Chương 163: LOG-155.

Jittery fingers drummed atop a worn console, violating the silence that had settled in the bridge of the vessel over the past few hours. Nephrite couldn't help it, really. It was a nervous habit that she'd picked up over the eons, one acquired not during active combat campaigns, but rather long stretches of lonely convoy duties, in which her Nabla- class patrol ship and the crew within were the only things she could truly interact with. Speaking of her crew…

"Getting second thoughts? With the Yellow Court's withdrawal from most battlefields, and the decrease of patrols, now is quite possibly the best time to pull this off." The question and accompanying statement prompted a wince from one of the Rubies currently staring out a nearby viewport, the listing shape of the essence freighter they were supposed to be guarding giving the captain a fair idea of what had the crimson Gem looking so pensive.

"No! Just… this is really big, isn't it? Security for essence storage was always extensive back in my kindergarten, with the Agates outright discorporating anybody who went near it without permission, a-and that was just for a single bunker! An entire ship like this… it's-""Our ticket into the Rebellion." Nephrite's words coincided with a shadow seeming to fall over the entire group. Not really, of course.

The viewports weren't something so primitive as to be compared to mere windows, but the weight nonetheless was felt as an immense form blotted out the stars. A fully fledged battleship, one of a design she didn't recognise, though if she wanted to hazard a guess… the thing almost looked like it had been built around a twin-linked assault cruiser, countless adhoc support struts and welding patches indicating areas in which the vessel had apparently been expanded.

The only truly identifiable feature was the depiction of a Pearl of all things stenciled onto the side of the green behemoth's hull, one which Nephrite could have sworn she'd seen her Emerald admiring from a recording pyramid once, singing some kind of song. Her Emerald… it felt wrong to abandon the admiral. To abandon the rest of her fleet.

It was a betrayal, a betrayal the crew of the freighter she'd ordered her ship's guns to fire upon was feeling quite sorely, even as its wrecked engines sputtered impotently in the face of the boarding shuttles swarming around it like fighters around a carrier. But with the way things were in the Blue Court… and what she'd overheard said aforementioned admiral discussing with another Emerald over what had most likely meant to be a private call… her own Court wouldn't be safe soon.

Their Diamond remained as silent as ever, and golden fleets continued to encroach upon Blue territory with increasing intensity, probing, testing… In the end, Azurite had made a compelling argument, even if half of the lesser administrator's points seemed to be geared more towards ensuring Nephrite wouldn't go screaming to her superiors over the existence of an actually organised faction of malcontents. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The reasoning was sound, however. Space was big, and Gems worked best together, rather than on their lonesome. Fleeing an Empire set to tear itself apart was dangerous for a group trying to go it alone, but if they could be accepted into the arms of a greater organisation, like what the apparent spy had promised…

"My Nephrite! We're receiving a hailing signal! Frequency suggests the battleship is the origin!" Shaking the thoughts aside, the captain turned, eyes locking onto one of the main reasons she was even considering half of this.

"Alright, everyone look sharp. Rhodonite, you can…" And just like that, Nephrite hesitated, even as the fusion she'd been harbouring for all these eons let out a familiar, painfully dejected looking nod at needing to get out of sight.

"... Stay?" Four eyes glanced up at her in confusion, even as the ranking officer brought up a hand to smooth out some of the unruly white hair attempting to creep into her vision.

"Is… is that wise my Nephrite?" Uncertainty clouded her gemstone as she considered the question. Was it wise to leave Rhodonite in plain view of whatever Gem was commanding this strange battleship? Their long since established protocol was to get the illegal fusion out of sight during any semi-public calls, if only for her own safety, but one of the things Azurite had promised was acceptance of cross-caste fusions and off colours…

Biting her lip, the one eyed captain slowly nodded her head, turning to glance at the holoprojector that would reveal just who she would be talking to.

"Yes, stay. And someone put that overbuilt cruiser through. Time to commit treason." Nephrite studiously and charitably ignored one of her Rubies quietly muttering that they had technically already committed treason, even as a screen of light lit up the bridge, coalescing to reveal the stern faced visage of-"Is that an Emerald?!" The same Ruby that had spoken out was quickly shushed by one of her fellows, but the damage was already done, as the green Gem glanced out of the corner of her eye at the disruption.

Nephrite did her best not to wince, instead straightening up in the presence of a… rebel admiral, but an admiral nonetheless. The yellow star plastered across the green officer's chest certainly suggested such, at least. Serving as an extreme distinction compared to the blue diamonds each of her own crew wore.

"Unidentified capital vessel, this is Nabla patrol ship Flicker. Are you alone?" Cool eyes regarded her for a long moment, and for just an instant Nephrite wanted to despair at the lack of response to the code phrase she'd been given, before the Emerald smiled.

"We have friends everywhere, Flicker. Battleship Retaliator responds. There should be two other escorts as per essence convoy protocol, where are they?" Relieved sighs rang throughout the bridge, even as the captain resisted the urge to slump in place, the tension practically pouring out of her lightform.

"Recalled to the Golden Core, Retaliator. Yellow Court seems to be consolidating in preparation for…something. It's mostly just Blue vessels around this section of space now. Part of why we took your deal." The Emerald seemed to consider that for a moment, before nodding.

"That tracks with our own information. Alright Flicker, you've done well so far, and this is the final stretch. Power down shields, weapons and engines and prepare for boarding. I'll be sending some technicians to ensure you aren't carrying any trackers or hidden communicators, then we can finish up with loading the essence and prisoners and be on our way. Preferably outside of Imperial territory."

Nodding agreeably, Nephrite waved a hand in the general direction of the Gems responsible for the relevant systems, finally smiling back.

"Wilco, Retaliator. Powering down shields, weapons and engines now. Docking ports will be open and waiting." With a slight incline of her head even as hints of a blue figure approaching from the side drew her attention, the other captain cut the call, leaving Nephrite to slowly let out a shuddering sigh.

"Stars…this is all so insane." …Still better than sitting around to fight on the losing side of a looming civil war, though. And Rhodonite's appearance hadn't even been noted either! That made her feel a good bit safer about the path she was choosing for the sake of her ship and crew, all things considered!