Scene #3067: Political Favors

Owner	Pose
Peridot	It had been a quiet few days since her expedition with the red lanterns. She had documented much about their creed, and technology but soon she had to get back to her own task. She was down on the ground in Kindergarten- or rather the future site of Kindergarten. It had yet to be activated. She was finishing up another injector, her arms elbow deep into the organic looking innards of the virus-shaped machine. Eventually however she took a step back and closed it up. Setting the robonoids to continue the task in her stead. It was then she realized... she was finished. For now at least. There was nothing for her to actively work on that the robonoids were not doing. They all had their assignments, and she would eventually need to perform a task of some kind, but she had hit another waiting period. "Huh..." She murmured, uncomfortable with the thought of being idle. She had idle periods before, but they were growing longer and longer the more progress she made. So for the moment, she took a step back and simply marveled at her progress. Her hands resting on her hips and a soft smile on her face. Yep, she was starting the process that would eventually destroy the planet in record time for only having a crew of two gems and her robonoids.
Jasper	Jasper's feet crunch their way across the ground. She's not as given to introspection about the progress of the mission as Peridot is. She can see that things are progressing and she assumes that Peridot won't be accepting any delays. Jasper certainly wouldn't. Of course, this is technically Peridot's mission and so, Jasper doesn't have the luxury of being able to bark (too many) orders. Jasper steps up behind Peridot, covering her with a long, large shadow. She crosses her arms, looking vaguely unimpressed - but that's not a new expression. Frankly, one might be worried if she /was/ impressed. "Are we on schedule?" she asks.
Peridot	"The generators we picked up from that sea port are powering up nicely." Peridot answers. "The robonoids have them installed under ground, thermal venting has been accounted for. The injectors are nearly all back to being fully functional, However I intend to have all the monitoring equipment built before I turn them on. I don't want to risk corruption on our initial crop." She gave her report in a somewhat monotone voice. "Effectively, we are on break. Anything we do now will only impede robonoid progress and slow the operation down." She turned, to face Jasper. "I also have more news. I am the process of brokering an alliance with the syndicate. I believe that doing so will result in the increase of our power and influence which will come in handy as the length of our stay here remains indeterminable. It appears as though I have come to the correct conclusion, after our last discussion on the subject. Diplomacy is serving our ends far greater, than force."
Jasper	Jasper, staring out at the horizon, actually glances down at Peridot with that news about diplomacy. Her face is one of befuddled confusion - and then anger. "You can't be serious," Jasper says, through gritted teeth. "Diplomacy. Alliances. With- with non-Gem life?! /Why/?! What's the point?! What can they hope to give us that we just can't /take/!?" Well, someone's going to be a hard sell.
Ferham	"The pen tends to be mightier than the sword, at least where there is civilization to write with it," Ferham has settled down from a short flight down into the kindergarten canyon area, her high-heeled boots thudding against the dusty floor. "Well, unfortunately the fact of the matter is, Sir--there are a lot of union members to fight, a lot more than us--the confederacy isn't true to it's word with them purely out of a sense of honor or kindness, exactly--though Dracula seems to be operating on a sense of that as well," Ferham added with a shrug. "Lady Peridot, been a while, I trust operations here have been running smoothly?"
Peridot	"A lot of things." Peridot answered in a calm tone. "We were the biggest crystal fish in our old pond." She folds her arms. "But, now we are in a much larger ocean. With other fish, who were the biggest fish in their respective ponds. With everything else that changed, so did the rules of the game." "We run the very real risk of being destroyed, if we don't adapt. And I refuse to let that happen. I will not let our mission fail because I cannot adjust to a new and difficult scenario." "To that end, there will be some changes. We are still beholden to our own agenda.. we will still take what we need. but I am expanding our intel gathering operations and establishing myself as the Homeworld representative on this planet. Which means, we will need to know more. Which means you will also represent our Home planet." She says to Jasper. At Ferhams entrance Peridot nods. "They have." Her brow raises a little, at Ferham calling Jasper 'sir'.
