Jasper was sitting on the beach, alone, in the dark.
It had been a long three days since her ship crashed and she was forced into a rebel group of runts who go under the name 'The Crystal Gems'. They used to be a very powerful force- she remembered the war from thousands and thousands of years ago- she fought in it herself. Led by Rose Quartz, the Crystal Gems were an army of Gems set in protecting their stupid ways of fusion and the stupid apes who live on this planet.
The only reason Homeworld even laid an eye on this planet was because how rich in minerals it was. Homeworld had sucked its gem-developing resources dry, and they needed other places to grow their armies and their people. They'd found other planets, whose resources were quickly sapped up by a few thousand gems each. Then, they found Earth. They could've completely doubled Homeworld's population with this planet's minerals, and then some! After the planet was run dry, it could have been Homeworld's secondary planet. Sure, Homeworld had many other planets under gem occupation, but none as vast and rich as this one. Any of them much bigger than this either didn't have enough resources to be useful enough to set up there, or they were gas planets with no use whatsoever.
It was a big surprise to the Diamond Authority when Rose Quartz and the rest of her scouting mission sent out to see if the planet was really all that it seemed rose up against them, saying that this planet couldn't be turned into a Kindergarten planet.
Jasper admittedly admired Rose Quartz. Her military tactics were great, she was a leader who followers loved, and she presented herself in a way that was desirable and likable to the common Gem. Jasper would've wanted to team up with her if it wasn't for her views on fusion and the humans. With how much she loved those stupid things, it wasn't that surprising to Jasper when the Gems informed her that she gave up her form to create the Steven child. Speaking of the hybrid, Jasper has found him.. interesting.
Over the days she's spent with him, she's noticed the Quartz child has needs much different than a usual gem. He complains of hunger and thirst, which means that the other Gems go into the area they call a 'kitchen' and turn on heating appliances and make a substance called 'food' which comes in many forms and has a pleasing scent. When the child has thirst he consumes water or a colored, water-like substance called 'juice'.
The child also has developed a large dark spot around his eye from when she head butted him unconscious. He complains of pain in that area, and Jasper was very confused as to why the child didn't just heal himself until she realized he must not be able to. She never interacted with humans during the war and she didn't plan to interact with them in the future, either, except for this child, maybe. Are all humans unable to heal themselves, or is this particular one disabled in that aspect?
She looked up at the stars, looking specifically for the one bright star around which orbited the planet she called home. Did the Gems ever look for their Homeworld in the night sky? Of course the Amethyst didn't, she smelt and looked and acted of the Earth- she must be young, that overcooked runt. Rose Quartz and the last of her army that hadn't been shattered must have found her in the Kindergarten and felt pity. Another thing Jasper didn't like about Rose- she took pity.
Jasper, still, couldn't help but wonder if the Rebels ever missed the world they were from.
The Steven child walked out onto the beach and sat down in the sand next to Jasper, who just glanced down at him before returning to looking at the sky.
He paused, looking at her as she continued to gaze at her star.
"You look kinda sad."
The orange Gem paused. She was not sad, she was just.. homesick, for a lack of a better word.
"Do you wanna talk about it?"
She sighed, knowing the Quartz child wasn't going to go away until she spoke to him, and maybe not even then. So she gave up, and without looking down at him, spoke for the first time since she arrived.
"I know I'm never going back. I'm not sad, Quartz child. I'm just thinking."
"Yeah, you're thinking about not going home," he replied, shrugging, "That's gonna make anyone sad. You're from Homeworld, right? I've never been there."
Sadly, she thought. "I'm aware of that."
"Well.. Was it nice there?" The child had genuine curiosity, without intent of annoyance, and Jasper could tell. He wanted to know about the place his better ancestors were from. Why hadn't the fusion or the Pearl told him about it?
".. Yes. It was nice. It is a beautiful planet, with beautiful, tall buildings and structures." She was remembering, the tall structures where Gems lived, or were created, or carried out their day to day duties, their assigned class. Homeworld liked to build up, as even though it's planet was large, there were many Gems and many places needed. This lead to silvery , gleaming towers that stretched up into the often pink sky, sometimes even further than one can see. The planet had water structures too- tall fountains that stretched up into the air, or buildings made completely out of water which could sustain Gem residence as well.
However, Jasper realized- that wasn't the complete truth.
"It was also very structured and orderly, based on Gem class and assigned duties. Each Gem type had a purpose assigned to it. The Diamonds were very strict about Gems following their born and assigned duties, too. If someone refused to do so, or did something different, they would be-"
That's when Jasper realized something about the planet she was created on, and fought for.
It was cruel.
They took over worlds for their own use with complete disregard for developing species. What if Gems hadn't become the Universe's dominant race? What if it had been something like humans? What if Gems had been stomped out early on in their development like some of the other races? What if she had been brutally shattered by someone who had just landed on her planet, with no knowledge of her race or her background?
In her world, she realized, there was also no free will. Gems did what they were told or else. Jasper loved her purpose and was good at it- but what if she had been accidentally created with a liking to art, or creating? They would've smashed her before her first Rotation. This.. wasn't right, as she realized. Why couldn't gems decide what they wished to do with their life?
"Jasper, are you okay?"
The Quartz child's voice shook her out of her thoughts and she realized she had stopped mid-sentance with a rather shocked look on her face, which she immediately stopped making.
".. I don't miss it quite as much anymore."
Steven blinked, pausing before smiling.
"Cool! And just so you know, I think it's really cool that you're a Crystal Gem now. You're big, and you're strong, and I think you could punch down any of those monsters that come after us! Plus, I think you and Amethyst might get along. You're both strong, and your hair looks kinda alike, and you're both good fighters."
A small smile appeared on Jasper's face, as, against her wishes, she found she didn't dislike the child.
"Now, you tell me about this planet. Earth."
