What did you do today in ME?

Jeph Shepard:

- Landed on Feros and took along Wrex and Kaidan. First thing, I watched a guy there to greet us gunned down by the geth. Made our way to Fai Dan, the leader of the colonists. Along the way, I met a lot of people who I'm convinced at batshit crazy. Still, I helped the colony out by removing the geth and getting utilities working. Why? Humans can't rise to take our rightful place in the galaxy if our colonies all fail.

Karen Shepard, Soldier, ME2 cont'd:

Krogan DMZ: Tuchanka - Grunt's Pilgrimage Rite of Passage

Commander Shepard returned to Urdnot headquarters on Tuchanka, accompanied by Grunt and Tali. They were looking for information on whatever condition Grunt had that made him so agitated and prone to fits of rage. The guard captain bluntly told them there was “nothing wrong” with Grunt, but wouldn't give any details, referring them once again to the clan leader.

First, Shepard checked in with the Scout Leader to ensure that the scout who'd been captured by Weyrloc had returned safely. She then passed on the combustion manifold she'd salvaged to the mechanic working on the tomkah, and had a conversation with Fortack, Lord High Researcher for Clan Urdnot, about “the genious of krogan science.” Urz the varren followed them everywhere they went, no doubt hoping Shepard would give him more pyjak meat as a snack.

Wrex still seemed to be “in talks” with Gatatog Uvenk - Shepard wondered how Uvenk had avoided getting stomped into goo by this point, given Wrex's obvious disdain for him.

He confirmed that there was no medical issue with Grunt, his blood rage was just him “being a krogan.” The problem was that Grunt was clanless, which meant that he lacked a purpose and a sense of belonging. He would be killed by other krogan if he remained on Tuchanka, as “the clanless are not respected”, something Uvenk made perfectly clear. Being tank bred by Okeer wasn't winning Grunt any points on the krogan homeworld either.

Wrex offered to help out by giving Grunt membership in clan Urdnot. This was the last straw for Uvenk, who stormed off. No one missed him.

The Urdnot leader informed them that Grunt would have to undergo the Rite of Passage to be allowed into clan Urdnot. Tali likened it to the quarian Pilgrimage, but Wrex didn't seem too interested in comparing and contrasting the coming-of-age rituals of different species. He referred them to the Shaman for clan Urdnot for details on what was required to begin the Rite.

Shepard and her team went to see the Shaman, and sure enough found Uvenk there complaining about Urdnot offering clan membership to a tank bred. The Shaman got a good laugh when Shepard pointed out Uvenk was acting more like a politician than a warrior. When Uvenk tried to tell the Shaman what he could and couldn't do he was quickly put in his place, and walked away muttering that he “had other ways to oppose this.” Once again, no one was sorry to see him go. The Shaman claimed that Uvenk was forbidden to interfere with the Rite, but seemed sceptical that it would stop him from trying.

The Shaman informed Grunt that he would have to undergo a series of trials alongside his krantt. Shepard and Tali volunteered to be in Grunt's krantt; the Shaman scoffed at the idea that “shipmates and comrades” was the same as a krantt, but didn't' object.

The team travelled to the arena where the Rite was to be held. It involved fighting off waves of varren and klixen. Shepard and Tali didn't enjoy it quite as much as Grunt did - he seemed to be having the time of his life - but they emerged unscathed. The final test was to hold off an attack by a thresher maw for five minutes. Not only did they outlast the creature, but they managed to kill it before the time was up.

At this point Gatatog Uvenk crawled out from whatever rock he'd been hiding under, accompanied by his krantt. He claimed that no one since Wrex had killed a thresher maw during the Rite. He speculated that this achievement, along with the fact that Grunt was bred without alien interference, was “acceptable.” It turns out he was offering Grunt membership in clan Gatatog, now that he'd proven how powerful he was.

Shepard left the decision up to Grunt - she wasn't going to dictate to her crew how they should live their lives - but she was fairly certain Grunt's response to Uvenk's “generous” offer would come in the form of a headbutt.

Predictably, a fight broke out, with equally predictable results. On the tomkah ride back to the Urdnot camp, Shepard reflected on the interesting “coincidence” that the two biggest pains in Wrex's backside - clans Weyrloc and Gatatog - had been neutralized as a result of Shepard's actions. Like Anaya and Samara on Illium, Wrex seemed to have manipulated the circumstances to have Cerberus do his dirty work with no repercussions for himself or Urdnot.

Not that Shepard had any objection to being “used” in this way, quite the opposite. The opportunity to use Cerberus resources to help out her friends - old and new - was one of the good things about the situation she currently found herself in.

Back at camp the Shaman welcomed Grunt to the clan, and answered some of Shepard's questions about krogan rituals and his role in krogan society. They also spoke to the ambassador from clan Nakmor and gained further insight into clan politics and Wrex's plans.

