complex? While Pink Diamond went on, the sapphire found herself nodding slowly in grim agreement; Earth had horrid climates, the planet itself seemed to have a flash pan temper. The perfect hiding place for an insidious rebel cult. She even found herself agreeing with Yellow Diamond, but lifted her nose slightly as the military leader spoke. Then, as the Diamonds finished speaking, her eyes flashed with surprise; there was dissonance here, between Pink and the others, and it was obvious to the keen eyes of the sapphire.

Euclase began to speak next, and made reference to 7XB, which pulled the sapphire's gaze back into their direction for a brief moment, but her eyes quickly flicked over to linger on the manager of the moonbase. The gem had been roughing it in the Sol System for far longer than Padparadscha, and the mention of the healing fountain would be an excellent jumping-off point for the plan she had concocted alongside a certain music loving pearl not long ago. The nervous Amaranth Pearl next to Euclase didn't speak up, which seemed to indicate to Padparadscha that this suspicious fidgeting of his really was just a discomfort in the eyes of three Diamonds. She found it a shame that the pearl didn't instead feel pride to be showing his prestige as a foundational member of society in front of the matriarchs.

When her gaze settled on Black Opal, her expression was carefully modulated to be unchanged, but the sapphire's glare lingered on the gem for long moment. This gem was certainly eager to fight, but the investigator was nagged by the mask. Padparadscha kept staring at the gem's face, trying to pry apart the secrets of this Black Opal without the benefit of a true interrogation, but there was little she could glean. Though, if one thing was clear, this gem seemed to be thinking off the top of her head. Not a calculating type, but Padparadscha hadn't met many soldiers that were; they usually acted on pure tactical instinct, which could be an asset on the field.

Her eyes went to Chip, the Fire Opal who she knew had a long of experience with corruption. Like Euclase's point, Chip's would be a valuable facet to the sapphire's own argument that she had already began to construct; now was a matter of leveraging the points of the other gems in order to make it clear what she found to be most salient about this point of the icy war they had been entrenched in. Melody was already prepared for Padparadscha's argument that was soon to come, and she had laid down a good foundation. When 7XB spoke, Padparadscha turned her shoulders and leaned in to get a better look at where they were pointing. She wondered if this was related to the Jersey operation that they had told her about back in Empire City, and her eyes flicked up to get a better look at the quartz themselves, before she reclined back into her seat.

All the gems at the table had spoken, except for her. She allowed a short silence to draw out, as if to allow a caesura before her part of the chorus. "My Glorious Diamonds," She spoke, projecting her powerful, clarion tone across the entire room to make it clear it wasn't only the Diamonds she addressed here. Her hands parted into a more open gesture as she glanced toward Melody, and gave the pearl a gracious nod, then turned back to look toward the matriarchs,"I wish to elucidate the running theme that we have all shared here; Earth is still wild and perilous, even after hundreds of years of attempts to colonize. Many gems have been broken here." She paused, her eyes piercing into the hologram of the the planet as her grim words seeped into the silent air. Her eyes flicked up again,"If one thing will give us an edge, it would be adequate support and logistical systems. We have been addled at every turn, and only recently has our communications hub been brought to a limping degree of reform. The Galaxy Warp remains broken and unreachable after cycles of neglect. Ships are precious few, supplies and reinforcements trickle in at inadequate intervals," Her voice became more passionate as she spoke, granting a firmer quality to her soprano timbre,"Meanwhile, a myriad criminal gems are plotting the demise of us, the very gems in this room, and the very essence of gemkind civilization," Her sharp glare stabbed toward the Diamonds.

