47Prologue: In the Shadows…
We open to a dark empty space, seemingly endless in size. Then light begin to appear, revealing to be video screens. What was playing on those screens…were various battles the Crystal Gems had gotten themselves into the last few years! Specifically, there was the first fight with the Centipeedle, the struggle with the Watermelon Stevens, two first fight against Lapis Lazuli, and finally the arrival of the Homeworld Gems.(1) At the end of each battle, the screen changed revealing more of a logo: a silver heater shield with a picture of the Earth in the middle with the letters 'EDI' inside the earth, with a motto at the bottom; "Defenderet terra pretio" or (loosely translated) 'Defending the Earth at any price.'
Once the scenes showed only the logo, a woman appeared from the shadows. She had long dark hair with streaks of grey running through it. She wore a combination of a scientist's lab coat and army uniform, including military boots and black gloves. What was most noticeable about her were her light blue eyes, like two shining icicles, beautiful but cold. When she spoke she held a strange accent, like she was born and raised in Germany, but later moved to France long enough for her adopted some of the accent:
"Ladies and gentlemen, greetings. You are no doubt curious as why I have brought you here. If your varied countries' monitoring of the Crystal Gems is up to date, you have no doubt realized the horrible truth: the Gem Homeworld has official made contact with the Earth!"
Allowing the various members of the audience to discuss this fact among themselves for a few moment, the woman then raised her hand to silence the audience, allowing her to continue, "This is a day we have prepared for since the end of the Great War! Unfortunately…those plans allowed for at least another hundred years or so… Thankfully, we have the means to accelerate our preparedness."
One of the men stood from their seat in the shadows speaking with a Chinese accent, "Director, are you speaking of violating the Rose Accord?(2)"
The director smirk before responding, "Each member of this Council has at one time or another violated the stipulation preventing the study of Gem technology. We both know the Space Race was in fact a race to access the Lunar Base. So don't act so shocked and appalled that I simply make it…an international effort. Because that's what the Earth Defense Initiative is. An international effort to save Earth from total annihilation! We must put aside our difference to work towards the common good!"
The next voice from the shadows was a woman with Arab accent, in a mocking tone, "A bold speech. However, it is well known how much you despise the Crystal Gems. Any effort against the Homeworld will require their aid."
The Director glared at the woman before responding, "My dislike of the Crystal Gems comes from the fact that they actively kept device that would improve the state of our world to themselves. However…I will be willing to allow them to assist us because as you can see here…we will be doing the heavy lifting." On the screen appeared the first fight between the fusion Malachite, with Lapis Lazuli assisting in trapping Jasper and herself on the bottom of the see.
"Make no mistake, the Crystal Gems are in no way ready to face the oncoming threat! Something kept the Homeworld Gems away, but that ended when Lapis Lazuli made contact with her home!(3) We must do everything in our power to prepare for this threat."
"Yeah I gotta ask...when are you planning on speaking with the Crystal Gems about our little shindig?" asked a man with Texas accent.(4)
"When it becomes relevant." stated the Director coldly, "I will not go to the Gems like a beggar if I can help it. Besides they still have Peridot and Malachite to find."
"And you're not gonna try and find them?" asked the Texan member of the council.
"You seem to forget how we have been gathering the technology." the Director began to explain, "Thanks to the track device implant in subject Androcles during that one hospital stay when he was younger, allows us to locate any Gem sites we missed in our initial search. Then, once the Gems have done whatever it is they need to do, we can go in and-"
"Collect the scraps." remarked the Arabic woman, "In most cases the Gems have initiated some form of self-destruct, leaving very little intact technology."
"While that is true, even the study of the building material has yield extremely useful finds. Also, the Gems don't always pick up after themselves right away. Observe!" exclaimed the Director before activating her Holotool.(5) Then the sound of little footsteps could be heard coming out from the shadows revealing…one of Peridot's Flask Robonoids!
"As you can see, I have not only capture a small number of intact Homeworld tech, but I have found a way to control it! Soon, I will unlock all of its secrets, include the secret behind that Warp Pad repair fluid!" exclaimed the Director excitedly.
"But wouldn't that make capturing Peridot a priority? I mean she has access to a lot of that tech, plus some of the stuff she's been hinting at in the reports have burr in my boot!" explained the Texan representative.
The director ponder a way to respond to this before saying, "Again, standard practice will work. Peridot will open up access to areas the Crystal Gems had no desire or knowledge to reach. This will give us substantial access to new technology! Eventually the Crystal Gems will capture her and Androcles' curiosity will force him to release Peridot, hopeful in a more…helpful state. We'll track the Gems' progress and intervene if necessary."
The Council murmured and discussed among themselves before the Speaker, a British gentleman addressed the Director, "Very well…Director Alena Frankfurt, you have this Council's full support in this endeavor…on the condition that by the end of this year, you make contact with the Crystal Gems to collaborate out efforts. I know you have your…doubts about the Crystal Gems' effectiveness, but they do have the most knowledge of the enemy and their technology. I hope you make the correct decisions. Logging you out."
And with that, the Council disappeared one by one revealing them to have been holographic projections. Once the last of them had left, Director Frankfurt turned back to the screen and opened a screen to a familiar scene. Steven was in the midst of a discussion with his friend Connie. He had been previously deciding to push her away from the dangers of his life. Now, he looked at Connie with tears streaming down his face realizing he couldn't push her away. After that, he sits down to discuss his previous adventure…(6)
Seeing this scene stirred something in Alena's heart…perhaps some motherly instinct making her question the path her life had taken. She quickly shook her head and closed the screen leaving only the logo and motto of her organization. Slowly, Alena traced the last word in the motto 'pretio' or more loosely translated…'at any price'…
Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe nor any characters or elements that are contained in the series. I only own this story and the original characters (i.e. villains and monsters) and concepts that go with it. I should point out one of my pet peeves of the Steven Universe series: the lack of Human involvement. The Gems seemed to exclude anyone 'not relevant' to the problem, even Greg and Connie. Then I read some of the stories about organizations and militaries showing great valor and assistance and I decided; what if relations didn't start out friendly. I hope I haven't given too much away this chapter, but soon…you will see the strength of Mankind…at its best and its worst. Please read and review!
1 Each of these represents a series of battles in order from the various seasons. You should be able to find clips of them on YouTube. It also helps to give you an idea on when this meeting takes place.
2 Since there was no WWII in Steven universe, I can only assume that Rose Quartz and the Crystal Gems had a hand in the "Treaty of Versailles." Though this also covers a version of the Geneva Conventions as well.
3 I should point out that according to how I have watched the episodes, it is likely Peridot would have come even without Lapis' return to the Homeworld. The Director is assigning blame to Lapis based on what little she knows of the situation.
4 I should probably mention the place I have mentioned for the accents in not canon with Steven Universe. Later, I might assign different names to the places mentioned.
5 Think of it like the Omnitool see in the Mass Effect series.
6 This is a more direct reference to "Full Disclosure" which is where this chapter is taking place. Don't worry, the next will be right after "Hitting the Diamond".