What did you do today in ME?

Benjamin visited Menae and picked up Garrus. He then visited Sur'Kesh and picked up a Krogan babe for his buddy Wrex. Swooped by on the Citadel, visited Dr. Bryson, hit the bar, went to the hospital and all that jazz.
Visited Tuchanka to disable some guns and then went to deal with the Rachni spotted by Wrex's men. Grunt gave his life to help the queen escape and hopefully she'll pay back by birthing a bunch of shock troopers that the Alliance can pit against those Ravagers.
Did some more hospital visiting afterwards, then flew the Normandy to the planet Benning, where he plans to save some civilians in the next session. No adorable smiles yet (unless the helmet is hoarding them to itself) but hopefully he can squeeze one in later.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if Steve has some special lines in the Shuttle during mission if romanced? I suspect not, but it's nice to know in regards to pacing.

Filed under: Personal
I am furious. I followed a lead Traynor had told me about earlier, about some ex-Cerberus scientists trying to get away from their former employer. It was a good tip and we can use them for the Crucible, but I really didn't expect any of what I witnessed there.
What does this little shit Jacob think? That he can just go around the galaxy creating his own harem of women? Coming after daddy, hm?
And when I asked him about us, he had the audacity to ask me if I wanted him to wait forever while I was away. Yes, Jacob, that was what I had expected if you were still alive!
I feel like a silly schoolgirl. I hate to admit it, but I did care for him. I still had wanted him. But no, he had to go and find himself another woman. One who was even there with him, one I had to rescue and get out of there. Bitch was lucky I am good at keeping it together in front of people or else I would've slapped her ugly face. She stole Jacob from me. I am bitter, still too riled up. I know things will be better, and should I ever see Jacob again, I will try to steal him back. Not because I want him back, but because I have to win. I can't believe I was ever worried about this bastard.

The break-up


Ahaha, that was interesting to see! Neva deserved all this and Jacob is better off without her
Combat-wise it was semi-fine, I really hate charging into grenades though I also had a bug on the roof where it didn't trigger the next scene even though all enemies were gone. I checked the radar over and over, but no red dot was left. No idea what that was.
Dominate worked so well on that roof however. It's a silly bonus power, but sooo much fun to watch enemies turn on each other while I sat back and laughed at them

I actually caught the Space Hamster on the first try this time.  Usually I have to watch him go around and around before I get him.  For fish, I flirted with Kelly sufficiently to have her hang on to them for me.

As for Paragon points...well, sometimes it's the best option.  I think you could play full Paragon and still choose Renegade at times (like the Marine saying at Purgatory - why was that a Renegade option?).  I assume the reverse is also true.  For Renegade, the most I've done is be friendly to my crew and a jerk to everyone else.

Mark Shepard:

Citadel: Had a chat with Aria's paranoid ass on a shuttle. She wants my help retaking Omega and has a ship waiting at the edge of the Widow system. I'll get to her eventually but there are more pressing things.

Dr. Bryson's Lab:Dropped in to see Dr. Garret Bryson at Admiral Hackett's request. He was investigating Reaper myths and legends, hoping to uncover information we could use against them. Unfortunately, his assistant, Derek Hadley, came in and shot Bryson dead. He spoke a strange phrase: "The darkness cannot be breached." No idea what that means. A reference to dark space where the Reapers hang out between cycles? I tackled Hadley and called C-Sec. He seemed confused and in the middle of interrogation he had a seizure and passed out. He never regained consciousness. Seems like indoctrination but different that what I've seen in others.

EDI showed up to help. We began looking into "Leviathan", a creature Bryson had been tracking which may or may not have been a Reaper. In any event, logs suggest the Reapers are tracking those who are tracking Leviathan. It's their enemy, which means it could be our ally. Creating filters of star systems narrowed it all down to one system but I wasn't quite ready to take on this unknown yet. Had to sort out some alliances first.

Citadel: Made a deal with a salarian arms dealer named Kannik to trade arms with C-Sec. That was something General Oraka wanted. With that access he stopped bothering the Blue Suns, which meant they were now being directed by Aria. Honestly, I'd rather shoot Darner Voske in the head but if he's fighting Reapers - or Cerberus - it can wait.

Normandy: Crew check-ins: Traynor: She loves EDI. Also, told me Grissom Academy is requesting help. That's where I'd sent David Archer after rescuing him from Project Overlord. Worth checking out, especially since a decrypted signal suggests Cerberus involvement. Joker: "Commander." EDI: Asked me a question about disobeying a direct order on moral grounds. She wants to be a better person. Cortez: Fiddling with the weapons. Vega: Very impressed by EDI's new body. KEI-9: Sleeping. Allers: Being flirted with by Traynor. Meanwhile, Allers was also appreciating EDI's new look. Adams: Happy to have other engineers with him, but has a preference for Daniels. Donnelly & Daniels: REALLY happy to be back on the Normandy. Chakwas: "Commander." Garrus: Happy to be back. Liara: Memories of vising Palaven as a child. Space Hamster: "Meep!" (Translation: "I'm happy you visited me!") Fish: Fed, thanks to the Aquarium VI. Great use of my resources.

