Angel in a Blue Dress

Chapter 1: Initiation

Dawn was breaking in the Homeworld Research Hub, and in spite of the early hour the sector was already abuzz with activity. The ebb and flow of Gems had increased greatly mostly because of the swell of initiates in the current cycle. After five centuries of lessons on Gem history, culture, technology, and field research an unprecedented 197 potential researchers were ready to get hands on experience in the field.

This very day was the moment all initiates were to find out which Gem would be their guide during their field training. Almost a hundred Gems had gathered around a massive, glowing pillar in the center of the hub to discover whom they would be training under. Upon seeing who their trainer would be some expressed excitement, some disappointment, others ambivalence. One little blue Gem was fortunate enough to feel excitement. It took Sapphire a moment to press through the crowd so she could insert her data shard into an available slot to access information on her assignment. She clasped her hands in delight at the sight of a dark green Gem with pleasant looking features appearing on her section of the pillar.

Sapphire snapped her head to the left at the sound of the excited squeal of another Gem peeking over her shoulder. Her bluish-green colorings highlighted by thin, cream colored stripes made it clear that this Gem was an Agate, her Gem centered at the base of her throat.

"Oh wow! I was wondering who would be the lucky one to train under Emerald!" Blue Agate exclaimed as she pressed a hand on Sapphire's shoulder. "She's a total genius in field research!" The soft spoken Gem turned to her fellow initiate with a rarely seen smile.

"Yes, this is very exciting! I've heard so many amazing things about her. Her work has even been featured in just about all of our lessons. I'm looking forward to working with her. But I must admit I'm a little nervous though…"

Blue Agate tilted her head to the side, giving Sapphire a questioning look. The dainty Gem took that as a prompt to explain further.

"I just wonder if I'll be able to meet her standards. I don't want to be so caught up in her genius that I mess things up. Could you imagine if that happened? I would never hear the end of it!"

The slightly taller Gem returned an amiable smile as she gently patted the petite, blue Gem on the head.

"I don't think you should worry. Someone obviously has great confidence in your skills since you're been paired with Emerald. I've seen you in action in the simulations. Not only are you quick on your feet, your thought process seems pretty fast as well. It's almost as if you can see what's coming! I could see skills like that coming in handy on missions, so I'm sure those higher up saw it too."

Although she was a little uncomfortable hearing that Blue Agate had somewhat picked up on her unusual gift, Sapphire just smiled and nodded in agreement to her fellow initiate's assessment. Within the hour all the initiates dispersed to return to their quarters to wait for their Qualifiers to contact them with their mission coordinates.

While waiting patiently for contact, Sapphire decided to settle on appropriate form to take on her very first mission. Her style tended to be quite conservative, but the thought crossed her mind that her usual style may be a bit impractical during the mission. She preferred dresses, so she chose a modified version of her usual flowing skirts, going with a soft blue, high/low style with just enough ruffles to satisfy her taste. As she gave herself a nod of approval a long awaited and expected sound caught her attention.

Sapphire glanced toward the entrance to her personal quarters to see a ball of light gliding its way toward her. It finally paused in mid-air a few inches from her face. She listened closely as a clear, yet pleasant voice emanated from the glowing orb.

"Initiate #88, please report to local Communication Hub 26 to receive a private message from your Qualifier at this time. If you are in need of direction to the proper location please request guidance at this time." Sapphire politely declined since she was quite familiar with this sector. She also knew she could move a lot faster than the message orb if its current movement were any indication of that. After the stoic Gem declined the offer of directions the orb simply winked out of existence. Sapphire quietly gathered any materials and tools she may need on her mission, secured her quarters, and ran to the local hub in a glittering flash. Her gift allowed her to move at great speed while avoiding obstacles and other Gems. In a few short moments she was sitting quietly in a private booth. She used the same data shard to retrieve the message from her Qualifier. After the screen hummed to life she sat up straight and proper to take it all in as Emerald's pleasant features appeared before her once again.

"Greetings, Initiate, or should I say Sapphire. As you may already know, I am Emerald, your Qualifier for your maiden mission. Depending on how well this goes we may be working together on future missions as well. We'll be departing from local Warp Pad B-26-17 in approximately 11 minutes. Please don't be late, as that will affect your qualification process. I'm looking forward to meeting you. May we have a pleasant, practical, and progressive experience on this mission!"

With the tiniest hint of a smile on her lips Sapphire made it to the Warp Pad in record time with seven minutes to spare. Poised and patient as usual, she waited at the base of the pad for Emerald to show up. Five minutes later the blue Gem saw whom she was waiting for walk around the corner. Her skin had the rich color of fresh leaves on breezy spring day. Her hair was a shade of green similar to the wings of a lunar moth and braided in an intricate spiral pattern with dark green glassy beads scattered throughout. Her almond shaped eyes were bright and clear with just a hint of seductiveness. Sapphire barely noticed that Emerald had no visible gem. When the two Gems finally stood face to face Sapphire could see that her Qualifier was a head taller than her. She looked up at Emerald, mouth slightly agape, at a loss for words. She almost couldn't believe she was actually in the presence of the amazing genius whose field research she admired the most. She was snapped out of her initial state of shock when the Qualifier spoke.

"So, you must be Sapphire. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Emerald stated as she extended her hand. Sapphire managed to compose herself enough to take the green Gem's hand and give it a dainty shake. She was so tempted to ad in a curtsy as well.

"It's a great honor to meet you as well, Miss Emerald." Sapphire's plump lips slightly twitched as Emerald burst into laughter.

"There's no need to be so formal, sweetie." The Qualifier leaned in close, her cheek slightly brushing against Sapphire's. "We're going to be working too closely to be worrying about formalities."

The slightly flustered gem's cheeks took on a hopefully unnoticeable darker blue tint as Emerald gently guided her to the warp pad. As Sapphire pondered the many possibilities flashing through her mind's eye she had no doubt that her maiden mission was going to be an interesting one.