The Calm Before The Storm:Diamond Task Force Conference

[Paddy]

Padparadscha’s brows lifted as she was directly addressed by the nervous pearl first. As the gem spoke, the sapphire saw that he did have an innate courage, but she became painfully aware of just how addled by anxiety he was; it was nearly contagious. She made a mental note to have a conversation with the pearl later, about bolstering his pride as a pearl, but for now she listened carefully to the more pertinent parts of his analysis as he spoke. She supposed her pitch for more support behind the Lotus Project was a bust for now, but the pearl had accepted the essence of her argument; the neglected infrastructure needed to be tended to, and reinforcements were in dire need.

Then, her awareness pulled to her Diamond. As Pink Diamond spoke, there was something strange in the manner of her words, something that seemed off. Padparadscha managed to keep her focused expression, but her brow twitched as her glare became almost too intense. The Diamonds were unreadable, such was their brilliance, but Padparadscha couldn’t place the prickling she got along her nape. Her whole form began to tense up as she drew inward, and mentally clawed at the nagging feeling that suddenly erupted over her. It distracted her from the elements of the Diamond’s additions to the conversation until Euclase began to speak.

At first, her lips pursed. The idea hadn’t crossed her mind that the rebels would be numerous enough to be an issue at the warps, especially once Homeworld could instantaneously bring thousands of soldiers in from off world. After all, the small groups of rebels she’d seen gallivanting around for the past few cycles wouldn’t have been able to launch any sort of competent assault if they funneled themselves into such a choke point, surrounded by enemies in enemy territory. It seemed the other gems were giving the rebels more credit than she was, though she supposed it wouldn't be correct to underestimate. Nonetheless, she decided not to press the issue, despite her disagreement. Her eyes slid over to 7XB as they spoke, and she nodded along. They had a delicate way of putting their disagreements in the presence of other gems, though she couldn’t help but try to imagine how they might put it if it were between the two of them. She listened to Melody and Chip, then gave a quiet nod. 

“You all make excellent points,” She gave a solid look to every gem around her,“It would seem, then, that the healing fountain may be the highest priority capture we could make, aside from Rose Quartz herself, and it sounds that reinforcing our Headquarters should be our first order of business.” She paused, and tapped her fingers together as her eyes drew to the side. Then, she looked back up as her mouth opened. “I implore you not to underestimate the impact that corruption has had on the surface; I for one have seen far more corruptions than rebels in the field. They range from small nuisances to titanic monstrosities, and can even strike in an organized manner at times. Attempting to reclaim the quarantine zones before there is a cure for corruption-- or even an understanding of where it comes from-- would only feed the number of corruptions on the surface.”

Her eyes flicked to 7XB,“So it would be best if we could receive a modest number of outside reinforcements to claim key infrastructure, like the healing fountain, before such an endeavor is undertaken. Being that we don’t have use of the Galaxy Warps, it will take exponentially longer for those reinforcements to arrive. Until we are able to arm a brigade, launch an assault on the fountain, and bolster the Moonbase’s defense-- special operative teams can make concentrated and remotely supported strikes near known rebel-controlled locales, such as this area,” She pointed toward the portion of the map that 7XB had earlier, where they had discovered rebel activity. The sapphire made a casual motion toward the location of the discovered Crystal Temple,“ In previous hostile engagements this cycle, it was determined that the rebel headquarters was sparsely defended enough to be confidently approached by three special operatives during the height of the day. However, I don’t yet know of a successful infiltration.” Her eyes flicked to Melody,“It is gemkind’s nature to fall into order, I believe you are correct-- they will need someone to keep them in order if they are ever to make any competent claim to Sigma One. A ‘rebel’ leader who is willing to bend to Homeworld would be less costly than throwing brigades at them until they submit. Because Empire City has both rebel and Homeworld presence, perhaps it would make a good location for such an installment,” She eyed Chip, then let her gaze sweep about the table, “The trouble is, to install our own vassal, we need that successful infiltration, which according to the most recent intelligence reports, has been elusive.” That was an understatement; every undercover operation on record had gone quiet, it was almost as if someone was rooting out Homeworld spies before they could establish themselves...

Padparadscha lapsed into thought.

