#Turian Hierarchy

[crapeaucrapeau]

Something I've really come to appreciate in ME1 is how all three Council members are consistently and coherently characterized during what little interactions we have with them, and especially how they are different shades of pragmatism.

Now this is interesting because when you delineate characters through foil dynamics, you usually give them contrasting traits : a pragmatic character would be contrasted with an idealistic one. Yet since we're talking politicians, idealism is unlikely. What do we get instead ?

Valern's pragmatism is very much all about short-term efficiency : getting the mission done is the only thing that counts. Results are the only things that counts. He's a textbook example of what a cynical pragmatist might be depicted as ; which is perhaps why Esheel, in a Renegade!Timeline ME3, seems to have nothing but contempt for him.

Sparatus' pragmatism, on the other hand, always manifests itself as caution. Did you take this in consideration ? Do you have proof to back up what you claim ? Can you stop being a maverick for two seconds ? Can you conclusively demonstrate to me that you took every other possibility into account and that you did, in fact, make the best available decision ? It's pragmatism but focused on the long term, on not jeopardizing the future for the sake of the present. Strategy instead of tactics.

And as for Tevos, she usually has the last word, always mediating the reactions of her co-Councilors and the Council's responses as a whole. The feeling you get is that her pragmatism is all about flexibility and compromise : what's done is done, what's most important is that we agree on a mutually beneficial course of action. She juggles egos, unruffles feathers and calms everyone down so that they can move forward.

This is very nice because, in a sense, each of them is a perfect vanilla representation of their respective governments, in keeping with ME1's heavy worldbuilding duties : Tevos is very much the compromising centrist asari are supposed to be, favoring people working together (at practically any cost) over what they're working for ; Valern is all about the short-term mentality of the salarians, and the certainty any problem they cause can be fixed no matter what, in a never-ending parade of problems whose resolution cause other problems ; and Sparatus is risk-averse and perhaps the most conservative of the three, in that he is very afraid of any significant change upsetting the status quo, always calculating how this or that decision might change the grand strategic stage of the galaxy.

[lorelei2525]

Sparring

"This recon scout and I had been at each other's throats. Nerves, mostly. She suggested we settle it in the ring"

[westernlarch]

Taproot, Part III, Ch. 4: Transplants

It was a losing battle. Between the soporific thurm of murmurs overlapping, and the stifling air of the hot lounge, Garrus’ eyes began to drift closed. It had been more than three hours without an update, and the Hierarchy officials were getting restless. Those who’d already been planetside were on standby in case of questioning or consultation, but so far no one had been called in nor pulled aside. “Look alive, Vakarian,” barked General Pallas, slapping him swiftly on the back. He started. “Sorry, think I dozed off for a second.” Garrus tried to shake off the sleep and took a long inhale, but the sour smell of the room did little to reinvigorate his senses. “Corporal, can we get a handle on those enviro controls?” Major Paetrus’ double baritone was more gravelly than usual. He was perched on the arm of a long sofa, struggling to undo the buckle of his collar. “This room’s hotter than a damned cookout on Caldus.” “Has anyone checked on them recently?” asked Primarch Corinthus, who was sitting opposite Paetrus on the sofa. “How do we know Urdnot Wrex hasn’t just offed them and escaped?”  “Have you heard any loud, sudden noises?” asked Garrus, rising from his armchair. “No…” “Then they’re fine. Wrex’s isn’t exactly what I’d call...subtle.”

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[crapeaucrapeau]

Oh gosh, I love this so much, because it’s a handy, albeit slightly awkward, way for the writers to drop lore on the different species and especially what would be considered the standard thinking and expectations from species to species. It’s particularly interesting that Garrus blabs so much run-of-the-mill turian prejudice while at the same time the entire point of his character, even back then in ME1, is that he isn’t and is in fact unable of being your average/normal/expected turian.

More thoughts, and bonus quotes under the cut.

Bonus quotes (Source ; Transcription differs sometimes from subtitles in video because frequently the game subtitles don’t exactly match the voice-over). I’m keeping the numbering from @servantofclio so it could be interesting to collate our posts together, but only if they are okay with it :

Kaidan & Ashley

0.

Ashley : The Council isn’t going to ask me any questions, are they ?

Kaidan : I doubt it. We’ve made our reports. Now we just have to trust Ambassador Udina.

Ashley : No we don’t, sir.

(In context, probably before the first meeting with the Council. Hence, “0.” ! No idea why Ashley is immediately dismissive of Udina - family prejudice against politicians ?)

4.

Ashley : Am I imagining things, LT, or are your abilities getting stronger ?

Kaidan : I’ve always held back a little when I used my powers on living targets. Fear of hurting someone I guess. But after what I saw on Eden Prime, I’m not holding back anymore. Not against the geth, not against anyone.

I’m pretty sure that’s the in-game explanation as to why Kaidan, someone who completed his biotic training long ago and therefore should have a stable power level, is levelling up throughout ME1.

5.

Kaidan : Hearing about the Protheans makes me wonder if some distant civilization is going to find our artifacts someday and study us.

Ashley : No, sir. When some distant civilization finds our artifacts, we’ll be right there to explain what they are.

Kaidan : I hope so, Williams, but I’ll bet the Protheans thought the same thing.

6.

Kaidan : So, Williams, are you happy you signed on with Commander Shepard ?

Ashley : I’m not sure, Lieutenant. Every time I think I have a handle on things, the universe banks hard to port.

Kaidan : Well, don’t let anybody know. A big gun and a confident attitude will get you through a lot in life.

7.

Ashley : It’s strange. The geth are attacking, and everyone around here is still worried about ordinary business.

Kaidan : It’s politics, Williams. The Council won’t raise the alarm until they’re certain about the threat.

Ashley : The threat ? Did they not see the vids of Eden Prime ? See, this is why I hate politics.

I really like how Kaidan & Ashley are arguably moderate/realistic examples of Paragon and Renegade as something more human and humane than just a rehash of Light Side/Dark Side - Kaidan focusing on the bigger picture and showing a greater awareness of the ways the galaxy works (#0, #1) but being a little naively trusting with the people in power (#0, #7) and overall taking a long view even existentially (#5) - Ashley more than a little cynical but enough to be realistic (#0), outraged by the difference between the way things are and they way they ought to be (#7) and overall unwilling to consider the possibility of things she wouldn’t like to be true (#5).

Kaidan & Ashley get the most exchanges together (8) out of all ME1 companions !

Kaidan & Tali

4.

Tali : Is it true humans stopped using the biotic implants you were fitted with, Lieutenant ?

Kaidan : My headaches can be pretty bad, and I’m one of the lucky L2 implants. The L3′s are safer.

Tali : That makes sense. What use is harnessing that power if it causes more harm than good to your people ?

In contrast to the krogan and turian perspectives, Tali is the only non-human companion who approves the Alliance’s choice of discontinuing the L3′s (Liara has a completely different exchange with Kaidan).

5.

Tali : Biotics are rare among quarians. I don’t believe I’ve seen anyone except the asari with your strength, Lieutenant.

Kaidan : I’ve always held back a little when I used my powers on living targets. Fear of hurting someone I guess. But after what I saw on Eden Prime, I’m not holding back anymore. Not against the geth, not against anyone.

Casual confirmation that quarian biotics do exist, btw.

6.

Kaidan : Hearing about the Protheans makes me wonder if some distant civilization is going to find our artifacts someday and study us.

Tali : The worlds we abandoned when the geth revolted serve as just such an example. It is a reminder of our mortality.

Kaidan : I’m not afraid to die. I guess I just want to be remembered by more than a few trinkets in a ruin somewhere.

Ashley & Tali

5.

Ashley : I’ve heard some humans are angry at the quarians after the attack on Eden Prime. After all, you created the geth.

Tali : The geth killed billions and forced us from our homeworld. Most quarians believe we have paid properly for our mistake.

Ashley : Hopefully having you with us fighting Saren will change people’s minds.

That’s verbatim the same exchange as Kaidan & Tali #1. Overall, there are more than a few exchanges where Kaidan and Ashley have the same dialogue and are interchangeable ; surprisingly, you also have instances where Liara & Tali have identical dialogue (see below).

6.

Ashley : Hey Tali, I heard a rumor that under those environmental suits, you quarians are partially synthetic.

Tali : No. Living in the clean environment of the flotilla has weakened our immune systems. The environmental suits protect against diseases.

Ashley : It still makes you look a little like a geth, though. I’m just saying.

The conversations between Tali and Ashley are… awkward, and more than a little racist in #6, with Ashley showing she doesn’t understand how prejudice work in #3 (People are prejudiced against quarians because you don’t stay anywhere long enough for them to know you. => If you stayed put long enough people would like you, they wouldn’t be prejudiced against you.). Ashley’s prejudice, however, is informed by her blatant lack of experience and her obliviousness, and like @servantofclio notes there is genuine concern for Tali’s well-being in #3. Compare the same conversation with Garrus in Ashley’s stead (Garrus & Tali #6) and it’s quite different.

Kaidan & Garrus

6.

Kaidan : Hearing about the Protheans makes me wonder if some distant civilization is going to find our artifacts someday and study us.

Garrus : All empires fall, Lieutenant. We can only hope that what we leave behind inspires respect and admiration.

!!! That’s interesting ! Because at this point of the OT, Garrus appears to be very much a “vanilla” turian in terms of opinions (reflecting his relative inexperience) if not in term of attitude and behavior. So : is this the opinion prevalent in the Turian Hierarchy ? Yes ? Probably ?

What’s interesting is that this is very much an echo of the turian attitude towards individual turians themselves : everyone is expected to be a hero and ready to sacrifice everything if need be - to die for the cause. In a sense, the turian attitude toward their own society would be the same : all polities are doomed to die, all empires fall - but their actions and works will outlast them, and their worth will be measured by what they’ve done.

