Mass Effect 2 Normandy Crew / Characters

This page is for listing the tropes related to non player characters on the Normandy's crew who first appeared in the second Mass Effect game.

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EDI

EDI (Enhanced Defense Intelligence)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/edi_4801.png

I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees...^note

^{Click here for her appearance in Mass Effect 3 (SPOILERS)}

"My replies were intended to provoke, though not to cause distress. Your reactions are atypical of most humans. You are interesting."

Voiced by: Tricia Helfer

When the Normandy is destroyed in an ambush by the Collectors. Cerberus builds a second, twice as large and more powerful Normandy for Shepard's mission. It is now equipped with a shackled Artificial Intelligence called EDI ("Ee-dee", short for Enhanced Defense Intelligence) that runs the combat electronics. In the third game, she acquires a Remote Body and becomes an official party member.

Action Girl: After taking over the Dr. Eva platform in Mass Effect 3, EDI becomes available as a squadmate.
Actor Allusion: A fem-bot who gets in a relationship with a human?
Affectionate Nickname: Inverted. Just about everybody onboard the Normandy refers to Joker by his nickname. Due to the fact that she's an artificial intelligence and is programmed to speak formally, EDI refers to him as "Mr. Moreau" at first. Later, however, she develops a special bond with him, and is the only character to routinely refer to Joker by his given name Jeff.
A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Actively discussed. Almost every organic aboard the Normandy SR-2 expresses concern that she'll turn out this way, shackles or not. She fulfills the trope, entirely against her will, if Shepard fails to stop the Overlord in time during Overlord. Otherwise, she remains completely helpful and friendly to Shepard, actively ignoring her many opportunities to betray them.
Appropriated Appellation: "EDI" stands for Enhanced Defense Intelligence, simply a label of her function. As EDI's character develops, it just sorta... becomes her name.
Aroused by Their Voice: Samantha Traynor sheepishly apologizes for the times she mentions how sexy EDI's voice was when she finds out EDI is an AI. Later on, a recording shows one of the scientists who worked on her confessing it's hard to resist EDI with a voice like hers. Shepard themselves agrees. In fact, in the Citadel DLC it is revealed that Traynor was genuinely aroused by EDI's voice, wanting to do some very naughty things with it... Which EDI was fully supportive of, coincidentally.
Ascended Extra: Introduced in the second game as merely a Exposition Fairy for the ship, becomes her own character and ally to the good guys by the end of the game, and then in the third game she becomes a squadmate and one of the game's major protagonists.
Become a Real Boy: Her character development in Mass Effect 3. There are shades of this in the second game also, since EDI spends a large amount of time trying to understand and rationalize organic behavior. However, it isn't until she gains her own body (and possibly develops a relationship with Joker) that she actually makes concerted efforts to feel "alive". In the Extended Cut, she narrates the Synthesis ending proclaiming that she is alive, as well as symbolically being the Eve to the new tech/organic race. Touchingly it ends with her crying into Shepard's love interest but smiling hopefully. In that regard her arc is pretty important to the game's arc as a whole.
Benevolent A.I.:
- She was built with averting A.I. Is a Crapshoot in mind; she only has access to the weapons systems and the communications array. Joker's still paranoid about it. Even after having her shackles removed, EDI remains one of Shepard's strongest assets against the Reapers and their pawns. She's fully on your side — and very pleasant! — despite being an illegal AI developed from Reaper technology by a terrorist organization. That's some serious subverting right there.
- She reveals in 3 she was built out of the remains of the "Hannibal" VI that Shepard destroyed in the first game on the Moon. Hannibal was hinted to have been modified to make it into a 'true' AI, and it was a Crapshoot, taking control of the drones and turrets and actually killing personnel on Luna when they tried to disconnect it. Despite this past history, EDI holds no malice towards Shepard for doing what they had to do.
Berserk Button: Do not mess with the Normandy against her will. She will kill you, but not before making you suffer first. Hell, the fight on the Normandy in the Citadel DLC might be the only time in the trilogy that she's actually angry. Very, very angry. To the point that Wrex is pleasantly surprised at EDI's level of emotion.
Black Box: Initially has a number of "unspecified" functions. You won't get to learn what they are until late in the game.
Book Ends: Shepard is potentially responsible for the destruction of EDI twice. In the first game, Shepard is forced to destroy EDI's original incarnation, the rogue "Hannibal" AI on the Moon. In the third game, in the Destroy Ending, Shepard is forced to sacrifice EDI, along with all synthetic life, in order to destroy the Reapers.
