Chapter Text
Here's a link to the Mass Effect Wiki for those curious: https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/Mass_Effect_Wiki
Commander Jane Shepard Jane Shepard was born in space on April 11, 2154, is a graduate of the Systems Alliance N7 special forces program (service no. 5923-AC-2826), a veteran of the Skyllian Blitz where she earned the Star of Terra, and is initially assigned to the SSV Normandy in 2183 as Executive Officer, with a Systems Alliance rank of Lieutenant Commander. Shepard later becomes the first human to join the Spectres, an elite special task force for the Citadel Council.
Ashley Madeline Williams
Born on April 14th, 2158[1] on the colony world Sirona in the 61 Ursae Majoris system, Ashley comes from a large family that includes a long line of Alliance soldiers: her great-grandmother, her grandfather, and her father all swore the Oath of Service.
Following her family's tradition, Ashley enlisted in the Alliance Navy as a marine after high school and was assigned to the Recruit Training Depot in Macapá, Brazil. During training, Chief Williams was certified proficient with the standard-issue M7 Lancer assault rifle and light to standard-weight combat hardsuits. She also completed certification in zero-gravity combat aboard the Rakesh Sharma Orbital Platform in Earth geosynchronous orbit. For Hostile Environment Assault Training, she was assigned to Fort Charles Upham on Titan, one of Saturn's moons, where 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 squad leader. Subsequently Ashley is promoted again to platoon guide after her effective tutelage of the less skilled members of her training unit. Her platoon had logged unanimous positive feedback on her leadership in a recent fitness review cycle, and fellow soldier Private Nirali Bhatia praised her focus on team-building exercises and "tough but fair" discipline.
Despite glowing performance reviews, Ashley was denied further opportunities for advancement. Having served on numerous groundside garrisons she has repeatedly requested a transfer to a shipboard posting, but each request had been denied, without explicit reasons.
Ashley's Military Vocational Code is B4 and her blood type is B-Positive. She had received genetic enhancements including in-utero vision correction (maternal predisposition for nearsightedness) and the Class-B Alliance Infantry Upgrade Package.
Garrus Vakarian is a turian, formerly part of C-Sec's Investigation Division. Like most turians, Garrus had his military training at fifteen, but later followed in his father's footsteps to become a C-Sec officer. He was responsible for the investigation of Saren Arterius, the Council's top Spectre, after the Alliance claimed Saren had gone rogue. Although Garrus was told that the investigation was over, he decided to defy the Executor's order and pursue another lead on his own. Eventually, Garrus attempts to join Commander Shepard's team to help defeat Saren and the geth.
Kaidan Alenko
Kaidan was born in 2151 into a family already familiar with space: his father served in the Alliance military. After his mother was downwind of a transport crash in Singapore, Kaidan was exposed in utero to element zero and beat the odds, gaining biotic potential instead of terminal brain cancer. At the time little was known about human biotics, but when the possibilities became better understood, a company called Conatix Industries was set up to track accidental eezo exposures. Children who showed enough potential to be worth augmenting with implants were 'encouraged' to attend BAaT (Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training) which was conducted at Gagarin Station and nicknamed 'Brain Camp' by its attendees. As Kaidan tells Shepard, "[b]unch of guys in suits show up at your door after school. Next thing you know, you're out on Jump Zero."
At BAaT, Kaidan developed a close relationship with a girl named Rahna, though they never consummated it. Along with several other teenagers, Kaidan began his training, but things went bad almost from the start. Conatix wanted to speed the work along and brought in an ex-military turian, Commander Vyrnnus, who was an expert in biotics but also a veteran of the First Contact War who disliked humans. Vyrnnus introduced himself by saying "I was at the helm of the dreadnought that killed your father", and Kaidan retorted that his father hadn't even been in the war. Vyrnnus had it in for Kaidan after that, and began pushing the teenagers very hard. Kaidan recalls: "You either came out a superman or a wreck. A lot of kids snapped. A few died."
Finally, the inevitable happened and Vyrnnus went too far. Rahna reached for a glass of water instead of moving it biotically. Vyrnnus punished Rahna by breaking her arm and Kaidan tried to defend her, only to receive a beating from Vyrnnus. When the turian pulled a knife, Kaidan lost control and hit him with a full biotic kick, breaking Vyrnnus' neck. After Vyrnnus' death, BAaT was shut down and the records were sealed to hide the Alliance's mistakes. Though Rahna was safe from Vyrnnus, she was afraid of Kaidan after that and the two parted ways.
Kaidan dropped off the radar for a while to figure things out, feeling lost and paralyzed after Jump Zero, but eventually came back to the Alliance in 2173 — on his terms this time — because he wanted to serve. Refusing further biotic training or an implant retrofit, he enlisted in the Alliance Navy and worked his way up to Lieutenant, gaining several special commendations in the process despite the health problems he suffered with his L2 implants; these manifested as intense migraines that left him sensitive to bright lights and noise. Finally Kaidan was transferred to the SSV Normandy under Captain Anderson, where he later worked alongside Commander Shepard.
