#clevermird

[fabrickind]

hey, cosplay sempai, I am wondering if you have any tips or tutorials for doing very revealing cosplays?

I've been thinking about cosplaying Lelith Hesparax from Warhammer 40k and it's super outside my comfort zone (unsure if I can send links in asks, but she basically wears a leather thong and bikini top with thigh-high boots and some armor bits) and have no idea where to start. I was thinking maybe about attaching at least the thong bottom to some skin-tone leggings or tights for modesty/warmth and to keep everything in place?

Sorry for the vague-ass ask, I've done some cosplay before and am a moderately experienced seamstress, but nothing like this and now I can't get it out of my head. Any advice or links to tutorials about construction and/or building up the confidence to wear such a thing in public would be much appreciated :)

Hello there!

Oh boy you have asked the right person about this!!

I have an entire panel about skimpy cosplay (slides can be found here), but it's a bit outdated and that's just the slides, not my commentary. (I have a different but related panel about underwear here.)

For this specific case, you have a couple of options, but most come down to attaching pieces to skin-tone fabric.

One option would be to construct or purchase a full bodysuit that the pieces attach to. I can't tell if this character has grey skin or if it's just stylized normal pale human skin tone, but if she has grey skin, a full bodysuit would be your best bet, since it would negate the need for bodypaint. (I assume you would have mentioned if bodypaint was an issue though!) You can also do a partial bodysuit that's open in key areas: cleavage and stomach. The rest would be covered by skin tone fabric that the garments could attach to.

The advantage of this method would be full security with no risk of slippage. The drawback is that the effect is a bit less realistic, since fabric isn't skin, and if you made a bodysuit (or depending on where you got one), there would be seams. It would be a bit more realistic if you did a partial bodysuit, since skin would show in key areas.

The second option would be exactly what you suggested -- attaching the bottoms to tights. I would 1000000% recommend tights for this costume for many reasons: modesty (you don't want your actual ass out at a con!), warmth, making your legs look better, preventing slippage, etc. Her bottoms seem to come up pretty high on her torso on the sides, so you may need to attach them to dance body tights rather than regular dance tights. You can also construct your own tights, but these would have seams (preferably on the inner thighs, since the seams would hide well there, especially given the shapes of the costume).

If you make your own tights or bodysuit, I'd go with either a matte milliskin (opaque) or non-compression power mesh (sheer, so hides better but shows more).

It's a bit hard to tell what's going on with the top, and different references seem to be slightly different. Some have a cutout with underboob showing, and some (like this) seem to cup under the breasts, so it would be up to you on what style you want.

You can also use a silicone or fabric and foam chestplate if you don't want your actual skin showing. There's nothing to hide the neck seam, so it would be a little more difficult with a fabric and foam one, but you would be able to attach the top to it, either permanently (sewing) or temporarily (pins, snaps, etc.). Here's a post I wrote about these.

You probably don't need these for security, but they would be helpful if you want bigger boobs for the costume and don't want your actual skin showing there.

For constructing the top, if you go with the style that cups the breasts, use an underwire. You can use two separate underwires with a busk (better if you want a more customizable fit) or a monowire (better if you want it to truly cup under and have a smooth line there). Either way, you might want to put some foam cups in there for a bit of extra support and coverage. You can cut into these around the cutouts to remove material and they keep their shape. (I did this on Spellbinder Angela SD3 lol)

I'd take a little bit of liberty with the design and instead of totally shredded, unsupported fabric on the bottom, put a band of lingerie elastic (silicone backed if possible) around your torso to help keep everything in place.

You can use the shredded bits along the red line I drew to kind of fake it. Putting lingerie elastic in the other shredded bits that come off the sides of the cups (the three just above the red line) would also helps hold it in place and support you. Bras are supported largely from the band, and hiding a bit of structure that encircles the torso would do a lot of this work for you -- as long as the garment encircles the torso fully with some sort of structure (the underwires, lingerie elastic in those center front bands, around the back), it will help hold it in place.

Another option, in addition to the elastic, is to fill in a lot of those little holes in the bra band with skin tone mesh, whether you do a full bodysuit or not. A full bodysuit means you can just sew them directly to the suit, and not means that you would have a solid piece of mesh in there to help hold everything together. (Basically don't chop up the mesh into little pieces for each hole, but rather make a solid band and sew the straps to that, and then cut the edge of the mesh band to shape so it doesn't show at top and bottom.) Since the back doesn't really show, I'd use the piece of mesh as the closure as well by putting a set of bra hooks and eyes back there, and making sure the black straps line up on either side. (Your other option, if not doing mesh underneath, would be to create three front hook closures, like front bra or swimsuit clasps, at the center front busk and the two straps.)

I'd also add a bit of boning to the top along the sides to help hold it closer to your body and give a little extra support.

As always, when wearing an underwear cosplay, wear underwear underneath it. Undies under your tights, pasties on your breasts. It never hurts to have a bit of extra security, and it'll help the costume lie nicer on your body.

As for working up the nerve, I have a few tips, which may or may not already be covered in the panel I linked above:

Wear it at home before wearing it out. This is both to make sure the costume functions how you want it to and to get you comfortable wearing it

If you can, wear a different skimpy cosplay out somewhere to work your way up to it

Making sure the costume fits your body well and doesn't have risk of slipping out of place or revealing too much will help a LOT. That sense of security in the costume is really key, I find.

Go to con with a handler, Just In Case. If anyone is being weird, the handler (could be a friend, partner, etc.) can help defuse the situation.

Bring something to cover up with. If you feel self conscious, too cold, etc., put on the cover up. Also good if you are doing a location shoot or leaving the direct con area, since a lot of places that aren't the con won't like that you aren't wearing much.

If you have other questions, feel free to ask!

Hope that helps :]

[kmlaney]

I haven't read Cleaner One since I've still never gotten around to finishing the Agent story (one day. . . ), but I assume he is 100% done at all times because Imperial Intelligence is Like That.

