The Chosen Twelve's massive ship, serial number #0293229-2 loomed over the vast icy tundra of Sector 29 of the South-West planetary quadrant, Quearere. Black Opal stood at the bridge, looking through the windows over at the icy tundra. He decided to send a message over the intercom.
BLACK OPAL: Attention crew. Please prepare for a rough landing; the mountains and turbulence won't make for that nice of a descent. Remember, when we land I want all hands on deck, ready for the operation. To be compromised is to fail, and to fail is to disappoint. Good luck crew
With that he turned off the intercom, and placed his attention back on the view.
To compromise is to fail, to fail is to disappoint. The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint.
AGATE: We got 20 minutes until we need to depart, we wanna keep ourselves on schedule.
Agate had gone to Black Opal in the bridge. The ship had landed near the frozen lakes of Sector 29 of the quadrant. The crew was tracking northeast toward the southwest mountain range. The first ones they were to be dropping off would be the overseas defense team as their first priority.
Bloodstone came to the bridge, armed to the collar with an assortment of weapons; a destabilizer at his side along with an array of guns hanging to his belt, a plasma rifle strapped to his back, both hands bearing brass knuckles, and, just for safe measure, a dirk knife in his left shoe.
BLOODSTONE: Ready for the mission, cap. Should we start unloading the cannons sir?
Black Opal took a step back from him, anxious that he could blow at any second.
BLACK OPAL: Holy hell, watch were you step! I know that this is a pretty important mission for us all, and I admire you for being so devoted to this and all, but, is there really any reason for you to be walking around like a ticking time bomb?
BLOODSTONE: I must keep myself armed to the fullest extent, so that if a comrade falls I can take his place.
BLACK OPAL: Yeah, sure. Just make sure none of those explosives fall while you're loading the cannons on ground. As for the mission, I have some things to go over with you guys before you go.
BLOODSTONE: I understand.
Bloodstone marched out of the ship, moving one of the canon with him.
BLACK OPAL: Our crew really is something.
AGATE: You’re telling me. I’ll go out there and make sure they don’t screw themselves over.
Agate left the room to help the others.
Once Bloodstone, Charoite, Oligoclase, and Hessonite were positioned, the crew moved on. Othoclase, Sunstone, and Moonstone were dropped in between the mountains as the recovering unit, and finally the others fanned out across the frozen forest. Once all were in position, the cascade began.
Lonsdaleite lead an army. They covered the north half of the sector while Axinite’s covered the southern.
It wasn’t long before the first scout took note of the Chosen Twelve’s presence. As word reached Axinite, he began to panic, and decided not to tell Lonsdaleite but take it into his own hands.>/b>
Apatite and Nephrite were the first to be intercepted. Teams of gems surrounded the two, and for a moment they seemed helpless. However it should not be assumed that they were so, as the Chosen Twelve were a team of expert and hardcore combatants. Apatite and Nephrite were able to fight off the teams as much as they could, fighting valiantly, but eventually had to retreat. An S.O.S message was promptly sent to Zircon.
It must be remembered the Zircon, too, had her hands full. She was piloting the ship overhead, in stealth mode, scouting the skies. As soon as she saw Axinite’s legion coming over the mountain, she fired hell from above. The legion, or what remained of it after the onslaught, retreated into the forest. A memo was sent to the team members, a notice about the assailants. It was then that the Chosen Twelve knew they had to retreat.
Black Opal and Agate were patrolling together. Black Opal got Zircon’s message first, and so had Agate go back and warn the others that their cover was blown. He himself vowed to forage on and look for the Blue Light. Agate then tagged along with Nephrite and Apatite, the three making it out of the forest. They met at the mountain pass at which the Feldspar twins and Orthoclase were. Zircon had cleared the area of hostiles, and set up the area of a rendezvous point. Zircon, Orthoclase, Sunstone, Moonstone, Nephrite, Agate, and Apatite were safe, but worried about the others. Orthoclase was sent to scout for the others, as he was the quickest, and could get the message around.
By this time, the remaining gems were well aware of the danger amidst them. However the gems along the coast were already busy with fighting off members of Axinite’s legion. They used the cannons to their advantage, and so were winning the battle somewhat. Orthoclase reached the battle point, and helped the others sneak away. Oligoclase didn’t make it though. He was eventually killed, and dematerialized. Orthoclase was fast enough to grab his gem beforehand. It took some time to successfully get them to the meeting point, and by now a few members of Axinite’s legion had dispatched to follow after the gems. Once he got the others into safety, Orthoclase made a run for Black Opal.
Black Opal was only a mile away from the temple at which Blue Light was located until he ran into Lonsdaleite. In truth, Lonsdaleite had been stalking him like a wolf from the beginning. Immediately, they knew they were enemies. In the heat of battle Axinite interfered. It was a two on one, and before long Opal, too, was dematerialized. Orthoclase came quick enough to grab his gem and flee. The two followed Orthoclase, but were not able to keep pace. Orthoclase outran them and bolted for the ship.
Axinite’s legion was attacking the ship, the other 10 gems were holding them off. Orthoclase managed to reach the ship with Opal’s gem, and the crew began lift off. While lifting off, the ship was struck by an attack by the opposite army. It only barely cleared the atmosphere and made it into space. The crew looked back at the planet as they left. To compromise is to fail, to fail is to disappoint.
The ship set a coarse towards Homeworld. It was time for a meeting with their diamond.
Trivia[]
- Means "The Twelve Angels of Death".