Author's Note: Show some damn support!
After Pearl and Silica fused, the two of them grew even closer—mostly because they finally got each other. Sometimes, lingering echoes of the fusion would surface—weird emotions or phantom sensations they couldn't quite place—but thank God, no memories. Neither of them wanted to be voyeurs in the other's past. From what I gathered, fusion has a pretty handy fail-safe: if you don't want to share something, you just don't. Fascinating, honestly.
Sapphire, on the other hand, was perpetually in her own world. Right now, she was chatting with the AI while grinding through Geometry Dash levels I'd programmed—because let's face it, we needed some entertainment before heading back into the void. Truth be told, it was a trip watching her cuss out a jumping square while Yarbis fed her useless advice.
Pearl was busy hoarding plants to cram into the ship so she wouldn't die of boredom on the next leg of the trip. She was also scavenging "sentimental decor" from the planet—mostly just weird local trinkets. I didn't really get the appeal, but hey, whatever makes her happy.
The other bit of good news: thanks to the minerals and those slug bastards—yeah, there were more of those miserable things, and yeah, we hunted them down once we realized their hides were literal walking jackpots—the ship got a massive upgrade.
After gutting the first one, I realized their outer skin was fused with subterranean minerals. Basically, these things spent years swallowing rocks until their bodies compressed them into an absurdly resilient armor. That was the moment my eyes lit up like a total psychopath.
The result?
We hunted more.
Not enough to drive them to extinction—I didn't need that kind of karma on my back—but enough to harvest the goods. I used their hides as an outer hull plating, alloying it with the existing metal and local minerals. Now, the ship is a tank: heat-resistant, impact-proof, and shielded against energy attacks. I overhauled the engines, beefed up the weaponry, and tightened the stealth systems.
In short...
If my ship was good before, now it's a goddamn space cockroach.
Hard to kill and a total bitch to catch.
And honestly? I loved it.
I stood atop a mountain in my flight suit. I rarely took it off these days; it was comfortable, and let's be real, I looked damn good in it. I watched the landscape as the wind whipped against me. Soon, we'd be leaving this rock to continue our trek toward Earth. By my math, we'd spent about a hundred years here. If my calculations were off... well, wouldn't be the first time.
At this age, I'd be long dead if I were human.
But I'm not.
So... does that make me immortal?
"...Not yet."
I shook my head, staring at the horizon. I still needed to finish Project Diamond, though the hardest part was already behind me.
You wondering what it is?
Well... I managed to build something I never thought I'd finish this fast.
A brand-new Injector.
Not like the Empire's versions that churn out Gems from scratch. Mine reworks them. It optimizes them. It strips away imperfections, reinforces the gem structure, and boosts natural abilities. It essentially forces a Gem to artificially evolve into what I consider perfection.
I took everything I knew about engineering, programming, mineralogy, alien biology, and Homeworld's own tech to build my own version. A better version. One without the Empire's pathetic limitations.
It started with hypotheses. Then small-scale tests. Minerals. Energy. Live materials. A few tests nearly blew the ship to kingdom come, but who cares? What matters is that it worked.
Well... in theory.
I was still missing a few key components for the main injector, and more importantly, the right planet. I needed a world absurdly rich in minerals and energy to fuel the process, because this thing was going to eat resources like they were on clearance. I also needed to be completely alone for days. Maybe weeks.
Because if something goes sideways while my Gem is mid-process...
Well. I'm fucked.
Simple as that.
Still, I smiled at the view. I smiled because, for once, things were okay. No one was riding my ass while I made progress, which is a rare luxury in my life. I felt like the Empire had already bled this planet dry centuries ago anyway, so it was time to bounce. On the next world, I'd finish the job. Who knows? Maybe I'd find exactly what I needed to wrap this whole thing up.
I headed back to the ship, noticing how the local wildlife now gave me a wide berth. It was strange. At first, they wanted to eat me. Now, they recognized me. I guess spending a century on a planet earns you some street cred.
Living here taught me how to fight. Not elegantly, mind you, but a win is a win. I also started remembering bits of my past life. Movements. Stances. Ways to strike. Not full memories—just fragments. I began replicating them, then perfecting them on my own. It started happening mostly after the fusion with Pearl.
Of course, I never told them where the moves came from. I just let them think I'd invented the techniques from scratch.
