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[Raiil]

 What We Had To Do: A Shepard Motivation Thread


An offshoot of the Who is Your Shep? thread, this post is to give us a chance to discuss why our Shepards went our particular paths during the events of Mass Effect 1&2. While the game gives us its own brief description when we make game-changing decisions, a lot of us had our own motivation towards certain ends. From the main storyline: who do we nuke, Ashley or Kaidan? Do we save Wrex? Save or destroy the Collector Base?- to the individual loyalty missions, our Shepards are capable of straying far from the game's explanations. Share all your missions, or the ones that really touched you, or anything in between.

Alternatively- or additionally- what is your Shepard's reasonings behind their fight against the Reapers? Is it pragmatism? Is it personal? Is there some weird, hidden secret that propels them towards victory? Does their friends, their past, or the LI somehow motivate it?



As a starter:

Zhu's Hope- Saved or Destroyed the colonists?I saved most of the colonists- I did end up gunning one down, contrary to orders given to the crew, because Garrus was being completely surrounded and I was out of grenades. I would have liked to save all of them, but ultimately my crew's well-being comes before every one else's. I shot Jeong in the face simply because his motivations were too suspect and I was afraid he'd bring the corporate wrath and firepower of ExoGeni down on the other workers- I could have paragoned or renegaded my way out of trouble, but chose not to.
I saved Shiala because I was impressed that instead of running for help, she chose to stand down and offer all of her services to the people who had been harmed by the Thorian- even though she, too, had been greatly wronged and I couldn't blame her for her actions; she had been led astray by Benezia, then Saren, and yet her first thought was for others. I've never regretted it.

The Toombs mission- Save or Shoot the doctor?I killed Dr Wayne in order to ensure that my old friend wouldn't take the heat from it. After hearing about how he'd been experimented on after the complete horror of Akuze, I can't deny that there was some self-satisfaction involved; I would manage to save at least one person from that s--thole and give some payback to the bastards who inflicted it on me, Toombs, and every person I lost on Akuze.

A House Divided- Rewrite or destroy?I destroyed the geth. No matter a renegon or paragon playthrough, I will always choose to destroy the geth. It's almost a courtesy that I would hope would be extended to me- better to die on your feet than live on your knees. Unwriting is so unethical- and so close to what the Reapers do- that there is no way in hell I can see myself around rewriting them. I consider the geth- all geth- to be sentient, sapient beings. I will kill them without mercy and such, but I won't force them into a form of mental subversion and servitude. Better a murderer than a brainwasher.


Share with us! Any missions, any choices.

Modifié par Valentia X, 22 juillet 2011 - 04:46 .

[C9316]

Zhu's Hope- My main shep (Joshua Shepard) saved as many innocents as he could. This mission was particularly difficult for him, usually he takes no prisoners in combat, but he knew these people could not be blamed for what they were doing. He had to compromise he beliefs to never sacrifice innoncents when he ran out of grenades filled with the anti thorian gas. When he went head to head with the Thorian however he made sure to pay it back for their lives tenfold! When it was revealed that Shiala was one of Benezia's who in turn was a lacky for Saren the thought of killing her came to mind. But after learning of indoctrination, get the cipher from her, and seeing the genuine remorse of her actions he decided to spare her and allow her to help the colony rebuild.

Toombs- While it is regrettable what Toombs endured Joshua took Wayne into custody. He did not experience akuze, but he felt the raid on Mindoir was similar to this. He wanted toombs to see that by not killing him he proved to be above the level of depravity of the scientist and his sponser, the terrorist organization Cerberus. He also felt doing that would expose Cerberus to the public, so that maybe the Alliance or the Council would do something about them.

A House Divided - Joshua rewrote the heretics. With his time with Legion he got a better understanding of the 'true' geth and their motives, though for a time he thought rewrite would be unethical he had to think of the bigger picture. The reapers were coming it would only be a matter of time, he needed all the help he could get, so he decided to give the true geth these heretics and take whatever consequences that action would bring later.

The Collector Base (Save/Destroy)- Joshua chose to light up the base and has no regrets doing so. There was no way he would allow such a place where so many innocent men and women (and maybe children, cuz come on there had to be kids on those colonies) were tortured and brutally 'processed' into paste for the human reaper to continue exisiting. His resentment against Cerberus and their Xenophobia also played a factor. He did not trust The Illusive man, not a bit he wasn't about to hand over such technology over to a bunch of racist terrorists who couldn't avoid getting indoctrinated before! Then the fact that Sovereigns words still rang true in shepards mind, did he really want to give the reapers even more of an edge by 'developing along the path' that the reapers wanted them to?

