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P L A Y E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Your Name: Prosodi
OOC Journal: prosodi
Under 18? If yes, what is your age?: No
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Characters Played at Ataraxion: N/A

C H A R A C T E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Name: Commander Shepard
Canon: Mass Effect (2)
Original or Alternate Universe: Original
Canon Point: Just before embarking on the suicide mission.
Number: RNG please!

Setting:

The Mass Effect universe is technically ours, albeit set in a far flung future where humans have taken to the stars and encountered alien life (with all the benefits and drawbacks one might generally expect from that sort of thing). A more detailed overview is available here.

History:

Shepard was born on Earth in the year 2154 CE. An orphan, she lived on the streets until the age of 18 when she escaped a life of petty crime by joining the military. There she was recruited to the Interplanetary Combatives Training school and eventually obtained the rank of N7. She went on to lead what might have otherwise been a distinguished but not terrible historic career if it hadn't been for the mission on Akuze where her unit was attacked by thresher maws - massive worm-like carnivorous creatures -, leaving her as the sole survivor. For surviving due to what she deemed to be extraordinary luck rather than any real kind of accomplishment, a medal was pinned to her chest and she was flung far enough into the spotlight that when it came to looking for a candidate for the first human Spectre, hers was the name that came up.

Unbeknownst to her, her examination came in the form of an assignment nominally for the purpose of testing the stealth systems of new Alliance prototype ship, the SSV Normandy. In actuality, they had jumped halfway across the galaxy to the colony of Eden Prime in order to investigate an unearthed Prothean Beacon. While meaning to recover the beacon for further study, once planetside their mission ran afoul of a rouge Spectre, Saren, who had his own plans for the device. While they ultimately managed to stop Saren from accessing the beacon, Shepard was caught in its beam and from it saw a vision. A memory. Some small piece of history jammed into her brain: of death and of destruction, something she would eventually come to recognize for what it was - a warning.

Returning to Council space, she was elevated as the first human Spectre due to her actions on Eden Prime. Pressing for the pursuit of Saren who was after something called the "Conduit", she was given command of the Normandy - though not the support of the Council. Over the course of the manhunt, it's revealed that Saren was being controlled by a being known as Sovereign who eventually was revealed to be a Reaper during an attack on Saren's base on Virmire. While the information was vital and the strike to Saren acts as a pivotal turning point, one of Shepard's squad members - Ashely Williams - was killed on Virmire. Nonetheless, the information allows them to track Saren to the Prothean planet of Ilos where they uncover information about the Reaper's modus operandi from a Prothean AI left on the planet.

The Reapers are out to cull the universe of its most advanced races, as they have done before and will do again. For this they have to use the Citadel station as a huge mass relay in order to invade Council controlled space and begin their systematic assault. Using this information, Shepard followed Saren through the Conduit to the Citadel. There she confronted him, convincing him to rebel against Sovereign's control resulting in Saren committing suicide to free himself. During the attack on the Citadel by Sovereign, she ordered the Normandy to aide the Council's ship; Sovereign was ultimately destroyed, and the Council was saved thanks to the Normandy's aid. In thanks, the Council opened a seat to a human representative for the first time and - when asked for her nomination -, Shepard suggested the human ambassador Udina for the position. However, she was determined to not become complacent; though they'd managed to defeat Sovereign, more Reapers would eventually come.

Weeks later while patrolling for geth (robotic AIs previously aligned with Saren and now fighting in support of the Repears), the SSV Normandy is attacked and destroyed by a mysterious ship. Many members of the crew are killed and Shepard dies in space from a breach in her suit. Her body is recovered by the pro-humanism organization, Cerberus. After nearly two years, Shepard wakes up to discover Cerberus has brought her back to life using bioengineering and cybernetic technology - termed the "Lazarus Project." The head of Cerberus, The Illusive Man, explains that human colonies are disappearing across the galaxy and she's been brought back to life to investigate and stop the Collectors - an insect-like race that the Reapers are now working through. She is given a mission: build a team of her choosing and stop the Collectors from where they come from beyond the Omega-4 Relay, a Bermuda triangle of spacefaring from which no ship or crew has ever returned. Shepard is given command of the new Normandy SR-2 (piloted as ever by Jeff "Joker" Moreau, newly equipped with an AI named EDI. Two Cerberus agents, Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson, also accompany her.