[Order Of The Diamonds]

Blue let out a small click with her mouth when the conversation shifted to using Humans of all things.

”Why waste time and resources convening with the lower lifeforms on the planet, does the benefits of conscripting a handful of their drabble really justify the effort, they are beneath us, technologically and culturally and it seems like the advantages we could gain are marred by the inconvenience, either we destroy them” Blue raised her hand up and crushed it into a fist “Before or after they turn on us, or what?, we take them with us, to clutter our ships? Get in the way of our work? We already have a conservation project initiated to document and contain samples of these species, the rest of those…. ‘Humans’” the disgust was palpable in her voice “are expendable, at most we may obtain a handful more samples, but letting them in on our world, our conflict, it’s a luxury they do not deserve.” Blue concluded. Her silence broken once again, the Diamonds had of course been listening as Idea over idea was thrown around the room. It seemed the general consensus was some form of bolstering the structures of the Moonbase, getting resources back on their side and potentially trying to get footholds back onto the planet.

Yellow Spoke up herself, seemingly being deep in thought or distracted before this point.

“Are the local Warps on the planet still stabilised and functioning” Yellow Questioned, awaiting for a response “While it is impractical to restore the galaxy warps it may be possible to establish a temporary isolated warp network piggybacking of the primary warp space of Sigma 1, this should allow us to set up a 2 way warp between the Moonbase and Lotus.” She explained showing a basic Diagram of a gem warping between the hologram of the earth and the moon.

Her head snapped over to Para “8QE you were the primary leader of project Lotus correct?” She didn’t wait for a response, Yellow already knew the answer, her yellow eyes pierced through the gem “Given the soldiers, Can lotus be guarded from Rebel and Corruption attacks? Will a Constructed Warp pad within it that leads directly to this Base be safe?” Her tone, her authority, and hint of a threat if she got the wrong answer made it rather clear that she was expecting a resounding yes to her questions. Yellow was beginning to grow restless and tired of the conversations and frankly she founds Paddy theatrics of speech rather tiring, but in her eyes the idea of Lotus was the first idea she heard that actually showed a degree of promise.

Pink herself piped in after most of the gems presented their points “Our biggest issues are still 2 fold; we lack Intel on the planet, even after all this time, our resources low and we simply do not have an ample foot hold. While getting a spy into the CG would be practical the fact of the matter is that it will be difficult. Again with the CG’s scattered around no centralised group exists, there is no one group that can give us reliable Intel to work with.” Pink Diamond explained “While Lotus seems like the most practical location to establish a foot hole, especially if the warp network can be established. I suspect that the best strike point for a spy, may be that, what did you call it again 001?” Pink Diamond asked, looking at Chip, referring to Empire city.

“In regards to resources” Blue began again “A convoy can be established, Yellow between your ships and my own we should be able to divert a degree of our own courts to this insurgence, Soliders, technicians, ships and so on.”

“Security shall also be increased, you all are aware of the presence of Topaz Soldiers as you entered, expect to see more of those guards and more Quartz’s soon.” Yellow added, her gaze locking onto Euclase and her pearls as if this statement was a rebuttal to their concerns about security.

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

[7XB]

Mention of the corruptions that dotted the planet’s surface troubled the Quartz soldier at the best of times, even the casual acknowledgement of it pulling 7XB back to that mission to the Kindergarten with Euclase, where they’d very nearly had their gem shattered, had it not been for the gem they were meant to protect. In the moment, the grizzled veteran had made their peace with what seemed an inevitable demise, and it was surreal to imagine all the - objectively- interesting experiences that they may have missed had they indeed perished. Most of them, oddly enough, pertaining to the gem they found their perpetually-stern gaze locked onto. It was a relief that she had not been so stubborn as to cling to her own views, especially in front of the Diamonds, and recognized Homeworld’s soldiers as paramount, especially in any endeavour to reclaim any of the Colony’s vital locations, even if it was in pinpoint strikes. Their eyes floated towards Blue Diamond, lingering a moment as she spoke. After a respectful pause, they dared add to the conversation again. “Blue Diamond speaks unquestionable wisdom,” They began, gesturing towards the great seats where she and their own patron sat alongside Pink, “but perhaps we could begin to solve two problems at once? Many of the rebels I have encountered seemed to harbor some illogical fondness for the planet’s..organic life, even putting their own self-preservation aside. If we were to start full-scale exterminations of the natives, surely we could lead the rebel gems right where we wanted them.” Right into a kill-zone, a process which could easily be facilitated by what remained of the local warp network, if it could be secured entirely. “If we catch them off-guard..”The burly gem curled the fingers of their right hand into a fist, pounding it into the palm of their left with withering strength, “ten gems might as well be a hundred.” It would only take a few highly skilled gems, and preserve resources for mass incursions later.

