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Peridot     Peridot had summoned Jasper to the bridge. The tiny gem was at the command console, working on her limb enhancers. They had been damaged in the attack, and needed some repairs. Some time had passed since her solemn return. It had lacked all the fanfare she had imagined... or wanted.

    She was nervous. She was always on edge lately, fighting to prevent herself from becoming completely unraveled. But, she knew she had a difficult battle ahead of her. Convincing Jasper of what she knew she had to do.

    She didn't... -think- the large orange gem would get violent. Not with her. Lapis... yes. Perhaps anyone else? More than likely. But Peridot was self-assured of her uniqueness from them in Jaspers eyes. She and Jasper were both united as loyal homeworlders. Peridot hoped that would be enough.

    Still... as she waited. She nervously looked at the control panel in front of her. She bit her lower lip, as her eyes traced the side panel. A single flick of her finger, and a gem destablizer would eject.

    She furrowed her brows. No. She wasn't going to need that.
Jasper      The bridge doors sigh open and Jasper's footsteps announce her presence before her shadow does. She's been elsewhere on the ship, until now, attending to whatever it is she attends to when she's not threatening someone or smashing something. In some says, Jasper is incredibly simple, possibly allowing Peridot's calculations to anticipate her.

     But there's a fair amount of volatile energy in her simplicity, too. Whatever it is Peridot tells her, there's always the chance that she'll react as any Jasper would - with overwhelming force.

     "Yes?"
Peridot     As Jasper walked up onto the deck. Peridot nodded with a serious expression. "Jasper." She started, resuming work on her forearm gauntlet. Not because she wanted too, but rather she wanted to look aloof. To keep her hands busy.  "Let me ask you something."

    "Rebel gems." She pauses.

    "Gems are inherently superior lifeforms." She added, diplomatically. "So as a thought excersize.. You could say, the worst gem. Even a rebel gem is better than the best human?" She looked up in momentary thought. "Or the best android, the best Saiyan. It's just an inherent truth of our species, is it not?"
Jasper      Jasper watches. She's always watching, like a hawk looking for prey, or a wolf sensing weakness. Why is Peridot keeping her hands busy? To prevent them from shaking, from showing that she's nervous. Maybe, it's hard to know, but that is what Jasper thinks. She'd never busy her hands when talking with someone - the hands are far more useful as tools to intimidate.

     For a few moments, the silence stretches out into nothingness. Jasper rolls her neck and shoulders - right and then left.

     "I trust this purely a thought exercise, Peridot." Her golden eyes flick down to look at Peridot and she wears an expression that borders on disgust. "The android, Ferham, is obedient. Knows its place. So, yes, Peridot, I would place any Gem above these other species. But only a minor matter of degrees." It's clear that even slightly better, they still fall below whatever cut-off Jasper sees as meeting her standards.
Peridot     She picks up and inspects of her limb enhancers 'fingers'.  "War.. the war we're in. It's not a fight about claiming a planet, it's a fight for survival. An endurance match of sorts until we can reconvene with Homeworld." She bends the finger. "Requiring a degree of flexibility into to stay agile- our greatest strength since we do not have the luxury of being burdened with a large army.

    "If you are on the battle field." She opted to speak in a language Jasper might understand. "And if you need six axes to win the battle. But you only have three." She holds up three of her floaty fingers. "But you find three more next to you on the ground.  They are weapons discarded by the enemy. But they can be used by you just the same."

    "Do you.. leave the enemies weapons laying there and lose the war? Or do you co-opt them into your service in order to achieve victory?"
Jasper      "Only if I can trust in their workmanship, if that axe isn't about to break on me, or stab me in the back," Jasper says, clearly catching on to what Peridot is getting to. "And can be trusted to do its duty, to not falter and bow to those weaker than us."

     "See, Peridot, that's what you don't understand. War is proof of strength, that's all. If you're stronger, you win. Only the weak let themselves lose. So, if I need three more axes, I will /take/ those axes and I will /crush/ and /shatter/ everyone in my way until I've won."

     Jasper remains as still as a statue but it's clear she could leap forward, viper-quick. "You think I can't see what you're really saying, do you? You're saying we should... hrgh... work with those Crystal Gems? How strange that this is the first thing you've mentioned ever since your little... adventure. Maybe I was right."
Peridot     Though she hadn't fully successfully navigated that particular minefield. She does visibly relax a little that simply broaching it didn't lead to an assault. She was recovering, but she wasn't eager to be beaten up a second time so soon.

    "You were right about something else." She says looking up from her work. "You were right about what you said when you.. suggested this was falling apart." Peridot looked sad, at that admission. "There just aren't enough resources. We have considerable firepower, but we're a warship attempting to do the job of a colony ship. We don't -need- more firepower. We need more hands, more kindergarten technicians. We're so stretched thin, Lazuli is tasked with scouring a planet that's  takes light years to traverse."

    "And our goals, they align with the Crystal Gems." She didn't say Crystal clods, as was her norm. "We want to go home, they want us to go home. They know this planet- at least, they know the parts that interest us."

    "They are discarded weapons. We can use them to win this war."
Jasper      Jasper's eyes narrow. Her feet shift slightly, putting her weight in a different standing, like a cat getting ready to pounce. "And what if I say 'no'?"