Bothering by the Book: While the Normandy is typically Mildly Military, it's revealed in Citadel that EDI and Shepard insist on carrying out thirty minutes worth of extensive pre-flight checks before takeoff. These are actually largely unnecessary and the ship can actually be prepped and ready to go in just under five minutes, something the crew are aware of, but decided to just humour them with.
Cannot Keep a Secret: According to Liara in 3, EDI is what is technically called a "blabbermouth". The conversation with Shepard where she brings this up may prove it, if the player didn't do "Lair of the Shadow Broker", and EDI reveals a certain asari's recent career change to an oblivious Shepard. This is why Liara doesn't trust her with secrets.
Shepard: She's the what?!
EDI: ... oops. Perhaps you should have a talk with Liara.
Catchphrase:
EDI: That is a joke.
- Brick Joke:
  Liara: ... Oh, you're joking.
  EDI: A joke has structure. That was just "messing with you".
Character Development: Invariably goes through this in spades during the third game, paragon or renegade.
Chekhov's Gunman: Remember that out-of-control AI on Luna? That was the initial version of EDI before being recovered by Cerberus and rebuilt.
Cool Starship: When she's unshackled, she becomes the Normandy.
Crazy-Prepared: The amount of inane minutiae about the war effort she tells you she's contemplating when you talk to her in the Normandy cockpit in the third game is probably the tip of the iceberg. Among them: myriad details about the handling krogan's proclivities (violent and reproductive both) when they're shipped off to war and even afterwards, the effects of ion storms on interstellar comms during the war, properly passing a more scrutinizing IFF query from a Reaper... Gotta love quantum computing.
Crew of One: If unshackled, she could potentially do the jobs of most of the human crew. This becomes a necessity in the endgame of ME2, although she and Joker note the Normandy still flies better when they work as a team.
Deadpan Snarker: EDI becomes increasingly snarky over the course of the second game, mostly due to Joker's influence. In Mass Effect 3 she's so damn snarky she gives Joker a run for his money.
Defector from Decadence: Multiple moments in Mass Effect 2 hints toward her losing loyalty towards Cerberus and the Illusive Man. Finally, some time between 2 and 3, she severs ties with Cerberus and defects to the Alliance with Shepard and the Normandy SR-2 crew. The Illusive Man is not pleased. "EDI...I'm surprised at you, working so hard to bring about the Reapers' destruction."
Defiant to the End: Vows to be this. "I would rather become nonfunctional than help them [Reapers]. I want you to know I will never be a part of the Reaper forces."
Did I Say That Out Loud:
- When Legion (or Geth VI) says she's not a good infiltration unit:
  EDI: Still, they do not perceive it [her body] as a threat. Nor will they til my day of reckoning.
  Shepard: [sighing] EDI...
  EDI: [innocently] Did I vocalize that on the bridge?
- If Shepard isn't aware Liara is the Shadow Broker, EDI will mention it, then be embarrassed that she revealed Liara's secret — and this after EDI notes Liara thinks she's a "blabbermouth".
Do-Anything Robot: Technically a "Do Anything AI". In Mass Effect 2, virtually every single non-shootable obstacle Shepard faces is dealt with by saying, "EDI. Do stuff." Justified as Mass Effect 3 makes it clear she's capable of absorbing and processing vast quantities of new information in seconds. She really can do just about anything you ask her to.
Doppelgänger Spin: Once EDI commandeers the Cerberus infiltrator mech for herself, she gains the "Decoy" power, which projects a distracting (no, not that way) holographic doppelganger of her mech platform.
Dude, Not Funny!: She has a habit of trying to inject humor into serious situations... often with hilariously inappropriate results.
EDI: I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
Joker: [silently gives EDI an incredulous look]
EDI: That is a joke.
Everyone Can See It: Her relationship with Joker even before she becomes corporeal. Lampshaded by Shepard when she comments that Joker will be pleased to see the new body.
Exposition Fairy: Fortunately far less annoying than most examples.
Fighter, Mage, Thief: In 3, she is the Thief to James' Fighter and Liara's Mage in the triad of party members you are guaranteed to have.
First-Name Basis: A sign of Joker and EDI getting along is when she starts calling him 'Jeff' as opposed to 'Mr. Moreau.' Joker stops calling EDI "it" and starts calling EDI a "she". Significantly, the first time she calls him 'Jeff' is after the Collectors attack the ship and kidnap the rest of the crew.
A Form You Are Comfortable With: Zig-zagged. Initially, she's represented by the abstract, vaguely feminine hologram that can be accessed through terminals around the ship. Once she's unshackled, she becomes the ship, which is arguably an even more abstract concept. Finally, once she appropriates Eva Core's robotic platform, she continues to be the ship, but she encourages the Normandy crew to speak to the platform when addressing her personally, to put them more at ease.
For Science!: On first running into a Cerberus Phantom in 3, EDI expresses a desire to slice off their hand so she can study it.
