New Mission

Chapter 4: Hard-Headed

The three of them walked to Yellow Diamond's chambers together and talked on their way. "Where'd you even get that book?" Topaz asked Jade. "I found it in the old library in facet 86. It was towards the back of the building," she replied. "Were there any more interesting books like that?"
"Yeah. There was a book on Quartz soldiers, rarities in Gems, & even one on fusions."
"That sounds cool!" Coral said. Jade laughed. "Yeah, it is."
    

They continued to walk until they reached the entrance to their Diamond's quarters. They noticed two Citrines guarding the doors. "Were those Citrines there yesterday?" Coral whispered. "Nope. I came here last night & there was nobody at the doors," Jade whispered back. Topaz confidently strode up to one of the guards, much to the surprise of Jade and Coral. "Pardon me, could you please let us in? We must prepare for an important mission & Yellow Diamond requested that we come to her quarters to be briefed." The guards nodded and opened the doors. "Thank you," Topaz said with a smirk. "Of course," one of the Citrines said as she opened the door.

The three Gems walked into the bright yellow room, seemingly calm. "My Diamond, we have arrived," Jade said before she stopped in front of her Diamond's throne. "Good. And right on time, too." Jade looked at her friends.
"My Diamond, if you don't mind me asking, why are there Citrine guards outside?"
"Well, one of my Sapphires told me that there would be a problem with the rebels after you three left for Earth. She didn't say what it would be, but we can't take any chances. All aristocratic Gems will be receiving more guards to make sure they're safe, & those guards are going to receive more training." Jade looked at her Diamond with a worried look. "A problem after we leave? But we're going to capture the rebels & bring them back here before they can do any damage. I can assure you that no harm will come to Homeworld, my Diamond. I understand that you and the other Diamonds want Homeworld to stay safe, but you don't have to worry. I-" Yellow Diamond held up her hand, signaling Jade to stop taking. "I know you're going to do your best, but not doing this leaves us vulnerable to attacks. As far as we know, there could be Crystal Gem bases on other planets in Earth's solar system. If they do attack, we want our Gems to stay safe." Yellow Diamond sighed. "Now, if we're done with that conversation, we should begin today's training. Blue Topaz, today you're going to learn to pilot a ship." Topaz perked up. "Pilot a ship? I can't wait! What will Jade & Coral do, though?" He asked his Diamond. "They'll be-Ah, I didn't think of that yet. I guess you two can head back to your homes. This might take a few hours."
 

   Jade & Coral returned to their homes & began to relax. Well, at least Coral relaxed. Jade, on the other, was in her room, slamming her fist onto her bookcase. "What is wrong with me?! Why do I keep thinking about that stupid planet?! It's not like I'm gonna go there more than once! I'll go, catch the rebels, come back, & be showered with praise! Simple!" She shouted. She threw herself onto her bed with a sigh. Jade picked up her book and began reading. She turned to a page about humans and studied it carefully. "Hmm..." She looked at a picture of a human speaking with a tall, long-haired Gem with her gemstone where her navel would be. "The infamous Rose Quartz, one of the many Quartzes belonging to Pink Diamond, saw the humans as perfect creatures. She believed that Gem kind should not take & destroy their home and that they should live together in harmony. Humans resided on Earth far longer than the Gems, & they did nothing to deserve that. She told her superior about her ideas, but Pink Diamond disagreed. She believed that humans were not using their planet to its full potential. They could use this planet & dispose of it when they were finished with it. It could easily be replaced. This caused the great Gem War." Jade shut her book in shock. "Pink Diamond wanted to destroy the Earth, too?" She read for a few more minutes, then put her book down & took out a notepad. She jotted down some notes on the Crystal Gems.
   

 She wrote down some interesting facts about the rebels. Like how most of them were considered "defective" and were discarded by their Diamonds. And that most Gems in the rebellion were either warriors like Quartzes and Rubies or technicians like Peridots and Topazes.
  

  Hours later, Jade looked out the window to see that Homeworld's sun had set. Have I really been reading that long? She asked herself. She put her book, notes & pen away and summoned her baton. She examined it, & felt ashamed. The Crystal Gems had such powerful weapons! All she had was a baton. She threw it at a wall, but it bounced back and struck her in the back of the head, and everything went dark.