User:Stargazer

I started reading Brandon's works in 2015 and have been following the community on and off since then. Finally decided to start contributing here in 2019. I'm new to editing wikis, so I'm mostly going to be using this for figuring that out.

Current Projects

• Ironsides (Admiral Judy Ivans): Research complete; putting it into article form.
• Cognitive Shadow: Noticed this on the urgent list and thought I'd put some work into it. Examples section done; will keep working.

Ironsides Work Somebody else's ctrl+f results:

Ivans

5,33,40,49,52, I-1, I-2, I-3

Ironsides

prologue, 2,4,5,6,9,11,17-19,21,22,24,27,29,30,35,39,40,43,44,47-52,54, epilogue

This page or section contains spoilers for Skyward!

This information has the ability to potentially ruin elements of the plot for the reader. Proceed with caution if you have not read this book.

“I'm not sure I'd wish this command on [the pilots I used to fly with]. Not even the ones I hated. ”

—Admiral Judy "Ironsides" Ivans on her position as the head of the DDF

Admiral Judy Ivans (Callsign: Ironsides) is the leader of the DDF. She is a First Citizen, and fought in the Battle of Alta. After Chaser's actions during the Battle of Alta, she is terrified of another person with the "defect" (the brain condition that grants access to Cytonic abilities) becoming a pilot and does everything in her power to prevent that from happening. To that end, she tries to keep Spensa out of Flight School, but does not have the authority to stop Cobb from adding her to his class. However, in an effort to make life so difficult that Spensa gives up and quits, she issues an order barring Spensa from using any of the Flight School's facilities, including the mess hall and dormitories.

She is continually frustrated by the National Assembly Leaders denial of the existence of the "defect," removing their children--some of the top pilots--from the DDF, and refusal to send up their private ships to aid the DDF during Krell attacks.

Appearance and Personality

Admiral Ivans is "a tall older woman" with silver hair that comes down about to her chin.

History

Early Days of the DDF and the Battle of Alta

Prior to the Battle of Alta, Ivans was the flightleader for Cobb and Chaser's flight and argued that Chaser should be allowed in the DDF despite having the defect. As the Krell descended prior to the Battle of Alta, she was outspoken in urging the DDF to fight, despite the high number of incoming Krell. In the battle, she gave Chaser permission to fly up to space after he promised that he could control the defect. When he returned and began attacking DDF pilots, she gave the order to shoot him down, though her name was redacted in the official report. After the battle, to protect his family, she insured that the official report said Chaser turned coward and tried to fly away rather than that he was a traitor.

Command of the DDF

Some time after the Battle of Alta, she realized that she was getting too old to fly and became Admiral of the DDF, though she seems to believe she only has her command because anyone else who could have taken it is now dead.

As a military commander, Ivans is cautious and reluctant to commit the entirety of her forces, especially as the number of pilots and acclivity rings the DDF has are steadily diminishing. In order to have enough pilots to fend off the Krell incursions, she has lowered the age of testing to become a cadet and begun to send up less experienced cadets.

After seeing Chaser turn on her flight members, she is terrified of someone else with the defect joining the DDF and, as a result, does everything in her power to prevent Spensa from becoming a pilot. When Spensa attempts to take the pilot's test, Ivans specifically orders that she is not to be admitted, personally supervises the administration of the test, and gives Spensa a test to be a sanitation worker, not a pilot. Later, Cobb forces her to allow Spensa to be enrolled in his class, but she forbids Spensa from using any of the Flight School facilities in an effort to make Spensa's life so difficult that she drops out.

As her number of pilots and acclivity rings dwindles, she eventually decides to make a bold strike for a shipyard in a decaying orbit. When a lifeburster enters the battle, she orders her pilots to keep it away from the shipyard, even if that sends it towards Alta. When it does, in fact, make for Alta Base, she decides to order a flight of just scouts, including Cloak and FM, to engage it. The scouts successfully shoot it down, but, when the bomb lands, it takes out some of the DDF AA guns. At that juncture, a second Krell fleet, with another lifeburster, enters and slips through the hole in the defenses, leading her to relaize that she has been outmanuvered and possibly "doomed all of humankind." As the lifeburster nears the "death zone," past which its detonation will take out Alta Base, she accepts her death and authorizes Spensa and the other pilots to shoot it down regardless, in the hopes of saving Igneous.

After the Krell are defeated and Spensa manages to save Alta, she decides to pardon Chaser and tries to convince Spensa not fly to space, to no avail. When Spensa returns, she sees little value in the information that M-Bot hacked from the Krell, as it does not change the fact the DDF is still facing down a superior force.