#Freestar Militia

[stymshots]

Allies of circumstance.

[silent-moons-camp]

OC Introduction

Tagged by @silurisanguine from the Coemancer Crew - thank you!

Introducing: Kanan McCarthy

Fandom: Starfield

Role: Spacefarer, Captain

Basics

Full Name: Kanan McCarthy

Nicknames: Cowpoke, Kane (really only ever referred to as such by their twin sister)

Pronouns: They/them, not strict on pronouns though.

Sexuality: Pansexual

Occupation and Titles: Freestar Militia Infantry (formerly), Shaw Gang Outlaw (formerly), Argos Extractors Miner (formerly), Smuggler and general criminal (currently), Constellation Member (currently)

Birthday and Age: At the beginning of the game (May 7th, 2330) Kanan is 37. They turn 38 shortly after. They were born on May 27th, 2292 in Akila City.

Physical Description: Kanan stands at exactly six feet tall (about 183 cm). They are physically active and as such have a sort of athletic build.

Clothing Style: Kanan wears masculine leaning clothing and mostly sticks to more "wild west" themed apparel. They are often seen in their signature red poncho and cowboy hat.

Background

As I don't want to spoil things, I'll keep this vague. Kanan was born and raised on Akila in Freestar space. Them and their family lived on the McCarthy Homestead just outside Akila City walls.

Kanan took part in the Colony War at a young age, having gotten caught up in the war propaganda. As such, they lied about their age in order to fight for the Freestar Collective. The Colony War took a huge toll on both Kanan and the McCarthy family as a whole.

Kanan went to college after the war and earned a bachelor's degree in engineering, having majored in engineering and minored in astronomy. They fell into a life of crime afterward, having joined the Shaw Gang for some time and then branching out on their own.

As seen in my fic titled The Man in Red, Kanan joined Argos Extractors about a year before the story of Starfield after encountering an odd bounty hunter in the Red Mile who wanted them alive.

They joined Constellation after encountering the Artifact on Vectera, and their story is currently being written in my fic titled Event Horizon.

Combat and Skills

Preferred fighting style: Kanan prefers mid to close range combat with guns, though they are not against getting very close and engaging in close quarters combat with melee weapons or hand-to-hand.

Favorite Weapon(s): Kanan carries a modified razorback revolver named "Penumbra." Kanan also carries around and prefers shotguns, but also keeps a sniper rifle handy as well as small blades.

Special Skills: Like any wild west gunslinger, Kanan is highly skilled at using pistols. They also use Starborn abilities (although they are not Starborn themself). Kanan is charismatic and knows just the right buttons to push when it comes to enemies, but also which words to choose when trying to de-escalate a situation. As they went to college for engineering, Kanan is well versed in various means of engineering, which includes spaceship building and design, outpost construction, weapon handling and management, and spacesuit technology. They are an excellent pilot as well, capable of coming out on top in even the most dangerous dogfights.

Relationships

Family: Kanan's father is James McCarthy, a former Freestar Ranger and former member of the First Cavalry mech division. Their mother is Charlotte McCarthy, a scientist and astronomer. They had an older brother named Owen who was also apart of the First Cavalry mech division during the Colony War. He was killed in the later years of the Battle of Niira. Lastly, Kanan is a twin; their twin sister is named Senya, a ronin by trade who currently lives with and takes care of their father at the McCarthy Homestead.

Kanan would later consider Constellation as their own "found family."

Love interest: Sarah Morgan. Before Sarah, Kanan rarely ever had any serious relationships out of fear of commitment. Instead, they often wandered from lover to lover and held many "friends with benefits" type relationships. One night stands are not uncommon for Kanan, though their more promiscuous behavior settles down once they end up in a serious relationship with Sarah.

Best Friend(s): Kanan is very close with all the members of Constellation, but finds a close friendship in both Andreja and Matteo.

Personality

Positive traits: Passionate, caring, ambitious, loyal

Negative traits: Stubborn, tends to isolate, reckless, greedy

Likes: Nature, animals, astronomy, books, Old Earth relics, exploration

Dislikes: Most governments and politicians, corruption, spacers, high-horse attitudes, cops, Neon

Fears: Being lonely forever, losing their family (both found and blood family), losing those they care about, another war

Guilty Pleasure(s): Smutty novels, Old Earth spaghetti western movies, whiskey

Hobbies: Playing guitar, exploring, reading, collecting Old Earth trinkets and relics, listening to music, cleaning weapons and armor, building spaceships, and somehow managing to herd ashta.

[atonalginger]

OC Introduction

Fandom: Starfield

Role: Spacefarer,

BASICS

Full Name: Julien Prince

Nickname(s): Fox

Pronouns: He/Him

Sexuality: Bisexual

Occupation and Titles:  Prev: combat medic in the FC miltia (post war), random odd jobs not worth remembering. UC Vanguard Recently: Argos mining, Constellation explorer, Freestar Ranger

Birthday & Age:  at the time of the game 35. Born on the 3rd day of the tenth month in the ass-end of nowhere Dodgewood, Akila

Physical description: 5'8", dense muscles, appears lanky

Clothing style: Fox does not have what one would call style. Let's just say it's a good thing his main jobs have had uniforms...will mix prints, loud colors, though he can clean up and dress appropriately when the occasion demands.

BACKGROUND

Fox is Doc Melody's twin. They left home at 18 shortly after he signed with the FC militia and began medic training. Lost track of Doc for a time, causing him to hop from job to job while searching for her. Around the time he found her in NA he met his husband, joined the Vanguard to gain citizenship, and settled into a more boring life in the UC. Then his sister tagged along for a Comm tower repair job out in Tau Ceti and...well life picked up and never slowed down after that...

COMBAT & SKILLS

Preferred fighting style: If he has to fight he favors pistols/revolvers and snipers rifles. Well more like if he has to fight he'd prefer to hit hem first without being seen but if not, he's a menace with a pistol. Like Fox is Mercy from overwatch when she stops healing and starts hosing the other team...