[Chip the Fire Opal]

He didn't return to the thought since Blue disliked the idea. Chip really didn't see what Morion saw about her since she appeared to dislike anyone and anything. Not that he would say it out loud of course. Perhaps if someone bothered to learn something about the planet or it's native species...
"The Empire city my Diamond. It's one of the largest human city. I have some contacts there that should be able to provide me with all sorts of required information. The humans in the city know me and trust me. It might be of some use." he said once more. While most of Morion's people were gone with him, he still had his own network of informants, mostly humans. He did save the city several times from gem mutants, rogue shards, and even a Crystal gem plot.

[Black opal]

Black Opal listened to everything that went on, so much to take in, even for two minds, she just listened and took in what she could, she was getting restless, she needed to get out and do something else. She wasn't allowed to talk to herself, as it would be suspicious. And nothing here was getting anywhere, the only thing that seemed to be reasonable would be the Diamonds' plan, in her mind at least, mainly, she wanted to get back to her mission, hunting rebels, one at a time. She wanted to get to earth. Yet she was stuck here, and she wasn't about to be rude and bolt. So she remained here and looked at each gem as the spoke,nodding and listening to them all.

[Euclase]

To her credit Euclase did not shrink or falter under the Gaze that Yellow had shot at her, her own eyes remained steadfast in their resolve and after a moment her own eyes looked away. It was a stark if not subtle reminder of why exactly Euclase was able to keep the Moonbase functioning, even outside of Pink Diamonds presence, why despite everything the Agates and other high ranking gems at the base had never let any personal dislike of her extend past whispered conversation or short stern conversation that she ended quickly and brutally effectively without fail.

Euclase let out a weary smile though as Pearl suggested about using a single gem to stop what a single gem started, sparing a gentle glance at Pearl, Euclase spoke “Does the gem atop a mountain spend the same effort pushing a boulder, as the gem at the bottom must spend stopping it?” she riddled, pausing for a moment before she continued in regards to the idea of a Spy

“Getting a spy into the Crystal gems would be practical, but having a shadow leader would be tricky and could rather easily spiral out of control with not much effort, the fact of the matter is the Rebel Quartz is a unattainable idol for them to rally towards it will be hard if not impossible to dislodge their loyalty to her as a symbol and a gem, even with a gem that shares their same views. The issue once again comes down to a lack of centralisation, unlike our glorious empire where going against our respective lustrous Diamonds is unthinkable treason; they stand more for an ideal. If they disagree with their new leader they can simply defect from the defection, making a splinter group with their own guidelines and move independent from the original group. If Intel is to be believed it has already occurred before; a splinter faction called the Broken Gems emerged,”

Euclase high jacked the projection to show their logo, a cross between a Diamond and a star with a crack down the centre. “Allying to neither side at the time and causing issues to both. A false leader may be able to force the Crystal gems to step down, but it will be of little difference when in the time that took the ‘Crystal Fighters, Renegade Gem Alliance and the Supreme Crystal Authority’ all rose to power as member broke away from the Crystal Gems passive ideals. I think a spy needs to distinctly avoid being a figure head, high ranking yes, but I don’t think trying to force them to the top will do much in the long run, and the higher rank they are in the group, the more spotlights they will get making them harder to contact without blowing their cover” Euclase Explained, while she was no espionage expert she did know gems, and she could conjecture a rather reasonable situation and how they would likely act as a group, individuals were unpredictable, but a group could be read.

[Paddy]

As Blue Diamond spoke, Padparadscha’s gaze slid over to Chip, who she knew had something of an affinity for Earth’s life forms, even going so far as to call himself the protector of Empire City.