Oh fun! I was just re-reading some of his stuff. Here goes:

"Done? As in Done With This Shit? Kark yeah, I'm done with it. It's a thankless job, but somebody's got to do it. Keeper'll tell new agents they're the Empire's janitors. He's wrong. They're routine maintenance. I'm the janitor.

"It never really changes, you know? Hell, my mission briefs are fill-in-the blank. So-and-so karked things up in City on Planet, get out there and clean up the mess before the Republic figures out what went down. Assuming I get a mission brief at all. Usually it's a panicked holo in the middle of local night sending me who-knows-where with details 'to follow'. They never follow, surprise surprise. Hardly matters since the solution is always shoot everyone connected to the problem. My solution, anyway.

"Maybe you're thinking done as in handing in the ID and the clearance? Retiring somewhere nice or at least not shitty? With an actual name and a nice little pension? Then no. I'm not done. I'm not, because the only way out of this gig is at the wrong end of a blaster or vibroknife. If I'm lucky it'll be Keeper doing it. Least he could do after all this time.

Probably get shoved down a waste-reclamation chute no matter who did the deed. Started as trash, ended as trash."

[knamil]

@clevermird O.O No. Thank you!

Couples gestures and a render of Lord Scourge and Remi

[datamodel-of-disaster]

Shuffle Music Tag!

Shuffle your on-repeat playlist, post 10 songs, tag 10 people.

Thanks for tagging me @giliath ! Be prepared because this shit is all over the place (yes, I too only use a single playlist for Everything, god help me).

I don’t have a ton of people to tag in turn, but… @astercontrol @clevermird @et-novum @zcreatescreations-reblogs @cursedbeasts I’d be interested to see what the shuffle gods reveal for you…

As for the list… they’re all pretty solid recs tbh, unhinged lack of genre coherence aside.

[clevermird]

Drukhari archon Valthiel Aire thought that a new slave would help him forget his grief and chase away his nightmares, but in the arms of a terrified Craftworlder he starts to find something he thought was lost forever: his conscience.

This is a retelling of certain events in my fic Silver, Ash, and Bone from a different perspective, and contains spoilers for that story through chapter 16, but can be read blind as well.

I originally posted a version of this several years ago, but over time grew dissatisfied with it and did heavy edits to the point that I felt like it was worth reposting rather than just replacing the old version quietly. I've left the original iteration up in case anyone really liked that one, but this is the version I consider "canon" to the main Silver Ash and Bone story now

[dandelionsandderivatives]

Tagged by @batrachised to list five comfort characters! I had to think about this one for a while, which is why it's coming rather late. 1. Hannah Tupper from The Witch of Blackbird Pond. I reread this book a lot as a teenager. It's about loneliness and homesickness and making unexpected friends, and it felt very relevant to my life back then. Hannah's cottage (that floods every year) is a quintessentially comforting place in-universe, and so I think she deserves the title of Comfort Character in this Comfort Book. 10/10 would eat blueberry cake and drink milk with. 2. Miss Pettigrew, of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (movie; haven't yet read the book). Both in the sense that I think she'd be a very cheering and heartening person to be around, and in the sense that the movie is a great pick-me-up and she's its main character.

3. Sir Percy Blakeney, baronet, of The Scarlet Pimpernel (both book and movie versions; I prefer the 80s version to the 30s version). He's dashing, he's daring, and he wants to go to parties and recite bad poetry at people. I love him. (Marguerite also counts as a comfort character, but I think Sir Percy slightly edges her out.)

4. Bertie Wooster, of the Jeeves books. Ever willing to uphold the honor of the Woosters and come to the aid of an injured friend or aunt, Bertie is honorable and kind, if somewhat deficient in other areas. His greatest achievement is his Scripture Knowledge prize. He wears socks of intricate and baroque design. Would love to have a gin-and-tonic with him.

5. Muggles, of The Gammage Cup. Again, a solidly comfortable person to be around, who'd make peppermint candy for you and then help you build a fish-trap. And following @batrachised's example, I will add one problematic addition: 6. (Professor) Harold Hill from The Music Man. Is he a horrible person? Yes. Does he lie, cheat, and steal? Yes. Do I go absolutely crazy for his (fairly small) redemption arc? Also yes. I have multiple acquaintances who hate this movie/play because of Harold Hill's actions, and I can't blame them, but he's my ultimate Villain Fave. I look on him as the teenagers in 2012 looked upon Loki.

Edit: forgot to tag people! Let's see; we'll tag @clevermird, @lurking-latinist, and @melliabee . No pressure, of course, if you're not feeling it!

[kmlaney]

tag game whee!!!

I was tagged by @clevermird! Thank you! Haven’t done one of these in a while.

1) Are you named after anyone?

No. I recall my parents specifically chose my name so it had no obvious handy nicknames, but not that it was after anyone in particular.

2) When was the last time you cried?

Couple weeks ago over irl stuff that I’m not getting into.

3) Do you have kids?

I have one child. He’s 19.

4) What sports do you play/have you played?

I am terrible at most every sport. Certainly nearly everything offered at school. You know, all the standard sportsballs, tennis, track, you name it. I was on a swim team ages ago and I enjoyed that and was good at it. I’m good at archery and shooting; those are both fun. I have done equestrian stuff (trail riding, intro to show jumping and dressage) but I never had a horse so those were either rentals or classes.

5) Do you use sarcasm?

Constantly. I think it is my native language. Or dialect.

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Eyeglasses. I was an optician for a long time; it’s still the first thing I notice. Then earrings/piercings/tattoos. Or funky-colored hair.

7. What's your eye colour?

Dark brown.

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Depends on what I’m in the mood for. They’re also not mutually exclusive. When I get attached to a character in a scary movie I want them to get their happy ending. Aka survival. They’ve earned it. Unless it’s Samuel L, Jackson’s character in Deep Blue Sea. Best moment in the movie from a meta standpoint imo. IYKYK.