Favorite weapon(s): Fully upgraded Razorback, Fully upgraded Urban Eagle, A Lawgiver set up for long range (I know that's not a sniper but it's what he used!)

Special skills: He's a drummer. A really good drummer. He can also sing. He and Doc were actually in a band as teens. Photography.

RELATIONSHIPS

Family: Doc, his husband, his inlaws. His found family of close friends (including Bella and lil' Sophie). He and Doc are no contact with their blood relatives for personal reasons

Love interest: His husband, Nick. Loves that software engineer like no other.

Best friends: Other than Doc and Nick? Bella, Diego Monroe, Barrett, Vlad, and Noel.

PERSONALITY

Positive traits: Trustworthy, Brave, Adaptive, Protective

Negative traits: Impulsive, Rebellious, sometimes cocky.

Likes: exploring, amber ales, babysitting his nieces, days off.

Dislikes: Lillian Hart (you'll see), politics, IPAs

Fears: losing what family he has left

Guilty Pleasure: I mean he doesn't ascribe guilt to his pleasures but his sister would say the fact that he blasts old earth boy bands in the cockpit when he thinks he's alone. He knows all the words to every song on NSYNC's debut album.

Hobbies: Photography, playing his drums, baking, camping, driving his sister batty.

[lifeinthestarfield]

After finishing the survey for Piazzi IV-C, we decided to do a quick scan of Piazzi IV itself, a gas giant and easy money. Except that we jumped into a Crimson Fleet meetup. Five ships!

We were hopelessly outnumbered, so jumped to Altair II. And wouldn't you know, as soon as we were in-system we received a distress call from a Private Mahoney with the Freestar Collective (FC).

I'm not one to ignore distress calls. At some point I'm going to need the help and hope that some rando comes to my defense. So I take my good little self down to a research outpost on Altair II.

Right away I can see this is a problem. Spacers running around everywhere. I leave Sarah and Barrett (and Cora) to defend the ship while Sam and I see what we can do.

Cleared the outside and started a standard walkthrough/cleanup inside and found Private Mahoney in a closet. She gave us and overview of the situation and apparently UC Marines are here as well, pinned down somewhere.

Sam and I just kind of look at each other. So FC troops and UC Marines need two nobodies to bail them out? That doesn't say much for our military organizations, does it?

But that kind of thinking doesn't solve the situation. Our first stop was to find and secure where Corporal Lezama and the wounded are holed up.

They were hit pretty bad, but Lezama, who is UC, was calm and gave us directions and security key cards to find the Lieutenant. Boy was he surprised when Sam and I showed up after killing about nine spacers in the hallway. Wanted to know where the rest of our troops were, snipers, etc.

I just rolled my eyes and asked him to get on with it. The Lieutenant is trying hard, but this is obviously his first difficult mission. We took point and went out to find and relieve the UC commander.

That commander was Captain Meyong. Yup, THAT Captain Meyong. I was slightly star-struck, but then realized Sam and I'd saved her bacon, so that set matters straight. We did a quick strategy session.

The Lieutenant had split his troops and sent some to a research outpost. They also were under attack, so while Meyong and Torres secured this facility, Sam I headed to check on the outpost.

The outpost had two survivors, a FC private and a scientist, but the private said more scientists had holed up in a cave nearby. We took out the six spacers pretty easily. Pro tip: get the high ground, like up on top of a hab. You can pick them off, but still get down low to avoid returned fire.

So back to the base. I'd better be getting fuel money outta this.

The FC and UC were getting the research station locked down, but the main problem were Spacer ships around Altair V and Altair I. Since nobody else seems to have a ship (how the fuck did they get here? Does FC militia and UC just drop off their men and leave?) Sam and I get to go take out their ships.

This will be the first test for the Litany. We'll see how she does.

-----

Three ships at Altair I and three ships at Altair V. Managed to get them all, but sustained some damage. Also the Litany handles like a brick. Getting her to turn is like manhandling a cruddup.

Unfortunately the Spacers have a death wish and despite losing six ships and their ground forces have doubled down on attacking the research station. Looks like another firefight on the agenda!

-----

Well, at least a dozen Spacers at the base. Sam and I took them out. Not sure where the FC and UC were. Hiding inside I guess. Then two more ships came down and dropped off twelve more spacers. Sam and I picked them off easily. Again, high ground. We shot them like rats as they can down the slope into the base.

Got some thanks and a nice Peacekeeper from Captain Meyong. I'm a little worried about Lt. Torres. I think he might need some time on a comfy couch with a psychotherapist. The Captain gave him some good advice, but when I left he was a little shellshocked at the body count.

Now, why were we at Altair? Oh, right, escaping Crimson Fleet. Well, as long as we're here we might as well do the planetary surveys. There's also a research tower near the camp I'd like to check out and an Industrial outpost that ought to know about the Spacer issue.

Being a good, responsible citizen is a pain in the ass, you know?

[bellonathedragonborn]

Character Name: Reiss Heartlily.

Other Names: Reiss Rubrum, Prince, Rebel Prince, Orange, Daffodil, Tulip, Peony, Nymph boy, little boy, toothpick, His highness, His majesty, Emperor, CJ, Emperor Rubrum, girly man, Bastard Prince, Carrot head, carrot, peach head, Scion of Sheogorath.

Sign: The Steed.

Birthday: 7th of Midyear.

Gender: Male.

Sexuality: Straight.

Birthplace: White Gold Tower, Cyrodiil.

Race: Imperial/Breton. (Some nymph blood from his Father’s side.)

Likes: Astronomy, planets, constellations, strawberry finches, knowledge, reading, maps, magic, tea, Daedra.

Dislikes: Religion, temples, the Divines, bandits, the Parasite, Atmora, cold weather, literally any god.

Hobbies: Stargazing, fixing telescopes, reading, collecting and studying maps, practicing fire magic, painting his finger nails.

