LOG-164.
LOG-164.
As had long since become the norm for me, I found myself alone in my office, the dimness of the room only broken by the light shining from the datapad clasped within my claws.
[Mistress Hessonite is firm but fair, in her own words. Though she is rather rough with most of the soldiers beneath her command, she has been nothing but kind to me so far. Though the fact that I don't rough house like some of the Quartzes or Rubies do has likely helped me in that regard.]
Today was a day of training routines, just like every other day, but I had assigned my fellow Nacres to manage the majority of it in order to give myself time to get some datawork done.
[I suspected as much from what I was able to glean from her file. The good General has been rather keen on acquiring a Pearl of her own over these past few centuries. Likely in an attempt to match up to her Era One counterparts. Has she taken you to any warzone?]
Which was true, in a way. The Reef did need a replacement capacitor for the central power core, according to 7XG, who at this point spoke for most of the Peridots within the facility if only because she was the only one willing to come to me directly.
[No, Overseer. She has said that though my presence is appreciated, the battlefield is no place for a Gem of my beauty and fragility. It was somehow both flattering and a little insulting. At present I remain at her manor, some old structure she had constructed by a Morganite long before I even existed. Aside from her private quarters, I have free run of the place while she is away on her conquests. It is rather spacious!]
It was just a minor detail that after arranging that particular shipment and signing off on a few more additions to the Imperial History schedule by Nacre One, I'd swapped out my terminal for the device currently projecting the thoughts and worries of a Pearl that was currently lightyears away from what had once been the closest thing she could call a home.
[That's very good, Bee. And you can call me Viridian if you want.]
I'm allowing myself to become further attached to a Pearl that is perfectly positioned for integration into the Fawn spy network. Likely sometime in the future.
[Understood! Thank you Viridian!]
And yes, that might end up being a mistake, but…
[I-]
The telltale sound of the proximity sensor outside of my door activating drew a frown, before I settled myself and seamlessly adjusted what I'd been intending to say.
[-need to leave for now. Do take care of yourself, and do not hesitate to contact me should you require someone familiar to speak with.]
[Of course, thank you again!]
Bringing the datapad to my gemstone and watching it flash away into my storage space, I extended a claw and swept it through a part of the holographic array surrounding me, bringing up statistics, reports, and other busy looking things, before standing up and making my way to the door.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
A quick command later and the barrier had slid out of my way, revealing a slightly uncomfortable looking Nacre One, with a smaller green figure standing behind her.
"Overseer. I-"
Tense. Feels like coming here isn't the right choice. Respects the hierarchy too much to make a different one, however.
Narrowing my eyes, I folded my hands behind my back, using what little height I had on her to achieve an acceptable level of loom.
"Her mistake?"
The Caretaker winced at the question, raising a single claw.
"Behind the rest of the Batch by a tenth of a second. I-If I may, I think such a thing can be excused-"
The Gem went quiet at my subsequent glare, before I shifted my vision to take in an appropriately glum looking Patina, the Pearl eerily still in the face of my presence.
"Eighteen B, my office. Now."
Watching as my creation strode past me with all the finality of a prisoner moving to her execution, I looked back at and gave my counterpart a perfunctory nod.
"Proceed with the rest of the lesson plan while accounting for her absence. I will resolve this deviation."
Before the other Nacre could so much as respond, a flick of my hand shut the door in her face, leaving me to turn around and stare at the Pearl standing just beside my desk.
"...How did it go?"
Predictably, Patina beamed up at me, hopping in place slightly out of what I clocked as excitement.
"Nacre One has become quite partial to me! In public I have taken to replicating Diamond Pearl 1A's personality and general mannerisms from what I picked up during our brief encounters, and the results have been fascinating to observe!"
Smiling, I moved forward and reached out with a hand, ruffling the Pearl's long hair.
Unlike Violet, Patina was quick to enjoy the head pat, all but leaning into my palm and forcing me to be careful, lest I accidentally stab a claw into her lightform.
"Excellent, I'm proud of you. Is there anything else you think is worth noting?"
Bright eyes looked at me through the gaps between my fingers, and so I moved my arm away, ignoring the slightly disappointed flash in the green orbs as I did so.
"1A is still trying to be sneaky with her little messages. She's taken to hiding in the back of Thulite's office after borrowing her communicator."
A communicator that couldn't send so much as a peep outside the Reef without it being caught up in the surveillance net I'd established. Good, I'd need to go over those later.
"Brave of her. Anything else?"
The subsequent report brought to mind my time at Fawn, somewhat. Even if it lasted for little more than a few minutes.
No, the rest of our allotted time was spent with Patina eagerly watching over my shoulder as I went about the complex task of simultaneously spying on everyone within the Reef, while also doing my official job as its Overseer.
It was only after I ordered her to pass along a message to Violet (encouraging the smaller Gem to feign a lapse in flight capability during her next session) that I pulled out a different datapad, this one (according to Azurite, anyway) connected to a Fawn relay satellite.
Patina's suggestion of easing back on the false mistakes should be considered after either Violet's visit, or the Pearl that comes after her. There is a pattern forming that I need to break, lest I become predictable to an increasingly frightened Reef. The next few training sessions will have no flaws, and my sessions with the various Batch members will appear to have been successful.
Strategic thoughts aside, my 'mail' was enough to bring a small smile to my face as I read through it. Apparently the rebel had managed to organise an event that would serve as a perfect cover for 'Nacre Four' leaving her grand domain for a while, all while giving me a chance to get out of this place, preferably permanently.
Said smile dipped slightly at the conflicting thoughts of just…taking my chance and disappearing, even as I poured through the details, trying to keep the various identical faces of Batch Eighteen out of my mind.
A short (by Gem standards, at least) jubilee celebrating the official creation and opening of a new Atoll, deep in Blue Court space. The presence of the Reef's very own Overseer would be seen as appropriate, if only to congratulate and direct the newly produced Nacre that would be in charge of the facility.
Getting into an extraction ship from there would be almost insultingly simple compared to everything else I'd done up until now. And then I'd be home free…
I feel guilty at the thought of potentially leaving Batch Eighteen adrift and directionless in my escape. I've grown attached to them, and the thought of abandoning my Pearls to the Empire is making me uncomfortable.
Staring at the datapad for a long moment, I agreed upon the date Azurite had given me, promising to sort things out on my end, before stashing the device back into my gemstone and sighing.
Just a little more. Batch Eighteen…were made to be able to take care of themselves. They would be fine.
I don't want to leave them behind.
Then…then I could finally get out of here.
I could finally go home.