9. Any talents?

In videogames I have the unique ability to find edges to fall of, things to get stuck on, and freak ways to glitch out of the terrain. Not the fun, youtubeable ways. The annoying, have to alt-F4 and start over kind. And hope I haven’t died in the interim. Seriously, I should test games for terrain flaws. It’s a gift.

10. Where were you born?

In a hospital. Lol yeah ok recall the sarcasm question earlier? USA.

11. What are your hobbies?

Reading, writing (not so much a hobby as an obsession), drawing, TTRPGs where I get way too attached to my characters and write elaborate backstories and playlists and fics for them. I want to get back into guitar; I haven’t played in a while and the bass is calling me. 

12. Do you have any pets?

I am down to one cat and three houseplants. The cat is smaller than two of the plants.

13. How tall are you?

5'4" (if you're American, Liberian, or Burmese) or 163cm (if you're anywhere else in the world.)

14. Favourite subject in school?

History, science, choir, and this one math class that was all word problems. That one was fun.

15. Dream job?

Writer? That’s the one constant career I’ve always wanted for as long as I can remember. If not that then a paleontologist specializing in dinosaurs, which is probably way less awesome than I think it is. Oceanographer and geologist were in the running too. 

Dream job would be one where I get to do the parts of that job that I really enjoy and none of the parts that I don’t.

tagging uhh... @depizan, @serialephemera, @kodrevas, @knamil (I think you got double-tagged, sorry!), and anyone else who wants to play! No obligation to participate whether I tagged you or not.

[knamil]

Shuffle your on-repeat playlist, post 10 songs, tag 10 people.

Tagged by @clevermird. Thank you!

I tag @kodrevas @serialephemera and anyone who wants to post their playlist because I hoard playlists like a goblin.

I won't make a poll because I'm lazy

White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane

Judith - A Perfect Circle

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone

Come Together - The Beatles

Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea - MISSIO

The Summoning - Sleep Token

Beast - Nico Vega

Haunted - Poe

Get Some - Lykke Li

The Wolf - SIAMES

Honorable mention to Streets of Detroit by SQÜRL which came up fourth or something but is only 35 seconds long so I went to the next one. I want to make a comic based on how that 35 seconds feels.

[datamodel-of-disaster]

Ooooh tag game time! Thanks for the tag @giliath!

... this is gonna get interesting.

Idk, is this something? (Found out I have SO MANY random ass pics on my tablet...)

Tagging @bigweldindustries @clevermird @zcreatescreations-reblogs and whoever else thinks this would be fun :)

[dandelionsandderivatives]

@clevermird

iykyk

[clevermird]

Title: Good Times and Good Drinks

Prompt: Confessions @shortfictionweeklychallenge

Rating: Teen

Characters: Jessasi Silver (female Smuggler), Corso Riggs

Pairing(s): femSmuggler/Corso

Now that she has her ship back, Jessasi decides that she and Corso deserve a night on the town - but they both might have a bit more than they're admitting on their minds.

This is also my attempt to mess around with the start of the Corso romance plotline to make it less awkward and weird.

Text under cut

For the first time in weeks, Jessasi was sitting right where she belonged: in the cockpit of The Fool’s Wager, feet up on the dash, music blaring from the stereo. It’s good to be home. Skavik hadn’t even sold any of her stuff!

She checked her wrist chrono. Still eighteen hours until they were supposed to take off. Hmm. . .

“Corso!” she called, swinging her feet to the floor. “Get ready, we’re going to town!”

Twenty minutes later, she was ready to go and she didn’t look half-bad if she did say so herself: striped shorts, a grey top that clung to her curves, short vest to draw the eyes to her chest, and comfortable sandals. Checking the mirror one more time, she added a bit more eyeshadow and a touch of lipstick, slid on a few bracelets, and headed for the airlock.

Corso was waiting for her. “Aren’t we going to bring Risha?”

“Nah.” Running across the galaxy on her say-so was one thing. Going to the bar with her was another.

They took a taxi to the Old Galactic Market Sector and found the cantina easily. Darmas Pollaran had moved on, but the place was still crawling with all sorts relaxing after hard days. Down on their luck spacer types nursed drinks and scowled at everyone else, swankier customers played sabbacc, and a few guys were already drunk enough to be trying to dance along with the holodancers.

Jessasi rolled her eyes and headed for the bar.

The droid manning the drink orders whirred over as she slid onto a stool. “What will it be today, gentlebeings?” he said in a voice that sounded ridiculously snooty on any bartender outside the Senate Tower.

“Uh. . . just a Corellian ale?” Corso said, looking awkward.

“Come on, Corso, where’s your sense of adventure? This is Coruscant!”

“I already know I like it, why bother changing?”

Jessasi shrugged.

The droid turned in her direction. “And for you, m’am?”

“How about a Nexu Tail?” It wasn’t a drink she could find everywhere, but when they do, she always got them.

While they waited, she looked around to see if anything exciting was happening. Someone must have just won a pazzak match. The guy was dancing around like something good had happened, at any rate. A cute, yellow-skinned twi’lek guy smiled bashfully at her and she smiled back. He brightened.

“Uh. . . Captain?” said Corso with just a bit of an edge to his voice.

“What?” I’ll talk to anyone I like, thank you very much. The guy looked at Corso, then back at her. Shaking her head, Jessasi waved him over.

As he got up, someone shouted from across the room and he turned. A moment later, he was bro-hugging a burly Cathar and Jessasi was back to waiting for the drinks to show up.

Probably for the best anyway. Her mom had always said “flirt all you want, kiss all you like, but don’t give your heart – or your holes – to anyone unless you’re sure he’s the one.” And so far, she’d followed that rule with only two exceptions. And she’d really thought that Mal was the one, so actually it was only one exception.