(It’s also not a sentiment I’d imagine from other species, with perhaps the exception of the asari, though I’m not convinced. Among people IRL, the very idea that one day your society will disappear and that, should your species endure, they will believe in things and do things and experience life in ways completely alien to what you believe essential, is not something I’ve ever heard.)

Garrus & Ashley

6.

Ashley : Saren was one of the most respected turians in the galaxy, Garrus. Are you going to be okay going up against him ?

Garrus : Saren is either a traitor or a madman. Taking him down will restore the good name of turians everywhere.

Ashley : Just keep saying that. Especially to humans. We’ve got a lot of angry people right now.

7.

Garrus : I’d love to see what the Normandy can do in a fight.

Ashley : The Normandy isn’t built for a stand-up fight. I’d rather rely on the IES than the shields.

Garrus : But the stealth drive adds a new tactical level to space combat as we know it. Surprise attacks, undetected flanking maneuvers…

Ashley : I don’t know, Garrus. I’d rather not be the first one up the ladder in terms of figuring out new tactics.

Both exchanges are identical when Kaidan reacts instead to Garrus’s prompt (Kaidan & Garrus #4 and #5, respectively).

Garrus & Tali

5.

Garrus : I’d love to see what the Normandy can do in a fight.

Tali : How so ? The Normandy is built for stealth, not combat.

Garrus : But the stealth drive adds a new tactical level to space combat as we know it. Surprise attacks, undetected flanking maneuvers…

Tali : If it comes to a fight, I’d prefer a flotilla ship. It’s easier to trust what you’ve worked on yourself.

6.

Garrus : You seem to be attracting unwanted attention, Tali. Several passersby were staring at you.

Tali : Many think less of quarians for traveling in the flotilla, and for creating the geth. They see us as scavengers, little better than thieves.

Garrus : It is natural for people to dislike rootless wanderers. If quarians would just settle another homeworld, you would not run into such concerns.

I had completely forgotten how insulting and racist Garrus is in ME1 toward Tali. Ashley gets so much heat, but this is indisputably worse. #1 is saying the quarians should still feel ashamed over the geth, and #6 here lacks the concern Ashley had in her own exchange and argues that the quarians are to blame for the racism they face since they obviously do not want (“just”) to settle a new planet. 

Note : #6 only makes sense if this comes up before Garrus & Tali #2 - in which case #2 shows the first step in the evolution of their relationship.

Kaidan & Wrex

5.

Wrex : Your biotics are coming along nicely. In the last fight, it looked like you even surprised yourself.

Kaidan : I’ve always held back a little when I used my powers on living targets. Fear of hurting someone I guess. But after what I saw on Eden Prime, I’m not holding back anymore. Not against the geth, not against anyone.

6.

Kaidan : Hearing about the Protheans makes me wonder if some distant civilization is going to find our artifacts someday and study us.

Wrex : Feeling mortal, Alenko ?

Kaidan : I’m not afraid to die. I guess I just want to be remembered by more than a few trinkets in a ruin somewhere.

Ashley & Wrex

I have to say that I’m all for the interpretation that Wrex might be casually flirting with Ashley when he says that fighting with women gives the fight a different… flavour~

4.

Ashley : I haven’t spent much time with any krogan before you, Wrex. I have to say, you’re not what I expected.

Wrex : Right. Because you humans have a wide range of cultures and attitudes, but krogan all think and act exactly alike.

Ashley : Look, I didn’t mean… Just forget I said anything.

Wrex : Done.

Identical exchange with Kaidan instead of Ashley (Kaidan & Wrex #1).

5.

Ashley : It’s strange. The geth are attacking, and everyone around here is still worried about ordinary business.

Wrex : Let them stay ignorant. If our mission reaches the point where these people need to worry about the geth, we’ve already lost.

6.

Wrex : So tell me, who’d win in a fight between you and Shepard ?

Ashley : What ? Commander Shepard is my superior officer. I can’t imagine us ever having to fight.

Wrex : You can’t ? That’s why Shepard’s your superior officer. And that’s why Shepard would win.

Identical exchange with Kaidan instead of Ashley (Kaidan & Wrex #2).

Wrex & Tali

I found no additional dialogue !

Garrus & Wrex

4.

Wrex : So tell me, who’d win in a fight between you and Shepard ?

Garrus : That question smacks of impertinence. Commander Shepard is a Spectre with a distinguished service record.

Wrex : So was Saren. Think about it.

Here is a prime example of “Stick up his arse” Garrus of ME1. As with so many things Garrus says during those elevator conversations, you get the feeling you’re getting the vanilla Hierarchy response.

5.

Garrus : I’d love to see what the Normandy can do in a fight.

Wrex : Only an idiot hopes for combat while flying in a stealth ship.

Garrus : But the stealth drive adds a new tactical level to space combat as we know it. Surprise attacks, undetected flanking maneuvers…

Wrex : This isn’t a strategy simulation. If those new tactics don’t work, we’re salvage.

6.

Wrex : So how about it, Garrus ? Is this better than C-Sec ?

Garrus : Fighting a rogue Spectre with countless lives at stake and no regulations to get in the way ? I’d say that beats C-Sec.

Wrex : There may just be hope for you yet, turian.

Just about the only exchange where Wrex is not insulting (usually with good reason) toward Garrus. Obviously, it’s over the most Garrus-like and the least Hierarchy-approved opinion yet. #4 above is not a compliment, but it’s more caring perhaps, more gentle than expected given other replies.

Kaidan & Liara

5.

Liara : Is it true that your biotic implants cause headaches, Lieutenant ? I know some meditation exercises that might help.

Kaidan : Thanks, Liara. I’d appreciate that. Makes me wonder what it would have been like to have asari tutors instead of turians.

Liara : Given the attitude most young human males display toward my people, it seems turians were the best choice.

It’s a 100% unique variation on the standard Kaidan exchange over the L2′s. Unlike other companions, Liara immediately offers some help which Kaidan welcomes to the point he gives her a compliment… only for Liara to have this very awkward reaction. Is it a way to not sully the good name of turians ??

But we do get the explicit affirmation that asari are wary of “most young human males”, which actually grounds an observation which is accurate at least for ME3 : most background couples you see with an asari and a human are overwhelmingly with a human woman.

6.

Kaidan : So, Liara, you’ve spent fifty years studying Prothean ruins and artifacts?

Liara : Our travels now are somewhat different from my normal excavations. I would prefer lengthier studies… and fewer explosions.

Kaidan : I think you’ve spoken for scientists everywhere, Liara.

OK, @dr-jekyl I found my source for saying that Liara started university around age 50 ! Huzzah ! (Note : Wrex, in his own conversation variant, calls it “your entire adult life” but that doesn’t mean he would necessarily know better.)

Liara & Ashley

3.

Ashley : So, Doctor T’Soni, are all asari biotics ? I heard Lieutenant Alenko say something about you not needing implants.

Liara : While the asari have natural biotics abilities, not all have the desire to learn to use their abilities effectively.

Ashley : Wow - to have so many potential biotics that people can choose not to train… I imagine the lieutenant would be jealous.

4.

Liara : All this violence sometimes catches me by surprise. I imagine that your military training prepared you for it, Chief Williams.

Ashley : Uh, trying to take down a rogue Spectre and his army of synthetics ? No, they didn’t cover this in Basic.

5.

Liara : Is it common for human women to be front-rank fighters, Chief Williams? I know that salarian women do not serve in the military.

Ashley : It’s becoming more common, but it took a long time to prove that “ladies” could handle an assault rifle or a shotgun.

Liara : Such enforced roles are common in dual-sexed societies. I was fortunate not to have to deal with that particular burden.

More ME1 sweetness of “Liara and asari aren’t women”, and also the suggestion that at least one more society beyond humans and salarians has a form of patriarchy/matriarchy.

It’s unclear whether Liara’s assertion about salarian women means that they are legally barred from enlisting or if they are traditionally and socially discouraged from doing so. Given that the very universalist phrasing seems to belie the possibility of outliers, I’d argue the former is likelier.

6.

Ashley : It’s strange. The geth are attacking, and everyone around here is still worried about ordinary business.

Liara : I find it comforting. The pain and joy of ordinary life… that is what we are fighting to protect.

Tali & Liara

5.

Liara : I could not help but notice that you are attracting some unfriendly stares, Tali.

Tali : Many think less of quarians for traveling in the flotilla, and for creating the geth. They see us as scavengers, little better than thieves.

Liara : That is an ignorant opinion. Quarian explorers have uncovered more mass relays than any other race !

Tali : I'm glad that some still remember the contributions my people have made.

THIS IS PROBABLY MY FAVORITE EXCHANGE ON THE WHOLE DAMN CITADEL.

OKAY. Okay. We get a ton of information ; most noteworthy of all, we get an actual tidbit of information about pre-geth quarian history, which is basically unheard of, and we get information about the history of the galaxy overall, and Liara is indignant and being a very good friend !

(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA)

6.

Liara : I am curious about the helmet you always wear, Tali. Does it contain technical augmentation systems ?

Tali : No. Living in the clean environment of the flotilla has weakened our immune systems. The environmental suits protect against diseases.

Liara : I suppose that makes it more likely you will return from your Pilgrimage, then. You are only truly safe on your flotilla.

The above is very interesting, as Liara is being empathetic in a very intellectual way (a very Liara way) with Tali, but nonetheless going beyond

The exchanges between Tali and Liara are unique among exchanges with Tali in that they are 100% free of tension or hostility or awkwardness (barely an inch behind is Kaidan, who has the disadvantage of knowing less than Liara about quarians, when #5 shows that Liara knows more about quarians, or at least quarian history, than the average galactic denizen). Surprisingly, given that they have very little interaction altogether over the course of the OT, Liara numbers among the most empathetic companions with Tali, alongside Kaidan and Wrex.

