This article describes the '''''characters of [[Mass Effect]]''''', an [[Xbox 360]] [[action role-playing game]] developed by [[BioWare]]. The game was released on [[November 20]], [[2007]].
'''David Anderson''' is a fictional character in [[Bioware]]'s [[Mass Effect]] series of video games and novels. Created by writer [[Drew Karpyshyn]], Anderson appears as the protagonist of the novel [[Mass Effect: Revelation]], then later as the supervisor to the player's Commander Shepard in the first video game.
[[Image:David Anderson Mass Effect.jpg|thumb|200px|right| David Anderson]]
== Main Character ==
==Mass Effect: Revelation==
===Commander Shepard===
In the novel, David Anderson is depicted as a young lieutenant who discovered the massacre at the research station on Sidon and lead the ensuing investigation into those responsible for it. Lt. Anderson is considered one of the Alliance's 'elites', having been trained in the N7 Marine program, graduating from the Arcturus Academy, as well as serving with honor in the First Contact War between the turians and the Alliance. Before he began his investigation of the massacre at Sidon, Anderson served as the Executive Officer of the [[SSV Hastings]].
{{main|Commander Shepard}}
Commander Shepard is a veteran soldier, having seen action in multiple engagements across the galaxy. As a newly recruited Spectre agent, Shepard is assigned the most important missions in the galaxy and authorized to do whatever it takes to get those missions done. Something may have to be sacrificed to further the mission, and as all of Shepard's decisions are important ones, people's lives, and the fate of the galaxy, hang on the details of each choice. It is up to the game player to make those choices -- and to live with the consequences that result.
== Party members ==
It is confirmed that Anderson was capable and had been considered a suitable candidate to represent Humanity in the Spectre agency. However, [[Saren]], a [[Turian]] and the antagonist of the game, spoke poorly of him in front of the Council causing Anderson to be overlooked.<ref>{{cite book| title = "Mass Effect: Revelation" | url = http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/034549816X/ref=s9_asin_image_1/102-4050861-3530561?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0PQ3CSYJ4R7A1KH5ST1S&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=292858701&pf_rd_i=507846 | publisher = Del Rey}}</ref>
===Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams===
A human female Alliance Marine that enlisted straight out of high school and is a competent non-commissioned officer. She joins the party during the first mission (after the death of her squad) replacing Corporal L. Jenkins. Ashley is a pure soldier, great with weapons, but no skills with biotics or technology. Confirmed romanceable for male players. Williams is voiced by [[Kimberly Brooks]].
During the investigation, Anderson fell in love with key witness/prime suspect Kahlee Sanders. However, they mutually agreed not to continue a romance after the investigation, in part because she was assigned to a classified scientific project, and also that their careers made marriage impossible.
===Liara T'Soni===
==Mass Effect==
An asari companion that has a passion for studying and working with Prothean technology. Her field of work specialises in the Prothean's demise. She is infact found in a Prothean ruin, trapped in a kinetic bubble prison. Confirmed romanceable for both male and female players. <ref>{{cite website| title = "Bisexual extraterrestrials steaming up Mass Effect"| url = http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=25928388&sid=6179029&om_act=convert&om_clk=newstop&tag=newstop;title;5| publisher = Gamespot}} </ref> In the game world created by Bioware for Mass Effect, the Asari have only one gender, female, and as such have the ability to reproduce with any gender <ref>{{cite website| title="Mass Effect Community-Female Romance Options"| url = http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=598972&forum=123| publisher = BioWare}}</ref>. Liara is voiced by [[Ali Hillis]].
David Anderson is the commanding officer of [[Commander Shepard]], the central character of the video game.<ref>{{cite website| title = "Mass Effect - Heroes and Villains" | url = http://blogs.ign.com/BioWare_Games/2007/07/30/61801/ | publisher = IGN.com}}</ref> At first he commands the Normandy, but is quickly put into early retirment to give Shepard command of the Normandy. After that, he can be found on Citadel Station, beside the Human Ambassador. When the Normandy is locked down by the Council, he unlocks it by either going to the Ambassador's office and overriding it, or sneaking into C-Sec and changing it there. After the Geth invasion of the Citadel, the player can choose him (regardless if the player decided to allow the Council to die or not) to become the Human representative of the Council.
===Kaiden Alenko===
He is voiced by [[Keith David]]<ref>{{cite website| title = "IMDB - Keith David" | url = http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0202966/ | publisher = imdb.com}}</ref>
A human male party member that accompanies Shepard from the very beginning of the game. Kaiden is highly skilled in both engineering and biotics (he is a Sentinel character class). Confirmed romanceable for female players. He is also one of the characters the player must make a choice over living or dying (the other being Ashley). Voiced by [[Raphael Sbarge]].