Thinking about Mal was on its way to ruining her good mood, but fortunately, the droid returned with their drinks before she’d stewed about it too much. They certainly served generous portions in this place. Corso’s beer mug was half the size of her head.

“What is that?” he said, looking at her drink.

“It’s a Nexu tail.”

“Looks like a couple of Zeltrons exploded in your glass.”

Scowling at him, Jessasi took a sip of the brightly colored drink. “It tastes good.” And they put way more Corillian rum in it than most places did.

Corso took a swig of his beer. “Really?”

“Yeah, try it.”

He sipped it, frowned, took another sip, then two more. “Wow, you’re right. Is that mujafruit juice?”

“I honestly have no idea.” She grinned and ordered another drink. Maybe something akdov-based this time. . .

Several glasses in, she could feel the liquor starting to work. A warm feeling stretched down toward her toes and she felt really relaxed for the first time in a while. Coming here was a great idea.

“I guess you should get to try one of mine,” Corso said, breaking a silence of several rounds.

He slid the mug over and Jessasi picked it up with both hands. The drink had a rich, gold taste that made her feel even warmer.

“You’ve got foam on your nose.”

She wiped it off and returned to her own drink. “You know?” she said, giggling a little. “I really hope Risha’s telling the truth.”

“So do I, Captain.”

“I mean, it would really suck if she wasn’t. And you can call me Jess, you know. Everyone else does.”

The droid reappeared, dripping with some unsatisfied customer’s drink. “May I refill your glasses, gentlebeings?”

They looked at each other and their eyes met. Corso grinned. Jessasi grinned. “Sure. Why not.”

Corso’s eyes were brown, she noticed as the droid trotted away to mix her another drink. A really nice brown. Why hadn’t she noticed that before? She looked away awkwardly. Someone was singing some kind of drinking song on the sunk-in section of the floor.

Their refills came back really fast this time and she started drinking again.

Setting down his already half-drained mug, Corso said, far too loudly, “Why do we never do anything fun like this on the ship?”

“We just got the ship back! And I can be kind of fun!” She shouldn’t turn her head so fast. It made the room spin.

Corso grunted and kept drinking. Jessasi followed suit. She was almost at the bottom of the glass before Corso spoke again. “We could get our blasters out and see who can take out the bartender droid the fastest.”

For some reason, this seemed hilarious and Jessasi started giggling. “I don’t think the cops would like that very much,” she managed to get out when she could breathe again.

He laughed too and scooted his stool closer. He smelled good, like a haystack, even though it had been weeks since he could have been near one. “Back on Ord Mantell, we used to run the rontos around in circles and see if they could charge us without falling over. We should do that.”

That set her off again and she felt tears coming to her eyes. “Got any suggestions that don’t involve farm animals, farmboy?”

“I know a few, but I might not be able to show you all of them here. . . “ He leaned in closer and Jessasi felt his lips brush against hers, his breath hot on her face. She smiled.

Then he pulled away. “Sorry, Captain,” he muttered. “I shouldn’t have done that. Propositioning you in a bar like a Hutt’s dancer. It’s not right.”

“’sokay,” Jessasi replied. Everything was starting to get fuzzy, but she felt sad nonetheless.

“Are you doing okay?”

She burped. “I thinks so.”

“We should get you back to the ship.” His words slurred together, but she wasn’t sure if that was him talking or her hearing. Maybe a little of both?

When she tried to walk, the floor kind of tilted like the Fool’s deck did when she pulled crazy stunts. Somehow, she ended up with her arm around Corso’s shoulder and they made it out to the curb. A taxi pulled up and the droid buzzed. “State your destination.”

Jessasi crawled into the seat and curled up on it. “Taris. That’s what Risha said, right? And we have to do what Risha says. She’s the only one who knows where it is.”

“Just take us back to the spaceport,” Corso said.

Oh. Right. The spaceport. The speeder started speeding along again – a speeder, speeding, how funny is that? – and Jessasi closed her eyes. It made her stomach hurt less. “I don’t feel very good.”

“Why don’t you go to sleep? You’ll feel better in the morning.”

“Okay. You know what? I like you.”

“I like you too, Captain.”

As the speeder hurried back to the spaceport and her ship, Jessasi fell asleep with her head on Corso’s shoulder.

[dandelionsandderivatives]

Tagged by @clevermird! Thank you! :)

last song: Patrick Martin - Dandelion Eyes (on brand, I guess)

currently watching: Robin of Sherwood, Goblin, tons of videos about circuits online

currently reading: The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny, Vibrant India by Chitra Agrawal (wanting to learn to cook South Indian food), How to Keep House while Drowning by KC Davis

current obsession(s): beading tutorials, animal crackers, frozen yoghurt, colorwork knitting

Tagging: @mathmusic8 @teabooksandsweets @green-great-dragon (but no pressure if you don't want to!)

[dandelionsandderivatives]

@clevermird your OCs are somehow both at once

a They Deserve Each Other shipping scale where on one end of the axis you have the “no one else is good enough for them” ships, and on the other end you have the ships that need to be together monogamously forever as a quarantine measure. whatever the fuck is wrong with both of them must be contained for the greater good.

[clevermird]

Last chapter is up, featuring the Jedi Knight and my attempt to capture Miraluka Force Sight in text

Title: The Road to Coruscant

Prompt: Allies @shortfictionweeklychallenge

Rating: Teen

Characters: Feyte Saien (female Jedi Consular), Mallena Dayne, (female Republic Trooper), Eyrie Lancaster (female Jedi Knight), Jessasi Silver (female Smuggler), Aric Jorgan, Corso Riggs, T7-01, Qyzen Fess

Pairing(s): None

Four young women find themselves on a ship bound for Courscant. Each brings their own companion, their own mission, and their own past, but when the Sith Empire attacks their ship, they find themselves in an alliance, and their biggest problem isn't what they'll do when they reach their destination, but if they're going to reach it at all!  

