Spensa's great-grandmother

Spensa's great-grandmother is an engineer on the Defiant and the fleet's cytonic hyperdrive. She is married to Spensa's great-grandfather and is the mother of Becca Nightshade.
Due to her cytonic abilities, as well as by virtue of being part of the engineers of the Defiant, Spensa's great-grandmother is resented and feared by the other occupants of the fleet. Gran-Gran implies her mother was the only cytonic aboard the Defiant, and the only one able to jump the fleet using faster than light travel.
== History ==
Spensa's great-grandmother traveled as part of the Defiant fleet prior to its crash onto Detritus. The engineers, including Spensa's great-grandmother, were feared for their control over the fleet's movement, though it is unclear whether all of the engineers actually had cytonic abilities. Given how the rest of the crew treated the engineers as a distinct group and that cytonic abilities are genetic, it is possible that her parents were also engineers aboard the Defiant and that she was born on the ship, though it is also possible that the ranks of the engineering crew were more flexible and this fear extended to anyone associated with cytonics.
At some point on or before her time on the Defiant, she married Spensa's great-grandfather, a historian who kept the stories of Old Earth. It is unknown as to whether Spensa's great-grandfather was a part of the engineering corp before he married his wife, or if he was brought into the group through their union. The pair worked together in the engine room, with Spensa's great-grandmother using her cytonic abilities to jump the fleet. The pair had a child, Becca Nightshade, while aboard the Defiant. As Becca grew, her mother began teaching her exercises to help hone her cytonic abilities, which Becca would practice while sitting with her parents in the engine room.
During the Third Human War, the Defiant fleet attempted to remain neutral and had limited contact with other groups, as communication across space had grown difficult and dangerous, likely as a result of the delvers. When the Superiority coalition achieved victory, however, they decided that humans were too aggressive and sent out their forces to demand the surrender of all human fleets. When confronted, the Defiant fleet maintained that they were a neutral party and refused to surrender, resulting in the Superiority forces opening fire on the fleet. On that day, Spensa's great-grandmother was with her husband and daughter in the engineering bay. After an explosion occurred on the bridge, the captain called down in an angry panic to relay orders to Spensa's great-grandmother, which she refused. The engineers sided with the scientists to defy the military and command staff, and Spensa's great-grandmother chose to hyperjump the fleet to Detritus. However, doing so stretched her cytonic abilities to her limits and she died from the effort, though the jump was successful.
Decades after her death, some within the DDF believed that Spensa's great-grandmother brought the Defiant to Detritus specifically because it was what the Krell wanted. Becca, on the other hand, believed that she felt something on Detritus that she thought the members of the fleet needed. After finding the taynix in the caverns on Detritus, Jorgen concluded that Becca's belief was correct and that the taynix were what had called Spensa's great-grandmother to the planet.
== Attributes and Abilities ==
Spensa's great-grandmother was a cytonic who could connect with the Defiant's engines, allowing the fleet to travel large distances using faster than light travel. It is likely she was the only one with cytonic abilities among the engineers on the Defiant when it crashed as she was the one who responsible for choosing, and moving, the fleet to Detritus. Her powers are genetic and she passed them on to her daughter Becca.
 
== Relationships ==
Gran-Gran resented her mother following her death, as she was too young to understand her mothers choices. At some point during Gran-Gran's life, she accepted the sacrifice her mother made, and now views her mother as a warrior who made a courageous choice and considers her a hero for knowing when to defy orders. Spensa's mother prohibited Gran-Gran from telling Spensa about her great-grandmothers abilities, a request that Gran-Gran upheld until Spensa brought up the defect and how she thought she might have it.
== Notes ==