Her brow then twitched as she was addressed directly by Yellow Diamond. Of course, she wasn’t surprised that Yellow Diamond had taken interest in the Lotus; it had originally been a Yellow Court super-weapon design after all, before the project had been handed off to Pink Diamond’s court. Padparadscha was reluctant to share any new details of the project with any Yellow Court gem, most prominently Yellow Diamond herself. However, she couldn’t very well say no to the commander in chief of Homeworld.

Pink Diamond spoke after the other Diamond, and Padparadscha listened attentively, then turned her attention toward Chip as the Diamond addressed him. It would be a moment of truth when he gave his opinion; she had known the Fire Opal for quite some time, and trusted him well, but she also knew that he had a considerable investment on Earth.

She shifted, angling her shoulders toward the quartz as they spoke. Harshly pragmatic as always, 7XB knew that provoking the rebels in such a way would force their unaware leaders into a clumsy dash to protect the organic infestation they had been so keen on culturing, and she respected the veteran quartz’s seasoned foresight. She gave a solemn nod in agreement with their plan. It was as they used their fist to metaphorically crush the enemy that she felt a sudden pang; these were kin they were all talking about after all-- traitors, but still gems. Her entire ethos behind her hatred of rebels was brought to a standstill for a hollow moment. Then, she allowed those thoughts to digress, and went on about listening to the other task force members. Moral quandary would be for another time.

Padparadscha tilted her head toward Chip and listened. This was, after all, his first liaison with the other Diamonds. The sapphire was also keenly aware of Black Opal, despite the fact that the gem had been quiet for some time. She had a curiosity about the gem, one that could only be sated after some more pointed conversation in the future. For now, she kept her mind ticking over the points each gem made.

When Euclase spoke, she was reminded of one of her first grim encounters on this planet. Her investigation and detainment of the members of that deranged rebel sect, The Broken Gems, had destroyed some of the bright-eyed wonder she had arrived with. She remembered well the moment she had helped send one of their prominent members back to Homeworld to receive his dire fate. This all chaffed her, heaving up moral questions she had long ignored. By the time she would speak, her whole body was tense, her jaw clenching.



“Of course, my lustrous Diamond,” She stated when it was her chance to speak, trying to keep her poker-face active as her eyes hovered on the military commander,“With reinforcements, the project will not only be completed more quickly, but it would also become a secure fortress. The Lotus is already defended with advanced technology, as well as a team of quartz. The locale would become an effective surface base in the event that a warp were constructed; field commanders and their contingents would then be able to garrison there, and take action on orders efficiently,” therefore bringing an abrupt end to the pesky Earth resistance. It would be a matter of finishing the device in a timely manner.

Her eyes darted over to 7XB. She’d wondered for some time if 7XB had made any reports including their surprise visit to her establishment, though Yellow Diamond made no indication of knowing one way or the other. Then her eyes trailed back up to the enormous yellow gem. "My esteemed Diamond, it happens that a member of this task force, and your court--" the only yellow court soldier at the table,"--was able to rendezvous at the site of the Lotus some time ago. Because your operative has experience with the processes of the Investigation's Unit, and with the plans of the Project itself, they would serve as an invaluable security and tactical command officer on site. From there, the operation to draw out the rebel forces, as they mentioned, could be coordinated." Her eyes then flicked back to 7XB, looking them straight in the eyes; how quickly they had broken into the project had been a wake up call for her, but perhaps the gem who had compromised her early security measures would know best how to bolster them. "-- if they were to accept the post, of course," 

Then her attention went back to Euclase,"-- and I agree. It's an excellent idea, and would surely be a best case scenario if we were to install an effective spy." She gave a small smile to the pearl who had mentioned the idea, then the manager,"Perhaps this is something we shall discuss in further detail during future meetings?" She didn't want to speak too much about what it would take to get a spy set up within the Crystal Gem ranks in front of her primary suspects. Further, it was a high risk to speak of the Lotus in front of the gem in the room she most suspected to be a liaison to the rebels, but she hoped this maneuver might draw the gem forward, revealing her true nature. Her eyes floated over the gems in the room. 

