LOG-186.It had begun with a sharp, crackling sound that had sent shivers up and down Nacre One’s lightform, only to be immediately followed by an almost never-ending shriek of metal ripping itself asunder, of crystal splintering into shards, and of machines no doubt exploding when faced with something they were never designed to withstand.The Caretaker had less than a second to shoot a horrified glance at her counterpart, before the entire world shook, sending both Gems stumbling about in desperate attempts to remain upright.Their surroundings distorted. Space and matter shifted and moved in ways they were not meant to. And the two Nacres could do little but bear it all with gritted teeth as chaos reigned for all of a moment.Perhaps due to the enhanced balance of their gemetic makeup, they avoided falling. She doubted the Storm Quartzes, who had split off from them a few moments prior after confirming that they were well on the path to the shuttle bays, would have fared anywhere near as well.Nonetheless, One found herself reaching over to grab Two, steadying her fellow ‘lesbian’ before casting a wary look towards where the majority of the clamouring noise had come from, tone hesitant.“Do…do you think…?”Two’s voice was far more firm as she began moving forward once more, grabbing One by the wrist and practically dragging her along.“The compression field just failed, judging by the effects. We’re lucky, I don’t care to imagine what those closer to the emitters just experienced.”Wincing at the thought, One allowed herself to be pulled, even as the pair of Caretakers made their way through a reception area which had been utterly ruined after all of its various decorations had shifted in time with the shaking, before finally passing beneath a half opened door, no doubt malfunctioning with the loss of whatever connection it had held to the Reef’s power generation facilities.The hangar bays of the Reef were all interconnected, set within an incredibly long and wide chamber that, if one wished to be technical, was actually just a larger hangar in and of itself, merely partitioned off into separate sections.It was the sight of the first section proving itself utterly crowded with Pearls that allowed One to finally relax for just a moment, the Nacre smiling as a few of Batch Eighteen noticed her and Two’s presence, their eyes widening.“Ah, thank the Stars you’re all here! I suppose the Overseer was quick to ensure that no matter what circumstance, her very first Batch would prove…”Clang! Clang! Clang!Pausing, she blinked as she noticed one of the Pearls (Eighteen Z to be specific) was holding a weapon of all things, the hatchet currently being swung by her thin arms back and forth, its blunt side slowly but surely smashing apart a locking mechanism keeping the Gem out of the small interior building that she knew contained the landing and takeoff control terminal.“...very…”A sound that she had become far too accustomed to, for more than one reason, drew her attention, and the Caretaker found herself staring down her nose at a destabilizer being brandished at her by none other than Eighteen E, the red Gem’s voluminous curly bob covering half of her face, leaving the gemstone replacing her other eye to stare at her in a distinctly ominous fashion.“...capable.”Entranced by the white arcs of electricity as she was, the Nacre remained utterly motionless, right up until her counterpart gently tapped a talon against her shoulder, posture tense.“One, focus.”Blinking, she heeded the command and shook herself free of her reverie.“...Oh.” Which was right about when she realised that they’d been surrounded by an apparently armed, and visibly less than friendly pack of Pearls.—Nacre One was having…a cycle.“What are we supposed to do with them? They weren’t meant to be here!”She had to admit, despite her own long lived experiences, and all of the other borderline fantastical things that had happened as of late, being taken hostage by a rogue Batch was certainly a first for her.“Well of course they weren’t! And neither was an invading armada of Yellow Court warships E!”“It’s Venetian now, actually!”“Oh, you picked out a name?”“Yep!”Slowly glancing back and forth between Eighteen E (or Venetian, as she had apparently declared herself) and Eighteen F, One tried to reconcile the distinctly militant red and green Pearls with the perfectly obedient, pretty little things she’d had the pleasure to train on a few occasions, and blinked.“Okay well that still doesn’t answer what we’re doing with the damn Caretakers!”Beside her, Two was visibly more angry than confused, but that didn’t stop the both of them from keeping their hands in the air as they were all but forced into waiting beside one of the old fashioned White Court shuttles that littered the hangar bays in neat rows, several of which had been visibly pried open and were currently being boarded by other members of the Batch.