LOG-120.

  She stared at the back of the green Pearl's head, and idly wondered what it might have looked like in red.

  The thought wasn't intrusive. Or urgent. Just something to turn over in her mind as their small group moved through the quiet, sterile halls of the Confluence's lesser patrolled levels, each step soft against the polished floor.

  Ahead, Ardent and Star (Fuchsia and Viridian now, she supposed) spoke in low voices, the former's tone casual, the latter's careful.

  Chip barely listened. The details of their assignment had already been made clear. Azurite had finished what needed finishing on Blue Nine. No more rivals, no more obstacles. Their skills were no longer required there, which meant they were being lent to the Confluence's Fawn cell.

  …The blue Gem had been a reliable coordinator, but nothing more. Orders that they felt alright following were given. Only because she had earned that privilege through competence and shared purpose.

  Chip idly hoped her consolidation of power within the colony went well in their absence.

  Beside her, Scratch was also staring at Viridian. Watching. Measuring. As she always did.

  The Reef-made Pearl knew. The tension in her shoulders was subtle, but Chip caught it anyway.

  She admired that awareness, it was the kind that came from experience, the kind that made her own instincts hum in recognition. Few reacted so quickly, so correctly, as Viridian had when their test began. Few Pearls understood, as they did, that a well timed deflection could make all the difference between standing and shattering.

  She was not red, no. But she seemed to have been made of the same cut regardless of that fact.

  Eventually, they neared a transition point, where the hidden arteries of the Confluence spilled into more public veins. Fuchsia slowed, then came to a stop.

  "This is where I step off." She murmured, hands on her hips, expression unreadable. "Can't have too many Pearls walking around like this. You two handle the rest."

  Chip and Scratch inclined their heads in silent acknowledgment. No words were needed.

  Viridian glanced at Fuchsia, but said nothing as the pink Pearl turned on her heel and vanished down a side corridor.

  A moment later, she allowed them to take the lead, and the three of them continued forward, past the threshold and into open space.

  Chip enjoyed the sensation of her green counterpart staring into the back of her head.

  —

  The rest of the walk with the creepy combat Pearls took entirely too long, in my opinion, but eventually we did reach the sectioned off area that had apparently been appropriated by Azurite and her attendant Gems.

  Part of me idly wondered how many of them were still loyalists, if any, even as a waiting Jade smiled gently at our direction and gestured us through a doorway.

  I stepped forward, striding into what passed for an office, something of a peculiarity in itself considering Azurite wasn't supposed to be here permanently, from what I understood.

  Additionally, Gems of high standing didn't typically use chairs outside of very blatant and ceremonial command thrones. Hessonite never sat at one. Most commanders didn't.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Emerald had been a distinct exception.

  And yet, as I entered, Azurite turned in her chair, pivoting smoothly as though she'd been expecting me at precisely this moment.

  A chair. Behind a desk. How utterly familiar, and yet so very strange.

  Behind me, the crimson Pearls shifted, taking up positions at the door, their movements perfectly synchronized as though they shared a single mind between them.

  They (probably) didn't, of course. But it was close enough to be unsettling.

  I glanced at them briefly before turning my attention back to Azurite, arching a brow.

  "...Do I make you nervous?" I asked, my voice deliberately light. "Surely you don't need bodyguards for a meeting with a little Pearl like me."

  She laughed. A rich, genuine sound, as though the mere suggestion was ridiculous.

  "Oh, nothing of the sort. If anything, it's you who should be reassured. Chip and Scratch-" She gestured vaguely toward them, finally naming them. "-are no longer under my command. They're yours now."

  That was…unexpected.

  I didn't let it show.

  Instead, I took a measured step forward, closing the distance to her desk. My hands clasped neatly behind my back, my expression carefully neutral, the new mask settling just as perfectly as all the others.

  "How very generous of you." I murmured. "And what, exactly, is the purpose of this meeting? Fuchsia for all her explanations can be rather…scattered."

  Azurite leaned back slightly, her gaze assessing.

  "Officially, I'm a rather prominent Azurite. Unofficially, I act as the nominal coordinator of Blue Nine's embedded Fawn cell." She explained easily, tilting her head, long hair following the motion.

  "I'm merely here on a visit to transfer some personnel-" The Gem nodded toward the twins. "-at Fuchsia's request, and to relocate some at-risk operatives from here to Blue Nine while I'm doing so."

  I watched her carefully, searching for some hint of deception. None immediately presented itself.

  Azurite smiled. "With the operation to extract Star Sapphire from the Crystal Confluence soon commencing, Fuchsia will be taking leave to ensure it all goes smoothly. That, as you've likely been made aware, leaves the Confluence cell leaderless."

  I remained still, waiting.

  "And you…" She continued. "...have proven adaptable. You have the right mindset. A wide range of skills. I've spoken with some of my counterparts who've been keeping track of your progress. Simply put, you're being assigned as the cell's new coordinator. Via trial period, naturally, but we expect good things."

  That was…an interesting development. Hearing Fuchsia babble about it possibly happening was one thing. This felt significantly more official.

  It wasn't unwelcome. Not in the slightest.

  But I wasn't foolish enough to let my pleasure show.

  Instead, I tilted my head slightly in a parody to her previous posture, considering.

  There were a thousand questions I could have asked. A thousand reasons they might have for lying. But nothing obvious immediately presented itself. No lies lurked in her tone, no double meaning in her words.

  Instead, she seemed entirely too pleased with herself, as though this had all been some elaborate scheme that had gone exactly according to plan.

  Which…well, perhaps it had-

  "I must say." Azurite interrupted my train of thought, folding her hands atop the desk, "I was delighted when I learned you'd joined Fawn."

  A slight adjustment as she leaned back in her seat.

  "You see, our previous interaction was just a little bit more than idle conversation. It was a token attempt to pull you into our orbit, to show you a path beyond mere servitude."

  My eyes narrowed.

  "You tried to convince me that you'd make an excellent owner."

  She grinned. "And you saved me the trouble of recruiting you."

  I scoffed quietly, unimpressed by her self satisfaction.

  Azurite only smiled wider.

  "Ah, but enough of that. You'll need to be properly briefed." She retrieved a datapad from beneath the desk, waving it lightly in the air.

  "Everything you need to know about managing this cell is here, additionally, you'll have a short acclimation period before Fuchsia arrives to assist."

  She slid the device across the desk toward me.

  "From this point on, you can consider yourself the tentative new leader of the Confluence Fawn cell. And, of course, you'll be expected to attend a meeting of other Fawn coordinators soon. Fuchsia will help explain that part, hopefully."

  A thrill ran through me.

  This was more than I'd anticipated. More than I'd hoped for.

  A position of influence. A position of control.

  A position from which I could destabilize the Empire in ways they would never see coming.

  And, perhaps most importantly, a position from which I could continue to spread the legend of the lithoplague.

  Gems feared the unknown. Feared corruption, disease, things beyond their comprehension.

  The myth had already served its purpose in keeping Imperial forces away from Earth, and I would continue to nurture it, to ensure that fear grew and spread.

  I reached out, taking the datapad with a careful, measured movement.

  "Very well." The words slipped past my lips smoothly, as though this was all simply another performance.

  Azurite's grin was positively delighted.

  And, internally, I smiled as well.