[Melody]

Melody listened to everyone. With all of those new ideas coming up it felt as if she couldn't find the right time to add something from herself. She was happy each time she felt useful and she wanted to prove herself. Maybe not just to Euclase or Pink diamond, but also to herself. Just a simple idea that she is a decent pearl would always make her feel wanted. Pink Diamond said it herself, she is a perfect Pearl. Questioning Diamond's authority would be a crime Pearl didn't want to commit, but noone in the room knew about her life before she became Euclase's Pearl.

In spite of all of this, it also felt good to just take a moment to listen and stay quiet. This approach to the situation felt more natural to her and probably any other Pearl she knew. After all it is uncommon for a gem of her status to anticipate in discussions.

She smiled when Paddy commended Each idea and tried to add something from herself. Padparadscha was trully a perfect ally. With her Pearl knew that Moonbase was goining to be save no matter what. Melody soon found herself being directly spoken to by Padprardscha, she quickly snapped out of her mind full of different thoughts to pay more attention. She smiled because Sapphire agreed with her about having a vassal among rebels, but remained silent overall. The Chip mentioned before how he know humans... which Pearl found astonishing and hard to believe in, but she also impressed in a way. She never heard of a gem taming wild species from other planets. And they let him to their base? Even Padpradscha noticed how this "Epire City" of his could be helpful.

She watched with discomfort as Blue Diamond expressed her opinion about humans. She acted so emotional, it didn't seem right when she was infront of other gems. But she had to agree, humans were wild creatures, their enemies and not allies. Cooperation didn't seem possible on a longer run, but they still could use their base "Empire City" as their own. Yellow Diamond was much more professional and to the point, just how Pearl always imagined her. 

Pearl glanced at Euclase when new guards were mentioned. She didn't have much experience with Topaz guards. They seemed serious about their job, which was good, but Melody got used to the more exciting Amethysts. 

She shuddered a little bit at Euclase's response to her idea. She looked at the logo of those "Broken Gems". She didn't understand what was their purpose. Just making life harder for everyone didn't seem like a good reason for her to make a group. "My statement might have been too bold, forgive me my Euclase, I didn't mean to say that a single gem can stop this, but a single..." Melody tried to find courage and proper worlds to continue "A single figure, a copycat could potentially change the Crystal Gems we have right now. Every group exist because of ideals like you mentioned my Euclase. Proving that this Rose Quartz is wrong could lead to some gems creating smaller groups, yes, but this would make them even less organized. Some might not even want to anticipate in possible conflicts. I need to agree however, having a more "regular" spy on the planet would be a more practical and safer option." She started to have second thoughts about this idea... but she tried to to calm herself. After all it was properly disccused and noone actually said that it is bad. 

She smiled back at Padparadscha, this time a little bit more nervously. It was good to know that this topic would be continued at another time.

[7XB]

The venerable Quartz felt that their point, blunt and unpoetic as it may have been, was the most logical and effective solution. Surely, even if nobody else saw it, their magnanimous Diamond would recognize the truth in that- Right? For one reason or another, though, it seemed to fall on deaf ears, and though they still, visibly, remained stalwart as they glared across the table, from gem to occupied gem, 7XB’s spirit wilted. Unable to pull anygem’s gaze, their lips pulled into a thinner line as they worked their way down the table, hooking finally upon the broiling, peachy sunfire gaze of Padparadscha just in time for her nod of agreement. So she, at least, had been listening; The Quartz returned her nod, settling back down into their seat as the aristocrat spoke once again, expounding again upon her hopes for the Lotus Project. Despite their reservations about the Project- from what little they knew about it- they could at the very least agree that it was gravely important to keep the weapon out of the hands of the Rebellion. This, of course, they would never say, as everything they knew about the facility, other than what had been discussed in this meeting, was strictly unofficial.



But then she mentioned, in thankfully ambiguous terms, their ill-fated discovery of the weapon site; Their heavy brow lifted in confusion- Why would she mention something that, despite what had occurred there, the clear quartz had remained moot about in their recent reports? Not that they had lied, but with so little evidence to go on, much of what they would have said fell under the auspices of ‘further investigation needed’, giving them a great deal of latitude. Why, then, did the Sapphire mention it at all, and blow the lid on something she had so clearly wanted to keep hidden away from them. But then it became clear, and the Quartz had to keep from scowling. She knew how desperately the Quartz wanted out of this System, away from this Colony and all of its problems, and now she was trying to get them stuck there, under her thumb on the surface of the planet they so despised. But moreover, she knew that they would be unable to disobey such an order if given it by their superiors, and most especially their own Diamond. Whilst she might have been sound in her logic, there was still some typically-dormant, illogical part of the burly gem that could not help but see it as some sort of slight against them, irregardless of the truth of her words. But..they would do what was needed.

