Editing Becca Nightshade

{{character
|parents=[[Spensa's great-grandmother]] & [[Spensa's great-grandfather]]
|children=[[Zeen Nightshade]]
|descendants=[[Spensa Nightshade]]
|abilities={{tag+|cytonics}}
|aliases=Gran-Gran
|world=Detritus
|universe=[[Cytoverse]]
|books=[[Skyward (series)]]
}}
{{quote
|We ''must not'' cower in the dark because we are afraid of the spark within us.
|Becca on cytonic abilities{{book ref|Skyward|45}}
}}
'''Becca Nightshade''', more commonly known as '''Gran-Gran''', is [[Spensa]] Nightshade’s grandmother who was a member of the crew of the ''[[Defiant (starship)|Defiant]]'' and is now a resident of [[Igneous Cavern]].{{book ref|Skyward|1}} She has [[cytonics|cytonic]] abilities.{{book ref|Skyward|45}}

== Appearance and Personality ==
Becca is mostly blind and has milky white eyes, having lost her vision a few years ago. She has sticklike arms.{{book ref|Skyward|1}} Based on the amount of time since the crash of the ''Defiant'', she is at least eighty years old, likely near or over ninety.{{book ref|Skyward|17}}

{{quote
|Detritus is not our home… but these are my people. I won’t abandon them.
|Becca to Alanik on hiding her from the Superiority.{{book ref|sky2|14}}
}}

She is a fierce defender of cytonics and believes the [[DDF]] falsified the account of [[Zeen Nightshade|her son's]] betrayal during the [[Battle of Alta]] because they were afraid of his cytonic abilities.{{book ref|Skyward|45}} She is stubborn and it’s difficult to talk her out of something once she has made up her mind.{{book ref|sky2|14}} 

She has always wanted to return to the stars,{{book ref|Starsight|i|2}} and believes her mother brought the ''Defiant'' to Detritus because she felt something that the crew needed on that planet.{{book ref|Starsight|i|2}}

== Attributes and Abilities ==
=== Cytonic Abilities ===
Becca has cytonic abilities, though her knowledge and training are limited.{{book ref|Starsight|i|2}}{{book ref|sf1|7}} Prior to Jorgen's discovery of the [[taynix]] on Detritus, she says that she is not strong enough to use more advanced cytonic abilities, like travel through the nowhere;{{book ref|Starsight|i|2}} however, she later apparently hyperjumps with [[Cobb]] to escape the Superiority,{{book ref|sf2|23}} though [[Alanik]] is unable to cytonically locate her afterwards.{{book ref|sf1|epilogue}} Despite her blindness, she has an unerring ability to focus on someone during a conversation, tell when someone has arrived before they speak, and notice even minute details like someone rolling or opening their eyes;{{book ref|Skyward|1}}{{book ref|Skyward|45}}{{book ref|Starsight|i|2}} this suggests she uses her cytonic abilities to Sense the world around her and overcome her blindness, much like [[Jason Write]] did.{{book ref|Defending Elysium}} 

She also claims to be able to "hear" Cobb, which surprises Alanik, who believes it is impossible to cytonically sense people who aren't cytonics.{{book ref|sf2|23}} Becca is also able to engage in faster-than-light communication with Spensa,{{book ref|Starsight|25}} though she was not strong enough to maintain the connection for long.{{book ref|Starsight|i|2}} [[Nedd Strong]] appears to believe that she has the power to cytonically read minds,{{book ref|sf1|3}} though that seems unlikely as it has long been considered impossible.{{book ref|Defending Elysium}}

== History ==
As a child, Becca lived on the the battle cruiser ''Defiant'', where she worker in the engine room alongside [[Spensa's great-grandmother|her mother]]. When doing so, she practiced "listening to the stars."{{book ref|Skyward|1}} During this time, she learned many ancient legends of [[Earth (Skyward)|Old Earth]] from [[Spensa's great-grandfather|her father]].{{book ref|Skyward|45}}

Not much is known about what she did in the years following the crash of the ''Defiant'', though she claims that those who worked in the engine room, Clan Motorskaps, stuck together.{{book ref|Skyward|1}} Since at least the time of her son's death, she has been living with her granddaughter, [[Spensa Nightshade]], and [[Spensa's mother]]. Since Spensa's mother is forbidden a job, she assists in keeping the family financially stable by helping prepare algae wraps and the rats Spensa kills to be sold. While living with Spensa, she frequently tells her granddaughter the stories of Old Earth heroes that she heard from her father and says that all of Old Earth's great warriors are Spensa's ancestors.{{book ref|Skyward|1}}

