LOG-101.

  There was something to be said about just how easy it was to fall back into an old routine. Granted, I had the benefit of being able to perfectly remember my time spent on the Retaliator, so maybe I was better off there compared to most people.

  "Soon may the Diamonds come~"

  Reaffirming my position as a reliable and sweet Pearl had been almost trivially easy. I'd been given some leeway considering the situation I'd been 'rescued' from, but the Empire nonetheless demanded perfection, so I'd thrown my traumatised mask aside and picked up an older one, more suitable for my new surroundings.

  "To bring us facets and starlight's hum~"

  Going back to singing and dancing aboard the bridge of a warship was…something. I could practically perform on autopilot at this point, however, which left me time to think. A lot of time, considering performances for Gems could last hours at a minimum.

  "One day, when the shaping is done~"

  Which in turn led to what part of me had somewhat been dreading. Self reflection.

  "We'll take our leave and glow~"

  It wasn't hard to look back on things and see where it had started, especially when I could recall every detail. Every thought. Every feeling.

  "Oh yes! Soon may the Diamonds come~"

  From my initial flight from the Retaliator, all the way to now, I'd been running on some mixture of panicked flailing and loose planning. It was chaotic. It was messy. It worked.

  "To bring us facets and starlight's hum~"

  Right up until it didn't. I'd gotten it into my head that the Empire, at least for a while, wouldn't visit Earth. Perhaps the arrival of the cruiser I'd served on had expedited that process, but nonetheless I'd figured I still had time. Time to solve all of the immediate issues at home. Time to get the Crystal Gems to sort their shit out, so that they could focus when trouble inevitably came knocking.

  "One day, when the shaping is done~"

  Well, trouble had come knocking, and we'd been damn well flashbanged by it. Caught out in the open. Unprepared. It was even indirectly my fault as well, if some of the visions were to be believed.

  That damned Peridot…all because I'd tried to keep a bit of common decency, a bit of morality in saving someone's life, for fuck's sake. Well, I'd avoid making that mistake again, at least not without some contingencies in place.

  So…yeah, a rather large part of me was still utterly seething at the fact I'd needed to give myself up. That out of the countless potential futures Green Onyx had witnessed, this one had the best odds of Earth surviving. Of the Crystal Gems maintaining their status as shattered. Of the Retaliator avoiding the scrapyard, and its crew avoiding Harvesting. All for the low low price of sending me back to fucking square one.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "We'll take our leave and glooow~"

  Well, that was perfectly fine. It was fine because I was going to play it smart from now on. I'd escaped the Empire once. With nothing more than a single starfighter no less. I could escape it again. And this time, I'd make sure Gems never had a reason to visit Earth. Humanity would flourish and have their own FTL capable warships by the time the Empire returned, if I had anything to say about it.

  "Resplendent! I didn't know the Reef had been teaching Pearls new songs!"

  I took in the applause from the rest of the bridge crew with the grace expected of my station, before turning to regard Emerald (still not mine, oh good Stars it was the Vanilla situation all over again) with a demure smile.

  Idly glancing at the Tourmaline that had practically rooted herself to the floor next to the green Gem's command throne, I bowed my head slightly, lightform sliding into posture type twelve, pattern seven, my shoulders lowering a little as I breathed out the 'effort' of singing the song.

  I'd noted the way this particular admiral enjoyed me whenever I looked like I was feeling 'safe.' Perhaps she saw herself as a saviour of some kind, victoriously returning home to the Empire, lost damsel in tow. Perhaps she just liked to see Gems looking more relaxed when outside of combat. The specifics didn't really matter, so long as she liked me.

  "Ah, I'm afraid they don't, your radiance. I merely had an…extensive amount of time to myself while stranded on that horrible planet. So I took the opportunity to think up some new ones while waiting for rescue!"

  The statement drew a suitably impressed nod from the officer, one hand rising to cup her chin as she turned to glance at a nearby screen.

  "I'd act surprised, but considering what I heard about you before…well, everything, I'd say that's par for the course at this point. Good show, Viridian. You can go ahead and take a break for now, perhaps some of the gunnery crew could do with some cheering up or something."

  Acting out a short curtsy, I began to make my way towards the door leading out of the bridge, only to pause as the Sun Incinerator's captain called out from behind me.

  "Oh, you should also be aware that we'll be reaching the Crystal Confluence soon. The rest of the fleet will arrive later, since they just can't keep up with my dear ship's engines. Regardless, we'll open communications with Hessonite once we exit the Warp and get you squared away. Can make my report to Yellow Diamond after that, hopefully we can get a blockade set up or something…"

  Pretending like I hadn't heard the last of her mumble, I merely let out a pleased affirmative and continued onwards.

  —

  I'd visited the Confluence before, while serving under my previous owner. And yet the sight of it still managed to draw my attention from a nearby viewport as the Sun Incinerator passed through a throng of cargo vessels lining up for inspection from the local security flotilla.

  It really did exemplify the sheer scale at which Gems operated at, the fact that they considered an entire rogue dwarf planet to be little more than a waystation between more developed systems. From here, I could trick myself that I was in Star Wars or something, considering just how much the hollowed out world looked like something resembling Coruscant.

  Well, if entire continent sized chunks of it hadn't been visibly removed and filled with gargantuan hangars, at least.

  "Must be good to see a proper Gem controlled world again, huh?"

  Turning to regard the source of the somewhat nasally voice, I gave the Peridot across from me a nod, even if she likely didn't see it, hunched over as she was picking away at the exposed wires of some kind of panel.

  "It's…It's good to be home."

  It really wasn't. But the technician didn't know that, and so she simply gave an agreeable nod as three of her free floating fingers merged together, a spark escaping them as she began welding something together.

  Turning back to stare out the viewport, I gave the Confluence a few more seconds of my attention, before sighing and walking away.

  I still had a bit of free time left before we docked, after all. Meaning I could probably fit in at least ten to twenty minutes of crying my eyes out and screaming into my hands inside a nice supply closet I'd found before I was called back to the bridge.

  Old routines. So easy to fall back into.

  I'd already planned what facts to give to anyone I spoke to upon landing. And with how quickly rumour had spread of the accursed 'lithoplague' (as Emerald liked to refer to it, at least, though I'd also heard some of the other crew jokingly calling it rockpox in what might have been an attempt to lessen their unease) after I'd brought it up during my interrogation, well…

  While I hadn't gotten to witness their half hearted investigation in person, rotting in a borderline cell as I was, from what I'd heard, everyone planetside had more than done their part in acting out our little play for the Empire. Which just left my role in things.

  Good. So long as everything went according to plan, no one would want to so much as enter Earth's solar system, much less land on the planet itself by the time I was done fearmongering the place. And if the plan failed?

  I was a Gem, in form if not in spirit.

  Truly, I had nothing if not time on my side.