Chương 166: LOG-158.

I sighed as yet another round of requests for selected materials were approved, the most prominent of them being a series of primers that would be involved in the continued incubation and eventual sculpting of the next Batch of Pearls, which in turn would be…sometime today, potentially.

"Hm." With the latest bit of work done and some time left until I'd need to busy myself with other tasks, I allowed myself to reflect, leaning back into my seat and crossing my arms, staring silently at the slight glow from the holographic screen lighting up the surface of my desk, the relative darkness of the rest of my office making it appear all the brighter. Fawn. Renewed communication with the group brought with it, in particular, two distinctly invaluable things. The first was, of course, allies.

Individuals who knew where I was, who knew who I was, and who could work on the outside to help me in slipping free of the Empire once more. The second, which was arguably even more important of a factor than the first, was actual information on widespread, strategic level affairs. A lot had happened during my involuntary nap, chief of which was the unification of the various rebellious Gem factions.

Perhaps not into a truly cohesive force, or anything more than a loose conglomerate of vaguely aligned malcontents, but they were at least pointing in the right direction now, and working amongst each other with far more regularity than the scattered cells and temporary team ups that had existed during my own brief tenure as a Coordinator. While communications were still tight lipped, metaphorically speaking, context clues were enough for me to get the gist of the situation from beyond that point.

Everyone was either on Earth, or heading there. Chances were high that Rose had seized the initiative in the face of the veritable armada of rebels I'd thrown her way, and had used either her identity as the Rose Quartz, or her extremely valuable status as a rogue Diamond, to reign in the variety of strong personalities that would no doubt be competing for a place at the head of this new alliance.

An alliance that had the distinct possibility of evolving into a new Court in and of itself, if certain objectives and decisions were achieved. It was simply realistic to expect, considering the population making up the vast majority of the Authority's local opposition.

Most Gems didn't like the idea of the slow and gradual extinction of their own race, but Imperial deserters were fundamentally doomed to said extinction due in part to their nature, lacking any real way of replenishing their numbers save for convincing other loyalists to turn traitor, or using their own adhoc kindergartens made with stolen materials and resources.

With the strategic and economic asset that was a Diamond at the head however, the entire paradigm shifted, allowing the possibility of a long term future that wasn't inherently based on raiding Imperial essence convoys for the creation of new Gems.

And of course, with a rogue ruler came the potential existence of a rogue state, one no doubt currently in its infant stage as the Crystal system was fortified to hell and back, all while its existence was kept strictly hidden from the wider Empire, lest the budding polity be strangled in its solar system sized cradle. The Gem Empire itself held different issues of course, the most prominent ones being those that I was partially to blame for, from what Azurite had told me.

While officially stable, the real truth of the matter was that the Courts had never been more divided. Blue and Yellow Gems alike refused to cooperate with one another like in times past, and White elements did what they did best and remained stagnant in the meantime, masterfully ignoring the imperfection around them and, by extension, the crumbling of the very foundations beneath them. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

According to widespread surveillance and a variety of think tanks, the top leadership of Fawn estimated conflict within the next century at maximum, or the next year at minimum, with outright open sedition looming on the horizon based on the movements of the Yellow Court specifically. War fleets pulled back from supposedly vital border patrols with emergent organic empires.

Previously deployed field armies shuffled from planet to planet, forming great garrisons upon golden colonies that couldn't possibly justify such a need for defence in what was considered 'peace' time and 'safe' space. And of course, complete and utter silence from Yellow Diamond herself, even as her forces positioned themselves in what Fawn spies and Fight strategist Gems recognised to be ideal points to invade both Blue and White territory from.

Yes, all signs indicated that we were looking at a civil war sometime soon. Which was great, speaking from the perspective of a rebel who knew that the Empire ripping itself apart would be saving countless billions of lives, even at the cost of however many might die in the resulting brawl. The only issue was that Fawn, and thus I by extension, didn't know when Yellow would pull the metaphorical trigger and start scrapping with her fellow Diamonds. Which left me in a somewhat precarious situation.

Stuck playing my role in the Reef, during a time when security was still tight enough that I couldn't just grab a ship and fuck off, but with plenty of potential opportunities awaiting me whenever the various Courts that made up the greater whole began to slug with one another, likely in a bid for true control over said whole. So… I did the simple thing and kept my head down.

A message was sent directly through the Reef's long range communication network to Yellow Diamond, informing her that though her Pearl was recovered and healthy, she would be remaining confined within the facility for the time being, as per direct order of White Diamond.

I'd sent out that particular missive myself, with specific wording and intention that would, hopefully, further enrage the no doubt seething dictator at her fellow ruler's continued snubbing of her own authority, while deflecting any true blame from myself or the rest of the Reef. Our hands were clearly tied, after all. One did not simply refuse the order of a Diamond.

From there, 1A was reassigned to a position that would keep her out of trouble, but productive enough to prevent the high class Pearl from having enough free time to do something silly. Namely, she was tasked to shadow Thulite, assisting the fashion designer with whatever the other Gem needed.!

Blinking slightly as a light tone beeped at me from my terminal, I quietly realised that half an hour had passed me by in silence, before I rose to my feet and began heading for the door of my office, heels clicking in the dark as I went. The sound had been an alarm I'd set some time prior, to alert me when the time came to finally join my fellow Caretakers at the incubation chambers.

It meant that the next Batch would be finishing their initial gestation soon, which left me with the uneasy task of actually performing the core role of a Nacre. Namely, the shaping and refining of a raw lump of gemstone into the elegant form of a Pearl, which would then be encoded by our clawed hands. Somehow, I was both incredibly eager for, and utterly dreading the upcoming experience.