Modifié par C9316, 22 juillet 2011 - 05:00 .

[Sepewrath]

One that comes to mind is Garrus' loyalty mission, I let take the shot once, for the sake of experimentation going into ME3. But every other time, I stopped him, simply because that's not Garrus. Revenge is an alluring thing, but its poison, but when your the one whose been wronged, you never think like that on your own. You need somebody to look out for you and that's what Shep does for Garrus.

Tali's loyalty mission, on my main male playthrough, I got her exiled, because she's my LI and I did it for selfish reasons. I had the renegade check, but I didn't use it. But I also get the feeling from her, that with her father dead, she would rather not be there anyway. Not that she didn't seem to care about them or want to help them, but the fact that she could do that, without being there.

Zhu's hope, I save the colony, because I'm not going to just mow down people who have no idea what their doing. I also generally spare Shiala, I didn't see her crimes as so grave that it warranted an immediate execution.

[Smashmouth]

Sepewrath wrote...

Tali's loyalty mission, on my main male playthrough, I got her exiled, because she's my LI and I did it for selfish reasons. I had the renegade check, but I didn't use it. But I also get the feeling from her, that with her father dead, she would rather not be there anyway. Not that she didn't seem to care about them or want to help them, but the fact that she could do that, without being there.

After my first playthrough i did the paragon or renegade inturrupt since i could, but I agree with your point that it doesnt seem that she would be happy going back to the flotilla.

[Raiil]

What does Tali say about being exiled? I've never done it myself, I can usually paragon or renegade myself out of trouble, but I've always been curious. Does she seem happier?

[Golden Owl]

Posting as soon as I can disengage children...:-)

[Raiil]

Saphra Deden wrote...

Valentia X wrote...

What does Tali say about being exiled? I've never done it myself, I can usually paragon or renegade myself out of trouble, but I've always been curious. Does she seem happier?

She seems a little bitter about it, actually. I don't remember her exact words, but right after the trial she says if they're stupid enough to throw themselves at the geth she won't care.

Of-course later she still has the conflict with Legion IIRC so I think it was just anger talking.

Personally I really like her interactions if you out her father as a war criminal. Both her and Shepard have some good lines.

Bitter towards the Flotilla? Hm... now I'm intrigued. I may have to try it on this current playthrough.

I've never really wanted to out her father as a criminal; even my Sheps that don't particularly care for her want her of sound mind (as sound as anyone can be on the SSV Dysfunction Junction, anyways) when they bring their foot down on the Collector's head/

[Sepewrath]

Valentia X wrote...

What does Tali say about being exiled? I've never done it myself, I can usually paragon or renegade myself out of trouble, but I've always been curious. Does she seem happier?

I think it actually depends on how it goes down, like if Shepard tells them to go to war. Because she didn't act bitter when I got her exiled, in fact she said she was relieved after it happened.

[Raiil]

Saphra Deden wrote...

Valentia X wrote...

I've never really wanted to out her father as a criminal; even my Sheps that don't particularly care for her want her of sound mind (as sound as anyone can be on the SSV Dysfunction Junction, anyways) when they bring their foot down on the Collector's head/

Same, but I wanted to see what happens at least once. It is actually very touching. Shepard makes the case that it was both for Tali's good and for the good of the Migrant Fleet. Shala agrees.

Tali doesn't become that angry until you are back on the Normandy. Then she says something about never betraying her friends, and so that's why she will stay with you for the mission. However she doesn't want to talk to you anymore.

I don't remember, but I think Shepard says something about Tali realizing it was for the best someday. (though I might just be thinking about what Shepard SHOULD say)

Been a while since I did that and I only did it once.

Could be interesting if it somehow plays into the Quarian/Geth fight (if there is one). Imagine if they could tie betrayal into being good for the best peaceful outcome.

[C9316]

My shepard also saved the council. He knew all the other races were fighting for the citadel and he felt that humanity had to do it's part, no matter what. He felt that by leaving the council to die or focusing only on sovereign would only reinforce the belief that humanity was selfish, reckless, and hungry for political power. He wanted humans to be seen in a new light that day, that humans were cooperative, and ready to defend not only the other races, but galactic stability as a whole with their lives.