[Order Of The Diamonds]

Pink Diamond pursed her lips in a long flat expression, letting out a small “hmmmm.”

“While using humans as bait may be effective in part it once again presents the risk that the natives will turn their collective efforts against us 7XB. They are selfish creatures yes, and more often than not let actions against them pass less it affects them personally but targeting their own kind in such great numbers, would unify them against a metaphorical common enemy.”

“They are low tech, but, and I say this with great disgust, they still present a tangible threat if we are to target them at the wrong time, they do not have Faster than light travel or hard light technology but” She flicked up a video across the table, it seemed to show a desolate plain, before a flash of light and the distinct shape of a mushroom cloud erupted upwards into the sky “A barbaric method to split an atom but devastating effectively none the less. The Radiation is less of an issue for our non-organic forms but the ecological damage to potential resources is excessive, not to mention the ensuing Electromagnetic pulse that can destroy our communication lines and knock our ships out of the sky.” Pink Diamond explained “And while victory against them would be inevitable it is not outside of their nature to raze the planet in the process, making sure that if they can’t keep it, no one will.” She presented, responding directly to 7XB and her plan to use the natives as bait “Im sorry 7XB, while as a soldier I respect your intuition and your present method is technically right I don’t want to resort to painting a target on ourselves immediately like that.” She concluded, there was muttering from many of the gems further back on the table about this course of action, she knew this decision may not go over well with the table, many of the gems shares the sentiments that her Sister blue shared in regards to organic life, but she was not willing to underestimate the humans as such, not based on what she has seen of them, even if it caused the ire of her court. She was in charge, and her compassion shall not be mistaken for weakness. She was a Diamond like the rest and she would not have the Loyalty of her court falter. She raised her hand silencing the mutters.

Pink waited for the table to settle, before Nodding towards Chip speaking in regards to this empire city “Good, we may still use their loyalty yet, but we must move with caution, falling into enemies hands would be a unacceptable casualty if you are going to be a conduit for this Empire city, more likely your will direct your experience and knowledge onto our designated infiltrators.”

Yellow shifted in her seat, speaking up after Pink “I’ll have my court start screening applicable gems for convert missions, having a gem coalesce with those…..things requires a unorthodox set of skill and talents, I’ll pass them onto you Pink after the fact, to get them correctly assimilated with Sigma” Yellow Diamond replied, absently tapping some buttons on her own holographic interface before turning back to Paddy again “I hope for your own sake you’re not wasting our time with this project, Reports will be filed and completed, you will get your resources” Yellow responded shifting another scrutinizing gaze at the Sapphire “and your soldiers….if they so choose” It was clear despite everything Yellow did not entirely trust the orange gem, especially in regards to taking one of her Quartz’s , but trust was a rare commodity with Yellow anyway.

“I’ll have my own team draft up the system and schematics needed for a adhoc warp network inclusion” Blue spoke quietly once again “Warp technicians will accompany you back to this Lotus sector soon to correctly draft up what is needed, give them unobstructed access to a sector of the base they designate” Blue added, looking past her hood down to Paddy.

[Euclase]

Euclase turned her nose up to the display of nuclear armaments, muttering “How crude” under her breath. She spoke up afterwards adding aswell

“The Natives have already shown time and time again a general disregard for the ecological systems of their planet. Based on previous files I would hypothesise that unless they were to shift technologies their planet would have less then another 6 or so millennium before they wiped themselves and the planet out. That is provided they don’t turn those…things” She said gesturing to the mushroom cloud “Against each other before that point, and considering they were already on the brink once” She added another projection to the display, showing a collage of Earth texts that seem to refer to some sort of ‘missile crisis’ in the ‘1960s.’ “So it is not out of the realm of possibility that if we were to destroy the natives, they would retaliate with destruction of the planet’s surface. As such I would also suggest My Diamond that we keep a relative degree of subtly to the operations, to avoid drawing the Natives attention in huge spades.”

