I’ve done a LOT of thinking and headcanoning about the N program, so for N7 day, I thought I’d share them for anyone who might be interested. :D
The fact that Shepard is a badass is something we all take for granted, because of COURSE Shepard is a badass. But I wanted to really take a close look at the N program to understand why and how, because it’s never really a focus in the trilogy aside from the really fucking kickass N7 logo.
I used the codex entry about the N program as a starting point, and filled in the gaps by doing some basic research on US spec-ops programs and extrapolating it to space.
I made the N training modular, undergone at spaced out intervals instead of all at once. This means that it would take over a year, if not longer, to go from N1 to N7.
As my Shepard is a biotic, I did a lot of poking at what it would be like to undergo such rigorous and brutal training in which food deprivation is standard as someone whose body requires significantly higher calorie counts than most humans. Given the rarity of human biotics, and the even greater scarcity of functional human biotics who would be of combat age, I also liked the idea that the Alliance doesn’t know what to do with human biotics. When Shepard goes through the program, the general line of thinking is just…survive it. It is only once more biotics attempt the N program - many of whom wash out - that the Alliance starts trying to integrate them. Kaidan Alenko is a key driver of the biotics training that eventually gets added to the N4 specialization course.
Since I have written heavily about N1 and N7 specifically, I put a lot of thought into what those particular programs look like in detail.
For N1 this meant developing an incredibly advanced Armax Arena-style simulator technology, nicknamed the Can, that sits off the coast of Brazil. This simulator, which is lined with gravitic plates that can raise and lower gravity in any plane, allows for elaborate recreations of alien environments, zero g and high g scenarios, and space combat, along with VI hostiles of any alien species.
For N7, I adopted Anderson’s description of the N7 asteroid test rather than the original codex account that states N7 is more or less awarded when a candidate proves themselves in combat, because I didn’t like the notion that N7 functioned more like a medal earned by random chance than something that could be earned via consistently administered and scored criteria. But I also didn’t like the idea that the asteroid test was basically a measure of how long you could hold your breath in vacuum. So I set it up as a skills test: candidates are dropped behind “enemy lines” in the asteroid belt, and told to survive as long as possible with limited supplies while being pursued by “hostiles” (other Ns). The idea is that candidates have to use everything they’ve learned about combat, survival, and zero-G to make the cut.
The document linked below includes my notes on what training is provided at each N level, where said training takes place, and its duration. I chose Ihla Grande, an island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, as the actual location of the Villa.
This was a ton of fun to develop, and a lot of fun to write about.
If you want to see fic that puts it in action, here is where I have written about it:
N1: Hope In These Wires, from Fugue.
N5: Fall From Your Ladder, from Cantata
N7: Facing Giants, from Cantata.
And just for fun, here’s the fic celebrating Shepard’s N7 achievement, with kissing.
janainaart
jacobvanloon
germansingergirl
2087
origamiaround
theartofmadeline
