Mass Effect 2/Characters/Antagonists and NPCs: Difference between revisions

The current members that govern the quarian Migrant Fleet, composed of Rael'Zorah vas Rayya, Shala'Raan vas Tonbay, Han'Gerrel vas Neema, Zaal'Koris vas Qwib Qwib, and Daro'Xen vas Moreh. They play major roles during Tali's loyalty mission, being the judges in her trial and each member has a unique outlook on the geth/quarian conflict.

* [[Fantastic Racism]] / [[Just a Machine]] : Zaal'Koris is the only one who reflects on both sides of the geth-quarian war. Gerrel and Xen are actively hostile in different ways, while Raan doubts that "they have different factions" will convince people.

** Rael'Zorah seemed to have been a strict officer and a clever fighter, but remained distant from his daughter Tali, though he still loves her dearly. Based on spoken dialogue from the other four admirals, Rael seemed to share Gerrel's opinion in driving the geth out of their homeworld. {{spoiler|To that end, Zorah deliberately reprogrammed captured or dismantled geth to perform experiments, in an effort to successfully hack their neural network. By experimenting on active geth, Rael not only violated sacred laws that predated the quarians' flight from the homeworld, but got everyone on the Alarei killed and endangered the entire fleet.}}.

A close friend of Tali's mother, and flag officer of the Patrol Fleet. Her arm of the flotilla is responsible for picket lines, scouting, and extra-fleet escort duties. Stuck with the fairly thankless task of keeping the other admirals in line, she is sadly aware of the limits of her position and doesn't feel she can do much to change public opinion. If Tali dies in the [[Suicide Mission]], she fills her shoes at certain points in ''Mass Effect 3'''s story, like Padok Wiks does for Mordin.

* {{spoiler|[[Driven to Suicide]]: If Tali's dead, and you save the geth over the quarians, she shoots herself in the head.}}.

* [[Neutral No Longer]]: {{spoiler|Initially was wishy-washy about her stance in the whole Homeworld question, but once momentum started, she sided with Admirals Xen and Gerrel. While Xen wanted to test out all her new toys, and Gerrel was simply itchin' for a fight, Raan just wanted to take the homeworld.}}.

An outspoken opponent of Homeworldhomeworld invasion plans, supporter of geth peace endeavours, and commander of the Civilian Fleet. He's responsible for the well-being of the majority of the fleet's ship numbers.

* [[Cassandra Truth]]: In a cruel twist of fate, he's [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|the only one who believes the geth were justified in exiling them after attempted genocide]] due to the false assumption [[A.I. Is a Crapshoot|they'd go rogue and kill all quarians]]. {{spoiler|He's not at all wrong either.}}.

** [[Nice Guy]]: In ''Mass Effect 3'', he's the only one to stand with Tali in resisting the other admirals' war fever, his main concern is protecting the civilians who make up the bulk of his fleet, and his fervent belief in the fundamental right to life for the geth remains. He ends up becoming more of a [[Reasonable Authority Figure]] than Shala'Raan at times and {{spoiler|his survival}} is absolutely crucial {{spoiler|to broker a peace between the quarians and the geth}}.

* [[The Men First]]: {{spoiler|After crash-landing on Rannoch, he's adamant that Shepard leaves him behind to save the remnants of his crew. You can convince him otherwise, and despite lamenting his loss, he agrees in hindsight that Shepard was right to do so, as he keeps his Civilian Fleet from faltering.}}.

* [[Only Sane Man]]: In ''Mass Effect 2'', he's the only quarian Admiral (in fact, one of the few quarians period) who wants to avoid war with the geth. Keep in mind that even Tali'Zorah, who may or may not be working with a geth at this point, thought of the geth as heartless machines. Koris is the only person to sit back and realize that the geth uprising (or the "Morning War" as the geth call it) was the quarians' own fault and the geth probably just want to live. He also is the only admiral who realizes that an outright war is suicidal (justified, since he's in charge of the civilian fleets). He is literally the only quarian in a position of authority who has come to these logical standpoints. The combination of all this pressure has made him extremely frustrated and desperate, and it makes your initial impression of him in ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' a harsh one. By the third game, he has his act together.

* [[Reasonable Authority Figure]]: Not immediately obvious in ''Mass Effect 2'', since he seems too willing to [[Kick the Dog|get Tali exiled for the sake of politics]], but by ''Mass Effect 3'', he fits this trope absolutely perfectly.

* [[Resigned to the Call]]: {{spoiler|Should you rescue him after his crash-landing, he becomes a hero to his people, having set foot on the homeworld and lived to tell about it. He's reluctant because the entirety of the rest of his ship's crew perished in the process. Ironic, considering he thought the idea of taking back the homeworld was suicidal folly at best.}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Senseless Sacrifice]]: ''Worse'' than senseless;: if you let him die to save his crew, it becomes impossible to avoid the [[Genocide Dilemma]] later}}.