Shepard builds her team by recruiting people she's worked with in the past - Garrus Vakarian and Tali'Zorah nar Rayya - and specialized individuals recommended in part by The Illusive Man. During this recruitment, they manage to pinpoint and eventually turn back a Collector attack on a human colony, though many of the colonists are collected before they arrive. Eventually the Illusive Man alerts Shepard to the location of a disabled Collector ship. Boarding the ship, Shepard and her squad encounter no resistance and they learn exactly what the Collectors are: once Protheans before the last Reaper culling, they've now been turned into Reaper slaves. Corrupted as they are, they now work solely for forwarding the Reaper agenda. Using the technology in the Collector ship, Shepard and EDI discover how to bypass the Omega-4 Relay. Before they can leave the ship, the squad is ambushed by Collectors. Though they eventually manage to escape, it's clear the Illusive Man knew of the potential ambush he was sending them into.

Though Shepard's working relationship is understandably... strained by this, her relationship with her crew only grows. With the knowledge on how to get through the Omega-4 Relay but no IFF drive with which to do it, there's time to do some housekeeping: a series of missions takes them around the galaxy at the behest of various crew members in order to gain their loyalty, the only failing of which is Miranda Lawson. After the destruction of a Cerberus research facility where the powerful biotic Jack was held as a child, Jack and Miranda's bickering reaches a crescendo. Knowing a thing or two about being a kid alone in the world, Shepard sides with Jack and Miranda resents her for it. On the other hand, over the course of these missions, Shepard finds herself growing close to the drell assassin Thane Krios. After successfully helping him save his son, the two of them enter into a relationship.

When the presence of a derelict Reaper is discovered, Shepard can finally get her IFF transponder to pass through the Omega-4 relay. An inactive geth is also recovered. Shepard activates it and the geth, known by the designation "Legion", joins her squad. While the IFF is installed into the Normandy's systems, Shepard and her squad leave on a shuttle to do one last mission: helping Legion to destroy a Reaper virus meant to turn the rest of the geth into heretics like the ones currently fighting against organic life. The virus is stopped and the heretic geth are rewritten. However, while Shepard is away, the Normandy is attacked by Collectors. Only Joker manages to escape being captured by the Collectors; with EDI's assistance, they get the Normandy away from the Collector's ship.

Shepard and her squad rejoin the Normandy and they use the Omega-4 relay to go after the kidnapped crew. They manage to make it to the Collector base in time and successfully rescue the crew. As they make their way to the heart of the Collector base, they discover the Reapers are creating a new Reaper made from the genetic material of the humans collected from the colonies - humans ground up to their basest elements to create a monster. With a few squad mates defending the door, the machine powering the human Reaper is destroyed and Shepard prepares to detonate the Collector's base. However, the Illusive Man contacts her and urges her to instead sterilize the base so the information it holds can be preserved and used in turn to fight the Reapers. Shepard refuses - she destroys the human Reaper and escapes the Collector's base before it detonates. However the mission to the Collector base doesn't come without casualties: Miranda is killed while helping defend the door.

Back on the Normandy, the Illusive Man criticizes Shepard for her choice to destroy the Collector base. Shepard essentially tells him to go to hell - but regardless humanity now has made itself a massive target. Out in the far reaches of the universe, in the dark space beyond the galaxy, the Reapers awaken and make for their final attack.

Personality:

Shepard is forward motion personified. Hers is an exercise in duty and honor while simultaneously disregarding both if it means doing better than either of those concepts would allow her to. As a relic of her time spent roving in gangs and looking out for her own well-being, Shepard is obedient to her superiors when they demand her respect (crossing Anderson, for example, would be unthinkable) and dismissive of those in positions of authority when she thinks they don't deserve it (how many times can someone hang up on the Council or smart mouth back at the individual personally funding her Reaper vendetta? I don't know; let's try it a lot and see how far we get). She is strength and persistence in what is nonetheless the vulnerable body of a woman characterized by the triumphs and failings of one: she is passionately protective of her friends they return her affection with their loyalty, loving deeply while simultaneously flawed by her own experiences and bias. For example, she cherishes Kaidan's friendship but the moment he questions her own loyalty, she takes that hurt to heart. Suffice to say, Shepard finds forgiveness difficult. She values honesty and forthrightness, but that sometimes makes her out to be blunt and unapproachable.