Facts: Is a very dainty man. Has a feminine frame almost. Unlike his brother he didn’t inherit the Beast Blood from his mother. Has oranger hair than his father. Inherited Cicero’s Cyrodiil Dark Brotherhood armor. The Red Dragon crown is to big for him.

Religion: Herma Mora. (Atheist towards the Divines and other Aedra.)

Alliances: The Resistance. Counties that oppose Karmir’s rule. Aarondale militia. Snow Elf kingdom. Empire of Cyrodiil. Lilmothiit tribe.

Weapons: Silver short sword. Obsidian dagger. Destruction magic (mainly fire type spells.)

Armor: Dark Netch Leather armor. Cyrodiil style Dark Brotherhood armor. (Wears a green cloak over them.)

Jewelry: Silver garnet ring. Rubrum family amulet. Red Dragon Crown.

Abilties: Minor form of Nature Magic. Seeing his dead relatives.

Themesong: The Untold- By Seccession Studios.

Notable Relations: FreeStar/Sadus bloodline. Irvine bloodline. Rubrum bloodline. Heartlily bloodline.

[atonalginger]

I wanted to draw the four POVs of my starborn fic I'm writing. It's fun to visualize them more and really cement who I'm talking about.

-Top left is Starborn!Sam

-Top right is Starborn!Lila, the main character/oc, in her full make-up.

-Bottom left is Goose, a teen pirate Sam has been mentoring

-Bottom right is Fury Shepard, a Freestar militia captain who is one of the first to meet Lila in this universe.

And shoutout to @bearlytolerant for those funky hat hair Sam screenshots! That was perfect for a clear face reference. Sam's cheeks and jaw could cut glass and its all lost with his long hair and beard.

[atonalginger]

WIP Wednesday

It's Wednesday! and I do have something to share: another memory from Goose's perspective this time. I'm not sure who to tag today so I'll say I'm generally tagging the Coemancer Crew as well as anyone who sees this and says, "I want in, I have something to share."

--

“Just remember to play nice,” Sam said as he leaned against the wall next to the docking bay.

Goose looked his dad up and down, “real rich coming from you.”

“Hey, I play rough but I know when to rein it in,” Sam reached out and poked Goose’s arm.

“Yup, you just take it out of the poor comms and slates in your pockets later,” Goose flashed an ornery grin at Sam and shook his head, “do we even know what this job is or why they can’t handle it themselves?”

“Freestar intelligence caught wind of a va’ruum installation on Toliman II-c and forces stationed out there are sort of busy.” Sam stopped, listening to the newcomer’s ship dock with the Key. It was clean and once everything was locked down he continued, “FC intel also suggests the snake kissers are prepared for an aerial assault so instead we’re sending in you and the freestar rep to sneak in and clean it out.”

“We could clear it out faster without them,” Goose wagered as the docking bay hatch hissed, the locking mechanisms clicking as internal parts slowly unlocked.

“Your mom is off collecting parts with Jazz’s team and someone needs to watch Ruby,” Sam was off the wall, rolling his shoulders as he prepared to greet the newcomer.

“So we take her with us and tell her to stay on the ship,” Goose rolled his eyes.

“Or we could play nice with our allies,” Sam nudged Goose with his elbow and leaned in close so only Goose could hear, “wouldn’t want everyone to think you can’t get a job done without your mommy or daddy, would we?”

“Oh fuck you,” Goose laughed and pushed his dad away, “everyone knows what I’m capable of.”

“Do they?” Sam taunted with a playful grin, “I’m beginning to doubt, what with all this pouting.”

The hatch swung open and the newcomer stepped through while fussing with his militia uniform, tugging at his sleeves and smoothing the front of his jacket under the belts and cross strap. His focus was on his uniform, his head down as he took a few steps forward into the narrow bay, loose curls of dirty blonde hair smoothed back with a stiff pomade. As he raised his head Goose noted the short clipped sides with minimal blending and how meticulously styled the solider’s hair was to give the appearance of being tastefully unkempt.

Goose’s first instinct was to roll his eyes at the all the preening of the well put together soldier but his sapphire eyes stopped him, as well as stopping him from thinking of anything else as he continued to stare at the newcomer. He looked like the living embodiment of the Greek god Apollo: tall and muscular, the blonde curls, perfect chiseled jaw, soft pouty lips, and sun-kissed skin.

He blinked and ran his fingers through his feral mop of curls before he could even stop to think about what he was doing, snagging a tangle and fighting back the urge to curse and draw more attention to his stupid attempt to straighten his appearance. Goose checked his wrist for a hair tie, and then a pants pocket, trying to recover from his embarrassment by looking like he was going to tie the mess back.

“…and this is Captain Goose,” Sam’s voice hit his ears, which instantly felt on fire. He gave up on managing his wild hair and looked over to his dad, who wore a shit-eating grin as he spoke, “he’s between ships right now after his last one ran into some trouble over on Skink.”

You just had to bring it up, Goose narrowed his eyes at his dad.

“On Skink?” the soldier asked, a subtle drawl in his smooth baritone, “what would take you over that way? That’s ‘morph country.”

“One of our newer captains and a gaggle of rooks were forced to land on Stink after getting shot by spacers during a trade with some outlaws,” Goose avoided eye contact, staring at the soldier’s lieutenant bars on his jacket collar, “sacrificed my ship to get theirs up and running so we could all get off the planet before the locals figured out how to rip the loading bay open.”

“And the Major says y’all don’t care about others,” the lieutenant said with a small chuckle, “mighty selfless of you.”

“I was doing what needed done,” Goose said, his cheeks and neck on fire. He glanced over at his dad again, his shit-eating grin widening as he watched him. Sam was clearly relishing in his boy’s awkward flustered state, “might have been able to keep the ship if they hadn’t lost a key component. It was faster to pull the part from my ship than transfer their cargo to mine.”

“Quick thinking like that is why the captain is being sent with you,” Sam said proudly, “not to mention he’s a crack shot and not too shabby in a brawl.”