Dr. Liara T'Soni
The only child of Matriarch Benezia, Liara was raised by her mother alone. She knew little of who her father was, only that it was another asari. Liara is a pureblood, a fact she speculates to be a reason why her "father" seemingly did not wish to be identified.
From an early age Liara became fascinated with the Protheans, seeing them as wondrous, mysterious figures. Growing up, she did not relish her role as Benezia's daughter and has shied away from her mother's life as an important figure in galactic affairs. Benezia's position meant Liara faced high expectations from everyone. Liara chose a career in archaeology to indulge her interests and to escape the pressures of being the daughter of such a prominent figure. Because of her work, Liara spent most of her time in contented solitude.
Her work eventually took her to Knossos in the Artemis Tau cluster, to the site of a Prothean ruin on the mining planet Therum. When geth forces showed up on the world in 2183, Liara hid in the old catacombs and activated its barrier curtains. However, she accidentally suspended herself in an energy field, unable to move unless someone else came and freed her.
Tali'Zorah nar Rayya is a quarian and a member of Commander Shepard's squad. She is the daughter of Rael'Zorah, a member of the Admiralty Board. Though young, Tali is a mechanical genius.
Urdnot Wrex
A famed krogan mercenary and bounty hunter, Urdnot Wrex is also one of the last Krogan Battlemasters: rare individuals who combine powerful biotic abilities with the devastating firepower of advanced weaponry. A long-lived krogan who has had many adventures, Wrex has heard of Commander Shepard during his travels, and respects the Commander as a fellow warrior.
Despite his chosen path of violence and killing for credits, Wrex is deeply concerned with the fate of his people after the genophage, and is one of the few planning for a new krogan future.
David Edward Anderson is a human war hero and the original captain of the SSV Normandy. Anderson was born on June 8, 2137 to Ursula and Paul Anderson, a nurse and flight mechanic respectively, in the city of London on Earth, and was the last of three children by his parents' second marriage. Anderson is one of the Alliance's most decorated special forces operatives, and the first to graduate from the N7 Special Forces program at Arcturus Station, serving with honor in the First Contact War.
Flight Lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Moreau is the pilot of the SSV Normandy. Joker is an excellent pilot and confident to the point of arrogance, wasting no time in pointing out his prowess to others. He's quick to ensure everyone knows his many accomplishments and commendations were all earned, and not due to charity for his medical problems.
Ambassador Donnel Udina is a human diplomat stationed at the Citadel. He is humanity's most recent ambassador to the Council races (the first was Anita Goyle) and is determined to advance human interests wherever possible. Udina is mistrustful or at least apprehensive of Commander Shepard, particularly after the Commander's induction into the Spectres. Udina often requires solid, irrefutable proof of anything before acting, a trait which often conflicts with Shepard's goals. Udina plays the political game, refusing to rock the boat if it might endanger his standing—and therefore humanity's—with the Citadel Council
Saren Arterius, born 2139, is the longest serving turian member of the Spectres, the elite 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.
Jacob Taylor is a human biotic and a former Alliance Marine under the command of Major Derek Izunami. He resigned after surviving the geth attack on Eden Prime. He is also part of Commander Shepard's squad during the suicide mission. Jacob is a highly experienced fighter, and is skilled in the use of weapons and biotics. He works professionally alongside Miranda Lawson, who functions as his informant and later as his superior officer.
asumi Goto is the galaxy's most enigmatic thief and has enemies everywhere, but only a few could put a name to her face. She is a master of stealth and infiltration.
Miranda Lawson is a human Cerberus Officer. Miranda is very well traveled and has many contacts, extending from Citadel space and the Terminus Systems, to as far as the hostile Nemean Abyss. Her vast network of contacts may be explained by the fact Miranda is a known Cerberus operative, one who still has friends — or at least friends of friends — in the Alliance military. She has served at various times as a contact for Jacob Taylor and a member of Commander Shepard's crew.
Mordin Solus is a salarian geneticist, professor, and a former operative of the Special Tasks Group, where he performed reconnaissance and participated in the modification of the genophage. In 2185, he is recruited by Commander Shepard to assist in a high-risk mission against the Collectors. Mordin has a moral character best described as consequentialist, believing the ends justify the means, though he dislikes taking life without good cause. His actions are often guided by an impersonal logic, refusing to let his conscience, personal, and emotional connections cloud his judgment of what he believes is truly best in the big picture. Though he is affable, quick-talking and friendly, Mordin bears physical scars of his time in the STG and is still handling the consequences of his past.
Samara is a nearly thousand-year-old asari justicar, a member of an ancient monastic order following a strict honor code. Though she is skilled with weapons, Samara usually relies on her powerful biotic abilities. Justicars rarely leave asari space, but Samara's pursuit of justice has brought her to Illium.