[Sepewrath]

If you turn in the data, she flips out on you, and yells at Shep about how it was pointless to not get her exiled because none of them were coming back from the mission anyway. And yeah Shepard says something along the lines of its for the best and she'll see that someday.

[CheeseEnchilada]

Great topic! Using my canon FemShep for this one.

ME1:

-Dr. Saelon. While Shepard was disgusted by him and his actions, she was still holding firm to the rules at this point; it wasn't her place to serve as his executioner, and it would be a poor example for Garrus. The incident stuck with her—the more criminals she encountered and the more she saw, the less tolerant she became. Maybe Garrus was right.

-Toombs. Shepard did what she could, but she couldn’t convince Toombs to put the gun down. He committedsuicide in front of her.  Guilt flooded through her, only intensifying on the very next mission: Virmire. Watching two people die because of her decisions profoundly affected her, and she worked harder than ever to bring everyone back from the so-called suicide mission—one lost life would be a failure in her eyes. Dealing with the Reaper invasion, where people are bound to die, is going to be rather difficult.

-Saving the Council. It wasn’t about the Council—it was about the 10,000 people on board. That’s simply too great a number to be ignored, no matter what species.

ME2:

-Garrus’ loyalty mission. Even if she was entertaining his way of thinking after Saelon, she worried about him. She knew what it was like to lose a squad, and the idea of revenge—she was stuck working for Cerberus, after all. She was trapped, but she could still help Garrus. Shepard stopped Garrus from shooting Sidonis not for the turian’s sake, not for any sense of justice, but because she didn’t want Garrus turning into her. Do as I say, not as I do.

-Mordin’s loyalty mission. Frankly, Shepard doesn’t find it her place to judge Mordin for what he did. She’s no scientist, and while the plight of the krogan is upsetting, it may have been necessary. In the end, she chose to have him hold on to the data for the cure—as he said, better to have it and not need it.

-Legion’s loyalty mission. Shepard rewrote the heretic geth. Not all species think alike, after all. Keeping human perceptions out of it was tough, but Legion described it as rewriting a program, and she took him at his word. Besides, Legion’s programs had voted in favor of rewriting, if only by a very slim margin. That was enough to convince her.

-The Collector base. Shepard had been waiting for a chance to ditch TIM, to give a scathing speech and cut all ties with Cerberus. So when TIM mentioned he had another idea, she listened simply to see what on earth he was talking about. Thane spoke up, and the second TIM dismissed him, she had made up her mind. She hates Cerberus. TIM just made a remark about how ‘aliens can’t understand’. Cerberus cannot be trusted, under any circumstance. She never even gave any thought to the technology until after—it was about her own revenge, and her own distrust.

 -----------

As for why she fights the Reapers? It was her job. The baby Reaper sickened her, and made her despise the species even more, but she wouldn’t have volunteered herself as the leader in this crusade. Come ME3, however, she’s become convinced that she can’t trust anyone to do it without her. The Council dismissed her, the Alliance was ready to arrest her, and Cerberus is Cerberus. She’ll step up and rally the troops together, because she feels she’s the only one who can. That much responsibility and pressure is hard to take, but it’s better that she collapse than civilization itself.


[Formatting, y u no like me? And that ended up rather long, my apologies]

Modifié par CheeseEnchilada, 22 juillet 2011 - 05:25 .

[Scy Lancer]

Johnny Shepard is a real honor bound sort of guy. Liars, betrayers, villains in general don't escape justice. Doesn't like mercs or assassins which made it really hard when it came to characters like Jack, Thane, and Zaeed since they are truly great characters.

In ME1 he was, more do the right thing and forgive those who were tricked or forced to work for Saren.

In ME1: Bring Down the Sky: Had to save the hostages. I hope I'll be able to catch up with Balic some time though.

Novaria: Saved the Racni Queen after learning what happened to the Racni and how they were different.

Vermire: I basically just flipped a coin to see who was going where. Then I made sure to go back and protect whoever was guarding the nuke.

Council: This was hard to do since naturally I wanted to save the council but wasn't sure if it would fallow the path Johnny would take. In the end I figured he would try and save as many lives as he could and hope there was still enough to bring down Sovereign.

Killed Helena Blake and the leader of the Biotic fanatics.