“Ah…may I make a suggestion?”Her questioning tone prompted both of the bickering Gems in front of her to twist in her direction with an almost eerie synchronicity, one that would have been out of place had they been anything but Pearls.“No!”Rearing her head back slightly and frowning at the blunt refusal, Nacre One resisted the urge to huff, even as the duo stepped away from her to apparently continue their conversation out of earshot.The steady and persistent sound of electrical crackling instead led to her turning her attention back to the silver Pearl Eighteen E had left in charge of the group keeping her and Two in place, a hesitant smile splitting her lips as she stared down at the Gem, whose eyes were hidden behind her bangs.“Eighteen T, surely this isn’t necessarEEP!”Yelping as the twin prongs of the destabilizer briefly impacted with her lightform, Nacre One devoted everything into keeping her reaction at least somewhat restrained, even as the silver Pearl shook her head emotionlessly.“No talking. Stand still and be good.”Eyes wide, it was all One could do not to gasp at the…the sheer impropriety of her situation, even as she felt Two glaring daggers into the back of her head.Goodness, just what had gotten into all of these Pearls?!—In the end, all Nacre One had been able (or rather, allowed) to do was silently observe as Batch Eighteen went about securing practically every single shuttle within the hangar bays for their own use. The control station was broken into as well, and whatever was done in there apparently ensured that each individual vessel was prepared for use by its new owners, even as she and Two were forced to walk up the ramp of one of the transports, Eighteen E, F, T, G and Z all filing in alongside them.Aside from some chatter between the pilots (just when had these Pearls learned about anything to do with flying starships?) as they coordinated a small swarm of shuttles all soaring up through the diamond shaped holes that led out to the sky, there was little else said.Perhaps she would have spent her time trying to see just what exactly had become of the Reef, but a brandished destabilizer from T and that vicious looking hatchet from Z kept both her and Two at the back of the shuttle, so that option was gone as well-“Shouldn’t we bubble them?”The abrupt question startled the Nacre slightly, and she found herself looking up from the seat she’d been ordered to take on the floor of the transport.Eighteen F was gesturing to her now, and she felt Two shift slightly closer to her, perhaps for comfort, or reassurance that neither of them were alone as Eighteen E…as Venetian turned to stare at them both, tilting her head slightly while she did so.“Maybe…hey, are you two going to cause trouble for us?”Even if she had apparently missed the entirety of the Batch secretly being an organised and armed militia in their own right, it could not be said that One couldn’t read a room, and so she shook her head rapidly, speaking even as she gently kicked at Two’s leg, prompting the other Caretaker to do the same.“N-No! Not at all! The Overseer ordered us to ensure your safe escape, after all! To-To meet you at the hangars and leave!”Her words earned her a slight narrowing of the eyes from the crimson Pearl, before she turned to glance at her counterpart, who shrugged slightly in response.“Mm, well if Viridian sent you along, there was probably some reason for it. If anything, your Gemline should have a rather high clearance in Atolls and other White Court holdings. Alright, guess you can stay.”One breathed a sigh of relief.“But if you betray us we’ll totally torture you and stuff. Maybe poke you with destabilizers or something.”One tried very hard not to show any outward signs of reacting, even as Two stared at her, utterly unimpressed.—Escaping the Reef, naturally, wasn’t as simple as just grabbing a shuttle and leaving. Ordinarily there would be things like defence cannons set to shoot down small vessels trying to leave or arrive without authorisation. Interceptors from nearby systems that could be called to cut off fleeing miscreants. Things like that.Given the current battle raging just above White One’s atmosphere, most of those obstacles didn’t quite apply as well as they should have. But in exchange, there were new ones apparently waiting in the wings to complicate Batch Eighteen’s flight.“-yeah and I was thinking I could maybe go with Verdigris, since it matches you-oh, one second.”Eighteen F’s casual tone had turned serious quickly enough that Nacre One struggled to tell whether she had been faking it or not, the green Pearl staring down at something dominating the shuttle’s central screen before sighing.“There’s a Yellow Court warship moving to get in our way.”“Schist.”Restraining the almost overwhelming urge to chew Eighte-Venetian out for using such foul language, One instead kept her mouth shut as the red Pearl stepped up to where her counterpart had been piloting, staring down at something before clicking her tongue.“Okay, I’ve got an idea. I think.”“Your ideas are always insane.”“They work though.”