Tessa and her Guardian Nagels (Stargrave Crew) by Ellie_Valkyrie

Last crawled date: 2 years, 11 months ago

I needed a crew for Stargrave (and Five Parsecs From Home) so figured what better crew for me than Tessa Eisenherz (circa the 31st century) and her Guardian Nagels (that's not a typo, lol.) I’ve written about them in the books set in the Cygnus War universe, and also in the stories that are part of the fiction associated with the Highest Skies RPG. For more background, read below. Tessa is, of course, This is the main character of the stories set in The Cygnus War universe. Highly recommended, you can pick up the first book "Stealing Wings" here.
Tessa Eisenherz was born on Calav Beta, in the Arctostaphylos System (HD 12661) on May 10, 2287. She served in the Terran Galactic Navy during the course of The Cygnus War before being discharged for having GMO ancestry. She finished out the war with the mercenary unit known as the Ixion Condottieri, and after the war, she flew freighters (illegally - without a valid license) on the rim of the Terran Commonwealth until she was involved with the recovery of the TEV Minerva in 2316. After that, she became a public figure, fighting for the rights of individuals of GMO ancestry, as she was quickly seen as the poster child for the movement. Eventually, her rank was reinstated as part of a reparations program, and she went into semi-retirement, conducting deep space exploration with her daughter aboard the independent survey ship Tereshkova until she reached 108 years of age.
At 108 years of age, she underwent a biological rejuvenation process designed to reset her body to its early twenties with zero loss of memory or experience. After this, she disappeared, and became a wanted criminal, but details beyond that are scant.
Currently, in 3050CE, she operates primarily under the handle of Skathi Clade, with the primary consciousness wearing the title of Asena-Ulfr. Her body is unchanged, as youthful as if she were only in her twenties, but her extensive use of smart matter clothing allows her to disguise herself effortlessly so she can appear more or less however she wants.
Her most iconic feature is her swarm of “Guardian Nagels,” as these are the bodies that make up Skathi Clade. These bodies are extensions of Tessa’s that are networked to her consciousness like limbs that she can easily move and change as needed, though they appear as if they were independent lifeforms. They augment her brain with additional processing power and she can control them as easily and fluidly as if she were only blinking or breathing.
Physically, the bodies of the Guardian Nagels are composed of a cohesive quasi-liquid bioplastic nano-swarm that can change shape, color and texture at will. Generally, Tessa keeps them waiting in unobtrusive forms (like furniture) when they are at rest, maximizing her mental processing power, but when she is threatened, the “nails” come out, taking on the iconic Guardian Nagel form, often so suddenly that it can surprise or terrify the threat. This happens suddenly, with framed paintings, potted plants and chairs rising with lightning quickness to become deadly, shining goddesses of neon 80’s fashion.
Being quasi-liquid nanite-hives, these Nagels are highly resistant to traditional gunfire, with rounds passing through ineffectually. High heat weapons and explosives are generally quite devastating to the Guardian Nagels, however, as high temperature can cause a loss of functionality and cohesiveness in the bioplastic nano-scale components. If a Guardian Nagel is torn asunder, different components can function independently, and will generally seek to rejoin each other while other units distract the threat. These nanite-hives also have enough spare mass that they can manifest as more than simply melee weapons, using their cohesive elements to create pneumatic rifles that draw off their mass (starting with jewelry, earrings, etc. and other non-critical sources of stored mass first) to create projectiles, though this is only generally done in emergencies where firearms are not readily available. They are fast, nimble, and emotionless in the kill. If Tessa seeks only to incapacitate a threat, she can also instruct them to use their mass to temporarily clog the airways of a target until that target loses consciousness.
These models are 28mm scale and require supports, but the supports are minimal and most of them can print without them. Tree supports are recommended. Raft is also recommended.
Other models pictured are from Runewars and a dolphin morph I made for Eclipse Phase.
If you like my work and want to see (and print) more of it, please consider stopping over at my online miniatures store at Punkin' Figs. All of my 3D printable releases are printed before release to insure that they print well even on a simple, starter FDM printer.