Digitalized filing cabinets lined either side of the room like hologram sentinels. At the desk on the far end of the middle aisle sat Kier Shodi. He was covering a shift for another paramedic and was utilizing his time by looking over weekly medical reports, including shipment information for medical equipment.

The former Ruler of Iredescent's son was a paramedic. He cared not for royal duties and was glad to be relieved of the prospect of such a task after Nend Nyssi's coronation and Peridot Shodi's retirement.

The light from the computer screen illuminated Kier's face as he meticulously read each file, a frown tugging at his Adonis features when he noticed something suspicious.

The files reported multiple instances of missing Iredescents. They were of various ages, though none were children. Both men and women were taken. Surveillance caught two surgeons wearing surgeon masks, carting the patients out of the hospital and onto several ships.

As Kier looked closely, he saw they were not Iredescent ships; they were Earth ships. An unusual logo in shape of a diamond gem shone on every Earth ship, as glittery as a lenticular sticker from the 90's. The diamond gem was light purple with a hot pink outline.

Kier sat back, his frown deepening as the status reports became more alarming. In addition to missing Iredescents, there were troubling accounts of stolen blood, shimmery skin samples, wing feathers, and fin scales. Again, surveillance caught surgeon mask donners on video as clear as day.

Disturbed, Kier stood up and hit 'print' on all the files. He nervously ran a hand through his wavy blond hair as he hurried for the printer, collecting physical copies of the status reports. He reached for his comect and sent a simultaneous message to all the ports of entry, forwarding images of Earth ships and suspicious packages that indicated illegal, foul activity.

Upon receiving Kier's message, all the ports of entry immediately took every Earth ship in for questioning. They halted departing spaceships and thoroughly searched every human. While most travel cruise ships were deemed innocent, a few ships contained suspicious cargo that was immediately confiscated. Intensive measures were taken to find out exactly what was going on and what they planned to do.

Then they discovered an even worse find: dead Iredescents stowed in the cargo ships. All of them were the missing Iredescents. The rest were already shipped to Earth days prior.

Outrage resulted from the atrocious news of Iredescent trafficking. A search was conducted to scout the whereabouts of the rest of the missing Iredescents, while the humans that were already on planet Iredescent were temporarily detained, their ships and hotel rooms searched carefully.

Meanwhile, Kier took it upon himself to personally inform the Ruler of Iredescent, the Phoenix, and the irangel leaders, knowing they would be dismayed.

Indeed, Nend's face became ashen upon hearing the disturbing news. He immediately contacted Raistin, but the Phoenix didn't answer his comect. He called Iro, who informed him that Raistin was mentoring Valerie.

"I can tell him myself, since I already have the information," said Kier, showing the files he uploaded on his personal comect.

Once the location was granted, Kier headed there, towards the continent of Lilacilene.

________________

The Phoenix and the Black Rose were walking in a field of black roses. Unlike Earth's roses, Iredescent roses ranged from normal size to adult height. They had either silver or holographic stems and leaves.

The light of late evening caught the last glimmers of the silver shine as Valerie touched a black rose, its height reaching her shoulders. Stretches of dark blue isolated the pink sunset, dotting the sky with glittering stars. A warm, balmy coolness rifted across the surface of exposed skin, reminding Valerie of the ending spring and incoming summer.

After a delightful walk in the field of black roses, Raistin and Valerie headed for the glade, towards an area where the pink sunset was not yet chased by the dark blue.

Mist rose like hot steam from the diamond lake, mirroring the sapphire blue sky and purple hued trees and greenery surrounding the lake. The trees provided much shade while allowing ample sunlight to filter through the leaves and branches, just before the dark blue claimed this part of the sky for the night.

Pollinators were already settling in their horizontally flattened diamond-shaped nests. Unlike bees on planet Earth, Iredescent pollinators didn't have stingers. Their wings were like mini blades, capable of sharp cuts, but no painful sting. They had metallic pink bodies and pink holographic glass-like wings. They flew from flower to flower with the appearance of dragonflies, making a musical chime kind of sound. They were called beaus, pronounced bows, because they were shaped like bowties.

