Jade Facet-4Y8 Cut-03 was one of the first jades to come out of her little Kindergarten on Homeworld. It was a mere group of 16 gems, blinking awake with the sudden light of being alive.

Although all gems know their purpose upon emerging, that doesn't mean they know how to perform it. Legend has it that White Diamond herself, having created the lustrous twin Diamonds, trained and taught them all they needed. Blue and Yellow Diamond used their knowledge to teach the lesser gems, who continued this cycle of learning.

Being the first batch of jades meant that they had to rely on another gem type. For them, this was a sole nephrite, colonizers, one who had never stepped foot outside of Homeworld.

Nephrite was skinny and had shaking hands, voice quiet whenever she spoke. Despite her nervousness, although, she was a good teacher. Even with her practical inexperience, Nephrite knew what she was talking about.

She had told them the reasons why jades were being made. Due to no fault of their own, many of the luminous Diamonds' colonies were haphazard, or even failed. The Diamonds were perfect, but they couldn't do everything. At that point, nephrites surveyed everything regarding colony sites: geobiological properties of a planet, and later the drainage and utilization of those resources once the colony got kicking.

Keeping track of all of that was fine for one nephrite crew if the planet was small or lacking in organic life. However, very few gems were produced then, else many would turn out defective or off-colored. Bigger or richer planets had the opposite problem; many gems could be produced without defects, but it was a challenge for the overseers.

With so much on their plate, and the diversity of the cosmos, it was difficult to tell biological and geological apart. Once they got that far, dealing with hostile life also became a hurdle. (While Diamonds were indestructible, nephrites were not Diamonds.)

So that's why the jades were made: to act as the go-to for organic life, gradually turning the nephrites into just the managers of the whole shebang. Other such experimental groups of gems were being created and indoctrinated at this very moment, Nephrite told them.

Five weeks after the jades' emergence, Nephrite had come in carrying a round container with green tendrils poking out from the top. A divergence from her usual nervousness, she seemed excited to be showing this off.

Nephrite placed the container down, and waited for one of the jades to say something. Eventually, Jade 16 spoke, cautiously stepping towards the pot. "What… is that thing?"

"It's organic," Nephrite said, nearly bouncing on her heels. "I've convinced her lustrousness Blue Diamond to offer a sample from one of her colonies."

Hesitantly, Jade 03 stepped forward to peer into the pot. What could be called wires were wrapped tightly around everything, holding tight onto the rim. At some points, the green wires would jut out and a dull yellow growth would sit on top. "Isn't it supposed to move?"

"It does move, albeit very slowly," said Nephrite. "Since it doesn't have access to its planet resources, it can only survive for a few days before dying. So, we don't have much time to learn from it."

Jade bent down and reached for the yellow growths with a nervous hand. She was a gem, what's the worst this thing could do to her? She pulled it off and squeezed it between her pointer finger and thumb, feeling water spill out. "It's… wet?"

"You've heard of lapis lazulis, haven't you?" Nephrite asked, scooping up the pot. "That's why they're so important in colonization. Many organic creatures require liquid water to survive."

"Organic life is so odd." 16 crumpled up her nose in disgust. "If studying them didn't mean the betterment of gemkind…"

"Don't say things like that!" chastised Jade 09, soft spoken and airy. "While gems are superior to any organic being, we do need them to be created."

16 and 09 argued about that, Nephrite stepping back into her old role as the anxious instructor. Jade wasn't listening, turning the flower around in her hands. As she did so, her fingers became moist and covered in a thin yellow dust. She twisted it around until it eventually disintegrated under her touch, a sweet scent in her hands.