They went back to see the clan leader, and in the most bro-tastic initiation ceremony in galactic history, Wrex welcomed Grunt to the clan with four simple words: “You... are Urdnot Grunt.” Grunt now had a home, a place he belonged, and something to fight for, and Battlemaster Shepard had another loyal soldier ready to help take out the Collectors.

Shepard extended an invitation to Wrex to give up the negotiations and politics and rejoin them, even though she knew what the answer would be. The job ahead of Wrex was too important to walk away from.

Shepard, Tali, and Urdnot Grunt returned to the Normandy to start preparing for the next challenge.

Back at the Citadel


Udina is talking with Ashley


Its a salarian


The summit


Went to Sur"Kesh


Traynor tells me about a school


Went to school


Back on the Normandy

Jeph Shepard:

- I definitely dislike ExoGeni. I don't know what they're all about but this Ethan Jeong guy is a dick. If he gives me any more shit when I come back I swear I'll shoot him in the face. When I got to the ExoGeni offices, I learned that they were studying some ancient plant being referred to as the Thorian. After accessing some data, I learned that the Thorian was located under Zhu's Hope and influencing the behavior of the colonists. Now I knew what they seemed so crazy. They were fighting against its control. Anyway, found a way to shut down the field the geth had put up around ExoGeni HQ. Now I had the intel that was needed, there were a few less geth and I could bring Lizbeth Baynham back to her mother. One thing I didn't like: She had the audacity to refer to the Mako as a "rover". This is a wall-climbing tank, not an exploration vehicle. Well, not just an exploration vehicle.
- When we regrouped with the others at ExoGeni I overheard Juliana Baynham arguing with Jeong. ExoGeni wanted Zhu's Hope "repurposed" and was either going to kill them or just throw them to the Thorian. Neither worked for me. I know people think I'm a hard ass - and I am - but I don't needlessly kill. I just don't let killing get in the way. So we butt heads and he ended up dead. It became clear that I was going to have to deal with the Thorian but was told the colonists would never let me near it. I figured now was one of those times when I'd have to kill innocents but a solution was given: a nerve gas designed for plants might release the colonists from Thorian control. It was worth a shot. If all else failed, we were all still heavily armed. However, there were these creepy looking plant things that were humanoid with claws. Don't think these are transformed colonists but even if they are they're no different than husks. The only casualty was Fai Dan, and that was self-inflicted. He was being made by the Thorian to attack me but instead turned the gun on himself. That's some serious willpower to defy self-preservation for a greater good. Respect to Fai Dan.
- Found the Thorian. It was enormous. Just the "head" alone was as big as a small cruiser and it had tendrils reaching who knew how deep. It shit out a green asari and told us people were only good to be slaves and that we could know more kill it than cut out the sky. The first "node" I shot had it shuddering in pain. Guess no one ever fought back. It did keep replacing the asari whenever it was killed. That suggested that the creepy thinks, like the asari, were nothing more than plant-like husks. What was that old movie about the "pod people"? Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Apparently based on a true story.
- After shooting a half a dozen or so of those nodes, the Thorian head fell into a deep pit. A pod also bust open revealing the asari - the real one. Shiala explained some things to me, like how she and Matriarch Benezia had gone to Saren to attempt to change his ways but instead fell under his influence. She said Saren's ship, Sovereign, had the ability to bend the will of others to obey Saren. Shiala had been offered in trade to the Thorian to learn prothean secrets from the days when they walked on Feros. It allowed him to understand the message from the beacon and Shiala offered to transfer that same knowledge to me through asari mind melding. What I was given was the ancestral memories of the protheans, their history, culture and very way of life. I didn't feel different but she said it would take time for my mind to assimilate it. Shiala decided to stay behind and help the colonists.
- In the mission debrief, Ash and I both had the feeling of being on a wild goose chase. Kaidan suggested looking for Benezia's daughter. I think he was right this time. Then I talked to the Council. The turian does try to bate me. Guess he can't move past the First Contact War. Still, aside from some snark, I kept my cool.
- Pressly trying on, um, anti-grav boots? Or he's a witch and needs to be burned.