This time, Eyrie tries her best to save the galaxy single-handedly and the team attempts to escape the ship

Text under cut

Hanging over the edge of the tractor beam control platform, Eyrie felt the droid flicker out of existence as the electricity from the console destroyed its circuits. Machines didn’t register in the Force the same way organic beings did, but she could still perceive them as a sort of hum.

Feyte poked her head over the edge of the platform. “Do you need help up? Are you hurt?”

“I have it.” Eyrie swung herself back onto the flat surface and retrieved her lightsabers, hooking them to her belt over either hip. Not that they would stay there for long. Already she could feel more Imperial troops on their way.

The smaller, higher-pitched hum that was T7 approached her. “Jedi=OK?”

“Fine.” To tell the truth, she had probably sprained her wrist catching hold of the edge, but it wasn’t important enough to stop. She could fight, and that was all that mattered. T7 and the others followed her down the ramp on the other side of the now-defunct tractor beam.

A quartet of Imperial troops ran toward them. Pulling her lightsabers off her belt, Eyrie launched herself into the air, aiming for the center of the group. The blades activated with a familiar sound and a slight change in the balance of the hilts. She let her knees absorb the impact of her landing and channeled it outward into a kinetic blast that knocked the nearest two men off their feet.

Straightening, she sprinted toward one of the ones still standing, leaving T7 and the special forces troopers to finish off the incapacitated pair. Blaster bolts flew around her, sharp needles of sensation that filled the air with a stink of ozone. A quick slash with her uninjured hand and the Imperial fell, bisected.

Qyzen Fess had already taken care of the final soldier, so she switched her sabers off, but kept them in her hands. They had to find a way back to the shuttle before the Imperials marshaled themselves enough to attack them in force.

Her wrist throbbed. Think, Eyrie. These people are counting on you. The grand moff would send troops to block off the most obvious path. “T7, do you know of an alternate route back to the hanger?”

“T7=checking ship’s map.”

While he did, she turned her senses outward. Feyte bustled around, tending to the ship captain’s scratched lekku and checking the others over. Despite the pain she was in, the captain and her mercenary companion seemed to be in good spirits. Probably riding their success with the droid. The two troopers were less jovial, though. As Eyrie stepped over to consult with them, T7 beeped.

“What did you find?” she said quietly.

“T7=found a way. Way=difficult+lots of troops. T7+Jedi=can do it.”

“Which way?” Before he could tell her, another ripple came through the Force. More danger.

“Imperials are coming from the west elevator and the hall back to the control room,” said Feyte.

“How many?” Feyte’s force skills were more honed than hers, at least when it came to sensing details outside of the immediate area. Eyrie worked in impressions, quicker when it came to acting and moving, but her masters had been chronically frustrated when it came to her ability to perceive specifics or explain why she acted and despite years of work, she’d never quite been able to remedy the weakness.

“Fifteen or twenty from each direction.”

One of the troopers, the male, swore. “Don’t think we can take on that many.”

“Way to hanger=west elevator.”

“Follow me!” Eyrie shouted. She would get them out of this if she had to cut through the deck plating herself. “T7, start checking for another path.”

They ran across the huge room to the only other exit. Piling into the elevator, they managed to get the door shut just as the first wave of troops burst into view. Someone pressed the button and Eyrie felt the car slide down, like a breeze blowing up onto her face. It shuddered to a halt and she made certain she had as free of an area to maneuver as possible before opening the door. The hallway was deserted.

“Where are we?” the female trooper asked.

Feyte bent down, probably to examine a map T7 displayed. “The detention level.”

“That would explain the dim lights, dark colors, and generally oppressive vibe. Oh, wait, I just described the entire ship. Never mind.”

Eyrie decided to ignore the captain’s inane banter. “How can we get back to the hanger from here?”

“It looks like we can go through the garbage chute, then take another elevator right up to the hanger deck,” the female trooper replied.

“Wait, what? Are you crazy?” the captain said. “Those things are like a hundred feet deep on a ship this big. And who knows what they throw down there.”

“It’s that or turn yourself into the Imperials,” Eyrie said. They were wasting time here.

“Wait,” said Feyte. “What about the prisoners?”

“What about them?”

“What if some of them are Republic citizens? Or even just innocent people? We can’t just leave them behind, we have to save them!”

She was right. It was a Jedi’s duty. “T7, come with me. Feyte, take everyone else to the garbage chute and use the Force to make sure they get down safely. Don’t wait for me.”

Feyte’s hesitation hung around her in clouds, but she didn’t object. As the rest of the group moved off in the direction of the chute, Eyrie led T7 toward the rest of the detention level. Why aren’t there any enemies? Most of the troops on board were probably tied up chasing them, but surely some would be left to guard important resources.

Wait. There was a concentration of life up ahead, behind a door that blocked her path. How many? She stopped and tried to focus. About ten, perhaps. She had never taken on that many sentients herself before, but she would have to try. They seemed calm enough. Maybe if she could take them by surprise. . .

A cold streak of alarm raced through them. Had they seen her? She sprinted lightly toward the door, T7 rolling behind. As she approached, their alarm hardened into a chilled determination and warning tingled in the back of Eyrie’s mind. She checked herself and force her mind to focus on the details of their Force-sense.

Just in time. A rush of sensation overwhelmed her – heat, pressure, sound, every one almost too much for her to stand. When her head cleared, she was lying on the deck and troops rushed out of the now-open door.

Heart pounding, Eyrie pulled herself to her feet and ignited her lightsabers. There were too many enemies to fight in her condition, but at least she could buy the others some time.

No, Eyrie, there’s too many of them. Run! Feyte’s voice in her head. We need your help to get out of here. Please.

Eyrie sent a wave of motion at the troops, knocking them back into each other, and ran. T7 kept up with her, but he buzzed with worry. “T7=not made for jumping. T7>smashed to bits.”

“I’ll cushion your landing.” Fatigue tugged at Eyrie as she raced through the twisting corridors. She needed to start a stricter training regimen when she reached Coruscant; this was unacceptable.

