Lapis and Peridot

...and it couldn't be clearer...

[Okay, so here's part one... two... I dunno what to call it. In this, some more backstory, some interrogation, and maybe something else. We'll see. And here we have a part told from Peridot's point of view... this will be tricky to write... hehe...]

The blue gem was being unfortunately stubborn, and I didn't like that. I knew that Lazuli had information, and I needed to get that information in order to succeed at this mission, so why wasn't she being cooperative? Didn't she know that resisting only got you injured? I refrained from making any facial expressions and simply awaited Lazuli's response. She didn't respond, though, and after a minute I pressed her again.

"Listen, Lazuli," I continued. "I will call Jasper, even if I don't wish to, so I do recommend you speak up." Lazuli was huddled against the wall in the back of her cell. When I had opened the barrier and stepped into the room, she had drawn herself into an even tighter ball than before, gazing at me with wide eyes. Was she afraid of me? I had paid her no mind, closing the wall so she couldn't escape. Now I wasn't sure what to do. The blue gem was looking at me with her wide blue eyes and I could not even guess at what she was thinking. But why was she not replying? What was she resisting for? I could feel my temper rising but I quickly pushed it down. No showing emotion. It just made me look weak.

There were another few minutes of Lazuli just staring at me. Finally I had enough. "Fine," I told her. "Stay silent. I'll be back soon with Jasper and we can get some information out of you, you stubborn water gem."

"No!" Lazuli's reaction was far more wild than I expected, drawing back even more until it seemed as if she was about to sink into the wall (no, that's illogical, I reminded myself, don't think like that) and flinching horribly. Her voice was almost panicking. "No, please, don't call Jasper, please- Peridot-" My name was tacked on as if on an afterthought. But I was too well-trained and too used to the begging of prisoners; she was not going to affect me with her pleading.

"Will you tell me what I want to know, then?" I kept myself calm as always.They called me a robot back on Homeworld, but when one works for the great Yellow Diamond, one can't show emotion; if that made me a robot, it didn't matter. At least I was still unshattered and in one piece, doing a Peridot's proper job as a technician - as well as piloting this ship and this mission, being in charge of this prisoner and of Jasper - well, partially in charge of Jasper anyway. She mostly did her own thing. But I couldn't allow my thoughts to distract me: I turned my attention fully onto Lazuli, observing her actions carefully.

The other gem was hugging herself, dark blue bangs hanging over her face in a mess. Her eyes were wide open, staring directly at me through the strands of hair. Her back was pressed against the wall; she seemed to be making herself as small as possible... and yet she still met my eyes almost defiantly and refused to give away what she knew. I stared back at her. We remained frozen like that for probably five minutes before I turned away and began to leave. "Very well," I told her coldly. "If you're going to be like that, I'll leave you be. Give you time to think about what you're going to tell me. But I'll come back tomorrow, and you'll tell me then - or else...!" I gave Lazuli one last look-over, from her trembling bare feet to her messy dark hair. Then I opened my screen, deactivated the barrier, and stepped out. Quickly I reactivated the wall and then closed it. I stayed there for a moment, gave a tiny sigh, and then walked off to resume my almost never-ending work. Of course the reward was worth all the work... I couldn't disappoint Yellow Diamond. She was all that could make gem's lives good or bad back on Homeworld. Well, at least, my home's section of Homeworld. But all that was besides the point. I gathered my thoughts and headed into the ship's main control room. There was only a fortnight left before we approached that little miserable planet called Earth. Thank goodness.

~~

I yawned and leaned back, closing my finger screen and flexing my fingers. There I rested in my comfortable chair, mind clearing of work and numbers, testing my fingers by moving them away from my limb enhancers and then back to their spot... away, and back... There was a strange sensation when they were far away, hard to describe but very, ah, interesting. As I reveled in the comfort of my seat, I found my thoughts turning to my prisoner, Lazuli. She probably wasn't so comfortable at the moment... slightly curious, I re-opened my finger screen and tapped a few buttons until I found what I was looking for: the camera in Lazuli's cell. I connected to it, wondering what Lazuli was doing.

To my dismay, I couldn't even see the blue gem. Where was she?Oh - the camera was at just the wrong angle to see her properly. I frowned and tapped in a few commands. The camera turned, and I could now see Lazuli - but what in the name of the Diamonds was she doing? I was about to try and take a closer look when suddenly I caught myself. Was I actually caring about the other gem? No, no, no this was wrong. Emotions would weaken me. Caring for people would make me weak. Every gem back on Homeworld had told me so. I had seen it myself, gems who cared about another gem, so easily broken if their "friend" was hurt... that wasn't for me. I closed my fingerscreen and did my best to forget what had just happened. Perhaps I needed a break- No, I should keep working. I vaguely wondered what Jasper was busy doing. I hadn't seen her all day...

[Oh boy, this part didn't turn out so well, I'm sorry! I'll edit it maybe... or fix it in later chapters... what do you think?]