“Learned from the rowdiest, most temperamental asshole on the Key” Goose said as he stared down his dad.

“That you did,” Sam nodded without a second glance, “But enough about that, it’s time you got going with Lieutenant Benbow.”

It hit Goose that he’d been zoned out during introductions and completely missed the lieutenant’s first name. He quickly scanned the soldier’s uniform but saw no name patch anywhere. Shit! He panicked internally while nodding and checking his kit one last time, It’ll be fine. It’s fine! I’ll find it before I need it. It’s fine, I can just check the registry while we undock. It’s fine.

[atonalginger]

Snippet Sunday

@silurisanguine reminded me today is Sunday! Thank you :) Today's snippet is from the upcoming Stowaway story with Goose and Ruby, once again in Cooper's POV. I've got what I consider to be the first chunk done, which is the first 24-28 hours, and awaiting edits. Not sure when I'm going to upload it to ao3 but I'll let y'all know ;)

anyway the snippet:

They were too late. All any of them could find were a few stray pieces of debris shot off of the Golden Squid, a shattered engine, pieces of a landing gear, and several shrapneled radiators. Not the whole ship, though, which gave Cooper a small pang of hope.

Atomic had jumped to Porrima III where both satellites for the Crimson Fleet and Freestar Collective were maintained. Miss Devine down at the Red Mile preferred the business of the Fleet and Freestar and so it was a logical arrangement. While she checked the satellites Cooper and Ashta were forced to wait, passing the time by collecting the pieces of Goose’s ship and scanning the system for ship movements.

Please let this be proof he got away, Cooper found himself repeating in his head, please let them be safe. Please, please, please.

“How did we not see it?” Ashta said over the open comms.

Cooper wasn’t sure if he meant to say it out loud or if he even remembered the line was open. He thought about keeping his mouth shut, Ashta Morph was known for his temper, but he just couldn’t help himself, “from what our people were able to gather, Agent Stone was a top tier infiltrator. Once they got the first thread they traced her back to several other jobs getting into both corporate operations and even a remote FC base we lost years back in Narion.”

“Yes but she didn’t even change her fucking name for this,” Ashta snarled, “how did our people miss this?”

“She wasn’t the first slipped in,” Cooper pointed out, “she already had someone covering for her when she showed up with interest.”

“Right,” Ashta let out a forceful sigh and the sound of something hard shattering in the distance, “all the added security fucking worthless.”

“Not all of it,” Cooper said as he pulled in the last piece of the engine, “the only reason Freestar intelligence was able to catch her was because of Crimson intelligence. Voss’s people were instrumental from what I was told when they gave me the slate to deliver.”

“That’s something,” Ashta grumbled.

The War Bard jumped back into orbit, her large sky blue hull blocking the view of the planet below. There were fresh scorch marks on the broadside of the ship, her shields rippling as they came back online.

“Sharks were in the fucking waters,” Atomic snarled through clenched teeth, “they hit the satellites and made a move for the Red Mile. Luckily there were enough pirates and militia on shore leave down there to run them off but we’re still down two sats.”

“Please tell me you were able to pull anything off those things,” Ashta sounded wound tight, fighting his urge to snap at his partner.

Atomic was quiet except for a weary breath, then in a quiet tone, “most of the stored messages were corrupted beyond saving. Which means both the Fleet and Militia are out hundreds of reports that were bouncing in and out of those two sats. But,” she said quickly before Ashta could say anything, “there was something from Ruby in there. She remembered my security lessons and not only encrypted her distress call so only FC and Fleet operators could listen but set error correcting codes so it’s not completely junked. I haven’t had a chance to listen because a few small sharks popped in and started nipping at my flank but I can play it now."

The playback was rough, with static cutting parts out of Ruby’s tiny shaking voice:

This is the CF -kzzt- Squid. Our captain, Goose, was -kzzt- mole, Leslie Stone. Our position -kzzt- rima system is comprom -kzzt-. I will be scatter jump -kzzt- pha Andraste at the -kzzt- Please -kzzt- immediately, -kzzt- Goose -kzzt- shark used a toxin -kzzt- This message will -kzzt-

[atonalginger]

The cast of a story I'm working on, the one I shared a snippet of on Wednesday.

Top Left: Cooper Benbow, hotshot pilot for Freestar Militia Top Middle: Goose, adopted son of Starborn!Sam and Lila, decorated captain in the Crimson Fleet Top Right: Ruby. adopted daughter of Starborn!Sam and Lila, former xenowarfare test subject, maybe part siren Bottom Left: Delgado. Face of the Crimson Fleet, really, really, done with Ashta's shit Bottom middle: Lila Aiza - Coe, Starborn, "Atomic Autumn", cyber runner, master spook, Pirate Queen, not one to fuck with Bottom RIght: Sam Coe, Starborn, "Ashta Morph", Pirate King, Done with Delgado's shit. shot fuse, will stop at nothing to protect his family.

[atonalginger]

Thinking Back and Looking Forward

Wordcount: 2,874 Sam Coe x oc (a starfarer but not a Dusty) Warnings: drug use mention (from Sam's past).

Sam sighed as he exited the GalBank. Of course Jacob saw this coming; that old bastard wouldn’t let Sam get anywhere without a fight. It meant grabbing Cora, which made Sam madder. He didn’t want to use his girl as bait but how else would be be able to keep Jacob distracted enough to search the house. At least it would be easier with Cora, unlike the shenanigans he used to get into with Jamie and Julien.

He slowly walked to the gazebo in Coe Plaza, giving the old statue a glare from under his brim. It’s where he told Cora to meet him when they were both finished. The gazebo was empty; unusual but understandable given the heist. Give it an hour and people would be back. He sat on his favorite bench, leaving room for near the corner for a person who no longer joined him. A sigh escaped his lips as he leaned back into the railing, he missed her dearly.