“Less organised perhaps” She began in response to Melody, “but still dangerous, keeping in mind that a majority of the gems that have rebelled are defects or gems that feel in some form that society has slighted them, they are metaphorically backed into a corner… Unless we give them an alternative. A way out.” She paused, in thought. She wanted to present her point but she noticed something about the way paddy structured her previous agreement, a subtle hint that sensitive discussion should occur with a more secure network. She would have to ask her later about what she suspected but for now she remained quiet “Sapphire 8QE is correct, semantics of such details should be discussed in future meetings.” She brushed off, sparing a glance at the orange gem. “Do not fret yourself with requests of forgiveness for discussion; I gave you free range to speak for a reason”. She also said with a non-committal wave of her hand.

[Paddy]

Her hands laced together, Padparadscha settled into her seat, and listened to Melody. "Divide and conquer," Padparadscha stated nonchalantly, smirking a little. Spies were a tricky business, but could be invaluable to overall victory. Her entire operation up to this point had been entirely about investigation; learning all she could about the weaknesses and strengths of Sigma One as a field of combat, and of Earth as a home to sapient lifeforms. 

The sapphire's head canted forward as Pink Diamond mentioned the primitive nuclear technology in the hands of humans. Shadows pulled over her eyes. Her own abilities made use of the same principles of physics that bombs and stars did. The sapphire contemplated to herself; If she could absorb that much nuclear energy, what would she do with it? Her eyes focused somewhere far away as she thought. She would serve her Diamond, of course. 

Padparadscha caught herself, and cleared her throat. She allowed her eyes to hover on 7XB for a moment. The gem hadn't overtly reacted to her bid to hire them onto her direct retinue, and she was sure that spoke to their own reluctance to be a part of it. Nonetheless, there was a war to win. She turned to look in the general direction of the Diamonds, without necessarily directly addressing them. Instead, she aimed her words toward the more common gems at the table. A grim weight was impressed upon her tone,"The more quickly we can sterilize the surface world, the more quickly we may go about fully dismantling the rebellion. Any stratagem that tackles two issues at once is worthy of serious consideration, in my humble opinion," Her smooth words rang out through the cold room. What better way to crush rebel morale, than to wipe away what had inspired them to rise against the empire in the first place? Her eyes shot across the room, searching for any reactions that might be incriminating. Theirs was an extreme stance, but extreme action became necessary when rebels began shattering their own. 

Her attention went to Yellow and Blue Diamond as she was directly addressed by them. A giddiness lit up her expression, and tingled over the back of her mind; she didn't truly feel ready, but that no longer mattered. The Lotus would become a bigger target than it had ever been, but it would also be an Earth-shattering, effective tool in the palms of Homeworld's elite warlords. Her true purpose would finally, gloriously unfold. Padparadscha gave a curt nod, and a precise Diamond salute, her eyes sparkling. 

When Euclase spoke, she tilted her head toward the gem and listened. She tapped her chin, and nodded. After another moment of thought, she spoke,"Infrastructure like the healing fountain and communication hub will give us a steep advantage. Their primitive technology simply can't outpace Homeworld coordination, when it's at its best." She paused, then drew in air to speak with,"As for 'a way out'-- I have often employed such strategies when interrogating my rebel captures, but I haven't found a consistent through-line. Some wanted me to ensure safety for their comrades, others wanted pardons or status. One wanted information about corruption. Many of these gems are now in stasis prisons, awaiting further judgement, which proves that their will can be bent easily if you suss out what motivated them to join the defective rabble in the first place."  

[Chip the Fire Opal]

Chip wasn't really a fan of this slow approach. He liked to have things done. And while he knew that jumping right into the middle of things wasn't always the wisest option he much preferred it to seemingly doing nothing.
"As you wish my Diamond. Though I can assure you there is no reason to worry about me getting captured. I was made to get out of any situation and so far I have," he couldn't avoid a bit of bragging. It wasn't entirely undeserved since he really did meet a lot of dangers and conquered them all.
"I think it might be a wee bit more complicated. At least when it comes to attacking the rebels. From what I know there is at least one if not more sapphires present in the rebellion so they could see danger coming from the distance." Chip never knew how precise their future vision is but it could complicate things and it was fair to warn his Diamond of this possibility.