It’s worth keeping in mind, I think, that during ME1, Tali and Liara are the only companions who are civilians.

Liara & Garrus

4.

Garrus : You must welcome civilization after spending such a long time in the Prothean ruins.

Liara : No. Cities and stations were always my mother’s area of comfort. I actually enjoy the solitude of dig sites.

Garrus : After seeing so many asari come through the Citadel, I assumed your people preferred large cities. I apologize.

5.

Garrus : With all this exploration of Prothean culture, this must be like a survey for you, Liara.

Liara : Our travels now are somewhat different from my normal excavations. I would prefer lengthier studies… and fewer explosions.

Garrus : The loss of all this Prothean technology is just one more thing Saren will have to pay for.

6. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2a5aVDRWEU)

Liara : Now that you’ve experienced a Spectre’s life firsthand, Garrus, do you regret leaving your security position ?

Garrus : Fighting a rogue Spectre with countless lives at stake and no regulations to get in the way ? I’d say that beats C-Sec.

Liara : I am unsure how the imminent destruction of all organic life “beats” anything, but your enthusiasm is comforting nonetheless.

I entirely concur with @servantofclio‘s judgement in their own post : Garrus is uniquely respectful, even deferential, toward Liara (and apologizing unprompted both in #2 and #4). Here I’m pretty sure it’s standard Citadel privilege and racism (and Garrus’s relative inexperience, and probably Hierarchy standards of politeness), because Garrus in those exchanges is polite with a companion proportionately to the “standing” of that companion’s species : respectful (hell, even eager to please in #2) with the asari ; relaxed with the humans (albeit occasionally patronizing) ; insulting and dismissive with the quarians and the krogan.

Liara & Wrex

3.

Liara : You are unlike the other krogan I have met, Wrex. You do not share the bloodlust of your people.

Wrex : When you’re young, you go looking for every fight you can. You get older, you realize that the best fights find you.

That exchange is about 85% identical to the one Wrex has with Tali on the same subject (“You are not like other krogan.”), and more importantly, Wrex’s response is not bitterly mocking and insulted as the (same) response he gives to the same observation from Kaidan or Ashley (and he absolutely destroys Garrus). Why ? I think that the answer isn’t the same for Liara and Tali : in Tali’s exchange (Wrex & Tali #3), Tali, like Ashley and Kaidan, admits that she has never met krogan before, but unlike them she is self-aware enough to understand that what she thought was true was a stereotype, hence why the first thing she tells Wrex is a preemptive apology (“forgive the impertinence”). Liara meanwhile has met other krogan, making her observation a factual one.

I think those are pretty good examples of Wrex’s nuances, and especially how he values those who keep a sense of perspective and don’t let themselves get blinded by their own prejudices (see Wrex & Tali #1, but also how readily he moves on from Kaidan/Ashley offending him once they acknowledge they were wrong).

4.

Wrex : So tell me, who’d win in a fight between you and Shepard ?

Liara : Do krogan size up everyone for a fight, even friends and allies ?

Wrex : Yes.

Exchange identical to Wrex & Tali #4.

5.

Wrex : Your biotics are pretty powerful. Are all asari that strong ?

Liara : While the asari have natural biotics abilities, not all have the desire to learn to use their abilities effectively.

Wrex : All that power, and some asari don’t use it ? You could’ve conquered the galaxy if you wanted to.

Liara : Evidently, we do not want to.

Uniquely, this variation of the exchange with Liara over asari biotics prompts a reply from Liara after the other companion’s reaction (here, Wrex’s). It’s something fandom tends to forget and not focus about gee, why but the asari are the single most powerful society of the OT, and they’re all the more impressive for not wanting what the humans, turians, krogan and probably salarians would immediately do in their position.

6.

Wrex : Being in the city must feel good after digging through rocks at that Prothean ruin.

Liara : No. Cities and stations were always my mother’s area of comfort. I actually enjoy the solitude of dig sites.

Wrex : I’m surprised. I’ve never met an asari who didn’t prefer clean clothes and a hot bath.

New Aleena lore drop, I guess ? Possibly new Aria lore. Your mileage may vary.

Also, this certainly counts as a lore drop on the way asari like to clean themselves (hot baths !).

Indexing

Basically, the elevator dialogues follow a format where each companion has a set of specific reactions conveying one central piece of information, either prompted by the other companion or to which the other companion reacts. Sometimes depending on companions, you can have a little extra reaction. Each of the six ME1 companion has their own three sets of possible interactions with the other five companions*, for a total of six** possible interactions for each pair of characters.

* : Mostly.

** : There are exceptions.

The exceptions are Kaidan & Ashley #0 and #1, which appear to be obligate interactions before and after the first interview with the Council. Kaidan & Ashley #2 has no equivalent but is probably tangentially related at least to what I call Ashley-C.

Garrus & Ashley #5 and Kaidan & Ashley #2 are both unique and do not fit either into the indexing scheme outlined above and detailed below ; while the former is clearly dictated by the situation in ME1 (Garrus has already been recruited, but Saren hasn’t been exposed yet), the latter could presumably be spoken at any time. This suggests that there might be more bits out there

I’ll assign those core, unchanging bits of dialogue letter tags (A, B, C) at random, mostly to keep track of who’s speaking what.

KAIDAN

Kaidan-A : Kaidan and his L2 implants (headaches) => Kaidan & Ashley #3, Kaidan & Tali #4, Kaidan & Garrus #2, Kaidan & Wrex #4, Kaidan & Liara #5. Interestingly, there is a unique variation with Liara, but the interaction with Ashley is so distinct from the others the only thing it has in common with it is the topic and the word “headaches”. Probably because Ashley, as a human, can’t possibly be discovering what L2 implants are.

Kaidan-B : Kaidan’s biotics are getting stronger (no longer holding back) => Kaidan & Ashley #4, Kaidan & Tali #5, Kaidan & Garrus #3, Kaidan & Wrex #5, Kaidan & Liara #2. A very bland exchange, with every companion basically saying the same thing and Kaidan literally replying the same thing.

Kaidan-C : The Protheans make Kaidan wonder whether humanity will end up disappearing as well (what will I leave behind) => Kaidan & Ashley #5, Kaidan & Tali #6, Kaidan & Garrus #6, Kaidan & Wrex #6, Kaidan & Liara #1. That interaction with Ashley prompts a unique response from Kaidan. Meanwhile, Garrus’s reply prompts no answer from Kaidan, uniquely - maybe because what Garrus says is already very much in line with what Kaidan is thinking.

ASHLEY

Ashley-A : Ashley doesn’t understand why no one seems worried by the geth. => Kaidan & Ashley #7, Ashley & Tali #2, Garrus & Ashley #2, Ashley & Wrex #5, Liara & Ashley #6. Uniquely, Kaidan’s reply is the only one that prompts a response from Ashley.

Ashley-B : Ashley doesn’t think her training prepared her for the ME1 situation => Kaidan & Ashley #6, Ashley & Tali #4, Garrus & Ashley #3, Ashley & Wrex #2, Liara & Ashley #4. As with Kaidan-B, a somewhat bland exchange - with one major exception : Kaidan & Ashley #6 has uniquely phrased dialogue and while Ashley’s answer is substantially the same, she appears far more vulnerable there. However, I’d argue that what’s interesting is what each of the other five companions reveals about their own perspective and what they value, usually in a pretty succinct but meaningful way : Kaidan is basically “Fake It And You Will Make It” ; Garrus is basically curious about how military training might differ between humans and turians ; Tali is not used at all to fighting and assumes a career soldier like Ashley must be more at ease ; Wrex is dryly joking around ; and Liara, the other civilian aboard Normandy, echoes Tali’s perspective.

Ashley-C : Ashley explains how human women had to fight to get into the military. => n/a for Kaidan & Ashley, Ashley & Tali #1, Garrus & Ashley #4, Ashley & Wrex #1, Liara & Ashley #5. Tali’s reply uniquely prompts a (somewhat awkward) answer from Ashley. Naturally, given the topic, that is not a subject Kaidan could inquire about ; hence why Kaidan & Ashley #2 stands out as a unique exchange, as it “fills up” the missing exchange slot. As it implies (?) that Kaidan is attracted to asari - a slightly recurrent theme throughout ME1 - it is broadly in line with the male/female human divide that is the theme of Ashley-C.

TALI

Tali-A : How do quarians feel about creating the geth ? (the quarians have paid enough) => Kaidan & Tali #1, Ashley & Tali #5, Garrus & Tali #1, Wrex & Tali #2, Tali & Liara #3. The exchanges with Kaidan and Ashley are identical. The exchange with Liara uses the same stock response Tali uses with Kaidan and Ashley, but interestingly, the two exchanges with Garrus and Wrex are both unique, and have Tali focus on the genophage instead.

Tali-B : People are being hostile with Tali because she’s a quarian (anti-quarian prejudice). => Kaidan & Tali #3, Ashley & Tali #3, Garrus & Tali #6, Wrex & Tali #1, Tali & Liara #5. Interestingly, the exchanges with Kaidan and Ashley start identically, but diverge completely in their replies to Tali’s answer. With Wrex and Tali, the exchanges remain pretty generic, but Garrus’s reply is the least empathetic of the five, while Wrex’s is the most empathetic. Tied with Wrex, however, we have Liara’s, who is outraged - it’s the only exchange to prompt a second line of dialogue from Tali, and it reveals some new lore on quarian and galactic history.

Tali-C : Why do you wear a helmet, Tali ? (quarian immune systems) => Kaidan & Tali #2, Ashley & Tali #6, Garrus & Tali #2, Wrex & Tali #6, Tali & Liara #6. Contrary to the previous two sets of exchanges, the conversations with Kaidan and Ashley are as distinct as any other companion’s elevator dialogue. As previously mentioned, Garrus’s only makes sense if it occurs after his version of Tali-B, Garrus & Tali #6.

