Chapter Text
Garnet was heading to an optional seminar when Amethyst sidled up to her. Her roommate was small, round all over and bouncy enough that people didn’t notice when she developed a sour attitude. Garnet appreciated her roommate, they were very good friends, but she recognized the mischief before she even dared guess at what Amethyst might want with her.
“Yo, G man, you gotta come to the talk I’m going to. There’s this kid our age doing a lesson over real-world engineering,” The grin Amethyst gave her was something absolutely terrifying to those watching the pair, but Garnet remained unaffected.
“Are you going to boo her like you did last time?”
“Nah, don’t worry G, I learned my lesson,” The wink spoke otherwise.
“Amethyst, I’m already on my way to a seminar over something pertaining to my major, is there a reason?” Garnet adjusted her shades, the reflection blinding a nearby freshman so he ended up dropping all his books into the fountain they were passing by.
They were making their way across the sophomore quad, a fountain stood in the middle in the form of Hermes, and there were two lecture halls in the direction they were already walking. Amethyst’s talk was in the hall next to her destination, or else Amethyst wouldn’t have bothered trying to convince her in the first place.
“Your major is space! That’s totally engineering based. Like, this chick has a P.H.D in astro-engineering. She’s right up your alley, you’ll enjoy yourself,” Amethyst winked at her, nudging a little at her hips.
“My major is Space Colonization. Her major is more than likely Aerospace Engineering, from what I gather. I study anything having to do with biology in zero gravity environments to terraforming; she studies math and putting things together so they can exist in space. While compatible, we do not study similar things,” Garnet explained patiently, watching her walking companion roll her eyes while she finished. Amethyst sighed begrudgingly.
“What if I gave you a better reason?”
“What might that be?” Garnet stopped at the steps of her lecture hall, waiting for her roommate to finish her thought.
“She is working on the next space shuttle, and she is reviewing your thesis,” The grin stretched across Amethysts face, the young women with purple hair and purple eyes (she wore contacts that Garnet thought were probably bad for her, seeing as she was allergic to many things), seemed to bounce in place. She knew she had won.
“Ah,” Garnet followed Amethyst’s gleeful hoops and hollers. The small women was jumping and doing cartwheels over to the next building.
When they made their way into the main lecture hall, the room was just filling up. A small woman worked on stage, covered in a blue dress that flared out near the knees. She was pretty, by Garnet’s standards, but nothing special. If that was whom Amethyst was getting hyped over, Garnet should start lowering her standards.
They sat about a fourth of the way from the stage, near the edge of the center section. Garnet didn’t like being in the thick of it, pubescent twenty year olds acting like they could talk over their professors and lecturers. The quarter-of-the-way-drunken males, generally in groups, smelling like they couldn’t find their showers, were always leaning over with grins as if they could get her number just by smiling. No, Garnet preferred the edge seats.
The small blue women tapped the mic attached to the podium, clearing her throat before saying, “Shut up, for god’s sake. Jesus, act like adults.”
The entire room fell silent.
“That’s better. Hi, I’m Lapis Lazuli, and I have P.H.D. in Oceanography, which is more than any of you so don’t even start. Now then, are we ready to begin?”
A murmur went through the crowd, some whispering over their buddies’ heads to the strangers around them, asking if they knew whom this newcomer was. Some people were indignant at the treatment, as a few were getting their doctorates within a month if all went well (such as Garnet); others respected the woman for putting her foot down.
Garnet sure as hell respected her, while Amethyst, from what Garnet could determine, merely found her amusing.
Lapis Lazuli cleared her throat again, “Today, we of the ESFC, or Exploring Space for Colonies, are glad to bring you our latest and brightest star. Introducing her is Miss Peridot Saxta Almaz, the women who brought you your holographic computer designs. Please give her a warm welcome,” Lapis flared her hand out towards the left end of lecture room. A woman was standing from a side chair.
