#udina

[neb-art-zeke]

My credits are on Anderson

[shadoedseptmbr]

the other story that got almost as many votes in the poll was the second entry in The Devil You Know series that i'm writing with @alchemist-after-dark, Devil in the Details

so have a teensy little preview:

“I want you on the ship.” Anderson’s voice was flatter than usual, a sign that he was going to take no shit from his superiors. She stared out the office window towards the stream of skycars as Hackett and Udina bickered on screen.

“Operational Alien Liaison for the Alliance. We’re towing a turian and that krogan in our wake, already. Telos wants us to go after that matriarch’s daughter. Keeps me out of the command loop but gives me some leeway, shows the council we’re cooperating but gives the Alliance the appearance of full authority if the brass gets shirty.” Hackett’s cleared throat got an innocent look, “Other brass, sir, you’d never get shirty.”

“Delightful.” Udina muttered.

“Elegant enough solution, Commander. Keeps you a little freer for other missions, if we need you.”

“That work, Captain?” C’mon, boss. Give a little.

His rumbly bass conceded. “It works.”

[brekkie-e]

Cowards being too scared to hate Kaiden these days is a real shame ngl

[mercyshepard]

[suimase]

DARKSTONE - STORIES RADIATA

[detectiveneve]

governor ivenci being almost comedically written to be the unlikable slimy politician who doesn't like the Super Cool Rogue Team that is constantly undermining the system that it actually kind of operates and functions as basically a group/mafia that rules by fear but, like, in a cool way. and ivenci has zero redeeming qualities from the writing and we the player are meant to see them as ineffectual and without merit. because the game thinks the crows are super cool and so therefore we think the crows are super cool. without question. no nuance. close enough welcome back mass effect ambassador udina.

[a-midnight-rest]

I always found Anderson's absolute and total faith in Shepard to be weird in Mass Effect 1, but it was balanced by the fact that he was wrong about Saren in the end. Saren was not out to kill humans at all, in fact he probably started with the best of intentions before being indoctrinated. And he was ready to smack Udina down!

Udina was an ass, but at least he was the only one. The Council members were bothersome, but it made sense. Shepard was, in their eyes, an hypercompetent soldier with wild conspiracy theories. Probably not the first "eccentric" personality they had to deal with among the Spectres :p

Things got out of hand progressively though, with the fate of the universe starting to weight on Shepard and the Council becoming completely obtuse and useless. The game treated dealing with Cerberus as a grey choice, but it also clearly said that they were the only one doing things because the rest of the Galaxy was slowed by "red tape" and "procedures". The same kind of excuse used by cops to justify why they should have the right to just shoot people and cuff people at will. Mass Effect 3 is absolutely off the rails, it's not even funny.

Ever noticed that we never hear about any human civilian government? The Alliance is a military organization that everyone on Earth accepted as the De Facto representative of Humanity because they answered militarily during the occupation of Shanxi, which was seen as a good thing. We don't even know if they are elected. I sometimes day dream about the Alliance being a fascist organization, controlling Earth through the threat of cutting the resources from the colonies, leaving all nations under its thrall, and those who wish to escape it have no choice but to flee into the Terminus systems.

I was replaying Mass effect 3 after finishing 1&2 and I just can't gather the energy to care. The huge militarism and "I hate diplomats" and "Poiticians are always wrong while military is always right" is a huge turn off.

I wan't make two steps before I am reminded that the only ones with common sense and bravery are the military personel and the civilians who obey them.

Damn. I had had it modded to hell too.

Welp, I'll see about Andromeda. I seem to remember it not being as caricatural when i played it, and I'm sure there are lots of mods now.

[edenprime]

The main galactic power players, post-war:

First of all, the krogan. At the very least, the krogan must get a seat in the council. If a named/old character has to be the one to hold it, it should be Bakara. Wrex should rule a unified Tuchanka. Their help was instrumental in holding Palaven, and as a consequence, humanity and the turians. I can see all three peoples become closer allies. Tension would remain, especially between the turians and the krogan, rightfully so. However, I can see the Hierarchy, under Victus, finally start to pay reparations for the genophage.

An initial offer is made to get turian workers to Tuchanka, to help physically rebuild the planet's main cities. This is completely vetoed by the krogan leadership, obviously. These guys were doing secret operations like a year ago to disable a gigantic bomb they had buried in their planet to destroy them. They agree on raw materials + monetary compensation until krogan population reaches pre-genophage and post-industrialization, but pre-expansion numbers. A surviving Shepard that keeps working as a Spectre would totally mediate the negotiations as an impartial observer. It is also yet another show of cooperation between all three peoples.

Now, the asari... would they get any sort of penalty for hiding the Athame beacon? Would it all get swept under the rug due to corruption? Would it be purposefuly "forgiven" due to the galaxy-wide destruction? Let's be real - if they had revealed the secret as soon as the Alliance and its allies started building the Crucible, they would've defeated the reapers much sooner. Hell, maybe Thessia would've been spared - it's attacked after the Crucible plans are found on Mars, with enough time to spare to give Alliance officials (including one very annoyed human spectre) the information.

Even if they didn't know that the beacon held information on how to destroy the reapers, it was known that a weapon of prothean origin was being built, and they had information that came straight from the protheans. If the matriarchs had any common sense, they'd start offering asari help to rebuild say...the Citadel. The keepers were basically reaper tech, right? So it stands to reason that they would've died with them, too. Now, if the others had any common sense they would refuse the generous offer and get their hands on it first (when both humans and turians call dibs, Done-With-Your-Shit Shepard says it should be the asari, under strict council supervision).