* [[The So-Called Coward]]: Han'Gerrel views him as a coward because he believes in looking for a peaceful resolution to the Geth conflict. {{spoiler|Turns out Zaal'Koris was correct all along.}}.

* [[Took a Level In Kindness]]: He's taken the complete opposite [[Character Development]] in ''Mass Effect 3'' than Han'Gerrel did.

* [[Attack! Attack! Attack!]]: Unless reined in, he ''will'' launch a full frontal assault on anything resembling a geth ship. This includes the geth dreadnought that a fellow Admiral and a hero of the fleet is aboard, and later on, {{spoiler|he'll order the entire Migrant Fleet to open up on the geth fleet while they're disabled, and continue ordering the attack when they've been upgraded with advanced Reaper coding unless Tali, Shepard, Zaal'Koris, ''and'' Shala'Raan order him to stop}}.

* [[Flanderization]]: In the second game, he was the most vocal admiral about wanting to go to war with the geth, but was otherwise incredibly respectful to Shepard and was one of the most sympathetic admirals towards Tali during her trial. Come to the war in the third game, and he becomes single-mindedly obsessed with destroying the geth at the cost of the Migrant Fleet's civilian ships and {{spoiler|even Tali and Shepard while they're on board the geth dreadnought}}. That said, we never saw him at war in ''Mass Effect 2''.

* [[Jerkass]]: Seems to have switched places with Koris in ''Mass Effect 3'', considering his over-eagerness to destroy the geth dreadnought before Shepard and crew were evacuated from it.

* [[Knight Templar]]: By ''Mass Effect 3.''. As they say, [[War Is Hell]].

* [[Leeroy Jenkins]]: He appears to have this propensity in ''Mass Effect 3'' with his Heavy Fleet, much to the consternation of the other military fleet admiral, Patrol Fleet Admiral Shala'Raan.

* [[Manipulative Bastard]]: Despite being a Leeroy, some of his tactics show a cunning political mind;: by forcing the attack on the geth dreadnaught, he put Raan in a position where she either had to back him or risk the destruction of the whole fleet, giving him the chance to destroy the geth flagship and give the quarians a fighting chance again.

* [[Talk to the Fist]]: When Han'Gerrel orders the Migrant Fleet to {{spoiler|bombard the geth dreadnought Shepard and Tali are aboard}}, the aftermath discussion gives Shepard a Renegade interrupt to gut-punch him and boot him off the ''Normandy''. Still, militarily, he made the right decision to {{spoiler|open up on the dreadnought immediately after Legion disabled it, because he simply couldn't take the risk that its weapons, shields, and engines might come back up, and let it go back to ripping through his fleet.}}. Paragon Shepard can recognize this, and simply tell Gerrel to let him/her know before he starts shooting.

* [[Took a Level in Jerkass]]: He goes from being a good friend of Tali and her father to willing to sacrifice her and Shepard to destroy the geth dreadnought. And that's not even covering what he does <ref>orOr at least intended to do before thinking better of it should peace happen.</ref> at the end of the Rannoch arc.

* [[The Unfettered]]: He will stop at ''nothing'' to have his vengeance on the geth. {{spoiler|Even if you manage to get the quarians and geth to make peace, itsit's clear that he is absolutely ''furious''.}}.

* [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]: In ''Mass Effect 2'', he reveals that he believes Tali and Shepard about the Reaper threat (and is one of the few people in any position of authority to do so), and justifies the need to go to war with the geth by claiming that without a planet to shelter their noncombatants, the quarians would be unable to devote the full force of their fleet to the fight against the reapers.

* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: Her interest in Rael'Zorah's research. When you keep quiet about it, she'll send you a message gloating about how she plans to use it on the geth (expose what Rael did and she'll be furious). Additionally, {{spoiler|her use of Rael's research is what starts the quarian-geth war in ''Mass Effect 3''.}}.

'''Legion:''' This platform is not available for experimentation. }}

* [[Just a Machine]]: Doesn't believe at all that the geth are synthetic lifeforms, just machines that have malfunctioned, comparing them to starships (that are superior in various ways but are still just tools), and, if Shepard refers to {{spoiler|Legion's}} help beating the Collectors, she states that the same could be said of his/her pistol. {{spoiler|Thankfully, nothing seems to comes of it to jeopardize peace should you achieve it in ''Mass Effect 3''; she just gets shipped off to the Crucible.}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Apocalyptic Log]]: All we ever see of him, and he uses it to give his only child more orders about what to do with his findings.}}.