[Changed bonus power from Reave to Lash. Don't like Reave as much in ME3 as I did in ME2.]

Grissom Academy: Boarded the station with EDI and Garrus. Caught some Cerberus troops trying to get to Kahlee Sanders, the person in charge of Grissom. Took them out and talked to Sanders. Cerberus was trying to kidnap the students, undoubtedly to do to them what we'd seen done to others: indoctrination. Passing through the first door I saw Cerberus dragging some poor kid down a hallway by his leg. The kid was screaming but I couldn't reach him. Another kid had a barrier up to protect him but I took out the ones harassing him. Meanwhile, Cerberus is announcing that they don't want to hurt anyone but that's plainly not true. Seeing them shoot another kid is all the evidence I need. Any Cerberus member I see it going to die, no questions.

I found the students in Orion Hall. The instructor with them was none other than Jack. She punched me in the jaw for her idea that I'd trusted Cerberus and I didn't care for that. Reminded her I'd just saved her ass. But I admit that she would care to make sure these kids were treated well. Nothing like what she went through. Kahlee needed camera access to find us a way off of Grissom but next to the laptop I found a Cerberus data pad. They were eyeing Prangley for indoctrination because of his high power level and leadership skills. Like I said, any Cerberus member I see has to die.

I came across three kids behind a barrier. Cerberus was trying to get them to take it down until I took them out. They still wouldn't drop the barrier except that one of them was David Archer. He remembered me and remained extremely grateful that I'd rescued him from Cerberus. He also hacked the locks at the security station that gave me access to more weapons.

Took out a careless Cerberus engineer who was standing next to an empty Atlas mech. Also found another Cerberus log saying Rodriguez was a high priority due to her her aptitude, though her biotics weren't strong. It mentioned something about making her a "phantom". Sounds bad. Anyway, I stepped into the Atlas and used it to defend the students while the made their way to the shuttle Sanders had found. It was a Cerberus shuttle but what was stealing one more ship from them?

Normandy: QEC from Earth with Anderson. I told him Kahlee was alive and that she wanted him to remain alive. He was pretty happy to hear that and still fighting the good fight.

War Assets: 755 + Terminus Fleet + Spectre Unite + Hanar and Drell Forces + Governor Grothan Pazness + Void Devils Fighter Wing + Vorcha Labor Team + Liquid Assets + Biotic Students + Kahlee Sanders + Jack + Advanced Weapon-Targeting VIs + Kasumi Goto = 1393/2 = 696.

Emails: Kaidan wants another visit, a thank you from Kahlee, Miranda wants to meet up

Crew Check-in: Joker: Genuinely happy I rescued those biotic kids. EDI: Gave me a rundown on her abilities, as well as how Joker got to be aboard the Normandy despite having been with Cerberus. Cortez: In mourning over the loss of his husband when the Collectors came to Fehl Prime. I reminded him that his husband would want him to move on. Vega: Likes Primarch Fedorian. KEI-9: Doing laps in the Cargo Hold. Donnelly, Adams and Daniels: Debating whether or not the Normandy was EDI's real body. Allers: Working. Chakwas: Glad Garrus is back. Garrus: Concerned about the kids following the war. Liara: Impressed with a human biotic academy. Pets: A-OK. Traynor: Congratulated her on helping us with Grissom Academy.

Citadel: Gave schematics for a biotic amp I'd found at Grissom to an asari who badly needed them.

Kaidan was up and dressed in uniform. He had accepted Udina's offer to become the second human Spectre. I believed he was the right man for the job. He was there from the start of things with the Reapers on Eden Prime and had served as my XO when I was given command of the Normandy. More than that, he was a great marine and a very powerful biotic. He was also trustworthy. Couldn't think of a better choice. I asked him to rejoin the Normandy but he said he first wanted to track down his students from his Spec Ops squad on Earth. Understandable but I do wish he came to the Normandy.

Kelly Chambers followed my advice and made some changes in her look and name. She was now Felicia Hannigan of the mining vessel Typhoon. Still looked hot but at least she'd be safe.

Miranda was on the run from Cerberus. The Illusive Man hadn't liked that she'd left him following the suicide mission. She made two now who'd left Cerberus after spending time with me. But, then, they weren't indoctrinated, something probably not true of other agents these days. The reason we met up was because she wanted to tell me her sister Oriana was missing and that she thought her father had something to do with it. Made sense. The Illusive Man was the one who made all the arrangements to keep her safe. I can imagine him somehow working with Henry Lawson and letting him know where she was since Miranda was no longer one of his agents.