ME2

Garrus LM- Talked to Garrus about Sidonus's crimes and listened to Sidonus, but in the end let Garrus kill him. Also took Harkin down in the end.

Thanes LM- Let Kolyat (Sorry if I butcher sub characters names.) get off with the light punishment. Never really got along with Thane and his philosophy between the body being a weapon and his soul being different.

Mordins LM- Killed Malon for killing with science. Mordin and Johnny was hard to do since the Genophage was the wrong thing for the right reason.

Zaeed & Kasumi LM- Both were kind of challenging since both of their motives were against Johnny's code of honor but in the end I destroyed the gray box and let Veto live to save the workers.

Collector base- Destroyed and every one survived

Arrival- Did the mission and accepted what I would have to face when I got back to earth.

Project Overlord-Haven't completed it yet, but if I can shoot the lead researcher guy I'm sure I will.

[Labrev]

Good thread. I'll do the slightly more interesting ones.

Feros: Shiala lives, surrendering and favor-for-a-favor is enough reason to me. I would've killed Jeong but first tried diplomacy, and I let him live after he decided to help the colony out.
Noveria: Rachni Queen spared. I saw enough to trust that this rachni was no monster, and deserved a chance.
Virmire: saved Kaidan, but had feelings for Ashley.
When asked by Liara, Shepard says they are just friends, and legitimately believes it. But he was basically fooling himself, he cared for her and was broken up inside at her death.
Battle of the Citadel: Saved the Council.
This was not long after Virmire, so fresh in Shepard's mind is how he couldn't save Ashley - the battle was won, but the team loses momentum after seeing one of their squad get left behind. Shepard realizes that if the council is lost here, it will undoubtedly have the same effect on the galaxy in the aftermath of the fight. And for the war ahead with the Reapers, having that unity will be critical in our success. A human sacrifice for the greater good.

Mordin LM: the genophage being the moral grey that it is, I let Maelon go. What he did was wrong and deserving of punishment, but his intentions were to help their race recover from the disease that kills thousands. He's trying to do the right thing, but made a mistake. We all do. He gets a second chance.

Also hanging on to the genophage data. Not in favor of curing the genophage at the moment, but it may be worth holding on to as a break-the-glass-in-emergency option in the war with the reapers, (if it does in fact yield a cure).

Legion LM: rewrote the geth, Mordin and I agreed it was the better alternative. Kinda regretting it though, if I knew what I know now I'd destroy them instead. But, not going back to change it.

Overlord: shut down. This is one of those times that humans need to be human, not geth. From a pure logic standpoint, yes, David living as a lab rat all his life can save more lives in the future. But the loss of that one individual is a tragedy and a cost too high to justify throwing away his life and sacrificing his happiness/freedom forever. To those that think he should stay, I'd pose a question: would you turn yourself over to become a scientist's hamster for the rest of your life? It'll save more lives than your own!

Collector Base: Destroyed. Last thing I need is another Cerberus mess spreading across the galaxy for me to clean up after while the Reapers are at our gates. And even if they do handle it properly, they are bound to make me regret it.

LI: Jack. Jack is a reflection of what Shepard fights for. The world is the not perfect and people have lots of issues, but they deserve a chance, just as Shepard did as a hoodlum back on Earth when the Alliance gave him one. After gaining much respect for Jack after seeing where she came from, his respect turns to feelings and he eventually starts to care for her.

In truth, Shepard had no intent on getting romantically involved with anyone on the mission. But as the suicide mission drew close, Shepard realizes that he's been an island long enough, and wants to spend what could be his final days with someone he loves.

Modifié par Hah Yes Reapers, 22 juillet 2011 - 06:53 .

[Golden Owl]

Zhu's Hope-Saved all the Colonists....Zhus Hope was a tough one for Shep, he remained acutely aware that the Thorian Creepers themselves were once human also, unwitting victims of a twisted group (Exo-Geni)...he killed the Creepers because he had no choice, they were past help, but he made damned sure he wasn't going to be responsible for further loss among the colonists, though also didn't want to risk his squad, so had them stand down and back while he tackled the colonists and Creepers himself....There was also a regret in killing the Thorian itself...genocide of a species, but once again he had little choice...He let Shiala live, but does keep tabs on her, Shiala's direct contact with Sovereign leaves Shep on edge about her.,,,he will deal with her if he needs to, but hopes he won't have to.

