LOG-180.The completion of my little announcement left only one thing, which was alerting the White Grossular to the current state of the facility.Not something I really wanted to do, naturally. But as it stood, I would need reinforcements to keep Yellow’s forces at bay, and I certainly wasn’t about to risk calling Fawn into this mess.A few rapidly typed commands later and the digital flare was launched, eliciting a response less than a few seconds later.Current status, en route to target.Response time is exceptionally fast, even considering the situation. Soldiers would ordinarily need to be assembled first. Orders given. Either this rapid response unit has literally been standing around since their creation, waiting, or they were expecting something like this.Either implication was disconcerting for separate reasons, but I didn’t have time to worry about that right now. Instead, I inputted a few more commands that would hopefully make traversing the Reef without the appropriate clearance an absolute nightmare, activating defences that would have ordinarily been managed by Shell into an automatic mode, that served to lock down entire sections, alongside generally just making an utter mess of the previously well organised facility. One that likely wouldn’t truly repel a dedicated assault like this, but might, at the very least, slow it down enough to give me some more time to work.Then I ordered a general shut down of the terminal in order to avoid having it be repurposed by some plucky Yellow Court Peridot, slashed the entire thing in half for good measure, and finally stepped away from my desk, taking one last glance to memorise what I could see within the limits of the flickering and fading surveillance feeds, before moving towards the door.It was finally time to get out of this place. Which meant I needed to get to my Batch.—Something I hadn’t counted on was the Reef’s Storm Quartz garrison misinterpreting my words as being intended for them as well, but as I quietly glanced around a corner as two of them worked together to punt several panicked Rubies into the walls, it was evident that despite their shock at having to fight fellow Gems, morale and loyalty remained high.The Overseer was still giving them orders, after all. And ‘Shell’ had finally begun to actually fight back against the force besieging their home.Stepping around the corner and noting the way the two immediately snapped towards me, I injected as much authority into my voice as I could, expression suitably stern.“Regroup with the perimeter guard and secure the hangar bays! I want the Batch’s escape route open and ready for them!”As it turned out, belting out orders at Gems accustomed to following them out without thinking too hard worked rather effectively at getting them out of the way. Perhaps these two assumed that upon evacuation, Batch Eighteen would be relocated to some nearby White Court colony, or possibly even Homeworld.What mattered was it removed them as an obstacle for me, the duo sprinting off and thus leaving my progress unhindered as I power walked my way towards the direction of the training hall nearest to where I’d last seen my Pearls.The evidence of their presence was plain to see as I noticed bubbles of various colours littering one of the hallways I moved through, each container holding a gemstone that must have been a Yellow Court soldier that had been unlucky enough to run into them.Batch Eighteen are going for non-lethal takedowns despite the situation, possibly due to shattering itself taking more effort. The time sensitive nature of this all has led to the resulting strategy of discorporating, containing, and abandoning defeated Gems in order to avoid any further delay. Impressive, considering this is their first true experience with a real life combat situation.For a brief moment, I felt pride at their success, only to freeze at the sound of light pitter patter of footsteps that could only belong to a Pearl.Pausing in the junction I had found myself in, I glanced down one of the hallways, expecting to find one of my creations, only to lock eyes with a pair of golden orbs belonging to the one that was no doubt partially responsible for this mess.1A stared at me for a long moment, hesitating. Almost idly, I noted the no doubt looted destabilizer clenched in one of her hands, its white tip sparking.There was an unspoken question there, the Pearl looking ready to ask me something. Whether I would come with her, no doubt. Or perhaps whether I would bar her way forward.Just letting her go isn’t the smartest choice here. With the situation as it is, I would be better served taking her as a hostage, considering the invading force are no doubt here to retrieve her.Maybe. But was I willing to make that choice, when I just wanted to leave? When we both just wanted to leave?