[Melody]

The picture of destruction that Humans can cause is not something she expected to see. Her knowledge about them was limited, but she always view them as too inferior to cause any real harm. She never imagined that one planet could be so problematic. But what could she do? Her delicate form just teetered because of this terrible vision. This race was too dangerous to exist alongside the great Gem Empire.

It also seemed that they would cooperate with natives of Earth after all. After the showcase of they can do to their own planet she wasn't sure about this idea. Would Chip really be enough for them to obey? Technically speaking the rebels were fighting for their cause.

"Of course." It was the only respond she could come up with. She stood firmly and her face was like a face of a calm sculpture, buf deep down she felt as if she was about to faint. Usually she would just stand, listen, record and just do what she was made for. She perhaps express her opinion to her previous owner during the free time. But here she thought that she was embarassing Euclase infront of everyone. What if someone considered her too chatty? Too rebelious? There were three most important gems in the galaxy and it was so easy to cross the line. She expected Euclase to be dissapointed and the worst part was that there was nothing she could possibly do to redeem herself right now.

She glanced at Padparadscha. She seemed to have the most exprience with rebel gems. Pearl herself have met some rebelious examples in the past while still working in the court, but it was before Rose's revolution. It was nice to belive that even some of those triators can have "a way out". Ideas can be like a disease that spreads everywhere, Rose Quartz manipulated those gems and made them defective. But different ideas could as well make them perfect again.


Pearl looked a little bit amused when Chip acted so cocky. At least some gems stayed positive.

[Order Of The Diamonds]

“Let us conclude this soon, I have other matters I am required to attend to” Yellow mentioned offhand. If it was in her control this meeting would have simply been convened between the diamonds, all this speaking, and this council, it felt like a waste to her. Although she did let a small smile out when the Orange sapphire mentioned the more extreme method of simply wiping out what the rebels were fighting for, but she knew Pink was far too fond of her little organics to let that slide, and from a practical standpoint, there was a risk the humans could destroy the planet in response to their own demise.

“While amply quick, Pink Diamond has explained the issue with wiping out and targeting the organics” Yellow mentioned wearily, in her drab tone. While she still thought Pink overstated the threat, to bit her tongue, the last thing this council needed was to see the Diamonds once again having a disagreement. Discussion of the organics would happen behind closed doors, and perhaps she could finally convince her naïve sister to destroy them.

“The Rebels may have Sapphires but there have been…issues with predictions” Pink began, sparing a glance over at Blue Diamond, who learnt forward and began to speak.

“Sapphires Seer capabilities are often time finite” Blue stated Opening her hand to reveal a glowing orb, a line appeared out of the orb and traveled upwards “While they can predict a course of action, unexpected events and actions will cause their visions to become inaccurate” The Line Split and moved in strange directions, “the general chaos of a rebellion naturally aids to this, my own Sapphires have struggled with prediction of the rebellion, the Rebel sapphires would be in the same position.” Blue explained “The art of an oracle is a complex and unpredictable thing that is far to elaborate to explain here. Simply know that the seers will prove unreliable for grand strokes on both sides to this fight, and leave it at that” She concluded, crushing the orb in her hand. It was true though, her Sapphires had given wildly different predictions and out of all of them there was only one prediction that Blue Diamond had paid attention to, a prediction she prayed was inaccurate, and prediction the sapphire who spoke it had taken to her quick and merciful grave.

Pink Diamond gave a nod to the other Diamonds present before she stood up from her throne and looked down and across the council of gems. Speaking to all of them “Very well, with all your suggestion and considerations in mind I believe that a plan can be formulated in full. These Traitors have proven to be an unorthodox challenge but each one of you present has shown your loyalty and devotions to our great empire. We will hold a temporary recess where you are free to move about and talk, while I and my fellow Diamonds convene on our next course of action. We will return shortly” She explained. Lights below the 3 diamonds illuminated with their own colours and the three leaders in their beams of light were warped out of the council room.

((Recess will last for one post cycle, so feel free to do some minor chatting, Diamonds will return once every posts (or all active members post), and once they return and speak the thread will be concluded))