     It's a simple question, and one with a rather simple idea behind it.
Peridot     Peridot tenses again, noticing the stance shift. "This isn't the rebellion." She goes on, seemingly less eager to give a simple idea as an answer. "The war for earth ended six thousand years ago. It's a garbage planet. one we -let- them have once it became more trouble than it was worth. I don't like them anymore than you do. But, I'd rather have gems working with us on gem problems rather than these.. native humans!"

    "I've seen their base. Their resources are meager but infinitely valuable to us. We don't need to risk the Warship by preparing an assault when they -want- to help us get home."
Jasper      Jasper takes a step. "For six thousand years I've fought, Peridot. For six thousand years, all I wanted was to crush the remnants of Rose Quartz's pitiful rebellion. For six thousand years, I've been ready to prove the superiority of Homeworld over those Crystal fools. They're barely Gems anymore, Peridot. They're compromised. They've forgotten their destiny."

     Another step. "As have you. How long did you spend with them? What did they tell you?" Her voice becomes sickingly sweet. "Did they tell you that 'friendship' was all you needed?" And then, back to all business. "Do you think Yellow Diamond will share your belief?"
Peridot     "Those gems..." She started, standing up in her chair. Though it only served to put her at her former height. Still shorter than Jasper. She raises her head, and pulls on the gauze to display the massive bruise on her neck. "...were not my friends."

    She lowered her head once more. "They are tools and I believe.. Yellow Diamond would praise the strategic value in turning an enemy... into a viable asset."

    "I appreciate what you want. But, our current situation is more important than the rebellion or proving our superiority. We just need to survive. We need to get home... protect our species."
Jasper      "And I believe," Jasper says, biting off every word, "That Yellow Diamond won't be as forgiving as you seem to believe." That is, if she still exists, if Homeworld still exists - Jasper, evidently, seems to think so. Maybe she can't ponder the alternative.

     "We've survived just fine until now," Jasper says, "And they can continue to survive over there, in their little beach town. And we will survive here. We don't need them."
Peridot     "All I'm suggesting--" Peridot goes on, steepling her fingers together. "Is negotiating a cease fire. We cease going after them, they will cease interfering with us. They can show us where the abandoned gem sites are. We can relocate Kindergarten prime. That alone will double the amount of injectors we have access too."

    "Then- we eradicate the cluster. The Pearl is the only other being on this planet with a sufficient enough understanding of gem technology to work as my assistant. Truly that makes her the only one of inherent value- but that is an extremely finite trait here. The war machine is only good for punching."

    "After we get what we need. After we destroy the cluster. You can grind their gems into dust, for all I care." Her brows raise. "Is that not a fair deal?"
Jasper      Jasper scoffs at something, perhaps the notion of a Pearl having value. She advances again, until she's looming over Peridot, making certain that she's impressing upon her the full extent of her size. "A cease fire," Jasper repeats, mouth barely moving.

     Her fist moves, though, and falls upon the console like a blazing comet. Disconcerting, really, because no other part of her has moved. She holds her hand there and withdraws it, slowly, fragments of the console falling from her hand.

     "Fine," Jasper states. "But remember, you'll always be the closest one to me, Peridot, and if this goes wrong - well, I'm sure you can guess. You're smart, after all. I won't go back to Homeworld a traitor to my own kind. Are we clear?"
Peridot     Peridot covered her head as the fist raised and slammed into the console. Sparks and fragments sent in all directions. She made a startled squeak, and paused. She lowered her arms and looked at the console with mild apprehension. Not just becuase of the proximity of the strike, but that she was going to have to repair that later. She couldn't let the primary console be damaged for long.

    "We aren't traitors!" She attempts a reassuring voice. "We are.. valuable assets to Homeworld. Therefore, it is inherently logical for us to go to extreme measures in order to see that we are returned to Yellow Diamonds service. That's not something a traitor would do."
Jasper      "We'll see, Peridot," Jasper states, unclenching and clenching her fist for a few moments, looking at that rather than the smaller green Gem. Eventually, however, she does look at Peridot. The fire in her eyes is by no means diminished.

     Jasper gestures to the console with a sweep of her hand. "You have work to do. Is there anything else?"
Peridot     Her brows furrow. As much as she enjoyed her work, and tinkering with technology. There hadn't been a single moment where she didn't need to repair -something-. And that queue was only getting longer since Jaspers return.

    "No. You are dismissed." She says in a tone of authority. Her only way of getting her own shot in.
Jasper      Jasper nods. It's a quick, curt, unhappy movement of her head, a stabbing motion with her chin. Peridot might get her shot in but it's clear that Jasper /knows/. She turns on her heel and marches from the bridge. It's only when she's gone, maybe, that things feel a bit lighter.
Peridot     Peridot does let out a breath. All things considered, that went better than she predicted. She sits back in the command chair, and lets her gaze drift to the transparent ceiling. She stares idly at the sky.

    She got what she wanted and she wasn't assaulted. She wasn't sure how she had scraped that particular victory through. She was however, uneasily aware of the fact that both Jasper and the Crystal Gems were united by a single common thread. Both of them wanted to punch her in the face, but for political reasons.. they could not.

    The thought made her laugh quietly.