After the [[Battle of Alta Second]], she begins to develop a relationship with the new DDF Admiral of the Fleet, [[Matthew Cobb|Cobb]].{{book ref|Starsight|4}} When [[Jorgen Weight]] reveals to Cobb that he has cytonic abilities, he sends Jorgen to train with Becca.{{book ref|Starsight|i|1}} She insists the Jorgen call her "Gran-Gran" and trains him by teaching him to bake bread with his eyes closed and by trying to get him to reach out and sense the world cytonically. She also tells him the story of [[#Knowledge of Old Earth|Stanislav]] and tells him that her mother's decision to bring the ''Defiant'' to Detritus taught her that a hero has to know "''when'' to disobey orders."{{book ref|Starsight|i|2}} While she is training Jorgen, Spensa is able to contact her with her cytonic abilities and she encourages Spensa to face her trials, no matter how ill-suited to them she feels.{{book ref|Starsight|i|2}}{{book ref|Starsight|25}} By the time she is training Jorgen, her cytonic abilities appear to be known at least among [[Skyward Flight]].{{book ref|sf1|7}}{{book ref|sf1|9}}

During Skyward flight´s battle in Redawn, when they can peek into Detritus communication with the Superiority, Alanik reached out to Becca letting her know her government was considering a deal to turn in their cytonics over to the Superiority and offered rescue or protection. Becca was very clear that he position was to stay with her people and fight back.{{book ref|sky2|14}} This did not stop the National Assembly to trade her, Cuna and they taynix to the Superiority. Alanik and Jorgen were able to reach out to her, she was already on the ship with the National Assembly leaders. The trade was a trap, and the real intention was to kill them all, as the ship had a bomb. She tried to explain it to the politicians, but they wouldn’t listen.{{book ref|sky2|22}}{{book ref|sky2|23}}
When she was being transported to a holding cell, Becca decided she was going to be able to reach out to Cobb and transport them both out. She was sensing some calls for help and believed she would be able to go there. When Alanik came in their aid, Becca was able to hyperjump her and Cobb out of the spaceship.{{book ref|sky2|23}}

Becca followed the voices she had heard, and reached the [[Kitsen]]'s planet; “Den of Everlasting Light Which Laps Gently upon the Shores of Time”. Unfortunately, she got “half-caught” into the nowhere and her body lost consciousness and cytonic abilities.{{book ref|sky3|17}}, so Alanik and Jorgen where unable to find them or sense them. The Kitsen who found them were Spensa’s former flight, leaded by [[Kauri]], they broadcasted a cytonic message for her. This message was intercepted by Alanik so Skyward flight went for them.{{book ref|sky3|4}}

The Kitsen had both her and Cobb in some tents covered with what it looked like kitsen blankets layered over each limb across their torsos. They were keeping them in a stable condition by being nourished and hydrated. {{book ref|sky3|6}} When the medical team ([[Kel]] and [[Winnow (Skyward)|Winnow]], got to them, they confirmed their stable condition{{book ref|sky3|6}} but, were unable to move them to the ship, where they had medical equipment, because their bodies started to deteriorate.{{book ref|sky3|11}} 

While Becca was unconscious at the Kitsen’s tent, part of her (including her cytonic abilities) was trapped in the nowhere. With effort, she was able to recognize Jorgen in [[Evershore (planet)|Evershore]] and reached out to him.{{book ref|sky3|10}} Jorgen understood the voices he heard could have something to do with what Gran-Gran heard before hyperjumping. When the battle started and both Becca and Cobb were exposed, Jorgen asked to move them to the library where they were found originally by the Kitsen.{{book ref|sky3|12}}

The library had a portal to the nowhere, and Jorgen understood the need to open it to shift the battle to his side. So, he went to it and was able to communicate with the cytonics behind it which included Gran-Gran and the Kitsen cytonics. Cobb was also there, transported by Becca on that last hyperjump. Jorgen understood that long time ago, the Kitsen cytonics had accidentally closed the portal behind them and got stuck, they asked for help but time passed and they lost hope, until they heard Gran-Gran. Jorgen, with the help of [[Juno]] and his meditation, opened the portal and freed them all. With this, Becca and Cobb also recovered their consciousness.{{book ref|sky3|17}}{{book ref|sky3|18}}