GARRUS

Garrus-A : Garrus doesn’t regret leaving C-Sec. => Kaidan & Garrus #1, Garrus & Ashley #1, Garrus & Tali #3, Garrus & Wrex #6, Liara & Garrus #6. Nothing noteworthy here : all characters react to Garrus, informing the player of their own priorities (which may be why it’s the only exchange about Garrus where Kaidan and Ashley don’t say the same thing).

Garrus-B : Garrus is eager to take down Saren (restore the good name of turians). => Kaidan & Garrus #4, Garrus & Ashley #6, Garrus & Tali #4, Garrus & Wrex #2, Liara & Garrus #1. As previously stated, the conversations with Kaidan or Ashley are identical. Liara’s reply has a unique twist - she didn’t presume Garrus might have qualms over hunting Saren because Saren is a fellow turian but because Garrus respects/adores Spectres.

Garrus-C : Garrus would love to see what the Normandy could do in a fight (potential of stealth ships in warfare). => Kaidan & Garrus #5, Garrus & Ashley #7, Garrus & Tali #5, Garrus & Wrex #5, Liara & Garrus #3. The exchanges with Kaidan and Ashley are identical. Uniquely, Garrus-C is the only exchange with four lines of dialogues for all five possible participants.

WREX

Wrex-A : Wrex’s companions think he is unlike other krogan. => Kaidan & Wrex #1, Ashley & Wrex #4, Wrex & Tali #3, Garrus & Wrex #1, Liara & Wrex #3. As previously mentioned, Ashley and Kaidan’s versions of that exchange are identical (they’re 4-line-long, whereas the others are 2-line-long), and Wrex replies in the same way to both Tali and Liara. His answer to Garrus is uniquely aggressive.

Wrex-B : Wrex wants to know who’d win in a fight against Shepard. => Kaidan & Wrex #2, Ashley & Wrex #6, Wrex & Tali #4, Wrex & Garrus #4, Liara & Wrex #4. Likewise, Kaidan and Ashley’s versions of that exchange are strictly identical, but this time Liara’s and Tali’s also form an identical pair. Garrus’s, while very close in substance to Ashley/Kaidan’s, is unique.

Wrex-C : Wrex doesn’t mind fighting other krogan (favor to the universe). => Kaidan & Wrex #3, Ashley & Wrex #3, Wrex & Tali #5, Wrex & Garrus #3, Liara & Wrex #1. Man, even here Ashley and Kaidan’s versions are identical. Tali and Liara say the same thing in a different way and get the same reply as with everyone else. Again, Garrus is set apart : while Wrex gives the same reply, it is preceded by a unique introduction : “You don’t get it. For all your talk of honor and pride, the turians never had to test their principles in a real struggle.” The logical connection to the rest of the reply is not self-explanatory.

Overall, Wrex gets the least diverse quotes in his own set, but is more likely to say something different than Garrus or Liara, who will always give their stock responses. Tali can give truly unique answers, but she will say the same things more often than Wrex.

LIARA

Liara-A : Liara explains asari biotics to her companions (desire to learn). => Kaidan & Liara #3, Liara & Ashley #3, Tali & Liara #1, Liara & Garrus #2, Liara & Wrex #5. Here, there is no instance of repeated dialogue beside Liara’s stock response, which is unchanged for all five companions. However, unlike everyone else, Wrex prompts a second reply from Liara in a fourth line of dialogue (“Evidently we do not want to.”).

Liara-B : Liara does not like cities and stations (prefers the solitude of dig sites). => Kaidan & Liara #4, Liara & Ashley #2, Tali & Liara #2, Liara & Garrus #4, Liara & Wrex #6. Kaidan and Ashley share the same initial prompt but differ in their final reactions. Likewise, Tali and Garrus share prompts but have different final reactions. Wrex is the only one to get his own prompt and reaction.

Liara-C : Liara’s usual studies of the Protheans (less explosions please). => Kaidan & Liara #6, Liara & Ashley #1, Tali & Liara #4, Liara & Garrus #5, Liara & Wrex #2. Kaidan and Ashley’s parts of their dialogues are 100% identical. Tali and Garrus share prompts but have different final reactions. Again, Wrex stands out for his unique variations throughout.

Thank you so much for all this, @servantofclio ! I’d love to hear what you have to say on the few clippings I found like you did on all of those you compiled !

Mass Effect 1 Elevator Dialogues

All right, here it is!

First, some disclaimers:

I believe these transcripts to be accurate, but some errors may have crept in.

I do not believe these transcripts to be complete. You can see for yourselves that some pairs of characters have more dialogues than others; I’m fairly sure some exchanges are missing, in spite of my attempts to find them on youtube.

If you know of exchanges that I have missed, I would be happy to know about transcripts or video of them so I can add them to this post. I am not, however, in a position to play the game endlessly to get particular exchanges to fire.

I could not resist adding brief commentary, which represents only my own opinions.

You will notice that there is some repeated dialogue – some characters’ lines can occur in combination with several other characters. I would guess this is partly an economy on Bioware’s part, and partly to increase the probability that certain information comes across.

Thank you to @hoarous, @syzara, and @thelastunicorg for helping point me toward relevant video. Also for @jadesabre301 and @omegastation, who expressed interest in seeing transcripts.

The following post is long, about 3600 words, and is after the cut, with exchanges sorted by pair of characters. The numbers are just for reference; I don’t think the dialogue necessarily triggers in that order.

Keep reading

[baejax-the-great]

I've seen lots of drawings of turian babies were they look like miniature turian adults, and it makes sense, I'm not knocking it, but I think we should take a harder look at nature, specifically birds in nature, and embrace the idea that baby-through-adolescent turians look like naked muppets

[crapeaucrapeau]

Replies ? On your Tumblr post ? It's more likely than you think !

Possible reasons: Knows and follows post-Rachni-war Council doctrine re: activating primary relays (you must have gone the long-way round and discovered the other end first) Doesn't know/follow Council law, but is similarly risk-averse Is currently over-extended militarily or economically

Agreed - though it needs to be plausible that this is the case from the moment relays are identified to the moment they are activated — possibly more than a millennium for the turians.

The volus encountered pre-rachni war asari. But the asari may well have leaned in that risk-averse direction to start with, and just codified it more post rachni.

re : the asari and everyone else : that's exactly my headcanon. It chimes rather well with what can be glimpsed from the lore (see also : G2HGE #3).

The turians could potentially ignore inactive relays because they're busy fighting each other, already over-extended in other colonization/exploration efforts, or going through a risk-averse political phase. "We won't open that up until we've built up our fleet enough to protect our other acquisitions" isn't an unreasonable stance. They're more reasons for delay, but a combo of various factors could be more believable than the same answer across the board.

Agreed and agreed. Double agreed.

Anyway, the approximation I'm leaning toward is different ballpark speed estimates depending on type of travel. Average interplanetary speed is less than average interstellar speed is less than average intercluster speed, because of the vastly different distances you have in which to accelerate. Supposedly a standard 'cruising speed' (which is not useful when you should be thinking in terms of acceleration but OKAY whatever) for a Citadel species ship is 12 ly in a day, or 4380x the speed of light, Normandy is supposed to be faster, and the reapers are supposed to be MUCH faster. I'm only willing to even consider that for intercluster travel, and even then I'm side-eyeing the scenic route from Earth to Arcturus taking only three days!

…y'know, the only meaningful thing I can add to this is posting my two-part "everything canon about speed and acceleration" post, but I need to finish it and proofread it and I have a job and obligations and stuff D':

(I'll hurry.)

Mass Effect galaxy map

(For the Rhi Shepard universe)

I've been writing, if by 'writing' one means 'making a new galaxy map to use as a reference, because I'm too picky.'

I copied some symbology from Droot1986's excellent galaxy map. I also used Engorn's map as a reference, but ultimately the clusters and connections are based on the wiki. All systems within a cluster are listed, with inhabited planets in parentheses.

(...yeah, I should probably make a legend, but I only made it for my reference, so).

Features/changes

The relay in the Sol system only connects to Arcturus. This is how it's supposed to work in canon lore; Arcturus is important because it's a gateway system, while Sol is a dead end.

(Also, Sol is now in basically the right place compared to the underlying artist's impression of the milky way. Thank you NASA.)

Batarian's now have some space of their own, because lumping all batarian space into the human Systems Alliance was just BEGGING for a war. Like, WTF. Their government is flat out evil but that doesn't mean we just get to say their planets are ours now.

Combined inner and outer council space because idgaf.

There's a new, boringly named relay between Kite's Nest, Petra, and Exodus, because I needed one in chapter 14.

If a cluster had written lore about where it was in the galaxy, I tried to reflect that — so Styx Theta, Hawking Eta, and the Pangea Expanse are all close to the galactic core, Sentry Omega is on a political border, etc. Otherwise, I adjusted location to make the relay routes clearer. (Also I wanted the giant hub that is Omega to be almost opposite the Serpent Nebula and the Citadel)..

I imagine that there are actually a LOT more mapped clusters in Council Space than we see; they were just never relevant to the game. If not, the vaunted 'all relays lead to the Citadel' reaper web is just flat out wrong. Omega has more connections, and quite a few other clusters have as many. If there are more inhabited clusters in Citadel Space it also makes the veritable explosion of humanity look a little less ridiculous. (Seriously, humans have been on the galactic scene for thirty years. LOOK at how far we've gone. Council races are right to be freakin' terrified, the Sol system was like one of those plants with exploding seed pods where you bump it and POOF now they're EVERYWHERE). So let's assume the rest of the galaxy is as cluttered as Systems Alliance space, it's just not been relevant to our anthropocentric bag of dicks worldview.

Anyway. What the fuck is even up with the Attican Traverse?

