Chapter One: Earth Mission

The hallway to Blue Diamond's court was long and empty, almost frightening for the elite gem marching through. Her escort was the only thing keeping her from turning and fleeing Homeworld, fleeing this dreadfully dull and heartless place. Only a few months ago she would've turned herself in for such thought, but ever since her Earth mission, Sodalite had despised the hierarchy the diamonds put in place. Spying on the Crystal Gems was a quick and easy mission, hardly worth remembering until you threw humans into the equation. After only a few hours of watching The Steven explore "Beach City," she'd fallen in love with the concept of freedom. Going over all these thoughts made her feel guilty, like Earth was some sort of crime, but her escort had felt the same. Ametrine was Sodalite's assistant and guard, never leaving her side if she could help it. As the two gems marched towards a new mission, Sodalite's mind drifted back to Earth and the conversation they'd shared about freedom only a few weeks ago.

"Ametrine."

"Yes, my crystal?" the gem said with a smirk.

"Have you noticed… the lifeforms on this planet? Humans?"

"Of course. They're quite loud and seemingly more advanced than other species on Earth. What about them?"

"I've seen them demonstrate qualities no gem has seen in intelligent life before. Freedom to make decisions, kindness for those who don't serve a purpose…"

"Are you becoming fond of them?"

Sodalite pondered on whether or not she should tell Ametrine how much she'd grown to love humans. It was a huge risk. If the young assistant reported her, she'd surely be shattered or at least reassigned, never to see or hear of Earth again. But Ametrine wasn't the kind of gem to tattle. She'd had Sodalite cover for her rule-breaking so many times, she practically owed her. Finally, she spoke: "Yes. I'm very fond of them. Their freedom… I want that for gems. Why must we destroy this life? Why must the diamonds tear apart the Earth with the Cluster?"

Ametrine grinned. "Soda… Are you telling me that you're…" here Ametrine fake-gasped, "breaking a RULE?"

Sodalite rolled her eyes at her sarcastic companion before muttering, "Yes, I suppose I am."

They sat in silence in the small ship they'd been assigned that morning. Only 12 hours later, here they were, ready to betray their Homeworld, the place that made them, provided for them, and where they were expected to serve for all their life.

Suddenly, a cold voice interrupted her daydream. "Sodalite, Facet-6 Cut-2FM; and Ametrine, Facet-5 Cut-6XK; you have performed well on your previous Earth mission. Your superiors have informed me of all the information you gathered from the Crystal Gems and we have decided that you will continue your work on Earth. I'm sending a Peridot, Jasper, Pearl, and Lapis Lazuli there tomorrow, and you'll join them on their ship. Once you reach the atmosphere of Earth you will exit the ship via escape pod and set up a base a hundred units from the Temple in order to gather more information on what they've been doing these past centuries. We will inform you when it's time to evacuate for the Cluster. Understand?"

To Sodalite's left, Ametrine was furiously finishing her notes on their mission. They replied quickly, "Yes, my diamond," bowed, and exited the court.

"Soda. This is our chance," Ametrine whispered. Her eyes glowed with excitement as she rambled breathlessly, "We can disable the cluster! Save the humans! We could even warn the Crystal Gems ahead of time and join their force."

"Shhhh, Ame," Sodalite snapped, glancing around them. "Wait until we get back to my base."

Ametrine blushed and continued walking with her superior, her eyes occasionally widening at another thought of what could be waiting for them on Earth.

Sodalite stood still in front of the scanner at her base, watching a glowing light examine her gem. The door in front of her rose and Ametrine rushed in ahead of her, hurrying to prepare the mission forms for them to join Peridot's ship. Sodalite, on the other hand, decided to relax for a moment. She locked the door again and sat on the cold floor of their base, wondering if what Ametrine wanted to do was possible. Pulling her information screen out of her gem, she looked up the status of the Cluster using a password she wasn't supposed to have. Being a spy had its perks.

"Says here that the Cluster is supposed to form any time within a few months to a year."

From across the small room, Ametrine turned and grinned. "I can work with that. Could you do the paperwork? I want to figure this out."

Normally an assistant that asked a superior to do her work would be replaced, but Sodalite didn't mind. Ametrine was so charming and friendly, she could probably manipulate an agate into betraying her diamond. And that's no easy feat.

"If we set up the base quickly than we could report in saying we've seen more gems and never report again. That could buy us some time…"

Sodalite checked the mission forms Ametrine had sent her via information screen, scanning the long text for what kind of base they were using. "Blue is providing us with a base printer. That'll make the job nice and easy."

"Base printer?"

"New tech. All we have to do is push a button and wait a few hours."

"So we're doing it?"

Sodalite's hands were shaking, but she couldn't let Ametrine see that. "Yeah. We're going to join the Crystal Gems."