Her tone darkened,"We lose more gems than can be realistically bolstered by the meager reinforcements we receive. The statistics are staggering," Her lips pressed together as she forced down the storming temper that cracked like lightening within her. "Will we continue to toss gems at the planet without support, continue to see ship after ship taken down, continue to watch our comrades twist into horrible beasts-- whether they become rebels or corruptions to that effect-- when, I ask, will the victims be heard?" The question was barbed with razor spines as she dragged her glare across the table,"There is only one sensible course of action before we take any other logistical step in this war. We must bolster our focus on infrastructure tenfold. Not only should the medical facility be improved with a greater flow of technological advance, but special operatives should be posted at every possible weak point," That, she supposed, would be easy for the Diamonds and the other gems to accept, but next came her pitch for something greater, something she felt they couldn't go a moment longer without-- but it would take resources, and the sanction of the Diamonds,"Of course, bolstering the moonbase during time of war is a foundational step. Logistically speaking, this can be accomplished with the help of the magnanimous Diamonds, who may easily provide enough soldiers to not only efficiently increase defense, but also offense, with one well armed heavy brigade,"

"The next step would be to tend to our existing surface infrastructure; fix the warps, the communication hub-- which could be accomplished with small special operative teams. During this time, we would get our foot in the door with a further installation," She cleared her throat, and stood to walk up to the hologram, and pointed toward the North Pole,"Objective Zero-- Project Lotus-- has been kept top secret for a number of cycles. However, it has come to a point where it can be opened up for greater development. This facility is to serve a number of purposes," Most of which were to remain secret, though the Diamonds themselves would already know them,"--But I believe this would serve as a starting point for a new medical facility on the planet's surface. It's already heavily defended, and in a prime, self sustaining location. No alternative methods of energizing the facility would be needed, as it runs on aurora-catch technology. Here, gems would no longer have to risk life and limb to reach trapped medical sites, which have been infested by natives, corruption, and rebels," Her eyes leveled significantly toward Euclase and 7XB, "We could provide quick access to this locale, outfit it with a battery of heavy troops, and invite an adequate number of gem scientists and medical officials to the site in order to serve as field medics, and to put greater focus on the solving of the corruption riddle. The rebels will notice, but when they do, it will be like drawing forth organic rats. Let them flounder toward us, and quash their scattered efforts as they split into hairs trying to keep up with our special operatives, batteries, and superior medical technology," Her fierce, fiery eyes flicked toward every gem in the room as her prolonged demonstration came to a close, and she whirled to go sit down once again.

[amaranthpearl]

Amaranth gave the slightest of nods towards his fellow Pearl, eyes widening as she spoke up without a hint of fear to the Diamonds Themselves. 'Stars, please ensure her safety, Your Clarity!,' he begged in his mind, gaze forcefully locked onto the back of Euclase's chair as Melody gracefully put forth the concerns of the Moonbase...implying an attack would be possible, should the insurgents on Sigma 1 be desperate enough for supplies run dry on their stolen colony. He shivered a little, just thinking about the prospect of an invasive force coming to his beloved home. It was uncomfortably likely, given the situation.

As the elegant Padparashcha began her empassioned speech, Amaranth felt his mind begin to whirl with possibilities. He had never heard even a whisper of Project Lotus, but from how it was described, it would be a momentous endeavor, and a momentous advantage to fully implement. Aurora-Catch technology, used near Sigma 1's poles, would be more than enough to make the ordinary power generators unessecary, and a self-sustaining power source would mean less time and work to maintain, leading to more time for gems to focus on larger issues. And the ability to treat gems and research gem corruption was a true blessing, indeed.

Amaranth felt his hands begin to quake, and stiffened his body against the wave of pure relief the Project bestowed upon his fear-wrought mind. 'Gems wouldn't have to try and infiltrate the healing facilities on Sigma 1, or try and leave unnoticed on unstable ships. They wouldn't be trapped in the colony's grip, unable to come back to the safety of the Empire... we could help them, all the gems declared lost to that planet, if we acted fast enough! This is perfect!'

But even as he thought it, reality came rushing down upon him. 'How would we ever manage to hide such a project from the rebels? What if they send an onslaught while we're building? What if the corruption comes and razes our plans to dust? And repairing the existing structures -- how would we conceal that, if they stumble upon them?'