== Relationships ==
=== Spensa ===
{{quote
|A hero does not choose her trials, Spensa. She steps into the darkness [and] then she faces what comes next
|Becca to Spensa about being a hero{{book ref|Starsight|25}}
}}
Spensa is very close to her grandmother. She enjoys all of Becca's stories about the warriors of Old Earth and frequently looks to them for inspiration and courage;{{book ref|Skyward|1}} Becca specifically told her those stories because she felt Spensa needed to hear them.{{book ref|Starsight|i|2}} Spensa also considers those stores to have been her shield when she was young and being called names.{{book ref|Cytonic|10}} After Spensa began to find out the truth of her father's cytonic abilities and his actions during the Battle of Alta, she sought out Becca for answers, though they are not entirely to her liking.{{book ref|Skyward|45}} Ultimately, however, Spensa choose her grandmother's tales of heroism over the DDF's fears of the "defect" and both flies{{book ref|Skyward|49}} and travels to space{{book ref|Skyward|55}} during the Battle of Alta Second. When Spensa is feeling overwhelmed by her mission to [[Starsight (station)|Starsight]], Becca is able to contact her cytonically and reassure her.{{book ref|Starsight|25}} She was also able to sense her and Jorgen from the nowhere.{{book ref|Cytonic|Prologue}} She was later able to remember the stories but forget her voice.{{book ref|Cytonic|27}} When she came back from the nowhere, they connected and Becca was happy to hear back from her.{{book ref|Cytonic|Epilogue}}

=== Spensa's Mother ===
Despite the fact that they live together, Becca's relationship with Spensa's mother is quite strained. Spensa's mother feels that Becca focuses too intensely on heritage and tells Spensa that Becca makes it "a box instead of an inspiration."{{book ref|Skyward|45}} This disagreement runs deep enough that Spensa's mother forbade Becca from telling Spensa about her family's history of cytonic abilities. Despite their differences, however, both women are adamant that Spensa's father was not a coward.

=== Cobb ===
Becca seems to have taken a liking to the DDF's new Admiral of the Fleet after the Battle of Alta Second, Cobb. On at least one occasion, she bakes him pie, which he says is "excellent." In turn, he respects her enough to care for Spensa for her sake and to send Jorgen Weight to her instead of the DDF's Psychological Corps when he admits to having cytonic abilities.{{book ref|Starsight|4}}{{book ref|Starsight|i|1}}

=== Jorgen Weight ===
Becca teaches Jorgen to use his cytonic abilities to sense the world around him in strange ways, such as by teaching him to bake bread with his eyes closed. She expects him to resent this and try to cheat at it, like Spensa did, but Jorgen treats her as his new commanding officer and readily follows her orders; she has to instruct him to call her "Gran-Gran" instead of "sir." As she begins to understand him, she tells him the story of Stanislav to teach him that heroes have to know when to trust their instincts and disobey orders.{{book ref|Starsight|i|2}} He accepts her teachings enough to follow the sounds he cytonically hears coming from below the [[deep caverns]] for several days, without any direct orders, which eventually leads him to a cavern with hundreds of [[taynix]].{{book ref|Starsight|epilogue}} When Jorgen finds her behind the portal, Becca recognizes his difference with Spensa. Saying she was the warrior and he the defender.{{book ref|sky3|17}}

=== Alanik ===
{{quote
|A warrior fights. She does not yield, and she does not abandon her people.
|Becca to Alanik on hiding her from the Superiority.{{book ref|sky2|14}}
}}
When the alien [[Alanik]] crashed on Detritus, she entered a coma. During that time, Becca was able to listen to her. Because of this, when Alanik reached out letting her know her government was considering a deal to turn in their cytonics over to the Superiority, she was familiar with her and they were able to communicate with a certain level of trust.{{book ref|sky2|14}}
The more they know each other, the more they both like each other. Becca even tells her she has the heart of a warrior like Spensa and Alanik felt touched by the compliment. {{book ref|sky2|23}}

