LOG-003.

  I resisted the urge to groan in exhaustion, even as I slid a foot forward, continuing the elaborate dance while the Nacre across from me continued to pour through a small army of holographic screens.

  "Simply sublime! The Gem that commissioned you is an Emerald!"

  The Caretaker sounded fucking ecstatic about that particular piece of information, which was...good?

  Hopefully. Twisting slightly, I let my dress billow around me, one leg rising straight into the air even as I let the tips of my fingers just barely graze the utterly smooth floor of the office.

  "Facet 2M7G, cut 8XS. A fleet admiral."

  The tall Gem swept the screens away, her hands going up to clench at thin air in front of her chest, even as she did a weird victory shuffle in her seat.

  "Oh this is just perfect!"

  Lower leg, perform a standard clockwise pirouette. Shift into the next part of the dance...

  I stifled a shudder as Nacre Three gazed at me with what I'd almost call loving eyes, if I didn't know better. Her chin resting atop her interlaced fingers, the Caretaker watched me dance for a moment, before nodding.

  "That will do for now. Come closer."

  Bowing gracefully to end the brief performance, I obliged, approaching the Nacre and resisting the urge to scream as she casually reached forward, clutching my shoulder and dragging me to glance at one of the remaining screens.

  "Take a good look, my brilliant Viridian. Once she arrives, you'll belong to her. It's in both our best interests to ensure you're entirely without flaw once we finally present you to the good Emerald."

  The image of the green Gem was displayed in full colour, showing off the dazzling shades of her tight bodyglove, alongside the subtle gold accenting of what appeared to be some kind of ceremonial cloak. Her hair was wild looking, yet still managed to somehow sort itself into five distinct masses jutting out from her head. Most notably, her gemstone almost seemed to shine from its position embedded in the dead center of her chest.

  The taskmaster sighed dreamily, leaning back and finally releasing her grip on me.

  "Ah, I can see it now. My position will be elevated above One and Two once the admiral shows you off. Perhaps I'll even be put in charge of the entire facility? Oh the sheer possibilities!"

  I remained silent, even as the Nacre turned and tightly grasped my cheeks with the fucking talons she called fingers, her thin lips stretching apart in an entirely too wide grin to expose a row of pearly white teeth.

  "You are going to be sensational my darling! Just wait till Homeworld gets a good look at you!"

  I smiled wide in return, doing my best to nod despite the hold the bitch had on me.

  "I look forward to it, my Nacre!"

  Smiling back, the Caretaker nodded seriously.

  "And that is why you are my finest creation, no matter what those clods in the other sectors say." Finally letting go of me (thank the fucking Stars) and clapping her hands cheerily, the Gem swivelled in her seat.

  "You won't be rejoining the rest of your Batch in the Pearl quarters anymore. We need to ensure you're in tip top shape when your owner arrives, so I'll be personally taking care of you from now on."

  My smile got wider. Painfully wider. I probably looked just like the monster across from me, now that I really thought about it.

  "Of course, my Nacre!"

  Final stretch.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  ---

  I didn't get breaks anymore. Mostly because the time I would have previously spent lounging around in the quarters and interacting with the rest of the Pearls was now spent dancing, singing and amusing Nacre Three while she was slicing through (metaphorical, since it was all holographic) paperwork in her office.

  Days passed. Then weeks. Months, eventually.

  At least, I assumed as such. There was still no way I could tell the time in this damned Hell. There were 'orbital cycles' of course, but I had no way of comparing such a time measurement to what I was used to on Earth.

  Occasionally, I would be brought out to other parts of the Reef, ostensibly for my current torturer to show off her 'shining product' to...just about everyone she could gloat to and get away with it.

  I'd learned that Gems could most definitely cry, at least. I'd managed to bawl my eyes out in the brief period Nacre Three had left me alone in her office while she'd fucked off to get something elsewhere.

  That single leakage of actual emotion that I didn't have to fake had been euphoric.

  Still didn't know just where the water for the tears had come from, but at this point I didn't care. It was just another way of keeping myself from losing the plot completely.

  So yeah, I got really good at timing my crying sessions in between the short lapses in my Caretaker's routine, which I'd all but memorised at this point. Gave me time to fix up my appearance before she got back at least.

  Then, one day, something new happened.

  I'd been in the middle of a seven hour wordless song when the doors to the office had abruptly opened, allowing a familiar technician entry.