In the diamond lake, Iro was in the water in his merman form, holding Tren above his shoulders. Tren was smiling happily as he had fun with his uncle, while Crimson sat near the water with his mother and aunt, enjoying the cool water and the warm sunset.

Raistin invited Valerie to join them, allowing her the opportunity to spend time with his family. Valerie sat beside Antha, reaching over to hand a thornless black rose for the young Crimson. Crimson happily accepted the black rose, marveling at the flower in admiration. Antha smiled as Valerie materialized a small black rose to place in her light purple dragonfly hairpin. Even Suduko, Raistin, and Iro received black roses, wearing them as bracelets.

The quiet, amicable chatter was interrupted by Kier's sudden appearance, his wings flapping urgently as he flew in search of the Phoenix and the Black Rose. Finding them together near the diamond lake, Kier landed hurriedly, the dark blue pending behind him as it started swallowing the pink sunset.

Noticing the strained worry on his face, Raistin rose to his feet and asked Kier, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Horror unleashed within four words: "Humans are trafficking Iredescents."

Raistin immediately turned to his family, wanting them to return home before he went about such a serious discussion. "Iro, take everyone home. They can spend the night in our home. Valerie, since you are one of the iragel leaders, you will stay with me."

Iro neared the water's edge, handing Tren to Suduko, who quietly took his young son in his arms. Iro shed his fin as he stepped out of the water, his Phoenix abilities clothing him in shimmery blue, so he wouldn't be naked. A shirt was last to materialize, though he remained barefoot for the time being.

After Iro took his family home, Raistin turned to Kier, allowing him to continue. Valerie remained silent, waiting for Kier to explain the situation.

Kier's words chilled Valerie with dismay and incensed Raistin with anger. "We found Iredescent blood, skin samples, wing feathers, fin scales, and dead Iredescents stowed inside several Earth ships at various ports of entry. We confiscated all suspicious cargo and have taken humans to custody."

"How long has this been going on for?" Raistin's voice was thinly veiled, hard volcanic rock, ready to erupt into lava with explosive rage.

"Nearly five months," Kier answered. "The humans admitted that the trafficked Iredescents were taken to planet Earth, but even they were not privy to the confidential matter of why. Iredescents have been murdered, and the only clue behind such horrid concept, is a diamond gem logo."

Kier showed the files, displaying everything on his comect screen. After scrolling through the files, Kier added, "Nobody, not even the culprits, know what the logo stands for."

Valerie studied the diamond gem logo, trying to figure out what it stood for, but the only thing she could think of was the Blue Diamond cookware. No way such an immaculate company would be responsible for something as horrible and murderous as Iredescent trafficking, Valerie thought.

"We need to tell Demian immediately," Valerie murmured, to which Raistin responded curtly, "You do that, telepathically and through the connection. Alarm the irangel leaders, all of them. I will see about gathering a task force of trusted officers to investigate the meaning of the diamond gem logo."

Holding back his explosive anger, Raistin said, "Thank you for informing us of this terrible news. I will ensure the demolishment of the unveiled evil."

Kier left shortly, disappearing into the dark blue sky. There was no longer any vestige of the pink sunset, haven fallen entirely into night's lap.

Yellow-orange flames emerged, covering Raistin's body as he transformed into his Phoenix form. He flew upward, out of Iredescent's atmosphere and into the pitch blackness of outer space. Breathing fire, the Phoenix sealed the portal to Iredescent, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.

Iredescent had opened the door for Earth, allowing the long-forbidden privilege of visiting the planet, and in thanks, humans turn around and exploit the Iredescent people. And they wondered why we kept our distance for so long, Raistin thought angrily, embittered.

As the Protector of Iredescent, the Phoenix felt responsible for the wellbeing of his people. Waves of disappointment rippled through him, mounting the ocean of horror. He let out a cry of rage, screaming out his anger.

Not even a decade passes, and humans have proved incapable of holding my trust. I allowed humans to enter the portal. I thought it would bring peaceful relations between the two planets. This proves that humans are too corrupt, too immoral, too selfish, too greedy, to appreciate true meaningful friendship and kindness. They take advantage of anything good. And so, they lost the privilege of ever having friendly ties with alien planets.

