Domina Alba

IV

She didn't return to the ship until late that evening. Pearl had the ship door open and was sitting on the edge of the door engrossed in something on a screen, there was the sound of Homeworld music playing from the ship's main computer. Domina smiled and swayed slightly in an imitation of a dance she had seen Pearl doing many times before. Pearl heard her footsteps and looked up before blushing slightly and shaking her head.

"I should not have let you copy me so much when you were a child." Pearl said going back to her screen.

"Maybe you should have more, I'm nowhere near as good as it as you are." Domina said pseudo-gracefully collapsing to sit on her legs next to Pearl.

"That's a good thing. You're a Diamond. You shouldn't dance like a Pearl." Pearl glanced at Domina's legs "Or sit like one." Domina pursed her lips and changed her position.

"I know." She leaned on Pearl, gently resting her head on the gems shoulder. "I tried fries today, it's form of tuber cut into strips and boiled in oil. How do humans even come up with this stuff?"

"I don't know my diamond. " Peal said, she turned off her screen and let Domina's head slide into her lap where she removed her hat and gently started to undo the tangles in her hair.

"Was it like this when you were here before?"

"No...It was busier, last time I was here we were trying to build a colony after all."

"Right." Domina said sitting up abruptly, Pearl sighed and carefully untangled her long fingers as Domina left to go get her visor. "What were the original colony plans?" Domina gestured to bring up the database and began typing in the Earth's information "Are they in the colony database somewhere I just want to look, I know my mother had a hand in designing it but that kind of thing doesn't usually make it into the log-" a screen came up when she attempted to open the Earth's file.

Access Denied Security Clearance Insufficient.

"What." Domina stared at the screen blankly.

"My diamond, maybe you should rest for the night," Pearl said standing up.

"Why is this locked?" White Diamond asked her voice going cold, a stiff breeze was starting to blow through the forest "I should have clearance for everything." Pearl hesitated and looked away.

"You.... don't know a lot about Earth."

"Well obviously." White Diamond snapped. "That doesn't answer the question though," Pearl flinched

"Yellow Diamond has thought that it's best that you don't know about what happened here."

"What?!" White Diamond gestured angrily. "That's ridiculous! Why would she do that?"

"I don't know Domina!" Pearl shouted back desperately. Both of them froze. Domina sighed and let the anger fall out of her body as her hands dropped.

"Sorry." She said. "It's just..." Domina clenched her hands. "I'm supposed to be a diamond, how do I act like one when she just keeps treating me like a child. She wouldn't have done this to my mother." Domina buried her fists into her face to hold back frustrated tears. She felt Pearl's arms wrap around her.

"Domina. You're doing fine," Pearl said brushing Domina's hair away from her gem."It's a disservice to you to compare you to your mother." Domina buried farther into Pearl, then, once her breathing slowed she hugged back and let go.

"Thanks Pearl."

Domina spent most of the next morning working on what she had been neglecting while she had been out exploring the Earth. Thankfully, Pearl had pared down quite a bit of it. They didn't talk about their outbursts from the night before. Domina resolved to either confront Yellow Diamond about the locked file once they were off planet or deal with it herself. Finally she decided that it was time to get out of the ship for a bit.

"I'm going to go check out the galaxy warp and see why it doesn't work, You want to come with me?" Domina pulled on her hat, not that she was expecting to see any humans.

"If it's all the same to you my Diamond I'd rather no-" there was the sound of the warp pad outside activating. They both stared at each other as they heard voices from outside coming this way.

"Yo Steven wait up!" a voice said, an Amethyst maybe. And Steven? Domina shook her head it couldn't be the same Steven.

"Sorry Amethyst I'm just really excited to see the centipeetles, I hope they're doing alrig-woah." Steven said, definitely the same Steven. Domina hesitated. They were right outside, on the side of the ship opposite the door. And what was Steven doing with an Amethyst.

"I thought there weren't supposed to be anymore gems on this planet" Domina said in a hushed voice. The voices outside had receded, there was some rustling in the foliage.

"There's not supposed to be." Pearl said frantically "Where would they have even come from?"

"I don't know," Domina heard the sound of weapons being summoned outside and knew they only had a few moments to make their move. She summoned her sword "I'm going to go out to see who sent them, wait here, be ready to take off at a moment's notice."

Domina opened the door and leapt up onto the top of the ship. There was no one in the immediate vicinity.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Domina called into the forest looking around. To her left she heard rustling and hushed voices.

"No Steven don't!" Domina turned towards the sound and saw Steven walking out of the brush.

"Domina? What are you doing here?" He asked

"Steven? I could ask you the same. Where are the others that were with you?" Domina leaped down to stand in front of Steven.

Before she even landed a very colorful Pearl appeared in front of Steven holding the most ridiculous spear Domina had ever seen. Flanking the boy on either side was a severely overcooked Amethyst and a tall gem that Domina didn't really recognize but vaguely looked like some kind of Garnet.

"Ah There you are." Domina said drawing herself up to her full height. She didn't dismiss her sword yet as she still had no idea who these gems were and more importantly what they were doing with Steven. She addressed the Garnet "Who sent you?"

"No one. Who are you and what are you doing on this planet!" the Pearl said. White Diamond raised an eyebrow and was about to say something before her Pearl dashed out of the ship and over to the group.

"White?" Pearl said. The other Pearls eyes went wide and her spear dipped from it's position.

"Pink?" She said. Then she stiffened and turned to look at Domina "Who a-" Domina yanked off her hat.

"I am White Diamond and I want someone to tell me what the frack is going on right now."