Construction of any kind, no matter how large or small, took time, and gempower. If ships began skirting through the skies without discretion, the traitorous gems were bound to notice, sooner or later. Using Warp Tech was less efficient, but just as much of a signal to the unwanted, and a security breach if they managed to use them. Holding back his fear under a perfected mask of calm grace -- and aiming his gaze at his feet, so no one would be able to see the cracks in his facade, the terror shining fresh and unfettered in the light of his eyes -- Amaranth stepped to the side of Cream Pearl, his hands forming a perfect salute as his feet lifted to pointe on their own, holding steady as he moved to speak.

"Your Clarity, if I-I may address your speech?" He paused for a moment, silky alto echoing softly in the large conference room, half-waiting for someone to storm forwards and scream at him for speaking up unasked. When none seemed so inclined, he continued on. "The repairs of current i-infrastructure on Sigma 1 would aid in establishing an advantage against the insurgent gems, a-a-and it is true that a medical station on the planet is sorely needed, however... it would be difficult, t-t-to do so, while still preventing the rebels from using those same places a-against us. Warp pads and ship travel can be easily spotted if y-y-you know what to scan for, a-and it would be easy for ambushes to be staged at the W-Warp location, o-or invasion through them to their counterparts e-elsewhere. It would be better to ensure that we cannot be seen, and that o-o-our existing locations are well-defended, than to focus most on P-Project Lotus completion. Resources are desperately needed h-here, just as much as on S-S-Sigma 1, but it would not do to leave any o-openings while we prepare..." Amaranth trailed off, a light flush rising as his flustered stuttering grew worse. Still looking down, he concluded with, "I would be most grateful, Your Clarity, if you would consider the health of our current assets equally as much as the Projects in development."

He couldn't hold his arms any more still, yet faint tremors began to appear in his connected fingertips the longer he stood at the Diamonds' attentions. Their Gazes seemed to burrow into his skin, finding every shameful, filthy imperfection in his form, his very gem, that he'd so long ago been rejected for. Amaranth had thought, after seeing his fellow's example, that he would be able to withstand the unwavering attention, but the force of everyone's eyes made him nauseous and weak-willed, dark spots clinging to his vision. This didn't feel right, not after so long spent avoiding speech in front of other gems, not after so much time learning how important it was for Pearls to be seen and admired, not heard. Something truly brittle inside him whispered, 'Kneel for them like the off-color disgrace you pretend you aren't, you bring shame upon Your Clarity by contradicting another like this-!,' but Amaranth merely sunk effortlessly out of pointe into a deep bow, head dipping in the utmost respect of His Diamonds as he padded back into his proper place, behind Euclase. His fingers seemed damp and cold in the climate-conditioned air of the Moonbase, and the dizzying pull of fear wrenched against his senses, but Amaranth could just barely keep his mask up... if only to honor Euclase's favorable standing, and his fellow Pearl's credibility.

[Order Of The Diamonds]

“That is another factor that must be considered aswell, while the renegade Rose Quartz is currently in hiding, there is a chance that she may reconvene with the defects on Earth, which could present a significant issue, outside of bolstering the scatter forces, The Rose Quartz units had some unique capabilities.” Pink Diamond cut back into the discussion
The projections switched back to an image of the rebel Quartz, this time in her more current attire with her dress and wielding her Shield.
“The Rose Quartz units have potent healing capabilities and represented a major stride in restorative gems, while the precursor gems to the Rose Quartz models ended up as…."

“Disappointments,” Blue Finished.

“The Rose Quartzs themselves showed outstanding promise being the first of their kind to show powerful and reliable healing abilities, and this defective Rose, this Renegade, was at the forefront of that.” Pink Diamond explained.

“If she was to find her way back to Sigma 1, her powers alone would significantly increase the strength of her army, making them very difficult to contain or eliminate. A cracked gem could be restored within a split second and re-join the fight, and a shattered gem could be brought back to life then and there, making their army difficult to shut down. The Gems on Homeworld are scouring the surface but there is a chance she slipped by.” Pink Diamond mentioned, another detail that would probably needed to be factored into the discussion, everyone must not forget that a single gem started this all.