Finally, she felt the hollowness that must be the garbage chute open up in front of her. Without hesitation, she leaped into the space, using the Force to slow her descent.

She landed in a pile of something that smelled of rotting flesh with an impact that dropped her to her knees in a thick, warmish liquid. Above her, T7 rolled clumsily over the side and tumbled end over end as he fell. She caught him and steadied him to a gentle landing in a clear part of the room.

The rest of the group huddled by the man door, trying to stay out of the foul debris. Feyte hurried down the stairs and Eyrie sloshed through the knee-deep refuse to intercept her. “I’m fine. We have to keep going.”

“Are you – “

Before she could finish her question, there was a shout from above and Eyrie felt a prickle of energy as a grenade tumbled down the shaft. She half-dragged Feyte back toward the stairs and it exploded behind them with a deafening noise and a spatter of liquid across their back. Feyte cringed.

“Have you got the door open yet?”

“We were waiting for you. Mallena thought it would set off alarms if we broke it open and I knew we couldn’t wait for you if soldiers were shooting at us.”

“I told you not to.” Eyrie started up the stairs. Feyte was too soft sometimes. A Jedi’s life was sacrifice, and that meant being willing to accept it when others needed to sacrifice themselves, too.

She ignited her lightsaber and plunged it through the door. It popped open with a blare of alarm klaxons and Eyrie beckoned the rest of the group through. They were running out of time.

Fortunately, the elevator was nearby. As it raced upward, Grand Moff Kilrin’s oily voice came over the com. “Very well, you leave me no choice.”

“Yes, I’m very scared now,” muttered the captain and for once, Eyrie agreed with her. Vague threats were hardly going to impress them. Still, they should be on their guard.

The elevator let out within sight of the hanger bay. A few droids stood around the shielded door, but no other guards were in evidence. This is too easy. What was she missing?

The two troopers shot the droids, whose Force presence dimmed without causing so much as a ripple in the general area. Not like living beings. The deaths of flesh and blood were like holes poked in the fabric of Eyrie’s consciousness, bright and raw and impossible to ignore. But what had to be done had to be done.

Disabling the shield over the door proved to be a simple matter. The earthy-feeling mercenary that accompanied the captain flipped a switch on a nearby console and it disappeared with a snap. The Imperials must have put the barrier together quickly when Eyrie and the rest of the group boarded the ship.

The door slid back slowly with a heavy noise. A cold sensation raced up her neck. It was a trap. She didn’t know what was about to happen, but they couldn’t stay here.

Ambassador Asara, Commander Narlok, and a few troopers stepped out from behind the shuttle. “Ready to leave?” called the commander.

Eyrie didn’t get a chance to answer. The ambassador flew across the room with a burst of Force energy and a cold, slimy being strode into the room, followed by several Imperials. He gestured again and Commander Narlok fell. Unconscious or simply stunned, Eyrie didn’t know.

Her lightsabers were in her hands before she knew what was happening. They flicked to life and she leapt toward the Sith. He laughed and she felt him ignite his own blade. Letting her knees take the landing, she spun to the side, trying to catch him off guard. Her heart and the hum of her sabers seemed to merge into a single rhythm and she let it guide her actions, immersing herself in the flow of the Force.

He parried and counterstruck, sending pain up her injured wrist. The Dark Side swirled around him and searing pain arced to Eyrie’s body. She gritted her teeth and kept up the pressure. He was strong in the Force, but his lightsaber technique was weak. She could defeat him if she could just keep him from shocking her again.

A wave of Force energy hit her in the chest and she staggered back. As she closed the gap again, weakness spread throughout her body. Blocking his next blow took much more effort than it should have and she almost didn’t manage at all.

The energy was gathering again. She gathered the Force around her and sent it all to her own body, throwing everything she had into a roundhouse kick. The Sith stumbled backward and the dark energy dissipated.

Taking advantage of his distraction, Eyrie slashed at his body and felt his arm detach from his shoulder. With a roar of rage, the Sith lunged at her, only to be driven back by a hail of blaster bolts from the others, who must have finished with the Imperials.

Still fighting the weakness, Eyrie advanced, lightsabers swirling to block his blows. The energy gathered again, but this time she couldn’t stop it.

The lightning seared her nerves and stabbed at her brain, forcing her to her knees. No, she thought. I can’t give up. I have to save them.

She lifted her head. Brought one leg up. The other leg. Stood. Stepped forward. Forward again. The Sith registered surprise that quickly changed to anger. She caught his next attack on her left saber and stabbed with the right one. A slight resistance told her that it had found its mark and the Sith slumped to the ground as she removed her blade. The weakness left her as his life cut out of existence.

* * * *

They stepped onto the bridge: some limping, some still walking strong. Eyrie thought it was a miracle that all eight of them had made it back, as well as the ambassador and the commander. As they approached First Officer Hakin’s station, she felt the tremor of the ship as it jumped to lightspeed.

“We’re on route to Coruscant now,” announced a navigator.

“Good.” Hakin turned around to face them and his shock rippled through the Force like an explosion.

You didn’t think we would bring her back, did you? thought Eyrie. Coward. He must have kept it off his face, though, as the ambassador didn’t comment. By unspoken agreement among the group, they hadn’t told her about the plan to leave her behind, although Eyrie privately wondered if that was the right choice.

“Is everything going to be alright?” said Feyte.

“Yes. We should reach Coruscant in a few hours. Thank you for all you’ve done. I can’t give medals to those not in my direct chain of command, but you’ve all earned them. The whole crew owes you our freedom, and our lives.”

Eyrie shifted uncomfortably. “We were just doing our duty; you can save your praise.”

“I’ll take it!” the captain piped up and Eyrie smiled inwardly in spite of herself.

In a few hours, they would reach Coruscant. She would meet up with Master Dinn and begin work on whatever tasks he had planned for her. She was a Jedi and she would serve the Republic until her death. But until they arrived, all she wanted to do was sleep.