Jasper	Some measure of confusion clouds Jasper's face at Peridot's words, but she understands enough about fish and ponds - or thinks that she does - to understand the general picture. Her lips press into a small, thin frown of a line. She's listening, it seems, although she's not happy about it. Finally, Jasper exhales. "Fine," she says, evidently bowing to Peridot's overall command. "But I'm not a negotiator, Peridot. I'll-" She frowns, like a dog that's trying to bring up a chicken bone. "-do my best to represent Homeworld. But you can know that I'll be reporting this to Yellow Diamond as soon as I can." She indicates Ferham with a tilt of her chin. "I'll be training this one in proper anti-Gem tactics. The Crystal Gems expect me, they expect you. They won't expect this one. As for the term - well, it implies a powerful sense of authority. If they are gathering their own allies, then I'll do the same. And I'll do it /better/."
Ferham	"These Crystal Gems--the way they were spoken about seems to insinuate some kind of larger force--are they really led by a young human child?" Ferham asks, hanging back after the acknowledgement by Jasper. "My arm is doing much better today, by the way, I'm sure you'll be glad to know," Ferham nodded, without any sort of context to that, it might seem a little odd, but the green eyes of Fer are on Jasper even still with a wry and subtle little smile.
Peridot	"Good!" Peridot answers quickly. "Yellow Diamond will eventually find us, and when she does, she'll arrive at the same conclusions that I did because I'm -right-. Because I'm smart, and because Yellow Diamond is also smart." Peridot smirked. "She'll see how much political power and resources I've amassed in the name of our planet." Her smirk transitioned into a pointed tooth grin. "She will marvel at how I convinced the natives of the host planet to stand by and allow us to drain it of its very last drop!" Her fingers curled into little fist. "We will carve out a piece of this planet, and serve it to her. I'll have preemptively done her bidding before she even knows she needs to command me to do this! Nya ha!" Peridot lets out a self-satisfied sigh. Before looking to Ferham. "There are three known crystal gems, and the Steven. The Steven does not lead them. But, the gems will need to be destroyed, they will alert the Union to the true ramifications of Kindergarten, which will result in complications. I already have a plan I'm working out to spread misinformation. We don't need to fool the majority, we just need enough to create plausible doubt in the minds of these cretins."
Jasper	"The Steven," Jasper begins, "Is Rose Quartz! How many times must I explain it to you? It has her powers, it has her /gem/. It's some kind of..." She pauses for a moment, as if thinking it through frantically, "Shapeshifting ploy! I don't know why, but I'm going to find out!" Peridot's probably heard all of this before. So, Jasper just kind of glowers at her green companion. After all, surely /she/ is Yellow Diamond's most trusted subordinate and not Peridot! To Ferham, Jasper says: "Good. You're no use to anyone damaged." Then, she turns her attention back to Peridot, as if hearing something that she can correct. "There are /four/ Crystal Gems, Peridot. The fusion is made up of two and is not nearly so powerful when broken apart. Hmm. I wonder if we can use that fact against them."
Ferham	"Yellow Diamond? is that the name of your leader?" Ferham blinks a little, she seems surprised at that. "Will the union be interested in destroying this place? I can't rightly let that happen," Ferham hmphs a little, shaking her head. "The fusion? That would be Garnet, yes?" Ferham has apparently been doing a bit of her homework there, at least. "And they want to stop you because they feared their planet being overrun by your kind? I see, well I can see why they'd be frightened, at least."
Peridot	"True." Peridot rubs her chin. "Garnet." She grumbles a little. Garnet was the Jasper of the gems. That was one fusion Peridot didn't intend on getting stuck in the same room with. "She was without the Pearl, or the runt. That is somewhat telling, if the Steven is not also with them. If only we could find their home.. that.. Beach City. We could lay a trap on their very upholstery. A bomb!" "That could give us something to work towards during our down time. Mapping out all the warp pads. Surely they have some located around their nest." "As for the Steven.. relocating him is a secondary objective. I have not come to a conclusion about it yet. It does bear the gem of Rose Quarts, but it is also composed of meat. Quartz was not made of meat. Therefore it is already a logical fallacy. I don't believe there is anything quite like it for us to draw comparison too." "The gems will convince the union to destroy Kindergarten. Our task will be to keep our allies convinced that Kindergarten is of no harm. That any harm it is capable of, is reversible."