“The natives, perhaps but considering they feel they are owed the planet it is equally likely they would turn on us later and with insight on our operations to boot. There is also the chance rebels have recruited some of them, and then we run into issues of spies. It’s certainly an option yes, but it has its own risks, the natives are fickle creatures and can change loyalty on a whim.” She noted.

(As mentioned the discussion at hand is meant to continue among the gems present, i figured we would do at least another cycle of debates so a actual conference and conversation occurs. By extension at the current time this does mean that Pink is not going to be responding to every query directed at her at the current time.)

Paddy 7XB Black opal Melody Chip the Fire Opal amaranthpearl Euclase

[Euclase]

Euclase Shifted in her seat and her gaze fell downwards as Blue Diamond mentioned about the Precursors to the Rose Quartzs being Failures. She didn’t know if it was better or worse that her caste was not called out by name.

“Restoring the Galaxy warps would just open us and many other colonies up for an attack” Euclase responded to Paddy, looking over at the orange gem “At the current time we still hold a space fairing advantage against the rebels, restoring the warps would simply give them a back door to fight through. A lapse of guards, or a unexpected attack could be enough for the rebels to force their way through, and with all due respect I’m not going to send my Quartzs down their when we don’t have enough information about how fast the rebels can strike, even with Ground Lotus established and operational, the distance between the two locations, even factoring in warp technology is still far enough that a rebel strike team could destroy the gems at the galaxy warps and force their way through. While Lotus can act as a good foothold and is fortified as needed I don’t believe we should establish a skirmish to the warps until we know with certainty that defending it will not cause casualties on our end. Plus Lotus has one core weakness, its self-sustaining energy wise but even Lotus has a finite supply of healing essences with the Fountain currently occupied by rebels" She Elaborated.

“Cream and Amarnt-My Pearls bring up good points, Regardless of our course of action we need to not neglect the moonbase, while we have fared well in the cutoff it goes without saying that even we are limping along between supply chains even now. With the kindergardens offline the expansion of My Diamonds court has been equally strangled and gems that do emerge are launched into the hostile world. Fortifying both a Stronghold on Earth, and refining what we have here should be at least partially focused ontop of any aggressive moves we make. Once we get more information I think that establishing our presence back in the Kindergartens should be a high priority, The Primary Kindergartens are more dangerous but Beta is more isolated and smaller so it could reasonably be defended. Even restarting efforts in Gamma may be worth looking into.” She Mentioned.

“Ontop of this If 3L does return to Earth then she not only presents a threat to us, but also a threat to the healing fountain itself” Euclase began “She supplied the fountain with most of its healing extracts, as such with her present the rebels have less of a need for the fountain, in an attempt to hinder us they may destroy the fountain if she returns, truly destroying our supplies” Euclase explained, If Rose Quartz was present the rebels could easily establish a new fountain whenever needed, knowing this destroying the fountain could easily be a desperate move the rebels would pull to stop homeworld and that could put Pinks court back thousands of years in terms of advancements.

[7XB]

The icy-clear quartz gem turn their gaze to the Padparadscha as she spoke, expression unreadable, as the Sapphire spoke so passionately, the gears of her mind turning visibly, at least to those who knew her well enough to see such things. They had always admired her ability to speak her mind, even in front of the greatest, most luminous of superiors, even if they did not necessarily agree with everything she said. But it seemed that they were not the only one- Even Pink Diamond herself, and Euclase among them. Much of what she said was wise, but repairing the surface warps and giving the rebels an easy way onto the Moon Base? They felt a tingle of private embarrassment that she would be the one to say such a thing in not only the presence of their own Diamond, keen strategist that she was, but her own Diamond. On the other hand, though, the idea of an increase in the not only the base’s security, but the reclamation of strategically important locales on the Colony’s surface, only seemed logical, despite their uncertain feelings in regards to Lotus, a project they officially knew nothing more about than any of the other gems at the table. She was passionate, to a fault. It was surprising to them, though, to not only hear a Pearl speak so freely, but to find that the senior commander agreed with them.