“True.”Once more looking back and forth between the duo, the Nacre hedged a glance towards Eighteen T, who was standing nearby.The silver Pearl glanced back at her, destabilizer still primed, before gently shrugging, the folds of her translucent dress following the motion of her slender shoulders.“Okay, syncing everyone into this. Stars I’m glad Viridian let me stalk that Peridot working on shuttle maintenance that one time.”A few more whispers passed between the two Pearls near the front of the shuttle, before the red one nodded with a grin, ducking her head down towards the console.“Right! Three! Two! One!”Her confusion morphed into a vague understanding as a Nephrite appeared on the screen, the contours of her uniform and the golden sigil stamped onto the chest of her lightform marking her as a ship captain.And suddenly, Venetian was a blubbering mess.“PLEEEEAAAASE HELP US OH NOOOOO!”Whatever the naval officer had been preparing to say, it was cut off by a befuddled “eh?” escaping her though, her singular eye widening as tears of all things streamed down the Pearl’s cheeks, her hands coming up to desperately grab at the front of her dress, features contorted by panic.“I-I-I don’t know what to doooooo!”There was a slight bit of back and forth on that front, before the captain finally shook herself free of her own confusion, barking out her next words with significantly more authority behind them.“Calm yourself, Pearl! This is Sunstar-class corvette Prismatic Grace, attached to special operations division twelve of her radiant Yellow Diamond’s Golden Armada! State your purpose and reason for being in that grouping of shuttles!”“The-the-the Overseer said to runnnn! She said the Yellow Court would protect usss!”Despite, or perhaps because of their almost pathetic, bawling nature, the words seemed to strike a chord within the Nephrite, who leaned forward slightly, exchanging a glance with someone off screen before turning her attention back to Venetian.“The Overseer told you to run towards us? But that-no, nevermind! Reef shuttle grouping, you are hereby ordered to dock with my vessel immediately! We’ll take care of you from there!”“Thank youuuu!”Tear-filled words of appreciation sent out, Venetian tapped at part of the console in front of her, before turning to face Eighteen F with an utterly nonplussed expression on her face as Nephrite’s face disappeared from view.“I think she bought it. Reckon we can take the crew?”
The only response from Eighteen F- from Verdigris was an exasperated sigh and a flash of light with which she produced a datapad from her Gem storage.
Glancing in shock at the contents of its screen, which was already opening up to the blueprints and layouts for Sunstar-class corvettes (which Verdigris apparently had and knew how to read for some insane reason), One turned to chance a look at Two and silently mouthed out a question of her own.‘What the schist?’Her counterpart’s only response was an utterly helpless shrug.—In the end, the Prismatic Grace had led them away from the rest of the fight, naively opening its cargo bay to allow each shuttle to deposit its set of Pearls, before a pair of Jaspers worked to shove the empty transport back out into space, making space for the next one to come in and land.Her and Two’s presence had been noted fairly quickly, and though the guards had been somewhat suspicious, Venetian’s insidious blubbering had been quick to disarm them, leading to the soldiers hesitantly leading the lot of them straight to the ship’s command area.Its captain, the Nephrite she’d seen on a screen before, was quick to notice the two of them, and One found both herself and Two subjected to a barrage of questions. Things like why they had run from the fight instead of just surrendering to Yellow Court forces, things like who the Overseer’s loyalty actually belonged to, and of course, things like why it was some Pearl rather than her that had taken the initiative to hail the corvette.The madness of it all, and some of the implications inherent to the questions, left her gemstone practically swimming, and it had been in the midst of stuttering out some semblance of a proper response that she’d noticed the entire Batch slowly spreading out amongst the bridge, gaining curious glances from various crew members at what the Pearls were up to, but little more.They were just Pearls, after all. And then Venetian had stepped forward, gently placing a hand against the Nacre’s chest and pushing her backwards, bright smile affixed to her previously tear stricken face..“I’ll be handling the situation now!”The announcement had been met with a shocked silence, before immediately being followed up by a few chuckles from various parts of the bridge, Nephrite staring down at the brazen red Pearl with a lopsided smirk coating her expression.