The Toombs mission- Hmmm...actually wasn't aware you could shoot the Doc...thought that option was to shoot Toombs...so Doc lived...Though with that said Shep is an Alliance man through and through and trusted in the Alliance to see justice done.

Rachni Queen- Spared her...Shep went with his instincts on this one...he didn't want to be responsible for another genocide or punishing an innocent...though also didn't want to release dangerous Rachni on the Galaxy again, instinct was all he really had to go by.

VS- Kaidan being the most apparent choice, Shep left him with the bomb...and Ash with Kirrahe....When having to make the choice, Shep chose what he saw as the most professional and tactical choice...Kaidan not only out ranked Ash, but more importantly, that bomb had to go off no matter what the cost...so went back for Kaidan.

Wrex- Saved...What more can Shep say...he talked Wrex down.

Council- Saved the Council, a tactical decision...regardless of the trouble the council had given him, Shep knows in times of great crisis, people will rally around their politicians and look for guidance...he knows the Reapers will come and he will need all the species coming together to fight as one and the only way to really achieve this is to keep their political hub intact....thus saving the Council....Another bonus is the DA, will be needed when the Reapers arrive.

Collector Base- Destroyed...the loss of the Base may prove a tactical disadvantage...but Cerberus is just too dangerous, ruthless and irresponsible to have access to the Base...as Shep says to TIM..."Your completely ruthless, next thing is you will be trying to make your own Reaper"...that was not a throw away line from Shep, he truly believes this is what TIM will try...Shep has his hands full enough with the Reapers, he doesn't need a battle on two fronts.

LM's- After having joined minds/bodies with Shai'ira...Shep knows she has clear insight/intel...he received an email from her, warning him that his squad will "need clear minds and glad hearts" for this mission...he heeded that warning and made sure his squad were exactly that...they needed it, he did it.

Genophage Data- Saved it, but Sheps not too sure what he will do with it...to some degree, he agrees with the necessity of the original genophage, he doesn't like it, but understands the need...the Krogan are a very highly aggressive species...Shep does feel modifying the genophage was either un-necessary or premature though, it should not have been done...So anyway, he has the data, just undecided what to do next though....wants to seek a lot more information first before anything is done with the data.

A House Divided- Shep realized he was dealing with some very foreign
minds, so decided his best course of action, for once, was to listen to
another for recommendation...a rare moment for my Shep....he paid an
enormous amount of attention to what Legion had to say about rewrite or
destroy and accepting that he was dealing with something completely
foreign and chose to accept Legions word that rewrite is most likely not
the trauma it would inflict on an organic species...and rewrote.

Overlord- Sent David Archer to Grissom...no way in hell was Shep going to let Gavin continue his torture and cruelty on David, so pistol whipped Gavin and got David the hell outta there....Shep has seen a lot of bad things, but that one just floored him completely.


"Alternatively- or additionally- what is your Shepard's reasonings behind
their fight against the Reapers? Is it pragmatism? Is it personal? Is
there some weird, hidden secret that propels them towards victory? Does
their friends, their past, or the LI somehow motivate it?"

Shep is a Top Gun and sees himself as such...he truly believes he can stop the Reapers, utmost faith in himself...Someones gotta stop them and he can...He does plan to retire not long after, but first his got a job to do.

No LI...He has finally met someone who floats his boat, but she is still in mourning for her murdered boyfriend...Sheps patient, he can wait....being as fond of himself as he is, he knows she will eventually be his.

Modifié par Golden Owl, 23 juillet 2011 - 12:27 .

[Unpleasant Implications]

I'm a PS3 player so not too many ME1 choices:

Rachni Queen: Alive
The Rachni placed the majority of the Galaxy in peril and could only be defeated by un-genophaged Krogan. That would be an incredibly powerful ally for the future. And as she said, she was merely an egg when the War happeed and merely wished to live with her children, so this was the first chance she took, hoping the Rachni would prove to be the ally she hoped.

Wrex: Alive
Wrex was an incredbly capable Warrior and Janice would need all the help she could get. So she talked him down.

Council: Same old, Same old
Thanks to her magnificent foresight, Janice knew the game would span a trilogy, so she knew they would win. In order to keep good relations with other species, she kept the old council around in order to prevent chances of anarchy and hostility against humanity.