[clevermird]

Title: The Road to Coruscant

Prompt: Allies @shortfictionweeklychallenge

Rating: Teen

Characters: Feyte Saien (female Jedi Consular), Mallena Dayne, (female Republic Trooper), Eyrie Lancaster (female Jedi Knight), Jessasi Silver (female Smuggler), Aric Jorgan, Corso Riggs, T7-01, Qyzen Fess

Pairing(s): None

Four young women find themselves on a ship bound for Courscant. Each brings their own companion, their own mission, and their own past, but when the Sith Empire attacks their ship, they find themselves in an alliance, and their biggest problem isn't what they'll do when they reach their destination, but if they're going to reach it at all!  

Now that Ironfist is dead, it's time to take the fight directly to the Imperials - and boy howdy, does Jessasi have thoughts about that!

Text under cut

Jessasi stood up from behind the console she’d been using for cover and shoved her blasters into their holsters. Having a couple of Jedi on your side sure came in handy. Everyone had been so busy shooting at them that they hadn’t even noticed her.

She had to admit, though, Ironfist had been tough. Normally a couple blaster bolts to the chest stopped a guy in his tracks, but it hadn’t seemed to faze him. She wondered what his armor was made of. Maybe she should get herself some of it.

Corso came over to her, hand over one ear. “Those missiles sure are loud, aren’t they, Captain?”

She grinned. “Not hurt, then?”

He shook his head, dreadlocks swinging. “Are you?”

“Not a scratch. Come on, they’re starting without us.” 

The rest of the group had clustered around First Officer Hakin, who was busy thanking them profusely for saving him. The Mirialan Jedi, who Jessasi had come to think of as “the nice one”, smiled. “Don’t mention it.” The other Jedi, the serious one, looked uncomfortable.

Ambassador Asara reappeared, leading Commander Narlok. “We’re not safe yet, though. The Imperials still have us in our tractor beam. We can’t go anywhere until it’s disabled.”

“Short of destroying their ship, the only way to ensure that a tractor beam is disabled is to shut it down from the source,” said Lieutenant Dayne. Jessasi thought she looked a bit young to be an officer, probably early twenties. By human standards, she was probably pretty plain, although not necessarily ugly: about average height, but mostly arms and legs, with washed-out blue eyes and oddly dark eyebrows, one of which was broken by a scar that started at her hairline and ended just below her cheekbone. The only thing that she really had going for her was her hair, which was thick and honey colored and probably real long if she wore it down.

Hakin shook his head. “We can’t destroy their ship. They’d blow us up the moment we started firing. I hate to ask after all you’ve done, but – “

“We’ll do it,” said the serious Jedi.

“Woah, woah, woah, who’s ‘we’?” Jessasi cut in. She was not about to march onto an Imperial ship.

“Myself, T7, and I believe that Feyte and Qyzen will come too. You’re not obligated to join us.”

Jessasi crossed her arms. She certainly hoped not.

Lieutenant Dayne exchanged glances with her Cathar buddy. “We’re going too.”

Corso was looking at her expectantly. Great, now I feel guilty. “It’s not like I’m saying I won’t go! I just didn’t want you volunteering me for something that’ll probably get us all killed. But nope, I’m perfectly fine with coming. Don’t mind me.”

The serious Jedi turned back to Commander Narlok. “How soon can your team be ready?”

“I’ll assemble them right away.”

“Why don’t you take the ambassador with you?” said Hakin. “I’m sure she knows a great deal about the interior of Imperial ships.”

Asara nodded. “I can show you where you need to go.”

“Why don’t you put on a spare uniform, first?” said Narlok. “We don’t want the Imps to recognize you.”

The pair left. Hakin watched them go, then turned back to their group. “Thank you so much for doing this. I don’t know if anyone else on board would have a chance.”

Glancing around, he dropped his voice to just above a whisper. “I heard what Asara tried to make you do back there. Thank you for standing up to her.”

“She panicked,” said the nice Jedi. “I’m sure she didn’t truly want to bring harm to your men.”

“Regardless, I think we all know what has to be done.”

“Then why don’t you just say it?” Jessasi did not like where this conversation was heading.

“Look, the only way to get the Imperials to leave us alone is to give them what they want. So I want you to leave the ambassador behind on the Imperial ship.”

She felt her mouth drop open. “What?!”

“They won’t stop chasing us until they have her and I have to think about everyone else on this ship. We both know she deserves it.”

“Whatever you think about what she did, we still can’t abandon her to the Empire,” said the nice Jedi. “That would be just as great a wrong as sacrificing the engineers.”

“And beyond that, it doesn’t make tactical sense!” burst out Lieutenant Dayne, maybe a bit louder than she should have. “Do you know how many Republic secrets ambassadors like her know? Are you willing to bet the entire war on hoping she can resist an interrogation when she knows her own people sold her out?”

Hakin glared at her. “All I’m asking is for you to think about it.”

“We will,” said Jessasi. “While we’re headed to the airlock to space it.” She’d known there was a reason she hadn’t liked him. Turning on her heel, she walked toward the elevator. Hopefully someone else was going to follow her, because she had no idea where the hanger they were supposed to be going to was and it would look pretty stupid if she had to go back to ask for directions.

Fortunately, the rest of the group was just behind her and the Cathar put in the elevator directions. They raced downward and came out into a hanger bay with a shuttle in the center. A dozen troopers met them and Jessasi and Corso found seats in the front, squeezed in between two of the soldiers.

As the shuttle took off, Commander Narlok started to outline his plan. Jessasi started to tune him out at some point, but she gathered that they were going to split into two groups. One would go to disable the tractor beam, while the other would create a diversion somewhere else on the ship. She was going with the first group and that was all she needed to know.