It was a stupid fight. Over trivial stuff upon reflection. But to twenty year old Sam, still riding an Aurora high from his last trip to Neon and half drunk, it was important. So much yelling. And the escalation when she demanded he leave until he sobered up. Twenty year old Sam was a damn fool. That was his heart and he threw it away, shouting needless insults to get the upper hand on a pointless mess he created.

Thoughts drifted to good times. The pair sitting on the bench, his arm around her hugging her close while Julien sat across from them, usually telling them about something he saw on his last patrol. The twins had moved the Akila City at eighteen to get away from their family homestead and their controlling parents. The trio were thick as thieves with their common bond of shit parents. Julien joined the Freestar Militia to build up credits and protect the FC systems. He was a top notch combat medic considered a prize by whichever captain got the Fox on their ship. Jamie landed a job working in the Rock up at the bar helping serve drinks and clean.

She never cared that he was a Coe, which he liked. More like she was wary of him in the beginning for being a Coe or so Fox had told him once. Everyone built the Solomon Coe up to be some mythic legend and she was worried he’d be some self important ass. But he wasn’t, he was just a guy suffocating under the weight of his family name. His mind continued to wander to the quiet moments they shared. When they’d sneak off to his dinky ship and fly into orbit for a few hours of privacy. The way her curves fit perfectly in his arms. She was such a welcome distraction from his boring job hauling cargo. And Jacob hated her. Damn that old man, he even ruined daydreaming.

“Dad! Dad!” Cora was barreling toward him with an arm full of new books and a smile to light up the plaza. He came back to reality and looked over as she skid to a stop on the uneven cobblestone, “I need to get on the ship, it’s important! I met the Professor Melody from that book series Barrett got me started on a few years back. You know the one that combined various survey research with old earth historical data?”

“I think I know the series,” Sam lied. She had so many book strewn across the ship he was sure one day one would knock him out during a jump, “Why does this mean you need back on the ship?”

“I told her I’d read her series, which she was surprised because its college level reading, and that I was a big fan of her work and she offered to sign any copies I had with me but all my books are on the ship! I can drop off my new books and grab the best two from her series and run back here. She agreed to meet here at the gazebo!”

He let out a quiet chuckle and slipped her the landing bay keycard, “lock the hatch behind you both in and out, understand?”

“Yes dad, safety first.”

“I’m serious,” he gently held her hand with the keycard between them, “Akila City is safer than more Freestar ports but it’s still rough.”

“I know.”

He let go and smiled at her, “when you get back we can talk about what’s next on the days agenda.”

“Are we going to see Gramps?” Cora’s eyes got big and a new smile bloomed.

“Looks like it.” He tried not to look disappointed. Part of him did love that she and his Dad got along but he didn’t trust the bastard to not manipulate her.

Cora bounced and then took off for the spaceport. He turned and watched her, the City guard hollering at her to be careful and watch where she went. Her father’s daughter indeed.

Sam pulled his notes slate out of his holster pocket and scrolled through the list of books and authors Cora talked about the most. Didn’t take long to find this Professor Melody. Notes included:

-FC native. Born in Akila City, raised deep in Ashta country on a livestock homestead. Gained a love for Earth history due to a gift of ancient books from her aunt. -Holds degrees from FC and UC universities. Gained UC citizenship through her work on her first published work on ancient animal husbandry practices and how to integrate them into modern practices. -a Ph.D in anthropology with a focus on ancient Earth histories. -Cora really likes this book on ancient music. I think she’s told me three times now about how people used to play wooden instruments that worked because they took dried cane and painstaking shaped it into something called a reed and this all sounds like a lot of work for something a computer could do. Suppose they didn’t have computers back then. -Cora wants to go to New Homestead because of something she read in that new book. Thanks Doc Melody, someday soon we’ll go freeze our cheeks off

He sighed at the last note. Forgotten in the sea of things to do and errand to run. He’d have to make time, see if she still wanted to go. He felt a presence near the archway of the gazebo. A familiar presence. He stowed the slate and slowly looked up to see Jamie standing surprised in the archway. Her hair was clipped short and her makeup was subdued but it was her. He’d never forget that face. He stood and took a step before he froze. Why would he have any right to approach her after everything he did and said.

“Sam,” she said softly, almost a question. She blinked away tears and a warm smile formed.

“Jamie,” he choked up for a moment, “I—I’m so sorry. For everything. You deserv—“

“I’m surprised you remembered,” she took a few steps forward, “I remember you being pretty out of it that night.”

“That's…an understatement I think. Also took a few years to piece together a clear memory.”

“You’re doing better?” She asked. She was standing toe to toe with him now, looking up with wet hazel eyes.

“Much better. Had a few more lows to hit before reaching bottom but I’ve been able to clean up my act. Even ran with the Rangers for a time before finally getting to do what I wanted.”

“You’re exploring?” She sounded so happy and it made a tear break from his eyes.

“Yup. Me and my little girl, Cora, explore the Starfield for Constellation.”

Her jaw dropped a moment and then a giggle, “Cora? The bright eyed girl with the bouncy brown hair?”

“That’s her,” he nodded, “must of heard her near Sinclairs? She’s running to grab some books for this professor she’s a fan of. She tears through books like nothing else but that series…I swear she rereads them every few months.”

“Oh?” Jamie looked amused, “she sounds likes like a sweet little bookworm.”

“Oh she is,” he chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, “don’t know where she gets it from, neither her mom or me are big readers.”

“Is her mom around?” Jamie looked around, stepping back once.

“No, she’s not. She's married to the Rangers.”

They stood there listening to the usual commotion of Akila City. Laughter at the Hitching Post and guards complaining about the recent rains and puddles. Arguing over who had to clean tables in the Chunks.

“I missed you,” she said, shattering the silence, “I always regretted leaving Akila City the way I did. I knew you weren’t yourself and once you came down we could talk but I was so in my feelings I just ran. It wasn’t fair to you or Fox.”

“After the things I said? The way I acted. I knew you didn’t approve of all the—“

“That weasel of a boss Jacob set you up with was the one that introduced you to that crap. Kept Neon on your route. Sure, you did chose to take it but I know you felt pressured.”