Salarians! They did not withhold crucial information, but they actively tried to sabotage the biggest war alliance by trying to ruin the cure for the genophage, and withholding support when they didn't get their way. To save face, the STG could try to make it seem like it was the Dalatrass acting alone, have her replaced, and profusely apologize. They are not formally penalized, but their political influence is definitely diminished. Again, the krogan are now among the most influential species, and the humans and the turians didn't get any help from the salarians, either. The asari chose to stay impartial in that mess, and look how it turned out for them. As such, they'll both need to keep a low profile until things have significantly cooled down.

The quarians would have no interest in joining, I believe. They'll be high on the thrill of getting their planet back. They'll need to completely reorganize their entire society, so galaxy-wide politics would take a backseat for a while. They are used to self-sufficiency and ostatrization for everyone else, so I can't see them being too keen on them, too.

Unfortunately, I don't think the "secondary" species/worlds would get much more influence or power. Some of them, like the volus and the elcor contributed a non-insignificant ammout to the war effort. However, allowing the volus into the council would be a conflict of interest: they are a client race to the turians, so unless they became completely independent for a long while, they wouldn't get that seat. Since elcor made a similar contribution, it would be unfair if they got it and the volus didn't, so no more seats for anyone. The drell don't even have their own planet, and the overall contribution from them and the hanar was not significant enough to change much of their status. Of course, all of these are excuses. The big power players are just not keen on sharing, just like before. After all, politicians will be politicians, and a sense of unity only goes so far.

[in-faithwe-conquer]

Ambassador Udina: Anderson? What are you doing here? I didn't send for -- hunh. Shepard: Let's go. Get out of here, Joker. Now!

[luckyspacerabbit]

[spacevixen2024]

If it weren't for that pesky Council...

[taashlok]

Anderson? What are you doing here? I didn't send-

[niriaveil]

do you think doctor chakwas sends anderson routine health reports on shepard just so he can have peace of mind

[fictionisthebetterreality]

At least we threw one hell of a party. Probably the last one.

Last one until you finish kicking the reapers asses, you mean. Because that's the plan.

-

Mass Effect 3 - Citadel DLC

[kaidanalenkosprmanager]

THE BEST OF PRIORITY: THE CITADEL (PART 1)

Featuring: Cmdr. Sophie Shepard, Lt. James Vega, EDI, and Thane Krios With: Flight Lt. Jeff "Joker" Moreau, Councilor Rannadril Bibsos Tembin Lesti Bensin Valern, Cmdr. Armando-Owen Bailey, and Kai Leng Kalahira, this one's heart is pure, but beset by wickedness and contention. Guide this one to where the traveler never tires, the lover never leaves, the hungry never starve. Guide this one, Kalahira, and she will be a companion to you as she was to me. Mass Effect 3: Legendary Edition (2021)

[acciokaidanalenko]

Taking on the Universe: Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One: The Past is History

Summary: Anderson finally tells Natasha about his past with Saren.

CW/TW: None

Preview of chapter below the cut. AO3 link: here.

Natasha left the Elcor-Volus embassy, the door hissing shut behind her, and headed down the hall to Ambassador Udina's office. Her expert gaze swept over her surroundings, taking stock of all who were present. Several Humans lounged around the room. Some mingled at a table set on the far left, while others relaxed in chairs to her right. The centerpiece of the room, the ambassador's large desk, sat empty. Clearly Udina hadn't yet arrived. Captain Anderson stood at the rear of the office, leaning dejectedly against the railing of the balcony which overlooked the Presidium. The sound of the door closing behind her drew the captain's attention. He turned his head to glance in her direction and beckoned to her with a wave of his hand. She hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to expect. She crossed the room at his urging, ignoring any stares from the other visitors as she approached. "Glad you made it, Shepard. We should talk," Anderson said to her as she reached him. He stooped back down onto the railing. She followed his lead, leaning down beside him and watching the slow-moving groups walking along the pedways below. "Oof, you sound so serious. Should I be worried?" she asked, only half joking. Anderson chuckled softly and smiled at her, his eyes quickly searching her face before he turned away. A light breeze, manufactured by the Citadel's environmental controls to simulate outdoor conditions, blew by them. He let out a heavy sigh as he adjusted his position on the railing. "How much did Kris ever tell you about the First Contact War?" Natasha stopped to think for a moment, shaking her head slowly as nothing came to mind. "Don't think he ever did." Despite his ever-growing collection of photos and willingness to reminisce about the past, he'd never mentioned any of the things he'd seen and done during those few months of war with the Turians. Natasha, at the age of three, had been too young at the time to remember anything about it. Anderson hummed and nodded his head, as if he'd expected that answer. "It may have been short, compared to most wars we know of in Human history, but it was just as harrowing to experience. We lost 623 soldiers, mostly in the first skirmish and the initial conflict on Shanxi. I don't know the exact numbers for the Turians' losses, but they were slightly more than ours when all was said and done. It wasn't the best introduction to the galactic community," Anderson began. His voice sounded distant as his gaze remained focused on the Presidium pedways below. "I was a fresh N7 graduate, only a first lieutenant when it happened. Everything was... chaotic, for a time, as Humanity tried to settle in among the Citadel races. About eight years after First Contact, that's when I met Saren."