Human councilor: Anderson
Udina was far to ambitious and dismissive of her to keep him in power. For all she knew, he would turn on her once he gained that power, Anderson wouldn't.

Mordin LM: let Maelon go, kept genophage cure
Janice Shepard decides who she kills based on their threat level, Maelon proved to no longer be a threat without his STG connections, and she kept his cure data as Ishe may need it to either appease the Krogan or for emergency replenishing of front-line soldiers, you never know.

Miranda LM: Told her to keep contact with her sister
She believed this would boost her morale and will to live as now that her sisiter knew who she was, if she(Miranda) dies, she knows her sister would be devastated, and will do anything to prevent that.

Garrus: Kept him from shooting Sidonis
Sidonis no longer seemed to be a threat and Garrus was becoming a bit to feral on the trigger, so she had to keep him calm and paragon in order to keep him from becoming impulsive. Who knows, maybe keeping him(Sidonis) around will actually payoff.

Legion LM: Rewrote Geth
The Geth would prove a powerful ally especially with the Heretics sharing memory with the true Geth. Odds are that we may get useful data on the Reapers from them.

Kasumi LM: Kept Graybox(Greybox?)
Whatever is on that Box seemed incredibly important and could prove a threat to the Alliance, she wants to know exactly what she has on her hands before she discards it.

Zaeed LM: saved civilians
She believed the Blue Suns would either replace Vido creating a new unknown threat, or the Blue Suns would become chaotic and separate at the loss of their leader, spreading chaos. It seemed as though this would keep them stable and we still know his identity, we only need to find him again.

Samara LM: saved Samara
Morinth was too much of a wildcard, untrustworthy. Samara was so loyal to her code that she(Janice) knew her loyalty would remain throughout the mission.

Tali: Incited the crowd, encouraged no war with Geth
Believing that having many Quarians on her side instead of simply proving to the Admirals would payoff, she decided to bring the crowd in a united stand to allow Tali to be cleared of her charges. She also kept them from going to war with the Geth because they would be decimated and she'll need all the help she can get to fight the Reapers.

Overlord: Released Gavin(or David, whichever was being experimented on)
As she had Legion, project's goal seemed unnecessary to keep the project going, seeing as how it would benefit Cerberus, her now enemy. Also...her heartstrings were pulled a bit when she saw how they had him contained.

Collector Base: Dust in the cosmicwinds
The Illusive Man was too ambiguous too allow something as important as data on Reaper creation to be left to him. She didn't know where his loyalties lied, so she decided the consequences of losing the base were lighter than allowing him to keep it.

That's longer than I thought it would be... oh well.

Modifié par Unpleasant Implications, 22 juillet 2011 - 06:10 .

[S.A.K]

My canon shepard: Used sheploo(I think his face is iconic). 100% paragon/10%renegade. Spacer, war hero and a really nice guy untill someone pisses him off.
In ME1 : saved the council, rachni and everyone on feron except for that annoying chinese looking guy who my Shep shot in the face. Stayed single untill Tali ME2.
In ME2 : All paragon outcomes in LM and everyone is loyal and alive. Destroyed the collector base, Romanced Tali.

[Commander_Adept]

My normal Shepard, let me think. I've had 11 Sheps lol

I believe he killed all of the colonists (Maybe save 1, Idk) on Zhu's Hope because the grenade system in Mass 1 was awful. It's not that he didn't try... For some reason, grenades are bad frisbees.

Let the council die. He's not exactly human-centric or biased towards humans (He would've left both Ash and Kaidan on Virmire if he could've) but the council were bringing him and his cause down at almost every level, and there were thousands and thousands of human lives that could've been saved instead.

Ignored Liara and Ashley's advances completely. Was purely focused on bringing Saren down, and thus saved Kaidan's life, to ensure that the nuke went off.

Saved Wrex on Virmire. He'd realized that Shep cared about him because he helped him get his armor back.

Appointed Udina as councillor. Since the Council was likely going to be ****ty regardless, he'd rather have someone who knew what they were doing politically, plus you could tell that Anderson wouldn't be happy with the job.

Recruited all squad mates in Mass Effect 2. Did all loyalty missions, saved everyone (Later regretted not letting Miranda die... But that's what the other ten sheps were for! )

Destroyed the Heretic Geth. Shepard liked the Quarians enough that he didn't want to add to their opposition, in addition to not wanting the Geth to later come to the same conclusion that they had previously.