“Maybe I was but that doesn’t excuse what I did. What I said.”

She stepped forward again and placed a hand on his chest, above the turquoise tooth hanging around his neck, “I forgave you a long time ago. It wasn’t instant but the more I replayed those memories the more I knew we could have worked through it and I gave up on you. I’m sorry.”

Sam’s cheeks were now stained with tears. She was sorry? For protecting herself? He placed his hand over hers, “You have nothing to apologize for. Your forgiveness means a lot, even if I don’t think I’ve earned it.”

She leaned in and hugged him, her arms wrapping around him under his leather jacket. He held her close, burying his nose into the nook of her neck. His hat fell to the ground as they squeezed each other tight. They were so lost in the embrace they didn’t hear the pounding footfalls hopping to a stop in the archway.

“Uh, dad?” Cora said. Sam stood tall, both their grips loosening, and saw Cora squatting down to pick up his hat.

“Thanks, gumdrop.” Sam said sheepishly.

Cora stood there, her books in a bag slung over her shoulder and his hat in her hands, with a growing look of shock.

“Everything okay? Cora?” Sam wasn’t sure what to make of this, she wasn’t usually like this. Sure, she saw him hugging Jamie but he’s hugged people before and she’s never gotten weird before. Was it the intensity of the hug? The seeming randomness?

“Professor Melody?” Cora finally managed to say before looking up at Sam with a furrowed glare, “Why didn’t you tell me you knew Dr. Melody?”

“I—“ he looked to Jamie, who had taken a few steps back and out of Cora’s line of fire and was now wearing an ornery grin. “Doctor Melody? I know you and Julien talked about changing your names but…”

“During my graduate studies my mentor introduced me to her daughter who was a talented cyber runner. Her daughter specialized in helping people escape bad families or abusive relationships by permanently altering their Colonies records. I was originally going to take on my mentor’s family name because they’d all but adopted me and it was her husband who came up with Melody. He worried my family might figure out my new name by looking into public uni records but Melody was original and unique. And everyone agreed it suited me. Jamie Melody does exactly roll off the tongue but people don’t usually address me like that anyway so it doesn’t matter.”

Sam smiled, “Clever. And it does suit you. Always had a song on your lips.”

“So you two do know each other!” Cora jabbed a finger at her dad.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen her, Cora,” Sam reached out and teasingly grabbed her finger. She scrunched her nose and held out his hat, which he promptly took and placed back on his head, “and as you just heard, I was not aware of the name change.”

“Alright, I suppose I can let it go,” Cora dramatically said before reaching into her bag, “So I brought my two favorite.”

“I can’t wait to see which ones you picked.” Jamie held out a hand to accept the books.

“It was hard to choose,” Cora handed them over along with a black fine point marker from Sam’s workstation.

“I’m proud of you for narrowing it down. Part of me wondered if you’d try hauling the whole set back,” Sam teased his little girl. As he spoke he watched Jamie look over the books awe.

“This is a first edition,” Jamie looked shocked as she studied one of the pair, “my publisher said they pulled them after we discovered a printing error.”

“Oh that was a gift from Gramps. He gave me that one and the corrected second edition along with a few comics and a book of Akila history. I love going through both editions looking for the differences. All I’ve found are a few diagrams printed sideways and like two missing pages of pictures.”

“Yeah the errors were minor but embarrassing for the publisher,” Jamie laughed. “Let me sit down and I can inscribe these.”

“Always knew you were destined for greatness,” Sam said as she sat down, “Always assumed I was holding you back.”

“You weren’t,” she said softly as she looked up at him, “if anything you helped me fly the coop. I don’t know if I’d ever left this rock without your help. Only wish I’d timed it better.”

He fought back more tears as he felt Cora studying his face. Jamie went to work writing messages in each book. She wrote with a very slow, deliberate hand, which amused him because he knew just how messy her handwriting could get.

“So what’s the plan?” Cora asked.

“The Plan? Sam asked.

“You said we needed to talk about plans for today with visiting Gramps. I figured it had to do with our Constellation business and we both know Gramps isn’t going to like that.”

“Yup,” Sam nodded. It was scary how smart she was.

“What sort of Constellation business would need you talking to…him?” Jamie hesitated, omitting what Sam knew was a more colorful reference to Jacob, “My understanding is Constellation studies star systems, running detailed surveys of planet and moon surfaces and finding scientifically significant discoveries.”

“We are. We’re looking into the story of the Empty Nest.” Cora smiled, “Dad said what we needed was in the bank vault but since we need to see Gramps that means it wasn’t anymore.”

“Is that so?” Jamie seemed to perk up. She leaned in towards both of them and handed back the books, “would this happened to have anything to do with gravitational anomalies?”

“How do you…” Sam started to say.

“Never mind that for now, may I come with for this visit with Ol’ Jacob?” She stood up and smoothed her pants, “in case tag team sweet grandchild frustrating son can’t crack the code?”

“You know gramps too?” Cora asked.

“I do,” Jamie smiled, “we aren’t on great terms but we have an understanding. Plus he owes me a favor. If he won’t listen to you two I can call it in.”

“Jacob Coe owes you a favor?” Sam was in disbelief.

“I found some antiques with Solomon Coe’s name engraved at a consignment shop a few years back. Seller could tell I was a knowledgeable buyer and confessed they figured the pieces were forgeries but even still they were worth a pretty credstick for their condition alone. I knew Jacob had legit equipment with engravings and that the museum was his pet project at the time so I reached out. Asked him to verify the validity of the engraving and if they were real I’d give them to him in exchange for a favor down the line. They were all real, worth FAR more than I paid, and he took the deal.”

“You did that for him?” Sam asked.

“I did it for the museum,” she motioned down the road, “and I did it because having someone like your dad on the hook for a favor is useful in my line of work. Sometimes you can’t grease the squeaky wheels alone.”