Thane Krios is a drell assassin, rumored to be the most skilled in the galaxy. Unlike most assassins, who prefer to snipe their targets from a distance, Thane prefers to get up close and kill his target personally, utilizing a mixture of stealth, firearms, hand-to-hand combat and biotic abilities. Despite his profession, Thane is a deeply spiritual man who prays for success in his missions. Thane asks for forgiveness after each kill, even going as far as to ignore those in his immediate vicinity until he is finished doing so.
Zaeed Massani is a feared, respected bounty hunter and mercenary soldier. Cerberus has contracted Zaeed to assist Commander Shepard in the mission to save mankind. In exchange, Zaeed requires help to complete another mission he had accepted beforehand, which is to liberate an Eldfell-Ashland Energy refinery from Blue Suns control.
Aria T'Loak is the de facto ruler of Omega, the nominal capital of the Terminus Systems. Also known as the "Pirate Queen" of Omega, Aria is fiercely possessive of the space station and will do anything to protect it and maintain her dominance.
The Enhanced Defense Intelligence, or EDI (pronounced 'Ee-Dee' [ˈiːdiː]), is an AI created by Cerberus and installed aboard the Normandy SR-2. She is represented visually by a holographic blue sphere and aurally with a feminine voice at various terminals throughout the ship where she can provide basic information about the Normandy and Cerberus.
The Illusive Man is the elusive, secretive, and well-informed leader of Cerberus. He has close-cropped silver-grey hair with "steely blue" eyes which appear to be prosthetic. The Illusive Man's real name and his life before Cerberus are both long forgotten by most. For years, the Illusive Man has been using Cerberus and his immense network of contacts to achieve his goal - that of making humanity ascendant above all other races. He is described as having the best and worst traits of humanity rolled into one man.
Dr. Karin Chakwas is the human doctor of the SSV Normandy. She enlisted in the Alliance soon after she graduated from medical school, originally seeking "exotic adventure". Even after the realities of service sobered her outlook, she stayed with the Alliance out of a sense of duty to humanity, eventually earning the rank of major. Though she sometimes considers starting her own private practice, or going to work at a medical center on one of the colonies, she feels that "there is something special about working on soldiers", and believes she would be abandoning them if she did not stay. Like most Alliance doctors, she has taken courses in alien biology, enabling her to treat any non-human crew members.
Kelly Chambers is Commander Shepard's yeoman on the Normandy SR-2 in 2185. In addition to her duties as yeoman, she is also a psychologist and will offer insight into each new addition to the squad.
The Shadow Broker is an enigmatic figure at the head of an expansive organization which trades in information, always selling to the highest bidder. The Shadow Broker appears to be highly competent at its trade: all secrets that are bought and sold never allow one customer of the Broker to gain a significant advantage, forcing the customers to continue trading information to avoid becoming disadvantaged, allowing the Broker to remain in business.
Lieutenant James Vega is a human Systems Alliance Marine and a member of Commander Shepard's squad in 2186. While Vega is an experienced soldier, he is unfamiliar with the seedy underbelly and political workings of the galaxy.
Lieutenant Gregory Adams is a human Earth Systems Alliance engineer in the 22nd century. He was hand-picked by Captain David Anderson to serve as the Chief Engineer of the SSV Normandy. Engineer Adams has served on every class of Alliance starships. Prior to being assigned to the Normandy, Adams served on the SSV Tokyo, which he describes as a "good ship" but added that the SSV Tokyo "couldn't hold a candle to the Normandy". Adams becomes very enthusiastic while discussing the Normandy, claiming she is the best ship he has ever served on.
Lieutenant Steve Cortez is an Alliance pilot aboard the Normandy SR-2 in 2186, where he pilots the UT-47A Kodiak that transports Commander Shepard and squad to mission locations
Admiral Steven Hackett is a top-ranking official of the Alliance Navy and commanding officer of the Fifth Fleet. He is based at Arcturus Station.
Specialist Samantha Traynor Her parents were originally from London, but they preferred the freedom of colony life. Samantha spent some time in England when she attended Oxford University. Her parents didn't have money for sending her to a university, but she was able to pursue her studies as the Alliance offered her full scholarship after seeing her aptitude scores. She has a strong British RP (Received Pronunciation) accent.
Kai Leng is an assassin working for the human-survivalist organization Cerberus. Leng was formerly a lieutenant and N7 marine in the Systems Alliance known for having anti-alien attitudes. He is described as being Earth-born with Chinese and Russian/Slavic heritage, with the Chinese being the dominant of the two.
Henry Lawson is a powerful businessman who was obsessed with securing a way to make his mark on history - namely, by creating a "genetic dynasty". Rather than have a normal family, Henry took his own DNA and doubled his X chromosome to create a daughter, Miranda, whom he ensured would have "desirable traits." Miranda was not the first offspring engineered in such a way, but she was the first one Henry kept. Henry spoiled Miranda growing up, giving her everything she wanted, but there was always a hook, an angle designed to fit his long term plan for her. Eventually, Henry grew dissatisfied with Miranda and used her DNA to create a more ideal heiress, Oriana
These are the principle characters you'll encounter, although there are many others. If you want to know more about a character, please let me know through the comments.