After sealing the portal, the Phoenix commanded the Gromorians to guard the portal. The Gromorians were from planet Alaskis, an alien race that could survive exposure to outer space. Despite being machine or droid-like in nature, they were some of the gentlest alien races in the galaxy.

The Phoenix thanked the Gromorians before returning to planet Iredescent. His flames illuminated the night as the Phoenix descended, landing in his human form.

Needing to know who was responsible for killing Iredescents, Raistin gathered the irangel leaders, and Tal and Zvizda, urging them to come with him.

Raistin led the way, his body rimmed in anger. His eyes, usually cheerful and light, were fierce and dark. He couldn't rest, not just literally, but psychologically, to the point where he needed answers, and soon.

The door flung open upon the hard press of Raistin's hand on the door, blinged out with ridiculously gaudy decorations. Who decorates a door in such a way? Raistin thought, feeling as though he needed extra force just to push the door open. At least a pane of smooth glass covered the decorations, so that his hand didn't get poked or spiked with a shiny ornament.

Techno music flowed out of the lounge room, revealing a sea of confused stares, blank looks, startled expressions, and surprised gasps.

One of the officers, the one with the startled expression, began to say a greeting, but Raistin raised a hand to stop him.

"No time for formalities," Raistin said briskly, taking charge as he strode into the lounge room with purpose. "Vragden, Quidore, Eignor, Elurõõm, Sailesh – I need you five to come with me. The rest of you, carry on with your....your whatever you were doing before I came in."

The officers had been either lounging around, reading books, knitting, or playing what looked like Dance Dance Revolution on an Iredescent game system called the Quullo.

Raistin turned and excused himself, making the irangels and Iredescents step back, as five confused officers came out of the lounge room. The officers were wearing standard, professional outfits that suited their personal style. Only those stationed within Mirror Castle and those of the Iredescent military wore lavender purple and gold uniforms.

"Behold," Raistin said in a dramatic voice, indicating the five officers with a showy motion of his arm. "The five officers of my choosing: Vragden Cherkof, the Iredescent Dracula; Quidore Kinsey, Cupid Doctor; Eignor Azantvyek, Gimlet Eyes; Elurõõm Tasen, Tea Cake Man; and Sailesh Nitudah, Latte Thief."

"Latte Thief?" Valerie inquired at the same time Cole murmured, "Tea Cake Man?"

Alas, it was the truth of those five officers and their nicknames.

Vragden Cherkof, the Iredescent Dracula, earned his nickname via his wings, as black as night, outlined with blood red tips and interior feathers. He intimidated at first glance with piercing grey-green eyes set on a canvas of skin as white as snow, framed with wavy black hair.

Despite his intimiating appearance, Vragden was kind-hearted. He had some prior military experience before becoming an officer. His weapon of preference was his sword, the Krilaj. His outfit was black with a stand-up collar, with an interior satin red material.

was a finned one with long golden locks of hair, fuchsia eyes, and cranberry red fins. He was a doctor as well as an officer and a firefighter. Quidore was the only one of the five officers who was married and had a family.

Eignor Azantvyek, Gimlet Eyes, was the senior officer who was chosen to be the pilot during important missions. He was thoughtful, resourceful, practical, and the oldest of the five officers. His hair was reddish brown, and his wings were apricot orange with morganite feathers.

Elurõõm Tasen, Tea Cake Man, was another senior officer, a dark skinned Iredescent with glowing white wings. He took his love for cake very seriously. Caramel cake was his favorite, and he would always have a cup of tea with it. Nobody dared mess with him, especially during tea time. Even the Ruler of Iredescent would give him leave for his tea missions, which included traveling to different planets to acquire exotic or fragrant tea blends.

Sailesh Nitudah, Latte Thief, was the officer Amanda had designs on, the one with the beautiful blue eyes and dark purple hair usually set in a ponytail. Sailesh shared Amanda's love for coffee, mainly lattes; hence, his passion earned him his nickname after Amanda kept complaining he stole her latte. He was an excellent dancer, an avid Quullo player, a good sharpshooter, and a remarkable artist, giving him another nickname "the Sailesh of many trades".