“The..Pearl..speaks some wisdom, I must admit.” they began, casting their gaze down the table at the other gems, an icy glow that lingered upon certain gems more than it did others, “Whilst I agree with the luminous Padparadscha in regards to increasing our military presence in the sector, it should be done so without stretching our existing forces to then, or putting them at risk without weighing the risks.” They knew far too well the consequences of sending forces into situations blindly. They needed more intel. “Perhaps if we could engage the rebels in some small-scale skirmishes, we could gauge their potential with minimal risk. Not to mention the potential to deprive them of some valuable resources.”

[Melody]

Project Lotus? It wasn't what Pearl was expecting. She thought that Padparadscha would continue about their little discusion in the medical station. It was mentioned how they should bolster the Moonbase, but it wasn't the main topic.The way Sapphire described this whole project made it seem like a perfect plan, but Melody knew that there was something bothering her. Soon her doubts were brought up by someone else, someone she didn't expect to actually speak out. Her fellow Pearl, Amaranth, found courage in himself to express his opinion. Not only she found this suprising, but also very impressive. Yes, Melody herself just a while ago spoke out, but she just expressed her compassion to her patients and her Diamond. Amaranth from the other hand found a counterargument to Padparadscha's plan. This little act was enough to make Pearl feel more confident during the whole discussion.

Pink Diamond continued by giving a small summary of Rose Quartz gems. She actually felt strange when the precursors of this type of gem were refered to as dissapointment. She shot a fast glance at Euclase. Melody knew that she wasn't an aristocrat or even an Agate, but was it really what other gems thought of her? She was the manager of the Moonbase itself and the person who accepted her when she wasn't needed anymore. At this moment she thought that maybe, just maybe, Euclase didn't mind owning her because of her own experience. They both at some point felt obsolete and unwanted, just for different plaintiffs. And now Melody had another reason to dislike Rose Quartz gems. Not to mention their power was terrifying in wrong hands - they were able to restore a shattered gem? That was a power only a trully powerful gem could have.

She didn't know what to think about reactivating kindergartens, going to Earth for any reason seemed like a death trap to her, but they had to go forwards. That is why even though she wanted to add something for Euclase's sake, she decided not to. 

She glanced at Amaranth with a smile smile when Euclase and the certain Quartz agreed with them. At this point she wanted to add something she had in mind for quite some time. "If one Rose Quartz was enough to make this mess, shouldn't one Rose Quartz be enough to clean it up as well?" She glanced at everyone around, her hands once again clenched together and close to her chest. She soon continued "Gems on Earth are not as organized as we are, their leader is not even on the planet. They need directions and we can give them those. All we need is someone that will pretend to be their leader and something that will send them the message. It might not solve our problem, but it will give us more time to prepare. It could also be a distraction for us to try reactivating kindergartens." She looked around, it was the first time she felt so comfortable talking about her own thoughts, but she soon came back to her more strict position with her hands behind her back, but her head was still proudly high up. After all she wasn't invited just to act like another Pearl. It was strange, but she wanted to help her Diamond more. And she knew she would be protected if anything did happen.

[Chip the Fire Opal]

"I think a prudent step would be to secure a base on the surface. And I think the Empire city might be the best place for it. It's a human city, that had enjoyed a prolonged period of being protected by gems and for the longest time, it was possibly the safest place on Earth." he explained. While the Moonbase was out of the reach of rebels it was also practically distant from Earth.
"Thanks to the protection me and my former master provided to Empire city the humans are friendly to the loyal gems and could be an asset." while talking about it he had to think about Morion, his former teacher who understood the importance of humans.
"When it comes to healing I could offer my healing abilities. While I can't heal corruption I am able to heal cracked gems. I did it several times before and while I didn't practice this art for a long time I believe, I could be helpful..." healing gems was important and could safe countless resources. 
"I would also like to say that destroying the healing fountain would be incredibly stupid. In the past it served to both rebels and loyalist. The wisest would be to capture it or move it if impossible to hold. Unless we could replace it... and I am unaware of large numbers of healers..." he added.