She wore green. Not overwhelmingly, to the point that the green was nauseous or unpleasant, she wore the color well. Pants, dress shoes, with a button down and jacket. The sash that stretched across her chest was black, and the hijab she wore was a lighter green to compliment the ensemble. Overall, Garnet would say she looked the part.
“Hello class,” The woman waved one hand, her fingers moving more stiffly than they should. She blinked, coughing once and stretching out her hand before her and flexing it a few times, “Hello class.”
Oh.
Her arms were prosthetic, the green plastic glinted in the light and Miss Peridot Almaz smiled, “These are not my inventions,” She rolled her sleeves down to reveal the prosthetic continued until her elbow, “No, I’m a computer person. The woman I’m about to introduce you to has been around me for a long time. We designed the Enterprise together, the space shuttle that will launch in three months time, she named it, and she helped me make what is in front of you now. If anyone of you clicks the button on your left, in the arm of your chair, a computer will pop up. This computer can be used for anything really, and it was this computer that my dear friend used to design these arms for me after our previous shuttle exploded in my face and left me armless.”
The woman’s smile was eerie, almost too good to be real. Amethyst hunkered down in her seat, the same feeling creeping into her mind. Garnet felt the need to pat her roommate’s head, whispering, “I know,” gently.
“She has a P.H.D. in Prosthetics and Orthotics, she has a P.H.D. in Aerospace Engineering. She even has a P.H.D. in Quantum Mechanics. By far the most brilliant woman I have ever met is here to introduce to you the group ESFC and just how you can be apart of it. I introduce to you: Pearl Huître!” Peridot Almaz swept her arm to the right side of the stage, introducing a petite women that was almost as tall as Garnet. She wore blue. A brilliant blue, and her eyes sparkled with mirth. The women in green went and sat by Lazuli, tucking her feet beneath her and only whispering a little bit before focusing completely on the women who now stood behind the podium.
Pearl was about their ages, probably just between Garnet and Amethyst. How in the world did she have so much accomplished? She didn’t look intimidating. Her hair was strawberry blonde, cut close to her neck in the back and only slightly longer in the front. The tips of the largest locks curled around her ears. Her outfit wasn’t that impressive either, a simple blue shirt tucked into high-waist yellow pants. The pants had several buttons, all hugging her waist and forcing the viewer to see her hips. She, however, was adorable, “Hello everyone.”
Garnet was sure half the males in the audience fell in love with her in that moment. Her voice was exquisite, washing over their skins and causing many to grin stupidly. While the heterosexual males, homosexual females, anyone bisexual, and any others who could just appreciate a good looking human were able to see the attraction towards any of the three women who had been on stage, Pearl’s voice was beauty in itself.
“I’m happy to be here today. When your university offered me a speaking spot in this current “SPACE WEEK” panel, I almost said no. Let’s be honest, they rejected me when I originally applied for being too young,” The woman winked, a light blush brushing her cheeks as she continued, “I, instead, went to Amherst College for undergraduate, graduating with three majors, and went abroad to study for my graduate school. It was fun.”
Garnet shifted, sinking into her seat. While before there had been a chance that, just maybe, Pearl would be a disappointment and she would leave, there was none now… this was going to be entertaining. Amethyst wiggled in her seat, excitement stealing over her features.
“However, I don’t hold grudges,” The woman clicked her tongue, turning to the people that had come before her, her eyes flashed with something… that made Garnet’s gut twist. Not in a bad way, “And I would never prevent the other people my age from reaching for the stars.”
Amethyst sat on the edge of her seat for the rest of the talk, and Garnet almost did too.
When all of it was over, Pearl having talked for a rough hour and a half, the questions came. Some were interesting, relevant to what Pearl had been introducing, others inappropriate at best. Only one person, however, made Pearl break her demeanor. Even just for a second.
