LOG-005.

  The shuttle, as it turned out, had viewports. Or at least some kind of technology that allowed one to view the outside during landing and takeoff. As a direct result of this, I got to see the frankly stellar view of what I'd internally begun to call the Reef world rapidly shrinking beneath us, even as I performed a relatively simple dance routine for the bemused Emerald sitting across from me.

  So long, Hellhole. I'll be glad to never ever return to your cursed halls.

  Alas, every performance must come to an end eventually, and as I slowly wound down from the elaborate motions that had been engrained into my Gem over my time beneath Nacre Three's (may she splinter and crack) care, the large green Gem leaned forward, tilting her head in interest.

  "Hm, not bad. Though I've been told Pearls can do more than just dance and sing. Is this true?"

  Bowing my head in favour of nodding, I let a gentle, placid smile mask itself over my face, even as my gemstone sang in triumph.

  She'd clearly never had a Pearl before, somehow. And as a rather convenient result of that, didn't quite know what to expect from me besides the absolute basics that every Gem in the empire knew of.

  "But of course my Emerald! We Pearls are custom made to serve our owners and as such, I have been programmed and taught to assist you in your work and life in a vast variety of ways."

  I performed a short twist, bringing up my hand and drawing the admiral's eyes to the limb as I slowly began to raise my fingers, one by one. Out of the corner of my vision, I noticed one of the Peridots doing the same, an eyebrow quirked beneath her visor.

  "I personally have been especially trained to perform auxilliary duties such as taking calls, performing administrative work, acting as a representative when you deem your personal presence unnecessary, cleaning, carrying your things for you, and generally acting as a consistent source of companionship!"

  Bringing my hands together in a soft clap, I nodded firmly.

  "My very existence is tailored to match your own, and thus the Reef has ensured I am more than well prepared to accommodate the needs and desires of a distinguished fleet admiral such as yourself, my Emerald."

  I adopted a new attentive pose (type fourteen, pattern three to be specific), even as the high ranking Gem seemed to consider my words.

  Come on come on come on come on come o-

  "Well...alright then. I'll see about assigning you some tasks once we're on board the Retaliator."

  Blinking, I tilted my head. Cutely, of course.

  Cause I was such a cute, aesthetically pleasing Pearl, that no one would ever suspect of being defective in the worst way possible, right?

  "The Retaliator, my Emerald?"

  The question brought a slight grin to her lips, even as she made a grand gesture towards one of the viewports.

  The first thing that caught my attention was the stars, in truth. Out in the void of space (something that I could still scarcely comprehend, considering just how smooth the ride up here felt), I was able to behold the shimmering tapestry of the cosmos without the obstruction that human pollution had once manifested itself as, back when I'd been made up of flesh and blood rather than gem and light.

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  It was the bright green shape in the middle of that star filled void that drew my eyes next.

  It somewhat appeared like someone had taken two impossibly large blades and fused them together, all while attaching engines to the rear and a carefully low, almost squat looking bridge of some kind in the space left between them.

  A small, childish part of me that I'd long since considered dead and gone at this point suddenly rose up without warning, making a glaring visual comparison. Namely the fact that it almost exactly looked like an energy blade from Halo, somehow. If it was green and entirely made up of some kind of crystaline looking metallic alloy, that is.

  It was a crazy coincidence, to say the very least.

  Then a hand landed on my shoulder and I resisted the urge to flinch violently as thousands of memories rose up unbidden at the seemingly innocent action. The small smile that had taken over my face almost threatened to slip, yet I just barely managed to keep up the expression as my Emerald leaned forward, her own fanged grin indicating she was rather pleased with my awestruck demeanor.

  "Deadly looking, isn't she? Twin-linked heavy assault ship, cruiser class. She might not have the reputation of rapid transit vanguard vessels like the Sun Incinerator, and she'll obviously never hold a candle to a Diamond class armship, but it's cruisers exactly like my one that project the might of our Empire throughout the universe. We're the stone and foundation of any good fleet, after all."

  The metaphorical stars in my eyes, amazingly enough, weren't at all faked as I turned towards my master, even as I did my absolute best to shunt away the tainted memories physical contact tended to dredge up thanks to a certain shatterer.

  "She's amazing my Emerald!"

  It right well could have been my somewhat twisted imagination, but the Gem admiral's green cheeks seemed to get an almost imperceptible shade darker at my surprisingly honest words.

  What? Starships were cool. I'd take what enjoyment I could get out of this shitty life damn it!

  "Hah! Just wait until you see the rest of the fleet. We'll be warping directly back to Homeworld and regrouping with them after we dock up with Retaliator."

  The shine in my eyes lessened ever so slightly at those words, even as my Emerald ordered a second melody to be sung from my lips, an order I quickly complied with, as a matter of course.

  Homeworld, the very last place I wanted to be.

  With luck, our presence there would be short.

  ---

  "We have arrived, my Emerald."

  The technician's voice was matter of fact, ringing out somewhere behind me as I watched the entire process of landing inside the warship with a dull sense of amazement.

  The inside of the Retaliator was just as impressive as the cruiser's exterior, a quick landing within a fairly large hangar bay resulting in our shuttle nestling itself amidst three other similar transports, even as dozens of Gems scrambled around the docking bay. A small platoon of assembled Ruby soldiers saluted as a veritable swarm of Peridots ran to and fro, limb enhancers shifting apart to mimic various tools as the embarking ramp lowered, my Emerald confidently striding out into the mess of Gems below.

  What I recognised as a pair of elite Citrine guards both came up, the Quartz warriors performing the standard Diamond salute as the ship's captain stepped forward.

  Dozens of eyes blinked at me, even as I quickly took my position just behind the Emerald's side, hands carefully clasped behind my back.

  The conversation between my master and what I could only assume were her personal bodyguards was quick, consisting of a relatively simple report on the ship's status. Then we were moving away from the hangar with little fanfare, travelling through an almost maze-like mess of hallways and corridors until we were finally standing in front of a large, triangular door that slid upwards as some kind of scanner flashed across the admiral's chest, yellow light reflecting off of her gemstone for just a second.

  The bridge itself was circular, with the majority of the walls taken up by what seemed to be high definition viewing screens. Several control stations occupied by various Gems emitted light and sound, yet the centerpiece of the entire operation was the command throne set smack dab in the middle of everything. A command throne quickly occupied by its owner, who sat down with a brief flourish of her cloak.

  Naturally, I elected to stand directly to her side, prompting a brief look from the Gem before she turned to stare at the gargantuan screen directly in front of her, one hand gesturing to a pair of Peridots at the left side of the bridge.

  "Engines, status?"

  "Optimal, my Emerald!"

  "Warp drive?"

  "The same, my Emerald!"

  A smile graced the admiral's lips, before she leaned forward and swept her hand out to point directly at the simulated image of the void in front of us.

  "Then we have all we need. All hands, prepare for jump!"

  Several pings rang out from a nearby terminal as what seemed to be another Citrine rapidly tapped at the controls in front of her, resulting in a steady hum that seemed to build up from somewhere deeper within the ship, directly behind us.

  For just a brief second, I felt things couldn't truly get any better than this.

  Then the ship figuratively and literally leapt forward, and I realised just how much the beauty of the stars paled in comparison to the shining, glittering vista that was warp space.