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With nothing more to say…
Chapter 72: Blue Silence
Blue Diamond remained motionless in front of her ship's observation crystal.
Space stretched before her like a bottomless ocean: silent, eternal, indifferent to any conflict.
The stars did not judge, obey, or demand. They simply existed. In that, the void had always seemed cruelly honest.
Her hands rested together, tense, as if holding something that should not escape. The conversation with White Diamond returned to her mind uninvited.
It had not been a discussion. It could not even be called a dialogue. Ten exact words. Ten words after several solar cycles without seeing each other. A new record, ironically useless.
Nothing had been resolved. Nothing had been granted. Rose was not mentioned as a person, only as precedent, as a historical error, as a closed variable.
Blue Diamond clenched her fingers slowly.
"It's useless," she thought.
If Rose were there, she would not have accepted that silence. She would not have remained still, staring at stars as if the universe itself were a sufficient answer. Rose would have spoken, insisted, challenged. Not out of pride, but conviction. Always out of conviction.
The projection of space shifted slightly as the ship adjusted its trajectory. Blue Diamond barely noticed. Her mind was already elsewhere. On Earth. That small planet the Empire had cataloged as failed, inefficient, expendable.
There was the palanquin.
That structure, useless for any strategic purpose, producing no resources, imposing no authority. For the Empire, it was a worthless object. For her, it was an intact memory. One of the few not tainted by reports, reconstructions, or well-meaning lies.
It was not nostalgia she felt. Nor weakness, though White would surely call it that. It was something more precise. Preservation.
Yellow Diamond's voice appeared in her mind, clear, firm, as always. The planet would be destroyed. Not out of cruelty, but efficiency. The Empire could not afford anomalies.
Blue Diamond closed her eyes.
"Not this time. I will not let them take the little I have left of her."
The decision was neither explosive nor heroic. There was no dramatic instant in which everything changed. It was more like a fissure forming for centuries, finally visible.
If Earth were to disappear, at least some piece of Rose must survive. Something that could not be reduced to a footnote or eliminated by higher command.
The palanquin was not a political symbol to her. It was a meaningful space. A place where Rose had been Rose without masks, without extravagant titles, obviously only for herself, free from Imperial expectations… A place where she had laughed, thought, doubted.
Blue Diamond opened her eyes and saw her own reflection in the crystal. For a moment, she did not see a Diamond. She saw someone tired of silently obeying White Diamond.
"If you were here," she murmured softly, knowing no one would hear, "I wouldn't be leaving you alone again."
The ship moved smoothly, almost respectfully. Systems required no intervention. Everything functioned with flawless precision thanks to the gems who had worked for the ship.
Blue Diamond stepped away from the crystal and walked slowly through the command room. Each step echoed with a calmness both artificial and, in its own way, organic. She remembered Yellow Diamond, always devoted to order, always executing without hesitation. Yellow had found her outlet after Rose's death: work. Action. Control.
She had not.
She had cried. For centuries. In silence.
She stopped in front of a partial projection of the planet. Blue and white, small, fragile. So different from the Empire's perfect colonies. Rose had loved it precisely for that.
"I won't challenge White," she thought bitterly.
"But I will not hand you over to oblivion, Rose."
The ship began to decelerate. Earth drew closer. Blue Diamond felt something she had not felt in a long time.
"I still have hope for something," she thought, with a hint of sarcasm.
If Yellow was right and the planet was to be destroyed, then the palanquin could not remain there. It would not witness another loss. She would not allow the last piece of Rose to be lost among rubble and fire.
Silence returned to the room. A different silence. Not empty. Not sterile.
A silence full of intent.
Blue Diamond returned to the crystal and observed the planet one last time before the final maneuver. Her lips curved slightly—not in a smile, but in something like a promise.
"Wait for me," she whispered.
"I will take what little remains of you."
And the ship continued its course.
Blue Diamond settled back into her massive seat, designed for authority that must never doubt.
"Pearl," Blue Diamond said.
Blue Pearl immediately turned, posture perfect, back straight, hands clasped in front of her. No fear in her expression, only absolute attention. If her Diamond decided to set the Empire aflame, she would be the first to carry the torch to invade.
"Yes, my Diamond."
Blue Diamond observed the space projection in front of her for several seconds before speaking. Not because she needed to think of the question, but because she needed the correct answer, not the obedient one.
"How's the human zoo?"
Blue Pearl remained silent. Not from nerves—they had long been gone—but from calculation. She tilted her head slightly and deployed a series of holographic screens, data moving swiftly as she accessed records few gems could consult without direct authorization.