Karen Shepard, Soldier, ME2:

Freedom's Progress

Shepard, Jacob and Miranda took a shuttle to Freedom's Progress, to investigate the disappearance of the colonists and, Shepard hoped, rescue any survivors. As they searched the deserted colony, they were attacked by more security mechs, the same type as on Lazarus station, as well as a few that were sort of like synthetic varren. Shepard found it curious that these mechs had become so prevalent over the last two years - they seemed to be everywhere.

In one of the buildings they came upon a group of quarians, one of them Shepard's old friend Tali'Zorah. Small galaxy. They were on Freedom's Progress searching for someone named Veetor, who had come to the colony on his pilgrimage. He had been at the colony during the attack, and likely had the intel they needed. The quarians suspected that he, out of fear, had reprogrammed the mechs to attack. The two parties agreed to work together to find him, staying in contact as they searched. Shepard noted that one of the quarians, Prazza, wasn't at all pleased about having to work with Cerberus. Join the club, Shepard thought to herself.

Shepard's concerns about Prazza were warranted, as Tali soon radioed to inform them that his squad had rushed ahead, trying to get to Veetor and get him away before Cerberus found him. Shepard couldn't really blame them, all things considered, but it made things more difficult. And it turned out deadly for Prazza and his squad - Veetor turned a heavy mech on them, they were ambushed and never stood a chance.

Shepard and the two Cerberus operatives took down the heavy, and while Tali tended to the wounded quarians, Shepard went to find Veetor. He was sitting in one of the buildings in front of a wall of monitors, mumbling to himself. Once Shepard got his attention, he showed them footage of the attack on the colony. Miranda recognized the perpetrators as Collectors, a race Shepard hadn't heard of. They had used "seeker swarms", tiny, insect-like machines that stunned the colonists and allowed the Collectors to take them all away. Presumably, the only reason they hadn't taken Veetor was because he wasn't human, although why the wanted human captives, and only humans, was still a mystery.

Miranda, believing she had any say in the matter, wanted to take Veetor with Cerberus and leave. Tali objected of course, and Shepard agreed that a copy of the Collector and seeker swarm data was sufficient, and Veetor would return to his people for treatment. Shepard and Tali parted ways, Tali on her way to an important mission in geth space. Shepard hoped they could reconnect sometime after that.

Illusive Man

Shepard had another space-skype call with the Illusive Man after the events on Freedom's Progress. TIM had seemed to know all along about the Collectors, and the whole episode was pretty much a PR exercise to get Shepard on board. Shepard wasn't surprised, and TIM didn't really try to deny it - all it cost was the lives of a few quarians, after all, and TIM wouldn't care about that. TIM provided what he knew about the Collectors - they came from somewhere beyond the unmapped Omega-4 relay, and were know for trading “specimens” acquired from slavers and mercenaries in exchange for their technology. Something had changed - they'd previously dealt only with small sample sizes, not entire colonies, and they'd never targeted one particular race before.

TIM proposed that Shepard recruit a team of specialists to help stop them, and provided dossiers on the most promising candidates, starting with Mordin Solus, a scientist who TIM hoped could counteract the seeker swarms. Shepard asked about recruiting her former crew, the ones who helped stop Saren, not because she expected him to agree, but to see how much he knew. All of them had gone on to other things or were off the grid; not surprising, but Shepard was slightly concerned about how much he seemed to know. She didn't care what they did to her, but if Cerberus messed with her friends there'd be hell to pay. She'd try to look for an opportunities to warn them that Cerberus might be keeping tabs on them.

TIM called and end to the meeting, saying there was someone he wanted Shepard to meet. Someone she could trust.

Serrice Brandy can be found in Afterlife, main floor bar on Omega and at the Dark Star Lounge, 28th Floor of the Citadel.  Wiki says it's also at Ratch's shop on Tuchanka and the drink kiosk at Eternity on Illium.

I haven't been able to get into it, but I think it's partly because I have it as an ebook rather than paperback.