===Garrus Vakarian===
==External links==
A male turian party member. Garrus is a member of the Citadel security force, a detective who has never liked or trusted Saren. He is skilled at both weapons and engineering (very similar to the Infiltrator character class). Voiced by [[Brandon Keener]].
* [http://masseffect.bioware.com/galacticcodex/revelation_prologue_01.html A chapter] from [[Mass Effect: Revelation]] featuring Lt. Anderson.
* [http://www.gamespot.com/video/930279/6174539/videoplayerpop?rgroup=e32007_videos Game footage] featuring information about the character of David Anderson.
[[Image:wrex.png|left|100px|Urdnot Wrex]]
===Urdnot Wrex===
Wrex is among the last of the krogan Battle Masters. They are rare individuals who can combine biotic abilities with advanced weaponry. Wrex quickly gained fame for his battle prowess and became a leader of one of the smaller Urdnot tribes at a very young age. To date, Wrex is the youngest krogan to be granted the honor in 1000 years.
Following the krogan genophage, Wrex realized that his people had degenerated from the honor-bound people they once were and had become senselessly violent, preferring death in battle rather than saving their culture through peaceful means. Wrex subsequently turned his back on his people. During the past three centuries, Wrex has worked as a bodyguard, mercenary, soldier and a bounty hunter.
Despite his menacing appearance, Wrex rarely loses his temper. Likewise, Wrex doesn't voice his thoughts very often. But when he does, people are more than willing to listen. The mere threat of his anger is enough to ensure that. <ref>{{cite website| title = "Galactic Codex - Krogan Series Part 3: Wrex, Krogan Battle Master" | url = http://masseffect.bioware.com/galacticcodex/krogan_wrex.html | publisher = BioWare}}</ref>
Wrex has abilities very similar to the Vanguard character class (a mix of combat and biotic skills). Voiced by [[Steve Barr]].
===Tali'Zorah nar Rayya===
A female quarian party member. Tali'Zorah is introduced as a way to get to Fist, a gangster and owner of a gentlemen's club on The Citadel. She is an engineer (specializes in tech abilities) and is away from her home because of her culture's belief in a necessary journey away from home. She has some trouble adjusting to the quiet atmosphere of the Normandy because the ships she lived on at her home were all rather loud and clunky, and silence usually meant an air filter or other important component had broken.
Tali (as she likes to be called) is a pure engineer, a technical specialist with minimal gun handling skills but great technical abilities. Voiced by [[Liz Sroka]].
== Allies ==
===Captain David Anderson===
{{main|David Anderson (Mass Effect)}}
Captain of the Normandy at the start of the game. In the prequel novel [[Mass Effect: Revelation]] he is the main character and partner/rival of [[Saren]]. In the game, Captain Anderson is a highly respected officer and serves as Shepard's mentor but he soon steps out of the plot when Shepard is given command of the Normandy. Voiced by [[Keith David]] <ref>{{cite website| title = "Mass Effect - Heroes and Villains" | url = http://blogs.ign.com/BioWare_Games/2007/07/30/61801/ | publisher = IGN.com}}</ref>
===Jeff "Joker" Moreau===
The pilot of the Normandy. He suffers from a hereditary disease that caused the bones in his leg to become brittle to the point where his legs were breaking in the womb. As a result of this, he became a pilot (as it wouldn't require any standing) and is now the best in the Alliance fleet. Voiced by [[Seth Green]].
===Navigator Pressly===
Navigator Pressly is the second-in-command of the ship, under only Commander Shepard himself. He takes over the ship when Shepard is out. He, as well as several other human members of Shepard's team, has some problems getting along with his alien companions.
===Corporal Richard L. Jenkins===
A member of Shepard's team during the first mission on Eden Prime. Confirmed to be a [[Leeroy Jenkins]] reference{{fact | date= November 2007}}. Jenkins is killed in a manner similar to his namesake as well. Without waiting for orders, Jenkins dashes from cover where he is immediately cut down by the [[Geth]].
===Nihlus Kryik===
A decorated turian Spectre agent, Nihlus is first encountered aboard the Normandy at the beginning of the game. He is killed mid-way through the first mission by Saren in a pre-scripted event that the player has no control over. Nihlus refuses to accompany the group, and instead scouts ahead alone. Saren takes advantage of this to shoot him in the back.
Nihlus has a back story found in the Mass Effect novel. He was born in a small colony outside of Hierarchy space. After the death of his father, his mother forced him to join the turian military. Despite his exceptional marks in class, he was never truly accepted by his peers due to his outsider status. While Nihlus was undeniably an excellent soldier, his reckless behavior in battle earned him nothing but criticism from his superiors.
