Cubic Zirconia Spy Ring

The Cubic Zirconia spy ring is a large group of Gems, almost entirely Cubic Zirconias, that exist to maintain order in the Gem empire through espionage. Their base of operations is the Crucible.

The spy ring has its own insignia. It consists of a gray circle, with two darker gray rings on the outside. Inside the circle, there is a black square diamond containing three squares in the same shapes and colors as an early Era 2 Diamond Authority insignia. On the outer edge of the outer ring, there is a single white triangle, while the outer edge of the inner ring has a blue triangle on it, and the inner edge of the inner ring has a yellow triangle; all of these triangles are positioned as if orbiting the square diamond.

## Members

### The Cubic Zirconia Authority

The Cubic Zirconia Authority is an elite circle of Greater Cubic Zirconias, that manages all other members of the spy ring.

* White Zirconia: The leader of the Cubic Zirconia Authority. She manages many of the day-to-day operations of the Crucible, though some Lesser Zirconias answer directly to her.
* Yellow Zirconia: White Zirconia's second in command. Most Lesser Zirconias answer to her. In her spare time, she also aids with on-site interrogations, and with re-education of Lesser Zirconias.
* Blue Zirconia: The lowest-ranking member of the Cubic Zirconia Authority; she mostly keeps the Diamond Authority updated on recent events within the spy ring, when she isn't carrying out duties as Blue Diamond's representative and pro tempore.

### Other Cubic Zirconias

All Lesser Zirconias are made to be a part of the spy ring. Each answers to a specific Cubic Zirconia, and, by extension, a specific Diamond.

* Cubic Zirconia (7X4H-3EJ): A Lesser Zirconia whose direct superior is White Zirconia. She was sent to Earth by her aforementioned superior to look for, gather, and rescue potential emigrants while the planet still exists.
* Green Cubic Zirconia ("Cheeky"): A Lesser Zirconia that Cubic Zirconia knows personally. He prefers masculine pronouns, and got his nickname from his Gem placement.
* Orange Cubic Zirconia ("Champie"): A Lesser Zirconia that Cubic Zirconia knows personally. She got her nickname from her most-used identity: a Champagne Pearl.
* Purple Cubic Zirconia ("Nova"): A Lesser Zirconia that Cubic Zirconia knows personally. She got her nickname from her piloting skills and star-shaped hairstyle.
* Blue Cubic Zirconia ("Zero"): A Lesser Zirconia that Cubic Zirconia knows personally. She got her nickname from her loyalty; despite being one of the oldest Lesser Zirconias, she hasn't been re-educated once. She is also an extremely unpopular Gem amongst her peers, but admired by some of the elites within the spy ring, including Blue Zirconia.
* Peach Cubic Zirconia ("Tattle"): A Lesser Zirconia that Cubic Zirconia knows personally, and Zero's only friend. She got her nickname when she started reporting "suspicious" behavior and getting other Lesser Zirconias subjected to re-education. She is just as unpopular, if not even more so, than Zero.

### Non-Zirconia Members

Despite the group's unofficial name implying otherwise, some of the Gems that work for the spy ring are not Cubic Zirconias at all. These Gems are often elites, assigned to work in the Crucible by the Diamonds themselves, though there is no shortage of Corals and other such Gems maintaining the Crucible behind the scenes.

* Baroque Pearl: Blue Zirconia's defective Pearl; she is considered a member of the spy ring by association, but generally does nothing whatsoever to aid work in the Crucible.
* Black Moonstone: A Moonstone that generally does not fulfill her original purpose around the Crucible, as she helped in the design and programming of an AI to do that job for her. Instead, she tends to act as an advisor to the Lesser Zirconias, recounting her wartime experiences to help discourage insurrection.
* Glass Propaganda Team: An unknown number of Glass; they create and distribute all the propaganda seen within the Crucible.

## Behavior

The Cubic Zirconia Spy Ring follows a simple social hierarchy; the Greater Zirconias are the highest-ranking members, and even other elites within the spy ring have to answer to them. Lesser Zirconias are beneath all elites, but higher-ranking than other non-Zirconia members. Lesser Zirconias tend to view one another as peers, spending their very limited free time hanging out together and giving one another nicknames based on individual quirks or past events (though these nicknames are not normally used by non-Lesser Zirconias).

### Rules

The Cubic Zirconia Spy Ring, as a Homeworld-run organization, abides by all the laws put into place for Homeworld. The behavior of each Lesser Zirconia is very closely monitored, as their occupation puts them in direct contact with potential rebels. While Lesser Zirconias are allowed to fuse regardless of color (as they are all *technically* the same Gem type) and give nicknames for one another, this type of behavior is strongly discouraged. Outside of this, any behavior that could be considered rebellious at all is possible grounds for discipline.

### Re-Education

Any Lesser Zirconia suspected of having, or even just starting to develop, rebel sympathies is sent back to the Crucible for "re-education." A Zirconia being re-educated is put into solitary confinement, surrounded by propaganda, and otherwise psychologically or even physically tortured. Lesser Zirconias that show no signs of "improvement" after a certain period of time are harvested, their Gemstones being used in Gem-powered devices around the Crucible (often within the re-education center itself); however, this is extremely rare.

Nearly every Lesser Zirconia is subjected to the re-education process at least once by the time they are ten years "old." In fact, it is so common that the Lesser Zirconias are numb to the abuse, seeing it as just part of their job or even for their own good, and are known to happily chat with each other about notable re-education sessions.

## Property

### Current

* The Crucible: The base of operations for the spy ring, and where all Lesser Cubic Zirconias are made.
* Advanced Gem Tech: The spy ring has access to the latest Gem technology, some of which is beyond that of even Era 2 Gem tech. This includes individual bracers for each Lesser Zirconia and unique spacecrafts, but also some more experimental technology that is prone to failure.