“Smart,” Cora nodded sagely, “Dad we should bring the Professor along.”

“Does he know you’re the author of these books?” Sam asked.

“He does,” Jamie nodded, “He’s known about my name change for a while. Once tipped me off to some family chatter one of his connections intercepted. Apparently he had people keeping ears to the ground for any search my parents attempted on me. He didn’t want them to find me anymore than I did.”

“What?” Sam felt a rush of shock and anger. Jacob never told him any of this.

“We can talk about all that later,” Jamie reached out and patted his chest, “for now let’s focus on finding an empty nest.”

[atonalginger]

Snippet Sunday

my snippets on Wed and Sun appear to be during into memory hour with Goose and Cooper *shrugs* It's what I got and I guess that just means I'm not spoiling the plot :)

I know a lot of folks have had a lot going on so I'm going to just generally tag The Coemancer Crew and anyone who might have a snippet of work that they wish to share. Pressure free invite for all :)

My snippet this week is in Goose's POV and contains references to plot from Starborn Saga that could be considered spoilers for that fic.

“Thanks for the assist back there,” Cooper said as he leaned against the wall, his hands fumbling with an militia battlemeal pack, looking exhausted from the hike to the facility and fights through the converted research facility.

“Anytime, Rodeo,” Goose leaned on the callsign in a teasing manner.

Cooper smirked as he flicked his glance to Goose briefly before popping some of his food into his mouth. As he chewed he wagged a finger at Goose and once he worked through the tough jerky like meat and swallowed he said, “could have been worse. Other names pitched were Icarus, Hawkeye, and Apollo.”

Others saw it too? Goose wondered as he felt his cheeks go warm. It was the third time since leaving the Key that talking with this hotshot lieutenant had made him go flush and he hated it. Why couldn’t he handle working with this guy like all the other Freestar that came to the Key? “At least one of those sounds cursed.”

“Yeah, our CO agreed with you,” Cooper laughed, “he scrapped Icarus before they even voted. I personally vetoed Apollo and he backed me up. I couldn’t carry that reminder, flying my dad’s ship was enough.”

“Your dad was a pilot too?” Goose asked.

Cooper nodded while he tapped the remainder of the freeze dried food into his mouth, chewing thoroughly before answering, “His call sign was Zeus. He led a squad known as the Olympians and piloted the Stormherald until the UC decided to hit the Valo system. He sent the ship home and worked from a battleship called the FC Olympus. Command thought they were cute, I suppose.”

Goose stared slack jawed as Cooper went on, his mind rushing back to Palvo. Suddenly he was 12 again, being dragged onto a shuttle by a woman in the militia the others called Demeter. She’d told him the shuttle would take him to the Olympus and from there to the Cheyenne system but as the shuttle closed in on the battleship it was bombarded by one of the UC battleships in the system and their pilot was forced to grav jump away, taking everyone to the Kryx system to shake the sharks. The FC Olympus was shot down over Palvo, pock marking the surface with wreckage.

Cooper went on, either not noticing Goose’s shock or ignoring it, “Apollo was pitched as a way of honoring my old man, Apollo was Zeus’s son after all, but I couldn’t bear that weight. Plus it felt disrespectful to the Apollo who died on Palvo with the others. Those callsigns should be retired. Command hasn’t because they say if they retired every callsign of a dead pilot or operative they’d eventually run out of options but it just felt wrong.”

“I agree,” Goose said softly, collecting his thoughts, “that team are heroes to scores of survivors and the Militia should honor their memory more than it has. Maybe they wouldn’t have struggled for so long with recruitment and morale if they did more to remember the sacrifices soldier’s have made.”

“You’ll get no argument from me there,” Cooper tucked his empty tin back into his pack, “it shouldn’t have taken Commander Shepard dying on Akila for leadership to finally wake up to what needed to happen for our systems to have a chance. And that they capitalized on it for recruiting purposes felt dirty. Every time I met a fresh recruit saying they signed on after hearing about all that…” he let out a heavy sigh.

Goose closed his eyes and turned away, not wanting the handsome hotshot to see him upset as he fought to collect himself. He could hear Fury’s screams, the roar of the terrormorph. He could smell the foul monster and the copper tinged scent of blood. Feel the burning pain of the claw puncture and the ache in his muscles from being thrown. He needed a distraction, anything to pull him away from that nightmare, “Why Rodeo, though? Or Hawkeye for that matter?”

“Hawkeye was because I had the best marksmanship scores of the squad and could hit a pinpoint target in flight simulations. It wasn’t popular with the squad though. Rodeo was my CO’s idea. Something about me being able to handle the roughest rides and tame the wildest of situations. And the fact that I kept finding myself in those wild situations to begin with,” Cooper shrugged, “working with me is like watching a rodeo, he said.”

“I can see that,” Goose cracked a smile and looked back to the pilot, “certainly handled yourself well when those reinforcements poured in.”

“Only ‘cause I had help,” Cooper tipped an invisible adventurer’s hat at Goose and winked.

Knock it off, Goose thought as his cheeks, neck, and ears heated up.

“Why Goose?” Cooper asked, “doesn’t seem very pirate-y.”

“My ma used to call me Goose,” he rubbed the back of his neck and looked away, “when the shuttle I was on docked with the Key all those years ago all us kids were told to not use our real names. Our stay was supposed to be temporary and they didn’t want any crews hunting us down. When we didn’t leave I just kept using it.”

“And what’s your name name?” Cooper asked, “Or am I overreaching?”

“Eh,” Goose shrugged, “not overreaching but I don’t know you well enough to share. My given name is for family.”

Cooper smiled, “That’s fair.”

[silent-moons-camp]

I'd love to know anything about your starfield oc!

Kanan McCarthy is their full name. First name is taken from Kanan Jarrus from Star Wars: Rebels, and the last name is taken from one of my favorite authors, the late Cormac McCarthy.

they/them pronouns, though uses he/him also.