voice: Good morning class. Hope everyone had a good weekend?
students: Good Morning Professor themikefest
Professor: Thank you class. Like every Monday, one of you starts off by telling what you did over the weekend. Let's see...ah...Ms. Shepard. It's your turn.
Stacy Shepard: I've lots to tell Professor and class.
Ok. I went to Eden Prime
destroyed a lot of robots with flashlights for faces
went to the Citadel
recruited Garrus
became a spectre
told a krogan to get lost
killed an asari because she wore a funny looking hat
rescued a human colony
my friend Kaidan was killed
rescued an asari
my ship was impounded
went to Ilos
fought a giant grasshopper
saved the galaxy
Udina became councilor
Professor: Well... I have to say that sounds like a very action filled book you read. Th-- Mr. Canter? You have a question?
Al Canter: I do Professor. More like an explanation. What Stacy is talking about is a videogame. It's called Mass Effect.
Professor: By the look of some of the other students, you're right. I apologize for assuming you read a book Ms. Shepard
Stacy: That's fine Professor. I'm a big fan of the Mass Effect games. The biggest reason is because the main character has the same last name as me.
Professor: So there's more than one game?
Stacy: Yes sir. I like to have the next two Monday's to talk about what I did over the weekend. If that would be ok?
Professor: Granted. Alright class. If you kindly turn to page 312 in your textbook, we will.........

melbella Interesting thought about the Leviathans. I never assumed that where we find them in ME3 has anything to do with their world of origin. Nor does this one necessarily need to be. Curious who would have even known about them to do such sculpting 500,000 years ago? Harbinger?

Mark Shepard:

Utukku: Wrex sent Aralakh Company here to investigate strange happenings. The nearby relay is sometimes referred to as the "Rachni Relay" so it should be obvious the concern. When James, Garrus and I touched down, we found Grunt in charge. He's come a long way in six months considering I was the one to release him from his pod and he had no real world experience, not to mention that the "tank grown" krogan was looked down on for being that. True, killing that thresher maw gave him some serious props but he must have worked hard to prove himself, must have been everything Okeer thought he would be.

We were headed to the tunnels when the prefab we were in collapsed and dropped us down below. My squad was separated from Aralakh. We proceeded ahead, picking up a flamethrower that Wrex suggested we use. Came in handy when we found webbing, something that Rachni use. Came across spore pods that explode. Melted them all down. Connected to some of these pods were third, corded wire. James suggested Reaper tech. He's probably correct. Found Rachni that were modified with Reaper tech. Also, husks. There were also these metal barriers that kept us from moving forward but some handy nodes could be destroyed to open the way. Krogan corpse with a message for an asari named Ereba on the Citadel. Seems like I met her before on Illium. She gave me a store discount. Some of the pods contain swarmers rather than explode. Burned those up too. Briefly hooked up with Grunt before heading down a last passageway that we thought would lead us to the Rachni nest. The central chamber was full of Reaper thralls, all trying to kill us. On the other side of the chamber was a chained Rachni Queen. She'd better have answers since I took a big risk in setting her free on Noveria. Turns out the Reapers had enslaved her and transformed her "children" into monsters. She said they could not be saved but that she was free of their influence. Noveria all over again. I decided to believe her and freed her from her chains. The Aralakh Company had to defend while she and my squad escaped. It cost them dearly. In the end, Grunt barely made it over, covered in blood, but I was happy to see him alive. As for the Rachni Queen, she birthed more of her kind and sent them to help with the Crucible. Turned out the Rachni really knew how to work on engines of destruction.

Normandy: Hackett wasn't entirely pleased with my Rachni decision but he gave me the power to make alliances and that's what I did. Mordin also completed the cure but needed to disperse it. Turns out the same thing used to disperse the genophage (The Shroud facility, which had also cleaned the atmosphere) could be used to disseminate the cure. It also contained a copy of the original, unmodified genophage strange. Mordin said that would be useful.

War Assets: 1413 + Rachni Workers + SSV Nairobi + Grunt + Aralakh Company = 1613/2 = 806. [Note: My game says Galaxy at War is down but it isn't. Seems to not be communicating with the servers.]

Crew check-ins: Joker: Discussed Grunt and the Rachni. EDI: Asari "bonding". Cortez: Pointless guilt. Vega: Expressed interest in going to Tuchanka. KEI-9: Walking. Daniels and Donnelly: Not thinking about Collector abduction. Allers: Not doing a story on the Rachni. Garrus and Ensign Copeland: Discussing Rachni. Chakwas and Adams: He's guilty he didn't join Cerberus. Mordin and Eve: Maelon's data has improved her physical condition. Liara: Concerned about living to see the end of the cycle and watching everyone die. Pets: Pretty. Traynor: Fascinated by Rachni communication.

Benning: Cerberus is attacking civilians. This is the place where Ambassador Osaba said his son was last seen. Worth checking out. Bringing Liara and EDI with me. Hackett initially thought Cerberus was there recruiting but later turned out they were taking them against their will. When the Alliance investigated, the attacks began. Cerberus is denying responsibility but I'm not buying. We know they're indoctrinating people and this would be an easy way to increase troops. We helped evac civilians and secure the area. Also found some dog tahs.

Normandy: Hackett doesn't think Cerberus is really behind. I'm not buying it.

War Assets: 1613 + Arcturus First Division + Sythdiamond Heat Sinks = 1698x52% = 882.