“Yes?” Pearl asked Garnet. She was a nice woman, allowing everyone to come up and ask individually. She sat on the chair besides Lapis and Peridot, talking to them when a question wasn’t necessarily up her alley, “What might you want to know?”
“Do you need more people on your research team?” Garnet asked in her head, contemplating joining these people in their research.
The oceanographer, smart and independent, could digest anything the others threw at her. She contemplated amounts of oxygen and hydrogen, looked at how resources came together, and shared freely. Despite having originally thought she would be more like the various kids in the lecture hall, she had her second dissertation planned for next week over physics.
The computer expert, while not having a P.H.D. in anything, she was the oldest of the three and had more experience in computers than everyone in the lecture hall combined. She worked diligently, and while Garnet noticed a slight temper when someone questioned her on something she was sure about, she seemed to keep her emotions in check
And the scientist. To be honest, Garnet didn’t have another explanation for Pearl. She was the perfect astronaut. She had advanced studies in all walks of space, could understand any science jargon thrown at her, and seemed genuinely excited about space. She loved learning, and was a complete nerd. Her colleagues were just as smart as she was; yet she seemed to shine even as she talked about something she had no idea about.
“Could we discuss joining the ESFC?” Garnet said instead, thinking that was a better question.
“Oh my goodness! Did I forget to talk about that?” Pearl went blue in the face, stammering, “I’m so sorry, I can’t believe I would… forget that.”
Peridot stepped in and explained.
“Aw man, that was great! Did you see her face when you brought up the fact that she forgot to mention something as important as her organization? Nice going G,” Amethyst placed her hands on the back of her head, elbows sticking out, as she walked, “I was impressed about how cold that was of you, not usually your area.”
“I wished to join, I needed to know the information,” Garnet pushed her shades into place, watching as a few people rushed past them on their way home. It was getting late, the sun beginning to set early due to the winter.
“Suppose that’s true, hey wanna go talk to her alone?” The grin that her roommate gave her was scary, almost maniacal.
“Maybe tomorrow.”
The three of them stood for a second, staring at the last of the people leaving and sighed. Each glanced at the other, small smiles on their faces, slowly slipping across their lips.
“That was …” Lapis began.
“Tiring.” Peridot finished.
“Agreed,” Pearl murmured, giggling and blushing as she twirled where no one could see but her friends, “Let’s never come back here again.”
“Yeah, did you see how long it took to get them to be quiet? I swear the undergraduates have gotten rowdier.” Lapis yawned, stretching her fingers tips out to her sides and grinning, “It was good to put them in their place though.”
“Yeah, at least they respected you. “What do you mean you don’t have a P.H.D.?” “Does that mean they’re smarter than you?” They could have at least TRIED to be subtle,” Peridot grumbled, folding her arms across her chest and sighing, “I am REALLY GOOD WITH COMPUTERS DAMN IT, ACKNOWLEDGE MY EXPERIENCE!”
Pearl touched Peridot’s shaking shoulders, “Hey, we do. You’re smarter than I am when it comes to computers, and Lapis is smarter than both of us when it comes to biology.”
“We all have our strengths Peri, and that’s why we make a good team. We compliment one another,” Lapis smiled softly, watching as Peridot calmed down.
“This school is full of jerks. And what was with that question by the really tall woman? I mean, you explained that halfway through! Come to “SPACE WEEK” they said, it’ll be easy they said, but some of those kids hammered us,” Peridot unfolded her arms, throwing them a little into the air for dramatic effect.
“And sexist. Did you hear how many back to the kitchen comments I heard? I wanted to stab all of them,” Lapis chimed in, brushing her fingers along the length of her skirt to smooth out a wrinkle, “but at least they loved Pearl.”
“I don’t know wh-“
“The voice,” Her friends shouted at once, both giggling a little.
“You get this voice when you’re excited, it’s really cute,” Peridot commented, followed by Lapis.
“Yeah, it gets all happy and joyful. So unlike the normal you,” She stuck out her tongue.
Pearl rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.