Despite her strong sense of self, Shepard is quick to disregard her own safety for that of others even if it's not necessarily the most prudent decision to make. She did the last man standing thing once before - riding in the shuttle from Akuze and getting renown for it like she'd done something remarkable by not dying - and doesn't like the idea of doing it again. More to the point: she doesn't save much consideration for herself when there are more important to worry about, to accomplish. She needs to take care of her crew, her ship, her paperwork. And while she would insist that she trusts the people around her to do their duty (and to an extent she does: trusts Garrus to not miss a shot, Miranda to be unflinchingly prudent), she is inherently a micro manager and counts on her body to fall in line with what she requires of it, no arguments. In all other things she tends to be sensible or least has reasoning that's easily understood. She is cautious when it counts (she isn't stupid - sometimes it's a tactical advantage to hold rather than charge) and ballsy when it doesn't. She doesn't suffer fools lightly; if you're not a friend and looking for trouble, she'll happily let you find it. That said, because of her own internalized sense of duty and What's Right, Shepard can be less open minded than she thinks she is. She tends to value instinct over logic, quick decisive action over anything else; Shepard's no diplomat and while her priorities are generally good ones, she can be critical of the things she doesn't deem pressing or necessary even when they're important to others.

But while her sense of humor may be a little black, she does have one. She's generous with her time and eager to listen, eager to ask questions (even if she might deem your opinions kind of stupid once they leave your mouth). She's a soldier - she knows about sacrifice and duty and honor, but she also knows about shore leave and laughing with friends; having too many shots in bars; the value of playing a really excellent hand of cards when it counts (and that the appeal isn't just in the credits won, but the look on someone's face when she does it - call it a bad habit or a little self indulgence, but she kind of likes winning).

Ultimately, Shepard is simple. She pushes when pushed, she bites when bitten, she loves and is loved. She gives what she gets.

Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations:

Though undeniably human, Shepard does possess extensive cybernetic implants thanks the Cerberus' Lazarus Project. These implants do give her some enhancements she might not have otherwise, though they put her in a top percentile of human performance and do not give her any superhuman abilities (i.e. she can be considered extremely strong/fit for her build). Shepard's not going to be punching through metal doors any time soon, but she she pack a wallop, can run faster for longer than most, etc. Furthermore her training in leadership and combat tactics has enhanced a natural wit and, generally speaking, she's also a damn good shot.

Inventory:
Nothing. No really.

Appearance:

Shepard is about 5'10 with an athletic build. She has dark skin, long black hair that she keeps pulled up into a sensible bun, and dark eyes. Though pretty in some lights (especially if you're a fan of big noses), Shepard's demeanor and her no-nonsense approach to her own appearance tends to undermine any natural good looks she might have.

Age: 31 (She chooses to count the time she was, y'know, a bit dead. Otherwise things get too weird.)

AU Clarification: N/A

S A M P L E S
Log Sample:

It's not something she'll admit to now, but the initial discovery of the Cyllene had sent up a flare of hope: a secret kind of anticipation, the sort of thing Shepard tries not to consciously allow herself. And for good reason. The gentle hiss of air as the docking bay doors opens, leading to the hollow lounge of the Cyllene, is like a pinprick to the balloon of emotion riding high in her chest. She'd been hoping for someone, anyone, and instead it's just another empty graveyard - half made bunks, uneaten meals, soap in the bottom of the showers and towels on the floors of bathroom compartments.

A rudimentary attempt to access the station's comms doesn't yield anything explicitly helpful, but from what she finds Shepard is pretty sure she can find her way to the bridge. Maybe if she's very lucky (and she's self aware enough to know she's got that in spades), there will be some kind of AI there.

--Ship logs. Captain's notes. Something.

So Shepard moves off in the direction of her best guess, feeling naked without a pistol. And while every empty corridor and bone quiet room pushes the line of her shoulders tauter, she'll be damned if a few hollow spaces manage to get under her skin. Because what kind of ship doesn't have some kind of record of where it's been and where it's going?

She chooses to ignore that, for all intents and purposes, she's just come from one.

Comms Sample:

[It doesn't take Shepard long to take to the network. Closed ship communication isn't exactly a new concept to her and while there's a whole lot of questions that spring to her mind, she's eager to get one thing sorted out first.]

To whoever thought it was a good idea to break into my locker and take all my things: it wasn't.

[The woman on the video feed may have a cheerful edge to her voice, but it's clearly fabricated - belied by her furrowed brow and how her mouth falls into a sharp, severe line between words. As soon as Shepard had realized that everyone else seemed to have things left to them in their lockers while hers had been suspiciously empty of pretty much anything other than a few changes of apparently standard issue clothes, she'd jumped to the only logical conclusion: someone stole her shit.]

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume it was an accident. If you have my armor or tags or anything with the name Shepard on it-- [She doesn't even know what else could've been there, but there had to have been something.] --just put it back where you found it by the 1300 hours and we'll call it even.

[See? Perfectly reasonable of her. None of this makes any sense to her, but let no one say that Commander Shepard of the Normandy can't roll with the punches and put on a nice face despite it all.]

If I find you with it after that, I'll throw you out the nearest airlock.