Let Jack kill Aresh. Then later romanced her and fell in love for the first time of his life.

Let Garrus kill Sidonis. It's not like Shepard and Garrus don't kill dozens of people a day anyway (Sometimes 300,000), what's one more, that actually would be a meaningful kill?

Didn't let Miranda talk to her sister, because **** Miranda's happiness.

Left Ronald Taylor to die with his buddies.

****ed out the Admiralty Board and got Tali and her father off scot free.

Noticed that not only was Morinth much cleverer than Samara, but had a better moveset and seemed quicker on her feet. While he didn't necessarily want to kill Samara, he knew that the chances of surviving the suicide mission were better with someone who was even more powerful, in some ways. Killed Samara and took Morinth.

Killed Maelon. His research may have been a good idea, but he went about it completely wrong.

Threatened to sell some balls to a Krogan. Got information quite well. Thane met up with his kid and they had a grand ol' time.

Donovan Hock go BOOM

Zaeed got his revenge, nice and sweet.

Grunt took down a freaking THRESHER MAW no problem, in record time. (Thank you, Cain)

Garrus had a good time leading a team that didn't all die twice at the Collector Base. Legion seemed to do quite well in the vents, especially since heat likely wouldn't affect him like it would organics. Morinth created a wonderful biotic shield for me, Jack and Legion to go through and troll husks and Harbinger with Shockwave & Combat Drone. Jack and Legion then came with Shep to bring down the Human Reaper. While Jack wasn't a fan of saving the base, Shepard thought that it was useful against the Reaper threat... Destroying it would only make the deaths of the colonists useless.

Shepard's ready for the real war to begin... And he wants his main mates, Jack and Legion, there with him. Garrus works too, though

[rapscallioness]

Hmm..okay I'll bite:

1) Saved as many Ferros colonists as I could...because I could. I had the resource and ability to do so, so why not. Did have to gun down 1 or 2 after I ran outta grenades, but that's the way it goes.

2) Released Rachni Queen because wiping out an entire species is...too much for my Shep. In addition she wasn't even a part of it; she didn't ask to be reanimated; and she'd been kept and tortured and mind raped by Benezia...enough is enough.

3)Saved Kaidan because he's my LI, and more useful to my Soldier Shep. (and of course saved Wrex...)

4) Talked Toombs down. Wanted Wayne to turn evidence against Cerberus.

5) Released Jeong...but...ooh. It was more an experiment because I really wanted to shoot him in the face. (in fact I did the first time:whistle:)

6) Zaeed? F*ck Zaeed. Saved the workers because we coulda gotten Vido w/out Z. blowing up the refinery. I was ready to put a bullet in his face the 1st time he got up in my face. Didn't need, nor want his loyalty. Somehow eneded up getting it anyway....meh

7) Saved the Council...or really the Destiny Ascension. Tough choice, but was under the impression that there were 10,000 ppl on it at the time...and the Council.

8) Anderson=Councilor because nobody stabs me in the back, Udina. Nobody..lol. But also because I thought they could use a military insight on things...

9) Rewrote Geth, but tough choice. Really tough choice. In the end I went meta game. I'm building an army. Hope it works. Idk.

10) Didn't rat Tali's dad out because it meant so much to her....and because I could still get her acqutted.

11) Saved Sidonis, but not for Sidonis-for Garrus. It was doing weird things to him. Alternately, let him shoot Dr. Saleon because.....eww

12) Destroyed Collector base because I don't trust TIM w/ that info, and ...eww.

13) Sent Cerberus data to Alliance, for whatever it may be worth because I don't like Cerberus.

14) Stayed faithful to LI cuz that's just the way I roll.

Basically my Shep  will gun you down if she has to gun you down, but if she can get results without gunning ppl down, then that's preferred. And sometimes it's selfish like w/Wayne. I wanted to shoot him, but I thought he might have good evidence. But the Collector base...some things just need to be Smited!  Ha!

[Nyreen]

C9316 wrote...

My shepard also saved the council. He knew all the other races were fighting for the citadel and he felt that humanity had to do it's part, no matter what. He felt that by leaving the council to die or focusing only on sovereign would only reinforce the belief that humanity was selfish, reckless, and hungry for political power. He wanted humans to be seen in a new light that day, that humans were cooperative, and ready to defend not only the other races, but galactic stability as a whole with their lives.

