Chương 173: LOG-165.

Arranging a departure from the Reef had actually been… somewhat trivial, honestly. While White Diamond had personally granted me my rank, she apparently hadn't quite elaborated on the privileges and authority that came with the role of Overseer, and in the face of that lack of information, most Gems just assumed that it translated to being of exceptional quality and command. After all, a Diamond had ordered it. White Diamond. That surely meant it was rather important.

Oh sure, I needed to finish up the rest of my work in order to leave time for the escapade in my schedule, but the Reef had existed long before I had, and it wasn't too much effort to set things up to run without me for a bit.

"And you will maintain the current schedule." Regardless, the end result was that all I really needed to do on my end was declare that I was temporarily leaving the place to attend an important function, while also applying for a visit to the growing colony of Blue Thirteen via a quick but very much official message to the planet's supervising Pyrope over the Gemnet.

"Of course!" An application which was naturally sped through far faster than its thousands of counterparts before being accepted, of course. Because if anyone was going to understand the potential prestige that came with the Overseer of the Reef coming to effectively christen their personal pet project of a facility, it would be a Garnet.

"Without alterations. I have ordered Eighteen B to report any discrepancies to me upon my return. I expect none, is that understood?" Which just left actually leaving, of course.

"Completely!" Staring down Nacre Three's smiling visage for a long moment, I finally nodded, brushing off some imaginary dust from my shoulder with a claw before turning around.

"Good. I won't be long."

"Have a good trip!" She's being entirely sincere. She's also pleased that her prized creation is being shown off, albeit perhaps not in the way she had initially intended. Narrowing my eyes, I stepped forward and onto the Reef's Galaxy Warp, the sound of the facility's surrounding waves filling my ears. Then with a flash of light, I was gone.

— Travelling through the Warp tended to be pretty damned fast in most cases, but when one was taking the many light years between colonies into account, a Gem could find herself just… floating. At least for a while. Watching the endless coruscating glow practically fly past me as I hurtled through the tunnel that would bring me to Blue Thirteen, I remained still, hands habitually clasping each other behind my back.

It was after the two minutes of being utterly alone that one of the limbs slowly broke away, coming around to my front and hesitantly pausing in front of my gemstone. A flash of light heralded a small, circular object being withdrawn from my storage space, and with gentle claws I slowly brought up the perfectly preserved donut. I remember how it was made in perfect detail. Warm milk, eggs, butter, instant yeast, flour, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt for the body.

Dark chocolate and butter for the glaze, chopped cashews for the topping. I slightly messed up the batch this one belonged to, and kept them for myself before preparing a second, less flawed one for the customers. The proportions needed to be improved. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Staring at the treat for another few seconds, I ignored the emotions welling up at the mere sight of it, before lunging forward to tear a bit out of the stupid thing.

I missed working at the Big Donut. The sheer nostalgia of it all was making me emotional, likely due to my enjoyment of how simple that life had once been, compared to the endless complexity that ruled my current circumstances. The rest of my trip in the Warp was blurry with tears. But at least I had the taste of chocolate to keep me company. — The first thing that hit me upon appearing upon Blue Thirteen's Galaxy Warp was the music. It was like nothing I'd ever heard before.

The ringing of chimes, the blasting of lasers, a warbling cacophony of Gems singing, and what might have been some distant precursor of the electric guitar belting out noise from somewhere I couldn't quite make out from where I was currently standing.

"O-Oh, there she is! Quick, get in position you clods!" Staring up at a cerulean atmosphere that was visibly being held in place by four immense pylons that seemed to curve around the very planet itself, I briefly marvelled at the latest case of Imperial megastructural engineering I'd come to witness, before turning my eyes towards the source of the voices, the sights and sounds of a city similar to what I'd seen on Homeworld surrounding it all.

"Greetings to the esteemed and honoured Nacre Four, Overseer of the Reef and White Court administrator!" Only to come face to face with the diminutive form of an Aquamarine, the kid sized Gem maintaining an equal level of height with me through the use of her water wings. Desperate to ensure this goes right, eyes keep trying to flick to everything around us, likely to ensure not a single detail is out of place. A lot is likely riding on this event for her, perhaps a promotion, or a punishment.

Before I could so much as say a single word, arcing ribbons of energy tore my attention away, and I watched as what must have been the source of those laser sounds practically slithered through the air, being fired out from cannon-like projectors. The lightshow was enhanced by the presence of Gems I didn't recognise.

They were dressed in borderline skimpy outfits even by Pearl standards, vaguely humanoid, and with flowing hair that seemed to also be made of water that shined and glittered beneath the glow of the beams. It almost made it look like they had diamonds shining in those liquid strands of theirs…

"Impressed?! Well there's so much more to see, the Larimars are just the start! Shall I escort you to my Pyrope's palace, Overseer?!" Larimars. These Gems bear no resemblance to the one example I recall seeing in the show. A different lightform, with an entirely different role to match. Another example of why I shouldn't trust those particular memories without a measure of basic fact checking beforehand. Turning my attention back to the Aquamarine that had apparently been assigned to act as my… guide?

I slowly nodded, evoking a suitably imperious expression and waving a clawed hand at her, before folding the limb back into place behind my back.

"Proceed." I'd need to see more before I could make a proper judgement, but Blue Thirteen's ruler certainly seemed to be doing her best at giving me a good first impression of her domain. Neat.