[monstermoviedean]

i love it when sci-fi does "what if it was rome but worse." especially when there are bad gladiator costumes

[seithr]

seithr accidentally pulls a tuchanka in stellaris

[crapeaucrapeau]

Defunct ME1 Website Codex Entries

In the interest of preserving rare documents related to Mass Effect, I'm transcribing here the Codex entries which were on the ME1 website when the game first came out. They are reproduced here as they form much of the basis by which we understand Mass Effect ; in some cases, they are phrased differently from the Codex in the actual game, with additional information, or contradictions (e.g. the given length of the Krogan Rebellions). Link here : https://web.archive.org/web/20130326112139/http://masseffect.bioware.com/me1/galacticcodex/index.html

Each Codex entry comes in two parts : the "lede" on the starting Codex page, and the entry itself. In an archiving interest, associated polls are included, though they do not represent anything more than the intended market's opinions prior to the game's release. Everything is quoted verbatim, though I have done some formatting modifications for ease of reading.

Note : since this was very much part of the promotion for ME1, the intended audience is clearly human, but it's difficult at times to see if it's an in-universe "we" or an IRL "we". The polls, however, are clearly out-of-universe.

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SPECIES

The Advent of Humanity on the Galactic Stage

In the decades since our first encounter with the greater galactic community, humanity has risen quickly to prominence, establishing colonies throughout the stars. However, our population growth and military strength have led to resentful speculation that an invitation to join the ranks of the Council itself is imminent. [Read More]

The Advent of Humanity on the Galactic Stage

In the year 2148, humanity discovered Prothean ruins on Mars. The remnants of Prothean technology scattered amongst these ruins allowed them to develop mass effect fields and faster-than-light travel. This led them to discover and reactivate the mass relay at the edges of Earth's solar system, giving them access to the mass relay network spanning the rest of the galaxy and bringing them into contact with the greater galactic community.

2148 AD : Humanity discovers a small cache of highly advanced alien technology hidden deep beneath the surface of Mars. Building on the remnants of this long extinct race - known as the Protheans - humanity quickly masters the science of mass effect fields, leading to the development of faster than light travel.

2149 AD : Spreading out through their own solar system, humanity discovers that Charon, Pluto's moon, is actually a massive piece of dormant Prothean technology - a mass relay - encased in ice.

Once activated, humanity discovers that the mass relay allows instantaneous travel across thousands of light years to a synchronized mass relay in another part of the galaxy.

There they discover several more dormant relays. Over the next decade humanity expands rapidly, establishing colonies and activating dormant relays to open up more and more unexplored regions of space.

2155 AD : To defend its rapidly expanding empire, humanity assembles a massive fleet and constructs an enormous military space station at the nexus of several key mass relays…even though they have yet to encounter another intelligent space-faring species.

2157 AD : Humanity makes first contact with another space-faring culture: the turians. Unfortunately, the encounter is far from peaceful. Over the next several months a brief but tense conflict known on Earth as the First Contact war ensues.

This conflict draws the attention of the Citadel Council - a multi-species government body that maintains peace and stability throughout the known galaxy. The Council intervenes before hostilities escalate further, revealing the existence of the greater galactic community to humanity and brokering a peace between them and the turians.

2165 AD : Humanity continues to expand, founding more colonies and establishing trade alliances with many of the other species who recognize the authority of the Citadel Council. In 2165 the Council makes official recognition of humanity's growing power and influence in the galactic community. Humanity is granted an embassy on the Citadel, the political and economic heart of the galaxy.

2183 AD : Commander Shepard - a promising young officer in the Human Alliance military - is assigned to the crew of the Normandy, the most advanced prototype vessel ever designed.

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Turians: Friend or Foe?

We fought these raptor-like aliens in the First Contact War, but have since settled into an uneasy co-existence with them. Despite their code of honour, discipline, and work ethic, the question remains whether these Council members are friends or foes. [Read codex entry]

Citadel Council Race: Turians

The turians were the last of the Citadel races to join the Council. Their features are avian, making them resemble humanoid birds or raptors. They have a reputation for skill and bravery in combat, but they are not known to be bloodthirsty. A rigid code of honor and strict discipline are the hallmarks of any turian officer. This includes humane treatment of prisoners and conquered enemies. A turian patrol unit will never willingly leave behind one of their own, no matter what the cost of saving them.

Turian society is highly regimented and very organized, and the species is known for its strict discipline and work ethic. Turians are willing to do what needs to be done, and they always follow through. They are not easily spurred to violence, but when conflict is inevitable, they only understand a concept of "total war." They do not believe in skirmishes or small scale battles; they use massive fleets and numbers to defeat an adversary so completely that they remove any threat of having to fight the same opponent more than once. They do not exterminate their enemy, but so completely devastate their military that the enemy has no choice but to become a colony of the turians.

Other species see them as "men of action," and they are generally regarded as the most progressive of the Citadel races. Since their culture is based on the structure of a military hierarchy, changes and advances accepted by the leadership are quickly adopted by the rest of society with minimal resistance.

WEB POLL : Turians are an honourable and disciplined race. Why do you think humanity warred with them immediately after first contact in the year 2157?

There was a misunderstanding that blew out of proportion - 64%

They feared our potential and saw us as competitors - 23%

They probably always attack first to probe for weaknesses - 11%

They wanted the planet Earth and our colonies for themselves - 3%

Other - read my comments - 2%

Total votes : 30656

[The website proceeds to try to set up a dilemma as to whether the turians can be trusted by connecting first to Nihlus's Codex entry - the "Friend" - then Saren's - the "Foe".]

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Spotlight on the Krogan Race

Explore the reptilian race known as the Krogan. Part one reveals how their harsh and unforgiving homeworld has affected their evolution. Part two delves into their tragic history and waning foothold in the galaxy. The final part spotlights Urdnot Wrex, one of the last krogan Battle Masters. [Read more]

Krogan Series Part 1 - Krogan Biology

The krogan are a species of large reptilian bipeds native to the planet Tuchanka, a world known for its harsh environments, scarce resources, and overabundance of vicious predators. The krogan managed to not only survive on their unforgiving homeworld, but actually thrived in the extreme conditions. Unfortunately, as krogan society became more technologically advanced so did their weaponry.

Four thousand years ago, at the dawn of the krogan nuclear age, battles to claim the small pockets of territory capable of sustaining life escalated into full scale global war. Weapons of mass destruction were unleashed, transforming Tuchanka into a radioactive wasteland.

Due to the brutality of their surroundings, natural selection has played a significant role in the evolution of the species. Krogan reproduce and mature at an astonishing rate. Their large shoulder humps store fluids and nutrients, enabling them to survive extended periods without food or water. Their thick hides are virtually impervious to cuts, scrapes or contusions, and they are highly resistant to toxins, radiation, and extreme heat and cold.

Biotic individuals are rare, though those who do possess the talent typically have strong abilities. Their most amazing physiological features are the multiple instances of major organs; these secondary systems are capable of serving as back-ups in the event of damage to the primary biological structures. This redundancy makes them difficult to kill or incapacitate in normal combat scenarios.

WEB POLL : What do you think is the most interesting part of krogan biology?

Redundant organs - 50%

Rapid reproduction and growth rate - 21%

Thick hides impervious to many dangers - 16%

Large shoulder humps that store fluids and nutrients - 14%

Other - read my comments - 2%

Total votes : 11673

Krogan Series Part 2 - Rise and Fall of the Krogan

Roughly 2000 years ago the krogan were a primitive tribal species trapped on a world suffering through a nuclear winter of their own making. They were liberated by the salarians, who "culturally uplifted" the krogan by giving them advanced technology and relocating them to a planet not cursed with lethal levels of radiation, toxins, or deadly predators.

But the salarian intervention was not without an ulterior motive. At the time, the Citadel was engaged in a prolonged galactic war with the rachni, a race of intelligent space-faring insects. The salarians hoped the krogan would join the Citadel forces as soldiers to stand against an otherwise unstoppable foe. The plan worked to perfection: within two generations the rapidly breeding krogan had the numbers to not only drive the advancing rachni back, but pursue them to their home worlds and eradicate the entire species.

Saviors of the Galaxy

For a brief period the krogan were hailed as the saviors of the galaxy. However, without the harsh conditions of Tuchanka to keep their numbers in check, their population exploded. Overcrowded and running out of resources on their new home planet, the krogan spread out to forcibly claim other worlds...worlds already inhabited by races loyal to the Citadel.

The so-called Krogan Rebellions continued for nearly three centuries. The krogan sustained massive casualties, but their incredible birth-rate kept their population steadily increasing. Victory seemed inevitable. In desperation, the Council turned to the recently discovered Turian Empire for aid. The turians unleashed the genophage on the krogan home worlds: a terrifying bio-weapon engineered by the salarians. The genophage caused near total infant mortality in the krogan species, with only 1 birth in every 1000 producing live offspring.

The Genophage

No longer able to replenish their numbers, the krogan were forced to accept the turian terms of surrender. For their role in quelling the Krogan Rebellions the turians were rewarded with a seat on the Citadel Council. The krogan, on the other hand, still suffer from the incurable effects of the genophage. Over the last millennium krogan numbers have steadily declined, leaving them a scattered and dying people. Faced with the certainty of their extinction as a species, most krogan have become individualistic and completely self-interested. They typically serve as mercenaries for hire to the highest bidder, though many still resent and despise the Citadel races who condemned them to their tragic fate.

WEB POLL : Was use of the genophage on the krogan justified?

Yes, it was necessary to stop the krogan from taking over the galaxy - 53%

No, it was cruel and should not have been used - 42%

Other - read my comments - 6%

Total votes : 8160

[Wrex's entry has been moved to "Characters"]

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The Quarians - Galactic Nomads

Some believe quarians are a cybernetic blend that can survive for a time in the cold vacuum of space. Others believe they are so used to living on their makeshift ships they never remove their survival suits. Most condemn them for unleashing a dangerous, synthetic life form on the galaxy. [Read more]

The Quarians - Galactic Nomads

A nomadic race of humanoid aliens, the quarians are generally shorter and of slighter build than humans. They dress in a scavenged assortment of materials, hiding their faces behind visors, goggles, or breathing masks. Some believe the quarians are cybernetic, a blend of machine and biology that can survive for a time in the cold vacuum of space. Others believe the quarians are simply so used to living on their substandard, makeshift ships that they never remove their survival suits.

