Cerussite

* Current
* Damaged

Cerussite is a rogue Gem residing in the Martian wasteland.

## Appearance

Cerussite is a tall, slim Gem, standing slightly shorter than a Pearl, with light gray skin. Her thin face has white eyes with black sclerae, and no nose or lips. Her hair is gray and in a short bob. Her Gemstone is on the right side of her chest and has been badly cracked, with the cracks seeming to spill off of it and onto her physical form. Thanks to this damage, her lower arms have turned into floating shards.

Cerussite wears a simple black leotard that partly covers her Gemstone, with a gray belt and boots. In place of her lower arms, she wears custom, four-fingered limb enhancers with intact Gemstones set in the inner arms. Her right enhancer has a yellow faceted Gemstone and a yellow glow around the fingers, while her left enhancer has a pale blue cabochon and a blue glow around the fingers.

## Personality

Cerussite was always a shy Gem, with very few friends. However, she always treasures the friends she does keep, and can be chatty and outgoing amongst those she trusts.

## History

Cerussite's past before arriving on Mars, assuming she existed, is unknown, though it can be assumed that it was uneventful. Around 6,000 years ago, she was sent to Mars to help maintain White Diamond's outpost. She worked there without incident, even with the arrival of a Homeworld official assisting in the war effort, and befriended a Tourmaline also stationed at the outpost. As the Rebellion drew to a close, it became clear to the workers that Howlite was not going to let them leave. Chrome Tourmaline convinced Cerussite to sneak out with her into the wasteland while they still could; being outside in the unknown was at least better than being subject to Howlite's dictatorship. Once it became clear that Mars was abandoned and sinking into anarchy, Cerussite and Chrome Tourmaline chose to go rogue.

For millennia, the two rogue Gems worked together to survive in the wastelands. To aid their survival, Chrome Tourmaline decided to start collecting incapacitated Gems and using them to power her inventions, and eventually perfected the technology. At some point, however, Cerussite got badly cracked in a skirmish, frightening her partner. With no way to properly repair the damage, the two hid while Chrome desperately worked to find a solution. She hypothesized that the crack could be stabilized using intact Gemstones, and built Cerussite a pair of Gem-powered limb enhancers. This did exactly what the Tourmaline hoped it would, stabilizing Cerussite's cracked Gemstone and compensating for the limitations caused by said damage.

While the two intended to stay together indefinitely, the two were separated during a fight followed by a bad sandstorm, each ultimately presuming the other to have been captured. Cerussite has been wandering the Martian wasteland alone ever since. However, she has discovered that her limb enhancers can be used to project the memories of the trapped Gems, and uses this feature to give herself the illusion of company.

## Abilities

Cerussite has some standard Gem abilities, though her cracked gem has rendered her weak without her limb enhancers.

### Tools

* **Gem-Powered Limb Enhancers:** Cerussite is never seen without her limb enhancers. Not only do they help her maintain her cracked Gemstone, but they also grant her abilities that allow her to hold her own even in her damaged state.
	+ **Memory Projection:** Cerussite can form holographic screens with her limb enhancers; however, they can only project the memories of the trapped Gems.

## Relationships

### Chrome Tourmaline

Cerussite and Chrome Tourmaline shared a friendly bond before they were separated. It was Chrome that designed and built her limb enhancers for her. While Cerussite is unsure of the Tourmaline's fate, she has seen the Progressives using Gem powered tech and overheard them discussing their source, leading her to conclude that her former partner is alive and working for the faction. However, she fears what might happen to her if she attempts to approach the Progressives or the Fortress directly, preventing her from verifying this or reuniting with her partner.

### Limb Enhancer Gems

Cerussite feels she knows the Gems in her limb enhancers well, regularly viewing their memories when she has spare time. She appreciates not only the abilities but the illusion of company that they give her; she has wandered the wastelands alone since she and Chrome Tourmaline chose to split up.

## Gemology

* Cerussite is a lead carbonate mineral (PbCO3), and one of the main ores of lead. It has a hardness of 3 to 3.5 on the Mohs hardness scale.
* Cerussite derives its name from the Latin word "cerussa," translating to "white lead."
* Cerussite is naturally white or colorless, though blue, green, or brown samples have been found.
* Cerussite is naturally toxic due to its lead content. This makes it potentially dangerous to even handle.
* Cerussite can be ground up into a powder to make a substance called white lead, which was once used as a pigment in both paints and makeups before the toxicity of lead was fully understood.
* Despite primarily being an industrial ore and being far too delicate for jewelry, cerussite can form beautiful crystals with high dispersion (causing play of color), and it is sometimes put on display for this reason.
	+ The "Light of the Desert," in the Royal Ontario Museum's collection, is the largest faceted cerussite at over 6 ounces.
* Bizarrely, despite its dangerous toxicity, cerussite is still used as a healing crystal by some.
	+ Cerussite is associated with alchemy (presumably due to the fact it is a lead ore), and for this reason is considered a stone of personal transformation and financial stability.