Jasper	Jasper nods to Ferham. "Mm. And they're right to be terrified because all they've done is show their hand in an attempt to delay the inevitable. We know the extent of their forces, and where their base is - once we locate it again." The paradox of that statement doesn't seem to worry Jasper. "We know their defences, their armaments." Jasper continues, as Peridot mentions Garnet. "Yes. And while the fusion may possess some degree of strength, she'll not pursue a direct confrontation without her allies. I agree. For now, we map the warp pads and find their base again. Then we deal with them and haul them, and their 'Steven' back to Yellow Diamond. Like should have happened in the first place!"
Ferham	"The Stephen and The Pearl, eh? sounds like you guys really don't like them," Ferham had leaned up against a bit of machinery with her wings, idly resting there as she crosses her arms over her front. "Some kind of hybrid? would you be able to extract the gem from him? or would it not be possible, or kill him?" Ferham seems to be concerned about this, though it was more of a random idea. "Questions for later, I think," Ferham stepped up and away from the spot she was leaning on. "I will be back," Ferham's wings slide out from behind her and she begins to lift off the canyon floor, before she begins zooming skyward.
Peridot	Peridot agreed, and yet... she felt hesitation. She would of course, have to turn Steven over to her boss. That much, she had no qualms about. Whatever Steven was, he was a gross.. weird little biological thing. But, he was a thing Lapis cared about. Both the gems Peridot lived with kept her grounded, and sane. But Jasper was more.. a coworker. Their relationship was a professional one. Lapis? She was a coworker, but also a friend. Therefore, Peridot saw the inherent risk in turning her over. Of course, she would never voice that. And, it wasn't even a problem she would have to deal with yet. She briefly consider the merits of quietly disposing of Steven so she'd never have to make a hard decision like that, but dismissed it. That would be traitorous to her home planet. "In the meantime, however. I will be putting you and Lapis out on loan to confederate and syndicate forces as needed, Jasper. Your job is to increase our standing with these two factions in ways that I cannot. The currency we deal in now is political favors. You will of course prioritize our own agenda, the confederacy comes second, and the syndicate last. Learn about them, discover which among them is most useful to us, and exploit that connection." She clasp her hands behind her back. "You may choose either orginization as is your want, however I recommend you focus your efforts with the confederates. Lapis will be our syndicate liason. Is that clear?"
Jasper	Jasper doesn't seem to like it but she is, above all else, a loyal soldier - and so she'll do it without question. "Absolutely," she tells Peridot in response, although the edge to her voice says all there is to know about her personal feelings on the issue. "Play nice with the others. I'll manage that and I'll ensure that they'll offer us whatever support we might need." She rakes her fingers back through her white hair, from scalp to just above her neck and forces some of the unruly mane back. "Is there anything else?"
Peridot	Peridot shakes her head. She didn't like the idea much herself, but she had come to realize it had to be done. She would have to take her own medicine. "This will also mean an increase in social events. In order to make these connections, it will mean casual contact. As we will spend less time aboard the ship." "But you are dismissed for the time being. I will need you soon, for a separate task. I have several schemes rolling simultaneously." She inspects her fingers proudly. "And it's about time I go check on one."
Jasper	Is that... apprehension on Jasper's striped face as Peridot mentions the words 'social' and 'casual'? That's one arena that the Homeworld Gem would rather stay away from. Far away from. But, for now, Jasper just nods her head. "As your wish, Peridot," she replies. "I'll be on the ship, awaiting further instructions." And, with those words, Jasper is gone, the heavy sounds of her footsteps receding into the distance.