Three hundred years ago the quarians created the geth, a species of rudimentary AIs, to serve as an efficient source of manual labor. But the geth rebelled against their quarian masters and drove them into exile. Now the quarians wander the galaxy in a flotilla of salvaged ships, secondhand vessels, and recycled technology. Other species tend to look down on the quarians, seeing them as scavengers and condemning them for unleashing a dangerous synthetic life form on the rest of the galaxy.

WEB POLL : Should the quarians be held accountable for unleashing the geth?

No, it's all in the past and what's done is done - 63%

Hmmm, I'm not sure yet - 21%

Yes, punishment should be fast and swift - 16%

Other - read my comments - 2%

Total votes : 21535

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Geth: Universally Violent Creatures

Residing in the Terminus Systems, the geth are a humanoid race of networked AIs who overthrew their masters 300 years ago in a brutal war. They have evolved since then into numerous sub-forms, and everyone in the galaxy approaches them with extreme caution. [Read more]

Hostile Entity: the Geth

The geth are a bi-pedal, humanoid race of networked AIs that resides in the Terminus Systems. The geth were created nearly 300 years ago by the quarians as laborers and tools of war. When the geth began to question their masters, the quarians attempted to exterminate them. The geth won the resulting war. The example of the geth has led to legal, systematic repression of artificial intelligences in galactic society.

The geth can learn and grow intellectually, but they progress far more slowly than an organic being. Still, the story of the geth's creation and evolution serves as a warning to the rest of the galaxy of the potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence.

The closer geth physically are to each other, the more intelligent each one becomes. Effectively, they "share" brain power. An individual geth has only a basic intelligence on par with animal instincts, but in groups they can reason, analyze situations, and use tactics as well as any of the organic races.

Over time the geth have evolved into numerous sub-forms - from the diminutive but highly agile hoppers, to the gigantic, lumbering geth armatures. It should be stressed, however, that in all forms the geth are to be approached with extreme caution as they are universally violent creatures.

WEB POLL : The geth are out of control and feared throughout the galaxy. What will you do the first time you encounter a geth?

Frag it - 57%

Talk to it - 22%

Outmaneuver or trick it - 15%

Avoid it - 7%

Other - read my comments - 1%

Total votes : 25359

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The Batarians, From Bring Down the Sky

Debuting in the Bring Down the Sky downloable content pack, the batarians are a disreputable species infesting the Terminus Systems and menacing human colonies. [Read more]

The Batarians - A New Race in Bring Down the Sky

A race of four-eyed bipeds, the batarians are a disreputable species that chose to isolate itself from the rest of the galaxy. The Terminus Systems are infested with batarian pirate gangs and slaving rings, fueling the stereotype of the batarian thug. It should be noted that these criminals do not represent average citizens, who are forbidden to leave batarian space by their omnipresent and paranoid government.

In 2171, humans began to colonize the Skyllian Verge, a region the batarians were already actively settling. The batarians asked the Citadel Council to intervene and declare the Verge an area of "batarian interest." When the Council refused, the batarians severed diplomatic and economic relations, becoming an inward-looking rogue state. Money and weapons funneled from the batarian government to criminal organizations led to many brutal raids on human colonies in the Verge, culminating in the Skyllian Blitz of 2176.

The rest of the galaxy views the batarians as an ignorable problem. The government is still hostile to the Systems Alliance, but beneath the notice of the powerful Council races. It is not known what the average batarian thinks about their enforced isolation, as the Department of Information Control ensures that only government-approved news enters or leaves batarian space.

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CHARACTERS

Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams

Williams is a reliable and dedicated officer, but her aggressive instincts and blunt speech might lead to complications should she be required to interact with civilians. [Read more]

Systems Alliance Profile: Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams

Personnel File

Name: Ashley Madeline Williams Rank: Gunnery Chief Military Vocational Code: B4 Current Posting: 2nd Frontier Division, Eden Prime

Date of Birth: April 14, 2158 Place of Birth: Vercingetorix Outpost, Planet Sirona, 61 Ursae Majoris System Blood Type: B-positive

Genetic Enhancements:

In-utero vision correction (maternal predisposition for nearsightedness)

Class-B Alliance Infantry Upgrade Package

Dossier

Following family tradition, Chief Williams enlisted in the Alliance Marines directly out of high school and was assigned to the Recruit Training Depot in Macapá, Brazil.

During training, she certified proficient with the standard-issue M7 Lancer assault rifle and light and standard weight combat hardsuits. She completed certification in zero-gee combat aboard the Rakesh Sharma Orbital Platform in Earth geosynchronous orbit. For Hostile Environment Assault Training, she was assigned to Fort Charles Upham on Saturn's moon, Titan. She was awarded a commendation for her bold assault technique in a field exercise simulating an attack on turian point defense emplacements.

Drill Instructor Gunnery Chief Ellison noted her steadfast endurance and aggressive instincts, and promoted her to the role of squad leader. After observing her effective tutelage of the less skilled members of her training unit, he promoted her to platoon guide. She maintains a friendly correspondence with DI Ellison.

Chief Williams has served in a number of ground force garrisons on Alliance colony worlds and industrial outposts. She has repeatedly requested transfer to a shipboard posting, but each request has been denied without comment by her superiors.

Every year since enlistment, she has used her mandatory week of leave to visit her family on Amaterasu. In 2181, she made an exceptional request for a week-long leave of absence from her posting at the Czarnobóg Fleet Depot, citing family issues.

Personal Observations

Chief Williams' platoon has logged unanimous positive feedback on her leadership in the recent fitness review cycle. Private Nirali Bahtia praised her focus on team-building exercises and "tough but fair" discipline.

Williams is a reliable and dedicated noncommissioned officer, but her service in rear-area garrisons has prevented her from gaining actual combat experience. Her aggressive instincts and tendency to speak bluntly are suitable for a field unit, but might lead to complications if her duties require her to interact with civilians. Additionally, her political opinions may be problematic, given the focus on improving relations with the Citadel.

WEB POLL : Ashley is part of your party as you carry out Spectre missions. Do you think her inexperience, bluntness, and aggressive tendencies will pose a problem?

No, I'll think she'll be a great addition to my team. - 39%

I'm holding off judgement and will give her a chance. - 32%

No. As Commander I'll keep my troops in line. - 25%

Yes, I'm quite worried about it. - 5%

Other - here's what I think - 1%

Total votes : 18746

Systems Alliance Profile: Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams - Profile Updated

From: Ashley Williams (ashley.m.williams@edenprime.mil.sa) Sent: June 17, 2183 22:03 UT To: Sarah Williams (randori-girl@ward37.amaterasu.civ.pub) Subject: Re: Hey sis

James left today. He's been reassigned to one of the new Rapid Response Bases out in the Kepler Verge. Lucky bastard. It's like the ancient west out there – pirates and slavers coming out of the Terminus Systems all the time. He gets to play the cavalry, riding out in frigates any time someone's house gets burned down.

I made some speech about how he was a valuable asset to the squad and he better make us look good out there, blah blah. I suck at speeches. I was cribbing from something I read back in history class. I don't think anyone noticed.

I'm going to miss him. Don't tell anyone.

So you think James is cute, eh? Yeah, well, when you said I should "go for him" – not gonna happen, kiddo. See, we have rules about "fraternization." You don't do The Deed with your fellow troops, especially if they're under you in rank. There's all sorts of problems that can happen when two people in the same unit get together.

Let's say your unit is in a tight spot. Some bug-eyed aliens are going to overrun the galaxy. They eat babies, smell bad, and don't have elbows. Nasty. You're told to guard the rear. To let everyone else escape, someone is ordered "hold this spot until we're gone." Someone has to be left behind. You think it's going to be someone you're sleeping with?

I've served with these guys for eight months now. Yeah, some of them make me feel tingly (and yeah, James was kinda scruffy-cute). I hope I never have to decide who lives and who dies. But if I have to, my decision can't be muddled up by magic-sparkly-hearts-and-stars feelings.

Anyways, I'm gonna knock off here. I've got dog watch in a few hours. Want to get a shower and a meal before then. Talk at you tomorrow.

- Ash

This message originated from an Alliance military network. It has been censored at transmission source for security purposes. Any reply may be read by military authorities.

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Agent Profile: Nihlus Kryik

Nihlus Kryik is one of the Citadel Council's most decorated Spectre agents. Cool under pressure, he has an uncanny ability to find an enemy's weakness and exploit it. [Continue]

Spectre Agent Nihlus Kryik

Nihlus Kryik is one of the Citadel Council's most decorated Spectre agents. Born in a small mercenary outpost outside Hierarchy space, he learned the hard way to fight for what he wanted. His father died when he was 16, and his mother forced him to join the turian military. His outsider status made life difficult; though he was always at the top of his class, his superiors and peers never truly accepted him.

As a soldier, Nihlus' skills were unquestionable. His attitude, however, often got him in trouble. On several occasions, he disobeyed direct orders to do what he thought was best. Although his instincts were usually proven right, his notoriety grew. Even when he single-handedly routed an enemy patrol, and saved his squad from ambush, his commanding officers berated him for his recklessness. His military career seemed to stall before it even began.

After being reassigned to a new squad for the third time, Nihlus was introduced to Saren Arterius, a fellow turian and a Spectre. Saren was impressed with the young soldier. He befriended Nihlus and offered to mentor him. Within a year of meeting Saren, Nihlus was asked to join the Spectres.

