Falling to Earth

NOTE: The coded font is supposed to be there, don’t worry! Since I can’t type in the Gem language, I’ve used Wingdings instead.

 

This is a fanfiction that Solstice the Icewing wrote for her gemsona, Ruby Kyanite, and how she escaped to Earth by chance. It is written from her point of view and occurs in a mostly-canon universe, so most rules from the show still apply. My apologies for using basically every writing cliche in existence, but I hope you enjoy the story.

 

The first thing I noticed was how large the Roaming Eye was on the inside. Moving past the four seats around the inside edge of the ship, I apprehensively sat down in what I assumed to be the captain's seat up in the front. The control panel hummed to life under my fingers as I ran my hand over it.

 

This is really happening. No turning back now…

 

I was ‘borrowing’ this vessel from Homeworld without Blue Diamond’s consent in order to escape the planet. I had to owe my thanks to Blue Pearl, who agreed to turn a blind eye as I snuck into the spaceship.

 

Suddenly, footsteps echoed down the hallway of the ship hangar. If anyone saw an ill-equipped, blue-splotched Ruby behind the windshield… well, my future wouldn’t be so great. I hastily looked down at the control panel, and my breath caught in my throat as I realized that I had no idea how to operate it.

 

Oh my stars. I’m going to die… wait, wasn’t I pre-programmed to fly this thing? Hey, if my programming could just activate, now would be a good time!

 

Inexplicably, this actually worked. A voice stirred in the back of my mind and whispered a phrase in the Gem language:

 

"✌︎♍︎⧫︎♓︎❖︎♋︎⧫︎♏︎ ⧫︎♒︎❒︎◆︎⬧︎⧫︎♏︎❒︎”

 

I quickly found the appropriate control and switched it to ‘on’; the ship rose from the ground and whizzed backwards out of the docking bay so fast that my face slammed into the control panel.

 

Right. Even when I’m running for my life, I have to remember to wear a seat belt…

 

My programming continued to send me commands as the ship climbed higher and higher into Homeworld’s purple-tinged atmosphere. I pressed my face against the tinted window as the planet shrank below; the Diamond ships, the Kindergartens: everything that I had come to know in my centuries-long life.

 

Go back, I thought. Why are you doing this? Why does it matter if Homeworld is as corrupt as you think it is? Stay within your boundaries, stay safe. Why are you risking your life just because your opinion differs from that of the masses?

 

It took all of my willpower not to steer back, but a shattered future was waiting for me back on Homeworld, literally. I averted my eyes from the window and continued the ship’s ascent.

 

Finally, the voice in my head informed me that I had escaped Homeworld’s orbit. I was truly on my own now.

 

Using the stars as a reference, I oriented the Roaming Eye toward what I believed was the direction of a habitable planet. I had studied in secret as I became disillusioned with my role on Gem Homeworld, and although there weren’t many accessible books on the topic, I was pretty sure I knew where I was going...

 

The ship rumbled softly as it sped towards my destination. No matter how fast we went, however, the stars almost never moved; it was a calm and surprisingly beautiful backdrop. I leaned my head back. Maybe I’m getting the hang of this.

 

“✌︎⬧︎⧫︎♏︎❒︎□︎♓︎♎︎⬧︎ ♓︎■︎♍︎□︎❍︎♓︎■︎♑︎! 👌︎❒︎♋︎♍︎♏︎ ♐︎□︎❒︎ ♓︎❍︎◻︎♋︎♍︎⧫︎!”

 

My programming blared in my head urgently, jerking me to attention. The control panel in the ship displayed the same urgent message, warning me of asteroids up ahead. These messages proved completely useless because it was impossible for me to react to the asteroids, which shot by faster than bullets.

 

Ok, programming! Now what?!

 

Silence. I supposed that was the extent of my pre-installed knowledge; I would have to go to actual training to learn how to handle this kind of situation. Which was just as well, considering that I was about to die from these rapidly moving projectiles.

 

Cursing my luck, I stared at the panel, hoping that there was something I could do to escape the asteroid field, but five seconds later I had an even bigger problem.

 

Abruptly, an explosive impact reverberated through the left side of the Roaming Eye, sending it spiraling off balance. I lost all sense of direction as the ship spun uncontrollably, the hull rattling as it absorbed more collisions with the asteroids. My head cleared as the ship slowed down, and a lump of panic started to build in my gut.

 

The windshield was cracked, the gravity engine was off, and as alarms sounded, the control panel calmly informed me that the ship’s left engine had been destroyed. I was now floating in a crippled vessel in a sea of asteroids with no means of getting back home. Pathetically, I considered the possibility of being rescued by a Homeworld ship, but the gems still thought me to be dead. I was about to be exiled in the void of space until the end of time. My heart pounded as I suddenly started feeling trapped despite the size of the spaceship.

 

Stop being so dramatic! What would Burnout think? You know what she would do in your situation!

 

“Screw this!” I roared, finally losing my cool-headed demeanor. I pulled myself back into an upright position. “I’m getting out of here, functioning engines or not.”

 

The cracked control panel popped up with a message: ‘✌︎❒︎♏︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ⬧︎◆︎❒︎♏︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ⬥︎♋︎■︎⧫︎ ⧫︎□︎ ♋︎♍︎⧫︎♓︎❖︎♋︎⧫︎♏︎ ♒︎⍓︎◻︎♏︎❒︎⬧︎◻︎♏︎♏︎♎︎?’

 

“Yes, I want to activate hyperspeed! Dammit, if this doesn’t work…”

 

Surely enough, the ship’s remaining engine switched back on, and I accelerated at a blistering pace as I neared hyperspeed. I couldn’t see the outside of the ship but I could imagine it contorting into a V-shaped vessel as space flashed by, the stars now speeding-

 

A second impact, this one at a much higher velocity, blasted against the ship with unimaginable force and filled my head with blinding stars of agony as I slammed into the ground. I had a split second to contemplate how idiotic my actions had been, then the darkness rose up to engulf me, and I was gone.

 

[Ship report- The Roaming Eye proceeded to spiral off with the right engine still on. The ship had already made several light year’s worth of progress, and it continued to speed forward on its own, albeit in a completely different direction. Fuel supplies were extinguished after half an hour, slowing the ship down within orbit of a blue-and-green planet in the Crystal system.]

 

…

 

How am I still alive?

 

I was lying down in the crushed and compressed remains of my ship, facing upwards at a gray-pink sky. I looked down to make sure I had no gemstone damage- wait. My diamond insignia was gone; I must have poofed and reformed without it. After a count of five, I sat up slowly and surveyed my surroundings, head still spinning from impact.

 

There were bushes as far as the eye could see, and strangely enough, floating islands and weapons imbedded in the ground. I leaned forward to see one of these weapons, a small axe, and I suddenly froze with a mixture of disbelief and terror.

 

A circular symbol was unmistakably engraved in the axe’s hilt- the insignia of Rose Quartz.

Why am I on Earth?!