Mistress of Metal

And now for something a little different: meet Sujigane, a metal-bender, space pirate, and resident mechanic for the Dominion Pirates in the same timeline as Captain Vejitina and Lieutenant Musei.

Her race, the Shinkajin, are (or were, depending on the timeline) renowned for their natural metalworking skills, particuarly in terms of weaponry, jewelry, and construction, though the latter is/was a predominately male profession. Suji chose construction as her career path despite this, much to the chagrin of her parents, who tried in vain to get her to pick a different specialty, though she has dabbled in weapon crafting as a hobby. Her trademark whip (whose spikes are foldable) shown here is the ultimate result of that hobby.

Suji's choice also led to ostracizing and teasing from her peers, which led to fights and detention. It was there that she met a fellow outcast, Musei, whose non-metal-bending offworlder status led to the same basic problem. They banded together and formed a gang of fellow delinquents and outcasts as a means of causing trouble and sticking up for themselves.

But all of that changed when a Saiyajin Extermination Squad attacked and eventually revealed that Musei's home planet and birth race had been decimated. After some preparation, Musei left the planet to seek out an old friend after promoting Suji to gang leader. Though saddened, Suji managed to keep the gang going for a little while and graduated, but had trouble finding good work.

A pleasant surprise came a few years later in the form of the Dominion Pirates, headed by Vejitina and Musei, who sought to make a deal with the Shinkajin government. In exchange for protection from the Kold Empire, the Shinkajin would provide them with ship repairs free of charge. The contract also included the stipulation that the pirates could pick their own on-board mechanic for on-the-fly repairs. Musei naturally chose Suji, who jumped at the chance to both be with her old friend again and do something worthwhile with her skills and agreed. It took her some time to adjust to how the ship works and the fact that her old leader is someone else's second-in-command, but she's long since adjusted.

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Out of all my characters, Suji probably went through the most redesigns, particularly her hair, clothing, and the style of whip I gave her. I wound up using the head from a different pose due to the perspective angle involved in that of the primary base.

References:
Body: senshistock.deviantart.com/art…

Head: www.deviantart.com/art/Sailor-…

Metal textures done with Alien Skin.