“What? You? But all you’re good for is…is looking pretty! You sing and dance, silly Pearl. Step aside and let the real Gems talk-”“Sing and dance?”Nacre One flinched backwards at the…the downright vicious grin now stretching apart Venetian’s features, the Pearl looking almost giddy at having been brought directly to the bridge.There was a strange, rhythmic set of sounds coming from all around them now, and it was with a start that the Caretaker realised more than a few of the Batch were stomping their feet, clapping their hands, or otherwise using their surroundings to make noise, even as the crew of the ship stared at them in open bafflement.“But of course, we can sing and dance!”And yet she only had eyes for Venetian, who proved so bold as to dip down into a theatrical bow, before rising with a flash of light.One’s eyes widened as she realised the Pearl had summoned forth a curved blade of some sort, the sheer sight of a weapon within the hands of such a Gem stunning a few of the crew members around them, even as its wielder began to sing.“We’ve had to put things on the line, once or twice~”The beginning of a song she most certainly had never rehearsed with the Batch coincided with multiple flashes of light, shocking the crew into movement once more as they rather abruptly realised that every Pearl within the bridge was armed.“Just so we can get to living our finer lives~”Yet that didn’t stop Venetian from continuing her performance, arms moving outwards in an all encompassing motion, her tone turning slightly deeper even as the sound of surprised Gems being discorporated began to fill the air.“My Nacre told me I ‘gotta just survive’~”Stepping backwards, the Caretaker found herself bumping into what must have been a console behind her, and barely managed to lock eyes with her counterpart across the bridge. All as the singing Pearl levelled that curved blade towards Nephrite, who had pulled forth a dagger and began charging towards her with a shrill battle cry.“Put on a mask and just keep on task~”More voices joined her in song, instilling a strange sort of energy in the Pearl as she smoothly flowed around the captain’s strike.“Don’t hate the Pearl~!”Eyes as wide as they could get, Nacre One watched as the red Gem’s blade cleaved straight through the Nephrite’s neck, sending her head (struck with an appropriately befuddled expression) sailing through the air, right before it discorporated along with the rest of her lightform.“Just hate the crime~!”Opponent dispatched, the Pearl turned back towards her, and in spite of herself the Caretaker found herself flinching at the sheer glee in the servant’s eyes, even as she brought her arms up yet again, as if reaching for something taller than her.“Oh, forgive me Stars! Oh, I’m a good Pearl~!”A Peridot screamed from where she had been attempting to race towards one of the ship’s security lockers, the arcs of a destabilizer causing her lightform to glitch back and forth before breaking apart.“Yes it might make you cry, but we’ve got walls to climb~!”The Pearl that had done the deed scooped up the fallen technician’s gemstone just long enough to bubble it, before rushing towards where two of her cohorts were harassing a panicked Jasper.“Oh, forgive me Stars! Oh, have I struck a chord~?!”And despite it all, Nacre One found her attention ripped back to Venetian, even as the Pearl dodged around a screaming Ruby’s flailing fists, a wicked mockingness to her beautiful voice.“She set us on this route! We had to claw right out~!”A delicate foot rose, before the slipper wrapped around it slammed into the soldier’s face.“Run rabid run rabid~!”Once, twice, thrice. She could hear the rest of the Batch adding to the chaotic harmony now.“Run run run run run run run!”The short Gem fell backwards, perhaps stunned at the blow, or perhaps stunned at the fact that she’d just been kicked in the face by a Pearl of all things.“So sorry, force of habit~!”A flash of that curved blade ensured she’d have plenty of time to sort the matter, trapped in a freshly formed bubble.“Habit habit habit!”With a roar, the Jasper’s lightform contorted into a vaguely disc shaped force of energy, barrelling forward despite the plethora of weapons jabbing at her sides.“Run rabid run rabid~!”The desperate retreat might have saved her, were it not for a dart attached to a length of fabric, launched in front of her at just the right moment to serve in tangling up the shock trooper’s limbs, leaving her bound and squirming upon the floor.“Run run run run run run run!”A moment later, and no less than four Pearls were upon her, cutting, slicing, and stabbing until a Gem considered their superior broke beneath their strikes.“Path charted, let’s get started~!”The change in lyrics ripped her attention back towards Venetian, who had progressed up to the Nephrite’s command throne, sword moving in a flowing pattern that left the Caretaker horrified and intrigued in equal measure.Stab, parry, dodge and slice. “I never knew another way of life~”Another Peridot that had perhaps been making an attempt at sending out an alert from the ornate piece of furniture found herself desperately trying to fend off blows with her limb enhancers, the technician wincing each time the faux arms were damaged further, her opponent still singing all the while.