Free from the restrictions of military procedure, Nihlus excelled in his new role. He quickly stepped from his mentor's shadow and established himself as one of the Council's top agents. Since then, Nihlus has completed countless missions as a Spectre, each one more difficult and dangerous than the last.

Cool under pressure, Nihlus has an uncanny ability to find an enemy's weakness and exploit it. Though his methods aren't as brutal as Saren's, he will not hesitate to efficiently and thoroughly eradicate anything or anyone that stands in his way.

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Agent Profile: Saren Arterius

Saren Arterius is the longest serving turian member of the Spectres. Recently, he has become an outspoken opponent of human expansion in the galaxy, and many fear he may soon decide to take matters into his own hands.

Agent Profile - Saren Arterius

Saren Arterius is the longest serving turian member of the Spectres - the elite military operatives answering directly to the Citadel Council. For 24 years he has been an agent of the Council's will, a zealous defender of galactic stability in the unsettled border region of the Skyllian Verge.

Official records of Spectres are sealed, but it is known that Saren followed turian tradition and entered the military at the age of 15. In 2155 he was promoted to active service after only a year of training, though it is unclear whether his unit was involved in any of the battles against human forces during the First Contact War of 2157.

In 2159 he became the youngest turian ever accepted into the Spectres. Intelligent, cunning and capable, Saren quickly developed a reputation for ruthless efficiency. Although there were a number of unsettling rumors about the brutality of his methods, there was no denying his results.

In recent years Saren has become an outspoken opponent of human expansion. Like many other non-humans, he believes the Alliance has become overly aggressive in its efforts to establish the people of Earth as a dominant species in Citadel space. As a Spectre it is generally believed he will continue to follow the will of the Council in this matter, but there are some - particularly among the Alliance - who fear Saren may soon decide to take matters into his own hands.

WEB POLL : Do you think Saren is correct - are humans expanding too rapidly in the galaxy?

No - 51%

Yes - 33%

I'm not sure - 16%

Other - read my comments - 1%

Total votes : 14555

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Wrex, Krogan Battle Master

Urdnot Wrex is one of the last krogan Battle Masters: rare individuals who combine powerful biotic abilities with the devastating firepower of advanced weaponry... [Continue]

Krogan Series Part 3: Wrex, Krogan Battle Master

Urdnot Wrex is one of the last krogan Battle Masters: rare individuals who combine powerful biotic abilities with the devastating firepower of advanced weaponry. Born into clan Urdnot, he quickly gained fame for his prowess in battle. He became a leader of one of the smaller Urdnot tribes while still a youth - the youngest krogan to be granted the honor in 1000 years…until he was betrayed by his own people.

The betrayal opened Wrex's eyes to the truth about the krogan: most would rather die in battle than try to rebuild their society through peaceful means. Realizing the warrior culture that once valued courage, strength, and honor had been reduced to glorifying pointless violence, Wrex turned his back on the rest of the krogan.

Over the past three centuries he has served no master but himself, working as a bodyguard, mercenary, soldier of fortune, and bounty hunter; there is little in the galaxy that can still surprise him. He doesn't speak often, but when he does his words are direct and often shockingly blunt - and people tend to listen.

Despite his brutish appearance, Wrex rarely loses his temper. The mere threat of his anger is usually enough to get what he wants. When his fury is unleashed, however, it is a truly terrifying sight.

WEB POLL : Would you have Urdnot Wrex in your party?

Yes, I can use all the firepower I can get - 88%

No, he seems too mercenary-minded - 10%

Other - read my comments - 3%

Total votes : 16674

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TECHNOLOGY

M35 Mako

The Mako is a light infantry fighting vehicle you'll get to use when exploring planetary environments. Equipped with laser-guided ordnance, micro- thrusters, and laser detection arrays, it's an essential tool to have in your arsenal. [Read more]

Technology : M35 Mako

For 20 years, the standard "battle taxi" of the Systems Alliance Marines was the M29 "Grizzly" Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV). While excellent in long-term planetary campaigns, the Grizzly's bulk and weight made it unsuitable for rapid deployment across the Alliance's expanding sphere of influence. To fill this increasingly important role, the M35 "Mako" IFV was designed to fit in the small cargo bays of Alliance scouting frigates. The M35's small size and low weight allow it to be easily deployed to virtually any world.

Since Alliance marines may be required to fight in a variety of planetary environments, the Mako is environmentally sealed and powered by a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell. For deployment on low-gravity planetoids, it is equipped with micro-thrusters and a small element zero core, which can be used to increase mass and provide greater traction.

The "eezo" core can also be used to reduce mass, allowing the Mako to be safely air-dropped. This allows frigates to deploy their shore parties while limiting the ship's exposure to defensive anti-aircraft artillery. When used in conjunction with thrusters, mass reduction allows the Mako to extricate itself from difficult terrain.

The Mako's hull is covered with laser detection arrays, which forewarn the crew of enemy laser-guided ordnance. Ground-penetrating radar allows detection of anti-vehicle mines and other subsurface anomalies. These will be brought to the attention of the crew by the vehicle's micro-frame computer system.

Several combat support vehicles using the Mako's basic chassis are manufactured for Alliance surface garrisons. These include a recon drone controller, a mobile air defense platform, and the M38 military ambulance nicknamed "Moby" because it is painted white during peacekeeping operations. Shipboard Marines exclusively use the tactically flexible and heavily armed base model.

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Normandy

Optimized for solo reconnaissance missions deep within unstable regions, and using state-of-the-art stealth technology, the Normandy is a prototype deep scout frigate. [Read more]

Technology : Normandy

Frigates are swift, flexible warships. Unlike larger vessels, they are able to land on planets. Although lightly armed, Alliance frigates usually carry a squad of marines for security and groundside duty.

The most important role filled by frigates is scouting and reconnaissance. Thanks to mass effect technology, ships and communications can travel faster than the speed of light. Sensors, however, are limited to the speed of light. If an enemy ship is a light year away, a stationary observer will only be able to see it when its light arrives in a year.

An attacker will always gain surprise against a defender; attacking ships moving faster than light will arrive long before their light speed-limited sensor data does. For defense, fleets are surrounded by spheres of scouting frigates. These vessels detect enemy ships passing by them, and transmit warnings to the main body. The Normandy is a prototype "deep scout" frigate, developed by the Systems Alliance with the assistance of the Citadel Council. It is optimized for solo reconnaissance missions deep within unstable regions, using state-of-the-art stealth technology.

For centuries, it was assumed that starship stealth was impossible. The heat generated by routine shipboard operations is easily detectable against the absolute-zero background temperature of space. The Normandy, however, is able to temporarily "store" this heat in lithium heat sinks deep within the hull. Combined with refrigeration of the exterior hull, the ship can travel undetected for hours, or drift passively for days of covert observation. This is not without risk. The stored heat must eventually be radiated, or it will build up to levels capable of cooking the crew alive.

Another component of the stealth system is the Normandy’s revolutionary Tantalus drive, a mass effect core twice the standard size. The Tantalus drive generates mass concentrations that the Normandy "falls into", allowing it to move without the use of heat-emitting thrusters. The heat sink and Tantalus drive systems allow the Normandy to loiter undetected in an enemy system to monitor traffic, or drop infiltration teams on enemy worlds. Should the Normandy’s design prove useful in field tests, it is expected that a follow-up class incorporating "lessons learned" will be produced.

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[mushroommanchanterelle]

I would like to add that this man is canonically from palaven in campaign lore. My beloved fiance mashed Mass Effect with Rain world of all things.

His favorite color is blue and his hero is Primarch Victus

Slugcat that I'm playing in an upcoming Sci Fi campaign! His name is the Arsonist, and he's what happens when you mash Mass Effect, Artificer, and Drone Master together. His whole thing is hacking and throwing/making grenades! It's for a pathfinder 1e game. I homebrewed the race myself c:

[lorelei2525]

The Fleet returns home

[westernlarch]

Taproot, Part III, Ch. 4: Transplants

When a good half hour had passed, Garrus worked up the courage to call at the Primarch’s door. The door slid open and there he was, sitting perfectly upright at his desk and going over what looked to be a tedious logistical dashboard on his display. So much for respite. How and when the man ever unwound remained a mystery to Garrus. “May I speak with you, sir?” he said, standing just inside the threshold. “Vakarian…I expected you’d left with the others,” The Primarch graciously shut his screen off and beckoned him forward. “If this is about Gellix…” “No, it’s a personal matter.” “Yes, of course. What seems to be the issue?” Clasping his hands atop his desk, Victus regarded his subordinate with a stern expression and waited for him to speak. Garrus hesitated, suddenly self-conscious as he stood in front of the seated Primarch. Ghosts of old materialized at the back of his mind: images of his father working in his study, his sawtoothed glare that implored him to ‘speak up or leave’. But the Primarch wasn’t his father, and he was no son—at least, not anymore. He shoved his doubt aside. “Not really an issue sir. Just something I wanted to discuss,” he said vaguely. “Let me say, first, that I have a lot of respect for you. For everything you’ve done here. From that first day on Menae, I knew the Hierarchy would be in good hands. Now, we’ve had our ups and down, but you’ve always guided us with a steady hand, and I consider it an honor to have worked with you.” Primarch Victus tensed his mandibles and interrupted with a well timed snort. “Why does it sound like you’re planning to leave us?” “Because I am,” he said. “I’d like to tender my resignation.”

Read the rest on AO3

[scripts4dreamers]

Something that really stuck with me while I was playing Mass Effect 2, and that I feel was so important to understanding the relationship between Shepard and Garrus, whether you romance him or not, is that Garrus is your only companion from ME1 who never moved on.

You died. The crew watched you die. Assumedly they grieved you, there was a funeral service, there were tears and all five stages of grief. Things were rough, but eventually life took on a shade of normalcy again.

