mass effect squadmates au
was talking with @rannoch and @camalyng about what if you got different squadmates at different games so my line up ended up being:
Jacob - Alliance officer with you from the start, when Shepard dies that's when he goes over to Cerberus in an attempt to get his friend back from the dead, he's very wary about Cerberus though given what they went through with them in ME1 sidequests
Miranda - Cerberus spy sent by TIM to find out what's going on, she steals the information from the geth about Saren and Benezia and joins Shepard at the Citadel, her ties to Cerberus are unknown in this game
Jack - Recruited during the Cerberus sidequests, she's gone on to destroy there stuff having not been imprisoned. Shepard and co find her and are impressed enough with her biotics they ask her to help them. She's the one angry about you joining up with Cerberus in ME2 on Horizon.
Legion - Joins midway through and brings a whole different perspective about the geth and what's going on with them and Sovereign, a lot of outcry is made about Legion joining but Shepard chooses to trust them
Kasumi - I'm ngl I mostly just wanted her in ME1 as a joke so when she meets the Thorian she can just be "it's a plant" in that deadpanned disbelieving way again but let's say stole some data from Saren and now needs Shepard's help to avoid him.
Thane - Hired by Saren to kill Shepard but turns that around a la Zev in Dragon Age style, introducing us to the Drell and Kepral Syndrome a lot sooner.
(also Virmire? what Virmire, I don't know her)
Miranda - Still brings Shepard back, at first you think it's just her bringing her friend back and then the twist comes she was with Cerberus all along. Of course at the end of the game she defects having been with Shepard this long.
Jacob - Joins Cerberus to help bring Shepard back and is pissed at Mirada for lying to them, holds the grudge through most of the game, rework his loyalty mission to be about confronting old Alliance friends who now see him as the traitor for joining Cerberus.
Legion - The one investigating the Collectors on the Geth side, rejoins Shepard Commander. Still stole their armor.
EDI - After Legion joins they help EDI get a new body which allows her to go on missions with the team, becomes the unshackled AI a lot sooner but the ME1 squad is chiller about it having been with Legion too
Ashley - Alliance soldier assigned to you by Hackett to keep an eye on Shepard after the news of Shepard being alive and with Cerberus breaks out, absolutely doesn't trust Shepard or anyone on the ship for a while
James - Followed Shepard as a hero worship type deal and unofficially shadowing Ashley to watch Shepard as an Alliance soldier, technically not supposed to be there at all which you learn on his loyalty mission but he wants to help
Tali - Rescued on Haelstorm still, totally rearranges again how you see the Geth with the Quarian side of the story now. She mostly joins up because she doesn't trust that this team can do anything and she thinks she can get enough data to send back to the Quarian fleet but comes around to the crew
Javik - The last unmodified Prothean found at the end of the Collector's base mission about to be modified but rescued. It's at this point you learn the Collectors were Protheans and what happened to them.
Zaeed - ngl, I got nothing for him, recruit the same way I guess
Garrus - Same sort of setup where if you never recruit him in ME1 he becomes Archangel anyway, never even ran into Shepard in ME1 in the Citadel but was inspired by them to take up the fight and fought in the battle of the Citadel on the ground where he saw Sovereign up close
Grunt - again I got nothing but def shapes part of how to view the Krogan having him as a squadmate first before Wrex
Jack - Was on Horizon to help, ("look what you did to me Shepard, pathetic.") Actually doesn't join up on Horizon though because she's too mad about the Cerberus thing. Gets stuck in the prison though and after rescuing her will rejoin Shepard with the promise to burn Cerberus from the inside out.
Legion (and EDI) - Re-re-joining to help Shepard Commander because I'm weak for the Geth. Not always available however because they're helping EDI so sometimes EDI will take their place on the missions as an option.
Wrex - Since he wasn't inspired/pushed on by Shepard in ME1 he's not the leader of the Krogan now, that would be his brother Wreav, but heard rumour of the Salarians keeping female Krogan with the cure. Hates having to ask for Shepard or the Councils help for this but promises his support and the Krogans if it's done. Lowkey plans to do this by killing Wreav though.
Mordin - Recruited during the Genophage cure period as well, can see how the galaxy needs the Krogan during this time but not sure he agrees about the after effects that may occur.
Samara - Assigned to you by the Asari council in their attempt to show they do support you but like, can't support earth yet you see? All three of her daughters appear in the Ardat-Yashi monastery (Morinth having gone to save her sisters) and there's still the choice to replace her with Morinth which may have consequences down the line
Kaidan - Since he wasn't assigned to Shepard he was assigned by Anderson to help Kahlee Sanders at Grissom Academy which is attacked in ME3 as usual, he's there helping the students along with Jack and opts to join Shepard so Jack knows someone has Shepard's back but can stay with her students
Liara - After finding out everything her mother did in ME1 she threw herself into figuring out everything that was going on with the Reapers, this made her cross paths with the Shadowbroker and take over the organization. Turns out she was the one Shadowbroker agent you talk to briefly in ME2 while she was infiltrating the place.