See! Look how logical and benevolent this sounds--WHY did that have to make it a renegade choice?

[Cypher0020]

Wow this is a new one! Ok lemme think.... using my cannon Teddy here....

Zhu's Hope- spared the colonists, and Shiala. When Teddy discovered the gas grenades it gave her ample time to disable rather than kill, and she couldn't murder Shiala in cold blood since she knew the Thorian was corrupting everyone.

Dr. Saleon: Although he foolishly got himself killed, Teddy put Garrus on the.... paragon path? Tried to convince her friend to let the creep go... she knows Garrus is a stronger man than that.

Geth Data: Gave it to Tali in ME1. Knew it was important to her.

Wrex's Armor: She likes Wrex, and knew it was important to him. A nice 'normal' mission in the grand scheme of crazy going on.

Toombs: Oh boy. Being a survivor of Akuze she REALLY wanted to kill Dr. Wayne. But she didn't. Wayne was arrested, and Toombs sent to HQ for treatment. The letter she got in ME2 scared the daylights out of her.

Virmire: Oh god not Virmire. She lost Ash that day. She was in love her Kaidan- she tells herself that's not the reason....he was in fact a superior officer, but that doesn't make the hurt go away.

Council: Spared them and the Destiny Acension. She knows they're key figures in maintaining peace, and as a Spectre its her duty to protect them.

Human Choice: Happily put her mentor Anderson in the new role.

Mass Effect 2

Overlord: Freed David. Chalked up yet another reason to hate Cerberus. Imagine that lol

LOTSB: Helped out her old friend Liara, and rescued Feron. Reluctantly allowed her friend to become the new Shadow Broker.

Arrival: Tried to warn the Batarians. Shot Kenson. Will regret what she did for the rest of her life. More guilt after Akuze and Virmire. Nightmare fuel.

Squad Missions

Miranda: Reunited with Oriana
Jacob: Father arrested
Garrus: Sidonis lives
Tali: Cleared of charges
Jack: Aresh spared
Legion: Geth rewritten
Grunt: Battled Thresher Maw together
Kasumi: Grey box kept
Zaeed: worked spared, wonders how he's still loyal...o.0
Mordin: partner lived... cure destroyed.... or kept? I can't remember this one....
Samara: Choose her over Mornith. Much as she pitied her, she knew that she had to be killed deep down inside

Suicide Mission: Squaddies AND Crew all pulled out alive! Proudest moment of Teddy's life ever!

Also did side stuff such as upgrading the ship, picked up ice brandy for Chakwas, and made sure Ken and Gabby had their spare parts

When asked about all these things...Teddy does them simply because its the right thing to do. Being a Spectre is doing the little things along with the big missions of uber awesome explosions! She loves her crew, the ME1 and ME2 ones...and yes can't imagine the ship without EDI and Joker at the helm too

[Xarathox]

Zhu's Hope: Saved the majority of the colony. The four who died were a misshap when a frag grenade was tossed instead of the neurotoxin one. Regretted it, but collateral damage is sometimes a part of war.

Toombs: Eventually talked Toombs down from killing the doc, instilling in him that he need not head down that road. While Toombs would've been justified in his action Shepard didn't want to witness him becoming a monster like Shepard views himself.

Rachni Queen: Spared the queen. Due to Shepards unique perspective, he recognized from his conversation with her and the description of her memories that her ancestors were actually indoctrinated and not the boogie men the council races feared.

Virmire; Part 1: Spared Wrex. While understandable about Wrex' reluctance on the destruction of a Genophage cure, he was glad Wrex saw how being a slave to Saren was an even bigger injustice.

Virmire; Part 2: Sacrificed Ashley to secure the complete destruction of Sarens base. Her death was a personal one, from which Shepard has never recovered. Lossing someone under his command has always been a hard pill to swallow but lossing a friend, especially in a conscience decision to leave that friend behind to die, was never something Shepard had experienced in his long career. Shepard understands Ashley's reasoning behind her sacrifice, in the hopes of restoring her families honor, he does not agree with it.

Citadel Council: Saved the council as both a sign of respect and trust, since they saw in him he had what it took to be inducted into the esteemed SPECTRE organization. He also recognized the significance the human fleet's impact would have in the eyes of the galactic community. Regrets the staggering loss of life, however. Many mothers lost a child that day.