* [[Foreshadowing]]: Han's story about their pre-Pilgrimage adventure against batarian pirates tells us he has a reckless side and isn't afraid of bending the rules. {{spoiler|Apparently, promotion to admiral only made this worse.}}.

* [[If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...]]: See [[Papa Wolf]] below.

* [[Married to the Job]]: Raan implies he wasn't always that way, but after Tali's mother died, he threw himself completely into [[Workaholic|his work.]].

* [[Papa Wolf]]: In his letter authorising Tali's transfer to Shepard's command, he notes his concern that Tali may be lead astray by Shepard's influence and that if any harm comes to her whatsover, he will not hesitate to bring the full wrath of the quarian Admiralty Board down on Shepard's head. {{spoiler|He should've put the same thought into his own actions.}}.

** If Tali is romanced, she implies in ''Mass Effect 3'' that {{spoiler|this would have been Rael's reaction to the relationship}}.

{{quote|'''Tali''': I'm having a drink with my boyfriend. My ''human'' boyfriend! {{spoiler|Ha! My father would have ''hated'' you!}}!}}

* {{spoiler|[[Posthumous Character]]: By the time we find him, he's been dead a while.}}.

* [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]: {{spoiler|He wanted to build Tali a house on the home-worldhomeworld, and was prepared to torture sentient creatures in her name in order to achieve that goal.}}.

* [[Cultured Warrior]]: Implied by some of his throwaway comments; Kal's tactical knowledge can be very useful when trying to navigate the last part of [[That One Level|Tali's recruitment mission]], and if {{spoiler|he survives Tali's recruitment mission, he displays quite a bit of knowledge of the political machinations involved in Tali's trial in her loyalty mission.}}.

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: {{spoiler|He offers to distract a Geth Colossus with a rocket launcher. Shepard can save him either by refusing to let him do it or by destroying the Colossus before it kills Reegar.}}.

** {{spoiler|Fully happens in the third game;: he and his squad fix a vital turian comm relay, then hold the position until krogan reinforcements show up.}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Killed Off for Real]]: Even if you save him on Haestrom, he's doomed to die ''off-screen''.}}.

* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: Insists he's "just a soldier,", and he "just shoots things". However, he's smart enough to conclude that attacking the Geth for the homeworld would be suicidal, and also that Tali withheld evidence at her trial if you don't use it.

'''Kal'Reegar:''' Noticed that, ma'am. }}

The closest thing [[Wretched Hive|Omega]] has to a ruler,<ref>Queen, if you're feeling dramatic.</ref> Aria and her forces maintain what passes for order on the station. Not to be fucked with.

** Although she's quite capable of that, too;: as shown in the comics, being the "queen" of Omega hasn't dulled her battle skills any. A Cerberus scientist expresses amazement at her biotic capabilities.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: She has her moments in ''Mass Effect 3''.

'''Aria:''' I think I'm going to employ violence. }}

* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Think that Aria'd be okay with {{spoiler|Collector deals}} on her station if it doesn't bother her? {{spoiler|[http://media.comics.ign.com/media/056/056597/img_7844425.html Think again.]}}.

'''Aria:''' I ''am'' Omega! }}

* [[Iron Lady]]: Anybody who can keep power in [[Wretched Hive|Omega]] for centuries is not to be taken lightly. Also, ''Mass Effect 3'' shows that {{spoiler|she has connections as high as the Asari Councilor and can bypass the immigration process of the Citadel simply by asking her.}}.

** In ''[[Mass Effect: Retribution]]'', she believes that {{spoiler|Grayson killed her daughter Liselle}}. Unfortunately, {{spoiler|this made her fall right into Cerberus' plans, since it was actually Kai Leng}}.

* [[NGO Superpower]]: If Shepard assists Aria in building a force to {{spoiler|re-take Omega from Cerberus}}, that force, the [http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/War_Assets/Alien#Terminus_Fleet Terminus Fleet], will assist in the [[Final Battle]] -... and only the krogan clans and geth fleet are more powerful. Repeat: she's got more firepower than ''an entire turian fleet.''.

* {{spoiler|[[Out-Gambitted]]: Over the course of ''Mass Effect: Invasion''. The Illusive Man is probably lucky Shepard got to him first -... Aria wouldn't have made it so quick.}}.

** A minor one in ''Mass Effect 3''. If Shepard drinks enough in [[Good Guy Bar|Purgatory]] to pass out, s/he comes to next to Aria on Aria's couch, despite the bar being a level and a half above where Aria is sitting.

** Alluded to in ''Mass Effect 3''. [[Call Back|"It looks like there's only one rule on the Citadel."]]

* [[Worthy Opponent]]: She admits that she has a certain level of respect for the "Patriarch.".

