Hessonite

Hessonite was a Gem that resided in The Fortress on Mars. She was shattered in combat through unknown means a few hundred years ago. Prior to her shattering, she was the leader of the Progressives. She was succeeded by Tiger's Eye.

## Appearance

Hessonite was about a head taller than the fusion Garnet, which is a typical height for her Gem type. She had marigold skin, golden blonde hair done up in four separate buns, and pink eyes. Her Gemstone was a rectangular facet on her navel. She wore a burgundy, knee-length dress with short yellow sleeves and yellow trim on the skirt, as well as a pale yellow diamond on the front, and she also had pink elbow-length gloves and thigh-high boots.

## Personality

While Hessonite was seen as a commanding figure typical of her Gem type, she had a softer side. Melanite has described her as gentle, caring, and sympathetic. She had fully abandoned the idea of returning to Homeworld, planned on living on Mars permanently, and even restructured her outpost's society for smoother functioning on the abandoned planet.

Hessonite was a surprisingly liberal leader, even when compared to her successor. Unlike Tiger's Eye, she had no qualms against casual fusion and did not explicitly ban it. Despite this, she was clearly uncomfortable with explicitly allowing it (likely due to cross-fusion being a taboo), and kept her own perma-fusion a secret to almost everyone.

## History

Hessonite was sent to Earth with a fleet of drop ships and several battalions of Quartz soldiers in an attempt to stop or slow the Rebellion. During this time, she witnessed a number of her own soldiers defecting, sometimes even in the heat of battle. She was assigned to work with a Melanite that had lost her entire Obsidian squadron to defection, and the two empathized in private, developing a friendly bond.

After the "shattering" of Pink Diamond, Hessonite called her best Gems into one of her drop ships to consider their options. While they were planning and trying to recover from the assassination, her drop ship was hijacked and flown on a crash course to Mars. With help from Gems like Tiger's Eye, she re-gathered most of her soldiers and rushed to Yellow Diamond's outpost for help, just for their pleas to Homeworld to be ignored and for them to be abandoned along with Earth.

Immediately, Hessonite worked to establish a system of government that would function with the stranded and disillusioned Gems, forming and becoming the leader of the Progressives. This system worked surprisingly well, in no small part due to Hessonite's unending support to not only her own faction but all the Gems taking refuge in The Fortress. It was during this time that she and Melanite started to fall in love, though they felt obligated to keep their intimacy a secret.

At some point before The Injector landed on Earth, Hessonite was leading a routine scouting expedition in the wasteland. Her scouting party was ambushed, and her Gemstone was somehow shattered in the chaos. This sent Melanite into a state of despair, and left Tiger's Eye in charge of the Progressives. Her shards were brought back to the Fortress.

## Abilities

Hessonite had standard Gem abilities, such as superhuman strength, shapeshifting, and fusion.

### Fusions

* When fused with Melanite, they formed Mali Garnet.

### Skillset

* **Bladed** **Shield Proficiency:** Hessonite's weapon was a kite shield with a retractable blade on the bottom. In combat, she tended to use this weapon for a defensive purpose over an offensive one.
* **Leadership:** As a Garnet, Hessonite was a natural leader, a trait that caused her to gain at least some level of respect from other elites. This allowed her to maintain some level of order within the Fortress despite her changes to its government, and to even receive some respect from her opposition.

### Unique Abilities

* **Superhuman Speed:** An ability typical of her type, Hessonite was able to run faster than the eye could follow, seeming to teleport when she did.

## Relationships

### Honey Opal

Hessonite was aware of, and secretly encouraged, Honey Opal's existence. Honey Opal and her components, conversely, learned about and occasionally interacted with Hessonite's own perma-fusion, Mali Garnet.

### Melanite

Melanite and Hessonite were very close, having fallen in love after taking refuge on Mars. Hessonite trusted her partner to such an extent that she wanted Melanite to take over as leader of the Progressives if anything were to happen to her. However, she also understood that Melanite's instability made it very unwise to put her in charge. Thus, while she attempted to help Melanite become more stable, she had Tiger's Eye serve as her second in command instead.

### Tiger's Eye

Tiger's Eye was one of numerous Gems under Hessonite's command, and received trust and respect from the Garnet. Hessonite appointed Tiger's Eye as her right-hand Gem upon formation of the Progressives as Melanite was unfit to manage a group so large, and Tiger's Eye had already proven her ability to lead. She even asked the Chalcedony to succeed her, showing her deep trust in Tiger's Eye.

## Trivia

* Similar to the Crystal Gems wearing stars on their outfits in memory of Rose Quartz, the Progressive uniform proudly displays a red rectangle on the front, and many other Progressives wear red rectangles somewhere on their outfit, all in memory of Hessonite.
* Much like some other Mars AU Gems, Hessonite was initially the Gem version of an original character.
	+ Her Gem type was chosen to match Melanite as a type of garnet, while her Gem placement was chosen to reflect the fact the character she is based off of died in childbirth.
* If she fused with Tiger's Eye, they would have formed an Enstatite.
* Hessonite's character predates Save the Light; her design and character were overhauled when the game's antagonist was revealed.

## Gemology

Gemstone Information

* Hessonite is a variety of grossular garnet. It has a chemical formula of Ca3Al2Si3O12.
* Hessonite is sometimes called the "cinnamon stone" due to its distinctive reddish-orange hue, which it gets from iron and manganese inclusions.
* The name "hessonite" comes from the Ancient Greek word "*ἣσσων (hēssōn)*" meaning "inferior". This is because hessonites exhibit a considerably lower density and hardness than most garnet species.
	+ Hessonite rates a 7 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness, similar to that of quartzes, while most other garnet species rate nearer to 7.5.
* Hessonite is specifically believed to grant good fortune, success, and longevity.
* Hessonite, as a garnet, is associated with positive feelings, self-confidence, stability, and creativity. It is also a birthstone for January and a zodiacal stone for Aquarius.