== Knowledge of Old Earth ==
{{quote
|Even [when we had] computers and libraries and all kinds of reminders, we found it easy to forget where we came from
|Becca Nightshade on how easily the crew of the ''Defiant'' forgot about Old Earth{{book ref|sky1|45}}
}}
Even when the people of [[Detritus]] were still on the ''Defiant'', most had little knowledge of Old Earth, and that knowledge has only diminished in the years since the ''Defiant'' crashed.{{book ref|sky1|45}} Among them, Becca stands out as one of the few who still remember the stories humans used to tell. The following is a list of all the people from Old Earth that Becca has mentioned or who others have recalled her mentioning:
{{columns|count=3|
*[[wikipedia: Beowulf|Beowulf]]:{{book ref|sky1|1}} A Germanic hero who defeats a series of three monsters.
*[[wikipedia: Leif Erikson|Leif Eriksson]]:{{book ref|sky1|1}} The first European to find one of the American continents.
*[[wikipedia: Sun Tzu|Sun Tzu]]:{{book ref|sky1|1}} A Chinese general famous for his military tactics.
*[[wikipedia: Genghis Khan|Genghis Khan]]:{{book ref|sky1|1}} A Mongol who conquered a large region in Asia and Eastern Europe.
*[[wikipedia: Boudica|Queen Boudicca]]:{{book ref|sky1|1}} A Celtic warrior who led a rebellion against the Roman Empire.
*[[wikipedia: Gilgamesh|Gilgamesh]]:{{book ref|sky1|3}} The first recorded hero; travels to the Underworld and tries to escape death.
*[[wikipedia: Joan of Arc|Joan of Arc]]:{{book ref|sky1|3}} A French soldier who rallied the French armies to drive the English out of France in the Hundred Years' War.
*[[wikipedia: Tarzan|Tarzan of Greystroke]]:{{book ref|sky1|3}} A fictional child raised by great apes.
*[[Junmi]]: An author born sometime after the present day who wrote the book ''The Conquest of Space''.{{book ref|sky1|7}}
*[[wikipedia: Moving Robe Woman|Tashenamani]]:{{book ref|sky1|15}} A Sioux women, also known as Moving Robe Woman, who fought against Colonel George Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn. According to Spensa, she killed Custer, though the historical evidence of this is ambiguous.
*[[wikipedia: Conan the Barbarian|Conan the Cimmerian]]:{{book ref|sky1|15}} A highly skilled fictional warrior whose story takes place before the rise of any known civilizations.
*[[wikipedia: Odysseus|Odysseus]]:{{book ref|sky1|15}} An ancient Greek hero who fought in the Trojan War and then endured a long and difficult voyage home. After he flirts with her, Spensa tells [[Bim]] that Odysseus had blue hair like he does.{{book ref|sky1|15}}
*[[wikipedia: Alexander the Great|Alexander the Great]]:{{book ref|sky1|45}} A Macedonian king known for his conquest of Greece, the Achaemenid Persian Empire, Egypt, and part of India.
*[[wikipedia: Hervor|Hervor]]:{{book ref|skyward|45}} A shieldmaiden from Norse mythology who challenged her father's spirit for his sword, Tyrfing, which Becca refers to as "[stealing] the sword the dead."{{book ref|sky1|45}}
*[[wikipedia: Hua Mulan|Hua Mulan]]:{{book ref|sky2|9}} A Chinese woman who disguised herself as a man to fight in the army.
*[[wikipedia: Epipole of Carystus|Epipole of Carystus]]:{{book ref|sky2|9}} An ancient Greek woman who disguised herself as a man to fight in the Trojan War.
*[[wikipedia: Woman Chief|Pine Leaf]]:{{book ref|sky2|18}} A Crow women, also known as Woman Chief, who was a chief and warrior of her people. Gran-Gran told Spensa that she once fought four men at once, though [[M-Bot]] says it is uncertain if that is true.
*''[[wikipedia: The Shadow (fairy tale)|The Shadow]]'':{{book ref|sky2|18}} Gran-Gran has told Spensa the story of a writer who lost his shadow, only for it to return and take control of his life, likely from the fairy tale ''The Shadow'' by [[wikipedia: Hans Christian Andersen|Hans Christian Andersen]].
*[[wikipedia: Stanislav Petrov|Stanislav Petrov]]:{{book ref|sky2|i|2}} A Soviet air force officer who realized that an early-warning system was malfunctioning and disobeyed orders by not reporting what the system claimed was a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union.
}}

== Notes ==
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{{Skyward}}