It was during his third reassignment that he met [[Saren Arterius]], a fellow turian and renowned Spectre. Impressed with the young soldier's abilities, Saren befriended Nihlus, and offered to mentor him. Within a year of meeting Saren, Nihlus was asked to join the Spectres.
Nihlus soon stepped out of Saren's shadow and quickly established himself as one of the Council's most able bodied agents. He maintains a cool composure when under dire circumstances and has an uncanny ability to root out an enemy's weaknesses and exploit them. While his methods are not as brutal as Saren's, he will take any steps necessary to get the job done--and eradicate anyone or anything that stands in his way. <ref>{{cite website| title = "Spectre Agent Nihlus Kryik" | url = http://masseffect.bioware.com/galacticcodex/nihlus.html| publisher = BioWare}}</ref> He is killed by Saren on Eden Prime.
===Shialia===
Shialia is known as ''the Consort'' and you first find her (if you look) in the giant space habitat called the Citadel (which you go to after the first mission). There are several quests associated with Shialia and she has a number of acolytes who follow in her footsteps. Shialia is first presented very much as a [[Oracle]], though her acolytes claim she is just an unusual Asari.
== Enemies ==
===Saren Arterius===
{{main|Saren Arterius}}
A Spectre turian agent gone rogue, Saren Arterius was best known for 'getting results' through brutal but efficient means. He harbors a seething hatred for humans, which is speculated by other characters in the novel to stem from the loss of his brother in the First Contact War. After the events described in [[Mass Effect: Revelation]], Saren takes command of an army of Geth. He serves as the primary antagonist of the video game. It is assumed that he was enslaved by Sovereign while trying to find a way to stop the Reapers from returning.
===Benezia===
An asari matriarch who is in league with Saren. She is also the mother of Liara, the "Father" is unknown, as Benezia was ashamed of mating with another Asari. She is enslaved by Sovereign into finding the location of the Mu Mass Relay. She is killed by the player after realizing this fact after making peace with her daughter. She is a master of Biotics. She is voiced by [[Marina Sirtis]].
===Sovereign===
A single ship/entity of the [[Alien_races_in_Mass_Effect#Reapers|Reapers]]. He uses an ability to make allies by using subtle [[subliminal messages]]. It is unclear whether Sovereign is the ship itself or simply a computer that exerts control over the ship. He is left alone in the Galaxy as a vanguard to activate the Citadel Mass Relay every 50,000 years. It is the last enemy of the game, possessing Saren's corpse though his implants. The ship itself is destroyed at the end of the game by the Alliance Fleet.
==References==
==References==
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{{reflist}}
{{MassEffect}}
== External links ==
{{Importance|date=August 2007}}
* [http://masseffect.bioware.com/ Official Website]
* [http://www.completemasseffect.com/index.php?title=Characters The Complete Mass Effect Wiki: Characters]
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[[Category:Fictional soldiers]]
[[Category:Mass Effect characters]]
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Revision as of 13:31, 27 November 2007
David Anderson is a fictional character in Bioware's Mass Effect series of video games and novels. Created by writer Drew Karpyshyn, Anderson appears as the protagonist of the novel Mass Effect: Revelation, then later as the supervisor to the player's Commander Shepard in the first video game.
In the novel, David Anderson is depicted as a young lieutenant who discovered the massacre at the research station on Sidon and lead the ensuing investigation into those responsible for it. Lt. Anderson is considered one of the Alliance's 'elites', having been trained in the N7 Marine program, graduating from the Arcturus Academy, as well as serving with honor in the First Contact War between the turians and the Alliance. Before he began his investigation of the massacre at Sidon, Anderson served as the Executive Officer of the SSV Hastings.
It is confirmed that Anderson was capable and had been considered a suitable candidate to represent Humanity in the Spectre agency. However, Saren, a Turian and the antagonist of the game, spoke poorly of him in front of the Council causing Anderson to be overlooked.[1]
During the investigation, Anderson fell in love with key witness/prime suspect Kahlee Sanders. However, they mutually agreed not to continue a romance after the investigation, in part because she was assigned to a classified scientific project, and also that their careers made marriage impossible.
Mass Effect
David Anderson is the commanding officer of Commander Shepard, the central character of the video game.[2] At first he commands the Normandy, but is quickly put into early retirment to give Shepard command of the Normandy. After that, he can be found on Citadel Station, beside the Human Ambassador. When the Normandy is locked down by the Council, he unlocks it by either going to the Ambassador's office and overriding it, or sneaking into C-Sec and changing it there. After the Geth invasion of the Citadel, the player can choose him (regardless if the player decided to allow the Council to die or not) to become the Human representative of the Council.