Five thoughts emerged from each mind, causing Demian to smile.

Vragden: The Phoenix appears very serious, somewhat pissed off. I wonder what this is about.

Quidore: Oh stars, what happened now? Is someone in trouble? Is that why my assistance is needed?

Eignor: Pulled into another assignment, I see. I wonder whose ship I would be piloting. Better be a clean one, because I'm not cleaning up somebody's trash.

Elurõõm: I just came back from leave. This better be important, or I'm splashing somebody's shirt with hot tea.

Sailesh: Is the Phoenix calling us for a coffee break? Will there be lattes?

Raistin: Here we go. Just one step towards accomplishment. If anyone can figure out the mystery of the diamond gem logo, it's these guys. So gem-tastic.

"You are to conduct an investigation and the meaning of this diamond gem logo, a 'gem-investigation', if you will," said Raistin, showing the files Kier had provided. "You will accompany an irangel of Demian's choosing, along with Tal and Zvizda.

"Eignor and Elurõõm served under Peridot's time, while the others are fairly new and recently promoted. You'll get to know them once you're on the ship," Raistin continued, speaking directly to the irangel leaders.

"Whose ship will we be taking?" Eignor asked.

"Tal's ship, the Orca," Raistin answered, causing Tal to exclaim, "Wait, what? Why my ship? Can't you use one of the irangel ships?"

"There is just the one irangel ship; the others are being constructed," Raistin informed. "Your ship is in perfect condition and excellent standing. I see no reason to oppose the use of a good ship."

Zvizda cast a suspicious set of sparkly eyes on Tal. "Don't tell me your ship has crumpet crumbs all over the floor."

"Your ship has what?" Eignor asked, raising his voice in dismay. "I'm not piloting a dirty ship."

"Wait, you're taking my ship and piloting it? But it's my ship," said Tal, feeling he was losing control of the situation.

"And Eignor is the most experienced pilot," Raistin said sternly, ending the argument. "He will fly your ship after you thoroughly clean it. You have an hour."

Raistin turned towards the five officers and the irangel leaders. "Same goes for you. You have an hour to pack what's necessary and get going."

Without further argument, each headed where Raistin directed. An hour later, everything was loaded onto Tal's clean ship, a two-toned forest green and white. It wasn't as glittery as most Iredescent ships, kinda basic looking, but functional and smooth navigating.

"I like it," said Cole, touching the smooth exterior. "It's almost like an airplane."

"What's an airplane?" Zvizda asked in confusion.

Cole glanced askance at Zvizda. "It's an aircraft that humans use for transportation in air. Humans can't fly."

"Oh, right! I should've known. How ignorant of me," said Zvizda, her confusion dispating.

"Tell me about it," Cole muttered. He assumed the Iredescent people already knew about airplanes. Apparently Zvizda is dumber than a doornail when it comes to Earth stuff, Cole thought, rolling his eyes.

"So which one of us is going?" Civic asked, willing to volunteer.

Demian answered, "Cole is going. The rest of us have certain obligations."

Civic clutched Valerie's hand, covertly moving her towards himself. His sharp brown eyes locked with Demian's, his voice firm as he said in agreement, "Yes, we do have certain obligations."

Raistin broke the tension by hugging the irangel leaders, one by one. "Hugs are in accordance! Whether you are greeting or leaving, a hug is a must. Thanks to the irangels, hugs become an Iredescent tradition," Raistin said cheerfully. He enjoyed hugs and always gave the warmest ones.

After the warm hugs and wishes were distributed, the irangel leaders surprised the five officers by hugging them too, even though they weren't familiar with them yet.

The ones leaving Iredescent boarded the Orca while the ones staying on Iredescent watched their departure, unaware of exactly how great this new danger was and what kind of formidable foe they would be facing.

________________

Music:

"Demoralize (Early Instrumental Demo)"
"Demoralize (Cassette Demo 1990)"
by Celldweller

"DooM Dance (feat. Carpenter Brut, Gavin Rossdale"
by Gunship

________________

✨ Aaaaand here's the inspiration for the mysterious diamond gem logo 💎