* [[Mauve Shirt]]: {{spoiler|If Wrex is still alive, Wreav's tomkah gets consumed by Kalros during the Tuchanka finale mission in ''Mass Effect 3''.}}.

* [[Politically-Incorrect Villain]]: Treats the fertile females in ''Mass Effect 3'' like property and makes disparaging remarks about other species.

* [[Smug Snake]]: Spends much of ''Mass Effect 3'' trying to threaten Shepard. He basically exists to tell the player "You screwed up and now you're stuck with this guy instead of Wrex."

A salarian geneticist, former member of the salarian STG and student of Mordin Solus. He also worked on the {{spoiler|modification of the genophage}} alongside Mordin. Unfortunately, he ends up getting captured by a krogan clan, Weyrloc, who are attempting to reverse the effect of the genophage. {{spoiler|Turns out he actually volunteered.}}.

* [[The Atoner]]: {{spoiler|He views his research to cure the genophage as this. Mordin, on the other hand, views his experiments as far too extreme.}}.

** {{spoiler|If Shepard chooses to cure the krogan, and Maelon is still alive, he will send an ecstatic email to Shepard, revealing that he took Mordin's advice and opened another clinic on Omega. He had to scram when Weyrloc put a bounty on his head, but he's just relieved that something good came out of his work after all.}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Boom! Headshot!]]: Mordin executes him at point-blank range if you don't choose the paragon interrupt.}}.

* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: His research data on the genophage. {{spoiler|If you save it, Mordin / Padok can synthesize a cure from Eve's tissue with much less trauma, keeping her alive.}}.

* [[Hero Worshipper]]: {{spoiler|Prior to his breakdown, he looked up to Mordin. Unfortunately, between the mission to distribute the Modified Genophage and the effects it had on the Krogan, the relationship fell to pieces.}}.

* [[Horrible Judge of Character]]: {{spoiler|Apparently, Maelon thought the krogan would be able to rebuild Tuchanka peacefully with [[Ax Crazy|Weyrloc Guld]] in charge. True, he joined Clan Weyrloc because they would be able to go to lengths that Clan Urdnot wouldn't, but Maelon's fantasy of a krogan cultural renaissance sounds a little hollow while he's working for a chief who brags about how he'll take over the galaxy and eat salarian eggs as a delicacy once the genophage is cured.}}.

* [[Just Smile and Nod]]: At the end of the loyalty mission, {{spoiler|Mordin loses his temper over the experiments Maelon has performed and puts a gun to his former student's head; in the event that you take the Paragon Interrupt, Shepard begs him not to pull the trigger, as - in spite of everything that Maelon's said about him - Mordin isn't a murderer.}}. Maelon can only smile and nod helplessly.

* {{spoiler|[[Killed Off for Real]]: If you don't take the Paragon interrupt, Mordin blows his brains out.}}.

* [[Mad Scientist]]: A well-intentioned one, though.

* [[My God, What Have I Done?]]: He's been wracked with guilt {{spoiler|ever since he and Mordin upgraded the Genophage}}, thereby accounting for the worst of his behaviour. {{spoiler|The Shadow Broker archives show that it started during their first mission on Tuchanka, when they were discovered by krogan guards and had to fight their way out -... unknowingly killing female krogan in the process. When Maelon tried to issue a formal complaint, arguing that it went against the whole point of their mission, Mordin had him sedated. Apparently, the return to "normality" on Tuchanka and the rising stillbirths drove him even further over the edge; Mordin himself confesses that his failure to notice Maleon's distress or do anything about it only worsened the problem.}}. Thankfully, assuming he survives the loyalty mission, Maelon recovers by the third game.

* [[Never My Fault]]: When asked about why {{spoiler|he didn't originally disagree with the upgraded genophage}}, he blames Mordin's influence on his behaviour. Furthermore, when he's actively confronted {{spoiler|over the test subjects killed in his search for a cure}}, he once again blames Mordin's teachings, even going so far as to claim "{{spoiler|The experiments are monstrous because I was taught to be a monster!}}". Mordin, who deplores {{spoiler|the use of live test subjects}}, ''strongly'' disagrees.

* [[Wide-Eyed Idealist]]: In spite of everything he's seen and done, Maelon still manages to be both idealistic and shockingly naive, even during {{spoiler|a guilt-induced mental breakdown}}. Case in point: {{spoiler|he claims that if Mordin's team hadn't upgraded the genophage, an expanded krogan population would have stopped Saren at Eden Prime, if only because the Turian fleets would have been forced to keep an eye on the new Krogan colonies in the Traverse. Mordin, on the other hand, believes that the Turian fleets would have just declared war on the Krogan and killed every last one of them; the third game confirms this by revealing that a Turian bomb had been planted under Tunchkana's crust after the Rebellions, to be used if the Krogan ever rose up again.}}.