Kaiden/Ashley got reassigned and continued their work for the alliance. Liara fights tooth and nail to get your body to Cerberus, but then it’s out of her hands and she becomes an information broker. Tali goes back to the Floatilla, like she was always supposed to. Wrex becomes a clan leader. And yes, they’re all fundamentally changed by their time on the Normandy, but no one seems as stuck as Garrus Vakarian.

Because he doesn’t go back to the Citadel. He doesn’t join the Turian Hierarchy. He ships himself off to Omega, one of the most dangerous places he could be, and makes a life out of pissing off the most dangerous people there. It’s kind of a suicide mission, especially after what happened with Sidonis. He kind of figures he’s going to die doing this, but what else can he do?

There is no normalcy for Garrus in a world without Shepard, and I think that’s why he’s always immediately ready to come back to the Normandy. The Normandy, and Shepard, are home for Garrus and that’s why I think romancing him feels like the natural conclusion for so many femme Sheps, because Shepard feels that way too.

Of all the companions, no one needs Shepard to live more than Garrus, and no one needs Garrus more than Shepard. They’re perfectly matched, as lovers, as friends, as soldiers, as whatever they are in your universe and when you’re that perfectly matched with someone, you never quite feel whole without them.

No Shepard without Vakarian.

[tarysande]

There are a couple more Garrus-Vakarian-related hills I'm willing to die on.

Maybe this particular bit of fanon has faded over the years, but there used to be a lot of insistence that Garrus is young and somehow inexperienced when he meets Shepard. Canon doesn't really support this. Turians start their mandatory service at 15. Garrus has at least a decade of experience. Even if he's 2-4 of years younger than Shepard (according to Patrick Weekes), he's got at least as much field experience as she does by dint of the difference in turian and human "enlistment" ages.

Garrus is really damn good at his job at C-Sec. You don't give the Case of Investigating the Rogue Spectre to a greenhorn. You give it to your best, most tenacious agent. Pallin may not always approve of Garrus's actions, but that doesn't actually stop him from putting Garrus on the tough case. Also, we don't know much about how C-Sec works but we do know a bit about how the turian hierarchy works, and we know C-Sec was essentially a turian initiative. That means it's a meritocracy where failure reflects on the superior, not the one who failed. So, in roughly a decade (Shepard's 29 in ME1; I always think of Garrus as about 27), Garrus has not only done shipboard military service, but he's also risen to be one of C-Sec's top investigators; Pallin wouldn't risk having Garrus's "failure" reflect poorly on HIM otherwise. I'd say that actually makes Garrus as remarkable in civilian law enforcement terms as Shepard is considered to be within the ranks of the Alliance military.

Of course Garrus was scouted by the Spectre program. And honestly, if his dad hadn't stepped in, I think Garrus would have become a Spectre, no problem. Especially for a turian, he's cut from precisely the cloth the Spectres would be looking for: extremely skilled, extremely capable, and--most importantly--he's a turian not just able but willing to work outside the chains of command that turians are taught from birth to revere and be loyal to above all else. This is the reason Pallin is leery about Spectres: he's a good turian. Good turians follow straight lines; they don't carve out their own paths.

Garrus's dad's not dumb, and he's not cruel, and he, too, rose to the top of the C-Sec hierarchy. He took one look at his kid, I think, and said, "I love my child, but I'd say it's a 50-50 chance he ends up a shooting-first-asking-questions-later Spectre like Saren Arterius, and I don't want to see that happen." Yeah, he uses his parental influence to try and jam square-peg-Garrus into round-hole-C-Sec and Garrus resents him for it, but there's no way he did it just to stop his son from getting his way or because he doesn't like Spectres. I expect Vakarian Sr. had to clean up more post-Spectre-interference messes than we can possibly imagine. But we also know he and Alec Ryder were pals later.

So the importance of what Garrus learns from a Paragon Spectre Shepard is this: You can't just do what you want and claim the ends always justify the means. That's what Saren does. Over and over again. Garrus's code and his idealism and his sense of justice and his ability to work alone should make him a great Spectre, actually, but he needs Paragon Spectre Shepard's actions to show him the lesson he tells her he's learned during ME1: "If the people I'm sworn to protect can't trust me... well, then I don't deserve to be the one protecting them." (And the seed of Archangel was planted.) I think for the first time he realizes that even though he believes his sense of justice to be correct, it doesn't matter for shit if he can't show others why that's so. And that's where the trust comes in. (Also, ow, the extra level of importance this gives their exchange where she tells him she trusts him and he tells her she's about the only friend he has left is... a lot. Cool, cool. I'm totally fine. Nothing to see here.)

When Shepard asks him what happened on Omega, he replies, "My feelings got in the way of my better judgement." Something tells me that this never happens to "good" turians, which just makes the line so much more devastating. And although the lesson some might take away from this is "feelings bad; no feelings ever," the "grey" that Garrus has to learn to deal with is precisely the grey of recognizing feelings, validating them even, but not acting on them until they've been examined. (Which is why my Shepard stands between him and Sidonis; she doesn't give a shit about Sidonis. But Garrus has refused to process his own feelings of failure and self-loathing, so they have to take the therapy session to the Citadel and deal with it there.)

Ahh yes. The mountain range of character analysis.

[zeroslashsix]

The “Shepard Effect” has gotten so much funnier to me as I replay Mass Effect. The thing where all Shep’s squadmates end up flying the nest and becoming big important players in their own spheres? Like the random mercenary Shep brought along to hunt Saren ended up leading his entire species, that random Quarian kiddo on her Pilgrimage ends up as her species ambassador, the Virmire survivor becomes the next human Specter, etc. It’s the effect Shepard just has on the people around them that launches their careers/destinies... except it doesn’t apply to Shepard themself. I get the marketing plan of “Commander Shepard” being the only title so they’re more recognizeable to a gamer audience, but from a military perspective it is so fucking funny that Commander Shepard doesn’t get promoted once. Like not even posthumously, not even after saving the Citadel and killing Reapers left and right, all the while their squadmates are jumping from lieutenant to major, kid to ambassador, professor to Shadow Broker. Garrus isn’t even attached to any government body, and he still goes from C-Sec officer to Omega vigilante to Reaper expert(?) in the turian Hierarchy. It’s unclear what his official position is in the third game, but we know he gets a salute from a Hierarchy general.

And here’s Shepard cruising through, still a Commander because obviously they haven’t done a single thing worthy of promotion since the first game. No, it’s fine, they’ll fix everything for you and keep killing Reapers left and right. Died in the line of duty? Just a normal tuesday for Commander Shepard, nothing noteworthy here. Yes they will be the commanding officer of a major, there is nothing strange about this rank structure. 

[unfair-water-plane]

So one thing that has always made me chuckle in ME2 is the fact that Kal’Reegar is a marine in a Quarian suit. And he fits in with Shepard easily, the same attitude and headspace and cadence (for mShep at least). And I’m sitting here at work and the thought just hit me.

What if that’s because he is a marine in a Quarian suit?

Hear me out. Kal is older than Tali, or at least gives off those vibes, and so he would have been on his pilgrimage a while ago. Like maybe right after first contact. And here are these brand new people who came out of nowhere and had apparently enough fire power and attitude to give the Turians a very brief pause. The whole galaxy wants to know more. And humanity has no idea who is out there, but surely they can’t all be like the creepy bird people?

Cue one very curious Quarian in Shanxi, just as curious an out humanity as humanity is about everything. Meeting with early alliance brass, giving them information common palace to any kid with an extranet feed but wholly new to humanity. He explains that the Quarian don’t have ground forces because they don’t have a ground, and is honest about the geth, and is like ‘so how did you make the Turian Hierarchy freak out?’

And somehow ends up observing basic training, and falls in love with it. To the point where he actively asks to go through marine boot camp in Hanshan, and is just earnest and endearing enough to be allowed. So he goes through it, puts in the work and the blood and sweat and tears and makes the kinds of friends that you sort of have on the Flotilla, but everyone also knows you are all going to separate ships eventually and getting attached is hard.

But the humans will pack bond with a robot vacuum without issue, and when they meet a Quarian who wants to learn and thinks it’s amazing that they stood up to the biggest military in the galaxy running on old fashioned rocketry and spite? The marines adopt him as one of their own. They are brothers, something most single child Quarians have no experience with, and Kal gives it back in spades. He talks like them, fights like them, jokes and learns and is like them.

And when it is over and they graduate, it’s hard to turn down the offer to stay. But humanity respects the loyalty to his people that takes him back to the fleet, and it almost brings him to tears when his graduating class passes a cap for his passage back to the fleet in more comfort than sitting on a box in a volus cargo ship.

It actually brings him to tears when his drill instructor informs him that while it might not be in great shape, Arcturus has authorized them to gift Kal’Reegar with a battered but space worthy corsair and an official greeting from the Systems Alliance to the Migrant Fleet.

The SSV Jarhead is perhaps the best gift anyone is his age range can give to a future captain, though his practical military experience is a gift to the whole fleet. It catapults him through the Quarian military, from for soldier to instructor to commander, and somewhere he hopes that his brothers and sisters are as proud of them as he is of every transmission that makes it back to him.

On Haestrom, that training keeps him alive long enough to watch his squad die, and that cuts like nothing else. But he can’t stop, because the principle is still depending on him, and until his suit gives out he has to fight to her.

But then the voice cuts through the chatter of his own mind, and he *knows it*. Knows the cadence and the phrasing, knows how a human mouth forms the phrases that he has spent years trying to teach. Commander Shepard might not be a marine, but they are a human combat specialist and the fraternity is there.

Maybe it’s just three more people who are going to die for this fools errand, but somehow Kal doesn’t think so. There are two bone deep beliefs that he will carry it’s him to either the home world or the afterlife, and it has always felt appropriate to him that they rhyme. That they sound similar, when he breathes them into the air.

Keelah Salai. Semper Fi.