De Facto

Part XI.

A/N: I can't believe it took ONE WHOLE YEAR to remember that I was posting this fic here too. I am terribly sorry, guys. I will work on updating it more regularly T_T

Yellow Diamond's office complex was the tallest building in the west sectors of Facet One — but until she got there, Zircon hadn't understood exactly what that meant. Now, she stared up at the mirrored spires, knowing she shouldn't gawk, but awestruck anyway.

She was alone. Alone with her monocle, her disguise, and a tiny earpiece through which Aqua Aura and Blue Pearl could speak. Currently, Zircon sat on a transport of primarily yellow, middle-class gems (squished between a topaz and a citrine), feeling very conspicuous — despite the fact that she was just another speck of gold in a sea.

Her projected screen was open to her fake case, but her real information was on her monocle. The fake case went as so: she was a newly-made prosecutor commissioned privately by a high-ranking golden beryl, arranging a case against a coworker stationed in Yellow Diamond's complex.

The real information wasn't so simple. First, Blue Pearl had provided a universal access code shared between the Diamonds, hidden so that Zircon couldn't copy or memorize it, but which would allow her into any place that Yellow or Blue Diamond could go — which was everywhere. Then there were the mission details, written by Blue Diamond herself. Enter Yellow's complex. Gain access to her private wing. Report back anything you hear or see. Apparently, Yellow Diamond was religious about banning technology from her quarters, so planting a camera or microphone was out of the question. Zircon had to eavesdrop the old-fashioned way. If she was caught...

Part of her was reminded of Blue Diamond's wish: to keep this between as few gems as possible. The other part of her thought, "This is no job for a zircon. This WILL be the end of me."

She stared at the last item in her personal notes.

The more confident you act, the less you'll stand out.

A drop of sweat rolled down her chin. Right. Easier said than done.

The transport stopped, the doors slid open, and all at once the passengers began filing out, sweeping Zircon out on a wave of yellow. Then she froze. Yellow, green, orange, and red gems swarmed in all directions; technicians huddled around power hubs; troops of rubies marched in double-file lines; agates yelled and transport conductors yelled louder. It was far cry from the zircons' somber transport stop and a whole world away from Blue Diamond's deserted station. Suddenly, her nerves tripled.

In her right ear, there was a soft "ping" as someone signed in. The voice was Aqua Aura's.

"Walk straight until you reach entrance 45," she ordered. "There will be an aragonite there to check you in."

Zircon obeyed silently. She held her breath as she waited in the line, and swore her gem went cold as the bored-looking aragonite accepted her access code, but nothing bad happened. She was pointed towards a lift, which brought her up seventeen levels into a large, well-lit foyer — crawling with more yellow gems. Now, it was just technical gems like herself.

Maybe this wasn't too hard.

Aqua Aura continued speaking, directing Zircon through access points and higher up into Yellow Diamond's tower. With each level, the population grew sparser and more specific. Level seventeen was just technical gems, level thirty-one just yellow technical gems, fifty-two just yellow "upper-crust" technical gems, seventy-six yellow "upper-crust" technical gems sent on behalf of a commissioner. She saw three different gems on this floor. This was where Aqua Aura wished her luck, and then fell silent. A soft cough came instead

"Um," Blue Pearl said. Zircon stood in a corner of the main foyer, her fake case open like she was studying something. She wanted to tell Blue Pearl to hurry up, but couldn't speak at risk of disturbing the silence. She tapped her foot. At a reception desk across the foyer, a honey tourmaline glared at her.