…I considered the question for a moment, before deciding that no, I wasn’t about to make things even more complicated for myself for some potential tactical benefit.My mouth remained pressed in a thin line as I allowed my fingers to twitch in a motion that drew my counterpart’s gaze, her eyes widening as I spelled out valuable information with my talons.‘Avoid these two corridors, they’ve been blocked. Shell’s defences won’t consider you an invader but automated traps may fail to recognise you. Turn left at the first junction, and do not stop until you are free of this section of the Reef. Yellow Court forces are to the east, near the outer wings. You will find safety there.’Then the Reef trembled once more, and the servant shook her head as if to clear it of thought, shooting me one last (seemingly thankful) glance before taking off and disappearing out of sight.Thinning my lips even further, I held back a sigh and continued on a different path.She wasn’t my concern right now, after all.—Staging a breakout, in Patina’s rapidly evolving opinion, was a lot more complicated than simply setting out a plan and then following it.Trying to discorporate rather than shatter, these Gems have orders to take us alive.Things changed. Plans changed, usually as new factors inserted themselves into one’s equation. Like the purple Quartz currently trying to grab her.Spinning around the Amethyst’s lunge, the green Pearl ignored the soldier’s surprised exclamation.Surprised at my combat prowess. Likely was told that resistance would be minimal, if present at all.Instead, she transitioned the dodge into an elaborate twirl, before elegantly ramming her weapon into the Yellow Court Gem’s head, her features briefly contorting into a mixture of surprise and pain, before her lightform gave out and disappeared with a poof.Holding out her hand, Patina deftly caught the soldier’s gemstone with her free hand and bubbled it, before gently flicking it away in one fluid motion, turning towards her next target, a panicking Peridot who had the misfortune of having her back to the Pearl, busy as she was trying to step away from the rapidly advancing forms of Eighteen K and T.The sharp crack that tore through the air put a stop to that plan however, and she had less than a second to brace herself before everything promptly went sideways. Literally.A supporting structure has likely been destroyed. Either intentionally or by mistake thanks to the Reef’s resistance requiring ship grade weaponry. The result remains the same.Trying not to panic as the very walls cracked open around them, Patina nonetheless found herself tightly clenching the handle of her blade as pearlescent material was abruptly replaced by the terrifying sight of open water.A quick glance around as she fell indicated that she had apparently been the only one unlucky enough to actually slip through the opening made by the destabilized inner-space that was rapidly decompressing as whatever systems kept it in place failed. She could make out her Batchmates desperately hanging on within, those who couldn’t clamber back inside behind helped by those who could.Frowning as the water got closer and closer, the Pearl discarded her summoned weapon and assumed what she hoped was a decent diving posture, only for a slight tug to ruin her attempts, ripping her attention up towards the tiny purple figure currently clinging to her slipper covered foot.“Wha-Violet! What are you doing!?”The miniature Gem practically snarled in response, little wings fluttering rapidly as she began to spin.“Saving your life you idiot! Now get ready, we’re going through that opening!”Doing her best to focus, Patina took note of the hole in reality in question, one of several hovering in the air, the closest example exposing another section of the Reef entirely and displaying the innards of what she recognised to be one of the learning auditoriums rather than the path to the hangar bays their Batch had been racing through.“Here! We! Go!”Then she was being thrown by a counterpart a fraction of her size, the tiny Pearl slamming into her back to provide just enough of a boost for both of them to slip through the makeshift portal, which forced itself shut behind them as the Reef’s matter compression systems flickered back to life and reminded the space that it was, in fact, supposed to be bigger on the inside.Managing to roll and spring to her feet rather than slam onto her face in what would have no doubt been a most painful fashion, the green Gem took some solace in the fact that Violet had managed to make it through with her, the winged scout picking herself up from beside a piece of rubble bigger than she was.Then the rest of her mind caught up amidst the flashing lights and blaring alarms, and she realised they had, somehow, managed to successfully separate themselves from the rest of the Batch. The exact thing Viridian had warned them against doing.“...Ah. That’s not very good.”