"My Diamond… the system remains operational."
Blue Diamond interlaced her fingers.
"That doesn't answer my question."
Blue Pearl nodded slightly.
"The humans are alive. They reproduce. They adapt. But maintenance is deficient."
A new projection appeared: capsules, suspended structures, ancient containment fields.
"Yellow Diamond has blocked the dispatch of technical gems. The zoo survives solely thanks to a Peridot requested roughly five thousand years ago."
Blue Diamond raised an eyebrow.
"One alone?"
"Yes, my Diamond. A first-generation Peridot. She requested technical reinforcements millennia ago, but the order was never approved."
Blue Diamond studied the image closely. One gem maintaining an entire facility meant to last thousands of years. That was not Imperial efficiency. That was negligence.
"Is she broken?"
Blue Pearl shook her head gently.
"Unlikely. First-generation Peridots are remarkably resilient. However… she exhibits erratic behavior patterns."
Blue Diamond exhaled slowly.
"Rose would have been furious."
Not said as reproach. Stated as fact.
Blue Pearl lowered her gaze slightly. Not from shame, but respect for a name that still carried weight, even in absence.
Blue Diamond activated another screen, reviewing pending judgments, colonies under evaluation, minor conflicts she would normally resolve without thought. Today, however, everything seemed secondary.
"What should I do, Pearl?"
The question hung in the air.
Blue Pearl stayed still. She did not answer immediately. She looked toward the projected void beyond the ship's crystal, as if she could find there an answer not conditioned by protocols.
She thought.
She thought like a gem.
She thought like a tool.
She thought, above all, like someone who knew her Diamond better than anyone.
"I would say… we should send reinforcements."
Blue Diamond did not lift her gaze, but her attention was fully on her.
"Stage-two and stage-one gems. Not too many. Only the necessary. Efficient. Silent, given the type of facility, my Diamond."
Blue Diamond nodded slowly.
"Five more Peridots… and another Agate?"
Blue Pearl shook her head calmly.
"There is already an Agate assigned to the zoo, my Diamond. Her performance is adequate."
Blue Diamond gestured with her hand, and the orders began to transmit.
"Five Peridots, then."
She paused.
"And additional supplies."
Blue Pearl tilted her head.
"Diamond essence?"
Blue Diamond blinked, surprised.
"Also?" she replied, uncertain.
"If you wish to maintain it for millennia more, my Diamond," Pearl said firmly.
…
"Very well," Blue Diamond said finally.
Blue Pearl nodded and executed the orders.
Blue Diamond remained silent, but a small, foolish question arose in her mind.
"Are they still alive?"
The Diamond allowed a trace of curiosity into her voice.
"Yes, my Diamond. Though they are not the same individuals. They are their descendants. According to human records… they are called children."
Blue Diamond observed the projection with a different focus.
Curiosity.
Rose had spoken of them. Of their fragility. Of their ability to change in absurdly short periods. Of how, despite everything, they kept going.
"Rose wanted to protect them," she thought.
And that thought, though unspoken, pressed something deep inside her core.
"Send the essence," she finally said.
"The minimum required."
Blue Pearl nodded and carried out the order without hesitation.
Both continued working in silence through several cycles. The ship advanced effortlessly, constantly regenerating, adjusting itself, perfect in function. No extensive crew was required.
It was a Diamond ship.
Blue Diamond rested her chin on one hand, watching the stars drift slowly.
Only two gems on board.
Her. And her Pearl.
For two simple reasons.
First, because she was a Diamond, and no one had real authority to tell her where she could or could not go. The Empire had been built around them, not the other way around.
Second, because the ship could not fail. And if it did, it would repair itself. As always.
Blue Pearl glanced at her Diamond. She knew her well enough to notice the change. It was not sadness. Not exactly.
It was resolution.
"My Diamond," she said softly. "Are we heading to Earth?"
Blue Diamond took a few seconds to respond.
"Yes."
Blue Pearl nodded, satisfied. She did not need to know more.
As the ship adjusted its course, Blue Diamond closed her eyes for a moment.
"Rose… what a disaster you left behind," she thought.
"And yet… I still want to save what little remains."
This time, she would not allow it to be taken from her.
Both continued their work in the Empire.
Suddenly, an incoming call broke the calm.
"Huh?" Blue murmured, confused, noticing the signal was not directed at her, but at her Pearl.
"Who is it, Pearl?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
"I'll confirm right away, my Diamond," Pearl replied with absolute calm, checking the channel.
Her eyes narrowed for barely a second.
"It's my Yellow Diamond."
End of Chapter 72