- Meant to just do some casual flirting with Kaidan but I think it went a little further than I had planned. Kaidan seemed to take it in stride but you never knew when someone might report you. Ash showed some racism again but it was clear that she'd never been around aliens very much. I had no doubt she'd adapt as she spent more time around them. Honestly, as good of a marine as she was and how high her scores were, I couldn't explain why she had been groundside for most of her career. Baffling, considering the clean record.
- Got a call from Hackett saying my commanding officer on Torfan, Major Kyle, had gone off the deep end. He was leading a biotic cult (but isn't biotic) and was spouting anti-Alliance bullshit. Hackett believed he was mentally unstable after Torfan, not able to live with himself after so many died under his command. I was down for talking to him. He deserved that much. Just the same, my orders were to put an end to the cult. Whether or not that happened peacefully, this cult was done for. Unfortunately, he wouldn't come peacefully. I shot him in the head and eliminated the cult. Weird that they couldn't see that Kaidan and I, two Sentinels, hardly had it in for biotics. Probably for the best since they were under the delusion that they were superior to non-biotics.
- Hackett asked me to investigate scientists who were being killed off. Somehow it was linked to an incident on Akuze where a squad of Alliance marines had been killed by a thresher maw. What came out was that a merc group, headed by the sole survivor of the Akuze incident, was tracking down scientists who were involved. They had watched his unit get attacked and then experimented on him, including injecting thresher maw venom into his bloodstream. This man was anguished and I suspected he was telling the truth. He said they were part of a group called Cerberus who did things like this. Never heard of them. He shot the scientist. Vengeance had been all that had been driving him and he couldn't live with himself, choosing to end his own life. Sad ending for Corporal Toombs. I was going to have to find out more about Cerberus.

Oh yeah, I learned the ropes in EGM and my EMS is not too low anymore too.

But it was my first time, EGM is a little unforgivable with some things and I got burned a lot of times during the campaign. LOL

Is funny. The two most unforgetable saves I have, in which I mixed some decisions like searching or not the Turians insignas, accepting the bribe from Dr. Ross and other minor events plus the big decisions that goes into ME3 are currently the most fun ones now.

Ohhh. And I've found that EGM also have achievements, what a surprise when I was able to recover all the vehicles spread throughout the galaxy.

Is only storytelling, but the good kind of storytelling.


EDIT: little Victus...

Lets disarm the bomb


Lets go to Eden Prime




Back to the Citadel

Jeph Shepard:

- Found a company of dead marines. There was a thresher maw and a beacon. They had been lured here. I wondered if this wasn't related to the organization that had attacked and experimented on Corporal Toombs - Cerberus. These were Admiral Kahoku's men. I'd have to inform him.
- Found a lot of geth on Therum. No idea what they were doing there but I had to assume they were engaged in an operation that needed to be shut down. We found our way into what seemed to be a mine but was actually a prothean ruin. I found Liara T'Soni trapped in a stasis field from a prothean security device. I used a mining laser to blast through the wall beneath her so I could turn off the device. Unfortunately, I triggered a dormant volcano and we had to beat feet out of there. There was a krogan battlemaster and some geth in the way but Joker was able to grab us in time to avoid a very hot bath.
- Back on board the Normandy, Liara mentioned that the protheans weren't the first race to be destroyed but she didn't know about the Reapers. She also helped try to sort out the vision in my mind. Turns out the reason I couldn't make sense of it was because it was incomplete. That meant I needed to find another beacon.
- Found a pirate base. Inside was evidence that the leader was the sister to an asari ambassador on the Citadel. In fact, that woman had sent me a message but I hadn't had time to visit her for a chat.
- Back at the Citadel, some asshole admiral tried to give an inspection of the ship. I didn't allow it. He said he'd "file a report" about it. Guess he doesn't understand that as a Spectre I outrank him. Then a reporter accosted me. Found a sentient computer that was stealing credits. It expected organics to kill it so tried to self-destruct, taking me, Ash and Kaidan with it. I disabled it before it could happen. Wasn't even a mech, just a computer that could think for itself.

Thessia


Sanctuary

There's only one answer! The cycle must continue and you know you want to play another Shepard

That's right.

Do a playthrough like the one in my signature, and you will have power like you've never had before.  The power is braggin rights to say you did a playthrough like themikefest. You can do it. If you have questions, themikefest can answer them.

For starters, I watched a movie where two guys sang the same song Mordin sings in ME. Or at least the real world version of it.

Jeph Shepard:

The Motherland, though not my homeworld.

- A VI went nuts on Luna. Hackett swears they weren't working on AI. If it wasn't an AI, it was damn close. I shut down three separate facilities before it went offline. Then it did something that sort of shifted my Sentinel abilities. A new class called "Bastion".
- Destroyed the first of Helena Blake's crimelords.
- The MSV Worthington was mostly dead but maintained basic life support. However, there were traps all over the cargo hold, suggesting someone was on board. Logs said a crazy biotic named Julia had taken out the crew in order to prevent them from turning off the life support of her brain dead boyfriend. We found the boyfriend and shut off his life support. Then we left, signaling for someone to retrieve the body. [Note: Julia never attacked.]

I can't help but think they actually wanted it to be a serious story initially and they were too far into the project when one of the writers suddenly realized that "evil clone/evil duplicate" stories have been done to death in science fiction.  (Long before even the "evil Captain Kirk" episode of Star Trek, you have the evil robot duplicate in the silent movie "Metropolis.")  The initial fight in the sushi restaurant seemed serious enough.  Thereafter,  here and there, you have moments which seem serious such as the fate of the clone at the end.

I did enjoy ME3 overall though the ending especially was disappointing.  I think they would've needed an extra year to fix the ending and other parts of the game that fall short.