I wish Starfield gave you better descriptions about some of the traits before you start, because if I had known what I know now about Kanan and the Freestar Collective, I woulda given them the Freestar Settler trait.

Kanan is followed around by the Adoring Fan for lulz. I have yet to get him a name (he deserves one).

I went into Starfield wanting to make a sort of Han Solo coded character, hence I went with Space Scoundrel as their background.

I picked the Wanted trait for them because I figured that Bethesda games are easy enough, I might as well have a bit more of a challenge. It worked out with the Space Scoundrel background and I've worked that into their whole thing they've got going on.

Kanan has two siblings who are also named after Star Wars characters. Owen, an older brother, named after Luke's uncle, and Senya, their twin sister, named after Senya Tirall from SWTOR

I am begging Bethesda to let me change the colors of outfits because red is Kanan's signature color and I want a red poncho.

Kanan originally started out with blonde hair, but because this game is admittedly really fuckin bad with hair sometimes (particularly with beards) I decided to change it to black.

I've considered making it so Kanan was apart of the First militia during the Colony War. Haven't decided yet. I need to do some more digging in wikis first.

On that note, the Freestar Ranger questline may as well be a Kanan questline. I won't go into all the details considering I plan on writing out a full Starfield fanfic, but the latter parts of that questline really struck a cord with them in regards to their past. (I like to think that the unique razorback they receive when they join the Rangers used to belong to their father.)

You know how people would lie about their age in order to get into the military and fight in some conflict? Yeah, that's Kanan. They told everyone they were eighteen in order to join the Colony War and instead they were around fifteen to sixteen. Yeah, they saw some stuff they really probably shouldn't have.

Kanan has a very, very bad habit of having frequent one night stands.

My voice claim for Kanan is Ben Schneider, the singer of the band Lord Huron.

Their theme song is The Man in Red by Trocadero. (You have no idea how long I've waited to make that song a theme song for once of my ocs. It's such a cool song.)

I'll stop there, lest I talk about things I'd rather keep for writing in the future. Thanks for the ask :)

[silent-moons-camp]

spoilers for the freestar ranger questline in starfield!!

my spacefarer, kanan, they joined the freestar militia in their teens and faked their age. saw a shit ton of things they probably shouldn't have seen during the colony war. so when they walk into paxton hull's hideout with sarah morgan, another victim of bloody unnecessary war, kanan is filled with both anger and pity for the man. the road to hell is paved with good intentions. paxton hull wanted revenge against the freestar collective for letting the deaths of his men be for nothing. and yet here is, working for the same people who allowed the war to happen. kanan wants to take the man by the shoulders, shake him, and go "don't you get it? we're all victims of the colony war you fuck, and hurting innocents isn't going to help that. they're victims of the corruption of the fc too!" this questline makes me feel things man. glad i took sarah along for it too because damn. sarah tells him that nobody should let the trauma from the war control them (because by god, did it control her for so long) and he tells her she has no right to judge him and again i want kanan to shake him and go, "yes!!! yes she does!!! so do i!!!" just man. MAN. (yes, i am aware of the hypocrisy of working for the "elite cops" of the freestar collective. the boot-licking of having an option to work for them is not lost on me. i have character based reasons for kanan, a victim of the colony war and all the bullshit that came out of it, to join the rangers)

[silent-moons-camp]

ghost and skin for Kanan, desire and midnight for Immanuel, pretty please ✨

Kanan

ghost: Who or what haunts your OC? What happened? How do they live with their ghosts?

Kanan's older brother, Owen, lingers with them at all times. Owen died during the Colony War. He was a role model to Kanan, and when Owen went off to fight for the Freestar Collective, Kanan followed suit. Kanan faked their age and got into the militia at the young age of sixteen. During the Battle of Niira, a battle that lasted the entire war, Kanan's entire family was changed - their father lost both of his legs, and Owen his life. Nowadays, Kanan feels the weight of Owen's loss on their shoulder at all times, wishing to be just like him - courageous, kind, and willing to help others, but Kanan is not known for these things.

skin: How comfortable is your OC in their skin? Do they grapple with anything that lives inside them—a beast, a curse, a failure, a monster? How do they face the smallest, weakest, most horrible version of themself? Are they able to acknowledge it at all?

Kanan may appear to be comfortable in their skin, but it is all a ruse, just like many parts of their personality. Kanan has a rough exterior and a heart of gold. And while they aren't exactly grappling with the consequences of their actions all the time, there is a part deep down that feels guilt over everything wrong they've done, especially when it comes to them partaking in the Colony War. They refuse to face it most of the time, only being forced to face it once they join Constellation and begin to fall for Sarah.

Immanuel

desire: What's one thing your OC wants more than anything in the world? Are they open with that desire? Why or why not? What would they do to fulfill it?

Immanuel desires the total destruction of evil and oppression by any means necessary. Even though the ideals of Tyr, God of Justice and the ideals of the Oath of Devotion seem to work together, both tend to conflict in some areas. Tyr demands Immanuel partake in this desire to dispense justice and uphold the law, punishing those who would work against it. But Immanuel is a merciful man, and his Oath demands mercy as well. Because of this Oath, Immanuel must be honest about his desires and intentions to cleanse the world of evil, even if it may put off some of his allies. It's a desire that must be tempered by the wisdom of his Oath, and as such, he cannot always go about bringing righteous fury upon evildoers.

midnight: What keeps your OC up at night? Do they have nightmares? Fears? Anxieties? What do they do in the small hours of the morning when they should be sleeping?

As mentioned in a previous ask, Immanuel has Illithid-induced nightmares, so they often keep him up. But Immanuel also ends up keeping himself up out of fear that something bad will happen to the camp while everyone else is asleep. Shadowheart will often have to beg him to go to bed because he is so adamant on keeping watch. Other times, she'll keep watch with him, or one of the other members of the party will keep him company - such as Gale or Karlach. If he isn't sleeping or keeping watch, Immanuel is reading or meditating.

Thanks for the ask! <3

Ask me questions about my OCs!