  Peridot 7XT had become a common face to see as of late, mostly because Nacre Three called her in whenever she reasonably (and unreasonably) could to scrounge for more information on the Emerald I was slated for. The difference today was that the Peridot hadn't been called for.

  I should know, Nacre had pretty much shunted all the work of managing her communications to me, since apparently having such a skill already ingrained in my gemstone would clearly prove most impressive for a decorated and most likely very busy fleet admiral.

  As a result, I firmly ignored the interruption and continued singing, though I did take a step back as my fellow green Gem stormed into the room, tears in her eyes and a floating finger wobbly pointed at Nacre Three.

  "I can't do this anymore!"

  ...Oh boy.

  The melodic sounds coming from my throat cut off abruptly as the Nacre silently brought up a hand, motioning for me to stop. Then she lowered the limb to rest against the table in front of her, tilting her head slowly.

  "Can't do what anymore, Peridot?"

  The Gem grit her teeth, gesturing to me, herself, and then seemingly the entire room in a flurry of panicked motion.

  "This! All of this! Falsifying records so you can keep your pet Pearl in the office all the time! Accessing files I have zero rights to just so you can get a leg up on the other Nacres! I'm done breaking the law for you!"

  I took another very, very careful step back, even as Nacre Three smiled that horrifically stretched smile of hers.

  "I would urge you to reconsider-"

  The stupid bitch (survival instincts had clearly eroded at some point) cut her off, waving her arms wildly.

  "I'm taking this up with the other Caretakers! We'll see what they have to say about thi-!"

  Pop.

  Her expression paused, eyes utterly uncomprehending behind her transparent yellow visor even as my taskmaster's hand steadily pierced further through her torso, right up until her entire lightform dematerialised with the signature 'poof' of a Gem temporarily losing their projected body. Her four limb enhancers all fell to the floor with dull thumps, rolling around before finally coming to a stop.

  "We can pause the singing practice for now, Viridian. This was a surprise, but I can most certainly see an opportunity to teach you something special here."

  The Nacre beckoned me closer, even as she kneeled down and scooped up the technician's helpless Gemstone.

  I did the only thing I could do. I approached, hands politely clasped in front of me and face attentive.

  Three glanced up as the automatic door swished closed, before turning to look at me with a slightly more subdued smile.

  "Homeworld has laws, my dearest Pearl. And these laws, of course, exist for a reason. They keep our beautiful Empire running efficiently. Clean, tidy and well ordered."

  She glanced at the gemstone in her hand, eyes narrowing.

  "However, these laws must be carefully interpreted, lest we cause problems for those who matter in society. This...resource deprived runt would see us fail, Viridian. Were she to spread her worthless knowledge and opinions, the others in control of this facility would see me unjustly punished for the sole sake of their own amusement, and you..."

  The gemstone was gently set back on the ground, right before the Nacre stood up straight, staring at me.

  "You would not see your true potential...and that is something I as a Caretaker can not allow. Thus begins the lesson."

  The Nacre brought her leg up, dainty looking foot aimed right at-oh shit.

  Crack.

  "As a Pearl, you will see and hear many things in the process of serving your owner."

  Crackle.

  "And it is your duty as a Pearl to keep these things to yourself."

  Snap.

  The green gemstone finally shattered, splitting into three distinct shards beneath the grinding pressure of the Nacre's foot, who plucked the separated pieces back into her hand in short order.

  "We can proceed without this troublesome pebble, thankfully. I have it on good authority that the Gems coming to collect your Batch will be arriving within this orbital cycle, including the admiral."

  I stared in muted shock as she held the shards out, palm up. Then I quickly looked up into her gently smiling face.

  I'd underestimated Nacre Three, evidently. Alongside just how far she was willing to go in regards to making us both look good.

  "Store her remains inside your gemstone and let us never speak of this troublesome obstacle again, yes? I'll ensure no one misses her."

  Ruthlessly stifling the almost violent need to swallow, I took the offered fragments of broken gemstone from her hand, holding them in two of my own and inspecting them.

  Pretty looking. And also utterly horrifying for someone who had gone through multiple in depth Gem physiology lectures.

  Then I did the smart thing, and brought the clear case of murder lower to my stomach. A short flash of light later, and the evidence of the shattering was safely hidden inside my own gemstone.

  Just a little bit longer.

  "Good Pearl. Now get the limb enhancers as well."

  Final stretch...