Escape Pod

The "Escape Pod" is a Gem-activated pod launched from the index finger of the Gem Warship in emergencies. It made its first appearance in "Jail Break".

Appearance
The pod is a large portable spacecraft. It has a lime and electric-green finish, similar to Peridot's skin tone, with a window located at the front.

"Jail Break"
After Garnet destroyed the Gem Warship's power core, Peridot slammed her face onto the floor during the confusion that followed. This formed an escape pod around her, which she used to flee the crashing ship; it landed near Beach City in a wheat field. The pod's exterior was similar in color to both the Gem Warship and Peridot's body.

"Joy Ride"
Steven and the Cool Kids discover the abandoned pod in a field a few miles outside of Beach City in a glowing wheat field. The escape pod had crashed and created a square-shaped crop circle pattern around it. Upon closer investigation, the pod was revealed to be empty. Under peer pressure, Steven entered the pod, where he figured out that the pod "listens to what his hands do".The pod then began to act like a manually-controlled Plug Robonoid in shape and movement. However, the pod locked down during his shenanigans and began filling with a liquid in which Steven was able to breathe. Afterwards, the pod started firing missiles and liquid at the cool kids and shot distress flares into the air before finally being cleaved in half by Garnet. At the end of the episode, a picture of Sour Cream throwing a rock at the pod was shown, captioned with "Earth forever!"

"Cry for Help"
Since "Joy Ride", the escape pod has been repaired. The two halves of the pod are rejoined and the large dent near the viewport is fixed. Pearl is spotted by Amethyst and Steven at the Communication Hub using the recently repaired escape pod to reconstruct it, allowing her to have more opportunities to fuse with Garnet and form Sardonyx.

"Friend Ship"
Pearl seems to have modified the escape pod to track Peridot's location, having connected it to the Crystal Temple's Warp Pad with four wires. The top of the escape pod has been removed to display a holographic projection of earth, with Peridot's last warp destination marked.

Abilities
The escape pod appears to be controlled by hand movement. Once activated, it is shown to move around like a Plug Robonoid. When the pod's weapons are activated, the outer glass screen becomes opaque.

It has been shown in "Joy Ride" that the escape pod can also levitate, shoot lasers, fire rockets, fire off distress signals in the shape and form of a diamond, fire a circular wave capable of knocking people down, and spray out fluid resembling the Flask Robonoids's repair fluid. The pod also has the ability to fill with a breathable liquid, most likely to protect its pilot.

In "Cry for Help", it is shown it can lift objects with a green "aura" (or Tractor Beam).

As of "Friend Ship", Pearl uses the escape pod as a tracking device to pinpoint Peridot's location anytime she uses a Warp Pad. All she has to do is use the interface when Peridot has warped to find the most recent warp pad activated.

Trivia

 * The Escape Pod's landing mark and flare formation both resembled a diamond, which could be a reference to Yellow Diamond.
 * Additionally, in the model sheets for "Joy Ride", the flare is called Yellow Diamond Flare Signal.
 * The liquid also resembles the gel that the Flask Robonoids use to repair damaged Warp Pads.
 * The Escape Pod's user interface system appears to be similar to the Gem Warship's, as seen when Pearl activates it in "Friend Ship", where her eyes turn into what appears to be static.
 * However, it seems to work differently when Steven used it in "Joy Ride", who doesn't get this effect.
 * It's revealed in "Cry for Help" that Pearl repaired the escape pod.
 * Also, it is revealed the pod has a localized tractor beam, like the one Peridot is later seen using to reassemble the Homeworld Warp in "Friend Ship".
 * In "Friend Ship", it is shown that, through Pearl's experimentation, the Escape Pod can be used to track any Warp Pad activity linked to the connected Warp Pad, specifically activity done by Peridot.

Cultural References

 * The pattern of the flare shot up by the pod is possibly based on the Tholian's Tractors webs from Star Trek.
 * The Escape Pod landing in a wheat field and leaving a pattern goes along with the popular theory that crop circles are created by alien crafts.
 * The Escape Pod is very similar in size, shape and design as the Attack Balls from Dragon Ball Z, even leaving a crater when they land.
 * The breathable liquid it creates is a reference to LCL, a similarly oxygen-rich liquid, that sustains the pilots inside the Evangelions in the anime metaseries Neon Genesis Evangelion. Steven's reaction to the pod filling up was identical to that of Shinji Ikari, Evangelion's protagonist, the first time his Entry Plug filled with LCL.