“My Pearlish mind was simply born for strife~”The green Gem yelped as Venetian promptly flipped over a retaliatory strike, before slamming her weapon into and through the crew member’s shoulder, discorporating her instantly.“My Nacre told me I ‘gotta just survive’~”She…she could see Nacre Two beckoning her towards the significantly less hectic rear half of the bridge, towards the doors leading outside. Perhaps if she could just-”“So we’ll steal a ship, set course and flyyyy~!”Flinching back and retreating towards a nearby wall as that horrendous curved blade flew close enough that it damn near shaved off part of her nose, Nacre One raised her hands desperately, only to realise that the weapon had actually been thrown into the path of Eighteen Z, who promptly caught the blade and used it to redirect the descending warhammer of another Quartz out of the way.With a flash, the weapon disappeared from the Pearl’s hands and returned to Venetian, even as her Batchmate rammed the small gauntlet coating her fist into the Amethyst’s chin, forcing the soldier to glance upwards-“Oh, forgive me Stars! Oh, I’m a good Pearl~!”-and promptly leaving her unprepared for Venetian’s spinning form to sever her head from her shoulders as well.“Yes it might make you cry, but we’ve got walls to climb~!”The words were accentuated by the Pearl literally clambering up the purple Gem’s rapidly scattering lightform, before using it as a glorified launch point, sending her flying over the rapidly dwindling crowd of Yellow Court defenders.“Oh, forgive me Stars! Oh, have I struck a chord~?!”They were surrounded now, she realised. With twice their number in armed, apparently expertly trained Pearls beginning to weave in and out from their ranks, thinning the crew one by one.“She set us on this route! We had to claw right out~!”This…this wasn’t possible. Pearls weren’t-“Run rabid run rabid~!”“Run run run run run run run!”-supposed to do this-ugh, that damnable singing! She couldn’t think!“So sorry, force of habit~!”Oh come on!“Habit habit habit!”Electing to just give up and see where things went, Nacre One allowed her lightform to go limp, sliding down against the wall and taking a seat.“Run rabid run rabid~!”“Run run run run run run run!”…“Path charted, let’s get started~!”She couldn’t even see Two any more. E, Z, G and C had surrounded her, all bearing gleeful expressions as their apparent leader stepped forward, kneeling down to stare from a level height at the defeated Caretaker.“What does, not kill you~”The Pearl’s voice was gentler now, yet still no less pleased, even as the shouts and cries of the ship’s crew grew quieter and quieter.“Only serves, to rebuild you~”A hand extended, and One found herself watching it warily, trying to deduce whether it would strike at her, only for it to make a beckoning motion.“It gives you a strength that never tires~”It was silent, now. She could hear herself breathing, even as she looked back and forth between the Gems that she had once thought herself in control of.And then, as if the Pearl had heard the thought and found it the most amusing thing possible, Venetian burst forth into laughter, standing and stepping backwards, resuming her twisting dance.“Oh, forgive me Stars! Oh, I’m a good Pearl~!”There were no more Yellow Court Gems. Just various bubbles of various colours, scattered about the bridge.“Yes it might make you cry, but we’ve got walls to climb~!”She could see Two again, at least. The other Nacre was in a similar position to her, huddled within one of the bridge’s corners and kept in place by a smiling T, the Pearl looking ever so innocent, despite the chisel in her hand.“Oh, forgive me Stars! Oh, have I struck a chord~?!”The sound of the bridge’s various consoles humming back to life shook her out of the momentary observation, and One finally realised that several of the Batch had taken over the various stations once manned by the defeated crew, replacing them and singing along to Venetian’s lyrics as they did so.“She set us on this route! We had to claw right out~!”She could feel it now, the ship itself moving, as the Pearl lounging within its command throne gestured back and forth with her curved blade, as if she were a Nacre conducting a freshly made Batch.“Run rabid run rabid~!”“Run run run run run run run!”There was a pressure in the air, one the Caretaker recognised from a long, long time ago.“So sorry, force of habit~!”“Habit habit habit!”It was the sound of a vessel’s Warp drive spooling up, preparing to rip them out of their reality and into a different one.“Run rabid run rabid~!”“Run run run run run run run!”With a small sigh, Nacre one closed her eyes, even as she all but felt the ship thunder forward, escaping the rest of the no doubt confused fleet behind them.“Path charted, let’s get started!”And just like that, with the sound of an entire Batch of Pearls cheering at the prospect of their escape and the Warp springing forth…They were gone.