When I reached the ship, I saw Sapphire packing soil crates—custom-built by yours truly to keep the plants alive in transit. We'd also stocked up on water and nutrients. Pearl and Sapphire were going to be the ones tending to them, mostly to keep them from losing their minds during the voyage.
I stepped inside and barked out an order.
"Yarbis, status report."
The AI shimmered into a hologram before me. "All systems operating within optimal parameters."
I nodded, heading for the cockpit. "Go on."
"Fuel at ninety-eight percent. Weapon systems functional. Reinforced plating operational. Mineral reserves secured. Bio-containers stable. Water supplies topped off. The botanical samples are prepared for transit."
I glanced back. Good. Pearl wasn't going to kill me for letting her flowers wilt.
"Continue."
Yarbis took a short, dramatic pause that I definitely never programmed. "All entities are currently on board."
I blinked. "Entities?"
"Pearl."
"Sapphire."
"The fish."
...
...
I stopped dead. "The what?"
Sapphire appeared behind me. "I found fish."
I looked at her. Then at Yarbis. Then back to Sapphire.
"Why are there fish on my ship?"
Sapphire beamed. "Pearl said they looked cute."
...
I took a deep breath. "I am going to ignore this for the sake of my mental health."
I kept walking toward the cockpit.
"What is 'mental health'?" Sapphire asked, cradling the fish in her hands.
Yarbis looked at her creator's retreating back, then at Sapphire. "A metaphor."
"I see," Sapphire replied, as if that explained anything.
As they wandered off, Yarbis's processors whirred. The fish have no recorded food supply. The AI quickly deployed small harvester drones back to the planet before liftoff. They found compatible feed and hauled back an absurd amount of it. About twenty years' worth.
Of course, organic matter eventually rots. Twenty years was the limit Silica had managed for preserving organic food, and honestly, you couldn't blame her. Why would she care about food when she didn't even eat?
Yarbis shook its head as its projection flickered out and reappeared in the cockpit. Silica was already hammering away at the controls.
"Ma'am."
"Talk to me," I replied, punching in coordinates.
"I have updated several possible routes. I've also flagged several high-mineral planets suitable for Project Diamond."
My hands paused. "Discard them for now."
Yarbis went silent. "Confirming temporary cancellation of Project Diamond?"
I shook my head. "No. But Project Perfection comes first."
I stared at the screen as we broke atmosphere. "Project Diamond takes too many resources. Too much time. Too many variables. But if I upgrade my Gem first... everything else becomes a hell of a lot easier."
Yarbis nodded. "Understood."
I went back to the controls. "Find me the ideal candidates. High mineral density. Stable core energy. Low Imperial presence. And if you find anything weird... let me know."
"Understood." Yarbis paused. "I have been optimized by forty-three percent since the last update."
I grinned with genuine pride. "Damn right. Best AI in the freaking galaxy."
"Positive confirmation."
...
I squinted at the hologram. "That was ego."
"I learned from the best, ma'am."
...
"That concerns me slightly."
Yarbis vanished as we finally cleared the planet. I watched the world shrink in the rearview, and honestly, I was going to miss it a little. A lot happened there. I grew up, I almost died, I slaughtered slugs, I fused for the first time, and I pushed my tech to the limit. Yeah, I was fond of the place, but whatever. Onward and upward.
As I piloted the ship, I could hear Pearl and Sapphire laughing in the other room. I checked the cameras and saw them happily gardening, swapping stories about the Empire.
"I'm telling you," Sapphire said, patting down some dirt. "One of the Rubies under my command tripped right in front of an Agate."
Pearl let out a giggle. "What happened?"
Sapphire shook her head. "She almost got shattered. I'd let her slide on so many things before that, but in that moment, I just let the other Gems chew her out so she'd finally learn a lesson."
Pearl finished with her plant and looked at her. "That must have been embarrassing for you, wasn't it?"
"More or less," Sapphire replied with a small smile. "That Ruby had it coming anyway." She paused, looking at the leaves. "It's a shame I couldn't bring them with me."
The mood dipped. Pearl saw the look on Sapphire's face and just pulled her into a hug. Sapphire froze for a second before slowly hugging her back.
...
...
I watched the whole thing through the monitor, a bead of sweat on my forehead.
"It's a miracle they don't just fuse on the spot."
I turned back to the controls, shaking my head.
"The last thing I need is to deal with another fusion while I'm trying to drive."
Author's Note: I'll be switching up my writing style in the coming chapters!
End of Chapter 20.