Leaning back in her seat, she wondered what it would have been like if she had joined the army when she had graduated instead of getting into smuggling. Her parents would probably have reacted a little better, and she wouldn’t have had to deal with that schutta Skavik, either. But it sure wouldn’t have been as much fun.

The shuttle slid into the hanger bay just ahead of the bay doors shutting. Commander Narlok immediately started shouting orders to his men. No, Jessasi decided. Smuggling is definitely more fun.

As they jogged toward the door to the rest of the ship, it burst open and Imperial troops spilled into the hanger. Pulling out her guns, Jessasi fired and three of them fell. She kept running and Narlok’s soldiers took care of the rest of them.

Serious Jedi signaled and Jessasi and Corso peeled of from the main group with the rest of the team headed for the tractor beam. The Imps seemed to be ignoring them, and she didn’t blame them. Narlok’s group was making a huge ruckus, shouting and tossing grenades in addition to mowing down everyone who came their way.

Following Asara’s map, they boarded an elevator, which plunged downward fast enough to overwhelm the inertial compensators and tug at Jessasi’s stomach. It lurched to a stop and spilled them into a dark, gloomy room lined with banks of consoles. Does the Empire not believe in lighting or something?

The room was full of people, but most of them looked like techs and the few who had blasters barely seemed to know how to fire them. It didn’t take long to kill the ones who wouldn’t back down and herd the rest into a corner, where Lieutenant Dayne and the Cathar stood guard over them. Everyone else climbed the ramp to the largest console.

The little astromech droid extended some sort of probe and shoved it into a data port and after a moment, it started making a series of beeps and whirring noises. “What the hell is he saying?” said Jessasi.

Serious Jedi turned in her direction. “He’s shut down as much of the tractor beam as he can from here, but we’ll have to do the rest at the site itself.”

For someone who apparently doesn’t have any eyes, it sure does look like she’s looking directly at you. Something flashed in the corner of Jessasi’s vision and she turned around. “Oh, look, it’s the Imperial guy from before! The ugly one.”

He ignored her. “It’s really rather impressive that you’ve made it this far, but I’m here to tell you that it won’t last. I’m sending my best troops to your location, with orders to spare your lives if you surrender. I recommend you take them up on the offer.”

Serious Jedi looked like she wanted to say something, but Jessasi beat her to it. “Recommend whatever you want, we’re not surrendering!”

“Very well, then. I suppose I’ll have to destroy you. Too bad, really, I was looking forward to talking to you.” The hologram disappeared.

“Oh dear, whatever shall he do?” muttered Jessasi and had the satisfaction of hearing Corso chuckle.

“Let’s go!” shouted Serious Jedi, already halfway down the ramp.

“What about them, m’am?” said the Cathar from the corner.

“Does your gun have a stun setting?”

“Mine does,” the Lieutenant said.

“Use it.” Serious Jedi took off, moving surprisingly quickly for someone of her unimpressive height. Everyone else followed her and Jessasi heard shots behind them. A few minutes later, the two troopers caught up.

Whatever Hakin’s motivations for sending Asara with them, she was certainly useful. Jessasi didn’t think they would have ever found the tractor beam chamber without the map she had given them. Finally, they emerged from a series of hallways and control rooms – does all this stuff even do anything? Jessasi found herself wondering – and saw the tractor beam.

It was pretty impressive: a platform with some sort of glowing beam thing in the center and a console in front of it, all suspended over a giant pit. A stream of guards and droids raced toward them and died in a flurry of blaster bolts and lightsaber beams.  

Jessasi looked up from finishing off a boxy droid that had clumsily tried to take a swing at one of her lekku to see a massive tank-style droid standing in front of the console. “That’s a really big droid,” she muttered.

“And it’s in our way,” the Lieutenant said. “Let’s destroy it.”

“On my signal,” Serious Jedi said softly. “One, two, three.” She leapt to the droid, which tracked her progress with blaster fire. Landing in front of it, she sliced off one of its legs as the rest of the group opened fire or charged into the fight.

Jessasi dove behind a box and started firing. Man, this thing is even tougher than Ironfist. It let out some kind of pulse and the people near it fell backwards. Already near the edge, Serious Jedi lost her balance and toppled off the side of the platform. Nice Jedi shouted in alarm and ran to her.

Ducking behind her cover again, Jessasi took a deep breath and considered. She didn’t want to waste any more time here. More Imps would probably be showing up soon. The droid didn’t even really matter, as long as the console was off. The console. . .

“Corso, come with me!” she shouted, sprinting away from the fight.

“What is it?” he said as he caught up with her.

“Just follow me.”

“We’re not running away, are we, Captain?”

“’course not. We’re winning.”

Like she had suspected, there was another access to the platform on the opposite side of the room. They slipped up it and crawled to the control panel. “Are you sure this is going to work?” said Corso.

Jessasi shushed him. The back of the console was easy enough to pull off, but there she got stuck. What was all this stuff for? And which one had enough juice to get the job done? Well, she’d just have to go with it.

She tugged on a red-insulated wire. When it came loose, she handed it gingerly to Corso. “See if you can short out the droid’s circuits with this,” she said, trying to be heard over the sounds of battle.

He jumped up and dragged the wire over to the droid. It took a few minutes of jerking and dancing to get close enough, but finally, he managed to touch the bare end of the wire to its plating.

Nothing happened.

“Firfek,” Jessasi muttered under her breath. “Try this one!” Maybe the white-insulated wire has more power?

Again, no reaction. “It’s still not working! Captain, are you sure you should – “

“Try this one!” This had to work, it just had to. The droid had noticed her, it was turning, rotating its turrets. In desperation, she flung the latest wire at Corso. The droid paused, then crumpled slightly as blue lightning arced over it, frying its circuits. The light faded from its photoreceptors and it made a sort of weak grinding sound.

Jessasi jumped up, high-fiving Corso. “We did it!” she shouted.

[dandelionsandderivatives]

@clevermird

This ferrofluid audio-visualizer created by artist Dakd Jung dances to the music.