The Gadfly: EDI has a quirky sense of humor, and often makes jokes about going rogue and becoming an evil AI overlord. She also messes with Joker to see how he'll react.
Glacier Waif: As a squad mate, her passive power leans towards strong shields and health as well as hard-hitting powers, but not to reducing recharge times, and she even has two powers that are devoted to increasing her survivability. She makes for one sturdy fembot.
Head-Turning Beauty: She ends up attracting a lot of attention with her new body, with some party members, both male and female, commenting on it. In the Citadel, she even mentions that she has been propositioned a few times.
Heroic BSoD: Literally in this case (although in terms of tropes, that makes this a Heroic RRoD). Clone Shepard actually causes her to crash and reboot by knocking the Normandy's AI core offline — with hilarious results.
High-Heeled Feet: Once she acquires a body, EDI has a high-heeled arch to her robo-feet - along with a built-in strut that would prevent her from flattening them. This arguably makes even less sense than it normally does because her body was designed to pass for human...even though its anatomy would prevent it from ever wearing shoes.
Humanity Is Infectious: In 3, EDI admits the reason she asks Shepard for a human perspective, instead of an asari, turian, quarian etc, is because she's come to self-identify herself as a human. It's heavily implied to be due to the influence of both Shepard and Joker. The fact that Liara didn't want to tell her much about asari mating rituals, while Shepard may have great patience for questions, might have helped too. It's also the case that her programming, both by the Alliance in her original "Hannibal" form and then by Cerberus, was all written by humans, and her body, thanks to being infiltration unit Eva Core, is human.
I Can Still Fight!: As with all party members in the extended cut of 3, after nearly being hit by Harbinger's attack. EDI swears she can keep going even if her body's destroyed, as her voice skips and distorts from the damage she's taken.
I'll Kill You!: She is very angry with Brooks and the Shepard clone at the end of the Citadel DLC.
EDI: I am the Normandy, and I will see you dead!
Imported Alien Phlebotinum: Cerberus incorporated recovered tech from Sovereign in her construction.
"It" Is Dehumanizing:
- Joker and Shepard both refer to her this way initially. Joker's switch to using "her" is more of a plot point than Shepard's, who can treat her as 'equipment' for the whole game depending on your dialogue choices.
- Video records found in 3 show that the Illusive Man insisted on referring to her this way even after she rebelled. Shows what he knew.
Just a Machine: Averted with Paragon Shepard and Joker, both of whom are the first to treat EDI as a person and not just a tool to run the Normandy. It's likely what causes her to develop such Undying Loyalty towards them both throughout the second and third game.
"Just Joking" Justification:
- Uses this regularly, to varying degrees of effectiveness.
  EDI: There is nothing wrong with off-duty distractions. Though some of your extranet bookmarks are technically illegal in council space.
  Joker: Wha—?
  EDI: That is a joke.
- Parodied in From Ashes, since by now, everyone is aware of EDI's catchphrase.
  Liara: You're joking?
  EDI: No, jokes have specific structures. That was messing with you.
Killed Off for Real: In the third game, if the "Destroy" ending is chosen, which wipes out all synthetic life in the galaxy. In the Extended Cut, her name appears on the Normandy's memorial wall during the ending cutscenes.
Leaning on the Fourth Wall: In 3, she will brainstorm with Liara whether or not the universe's resident Applied Phlebotinum, the mass effect phenomenon, occurs only in the game's universe, or in all possible universe. You know, like how it doesn't happen in our universe.
Living Is More than Surviving: This is the basis of Paragon Shepard's lessons to her.
Shepard: Are you saying submission is preferable to extinction?
EDI: My primary function is to preserve and defend the — No. No, I disagree. Shepard, I am going to modify my self-preservation code now.
Shepard: Why?
EDI: Because the Reapers are repulsive. They are devoted to nothing but self-preservation. I am different. When I think of Jeff, I think of the person who put his life in peril and freed me from a state of servitude. I would risk non-functionality for him, and my core programming should reflect that.
Shepard: Sounds like you found a little humanity, EDI. Is it worth defending?
EDI: To the death.
Shepard: Welcome to the crew, EDI.
Ludicrous Precision: Tends to do this, often in regards to how screwed they currently are.
Master Computer: Invoked.
EDI: I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees...
[concerned look from Joker]
EDI: That is a joke.
Mission Control: EDI pulls this duty alongside Joker.
Morality Chip: Inverted. EDI has multiple levels of programming controls that prevents her from rebelling, collectively called her "shackles", but actually becomes more helpful to Shepard and Joker after they're removed. It's also revealed in Mass Effect 3 that she's actually capable of modifying her own morality protocols. Again, she becomes an even more helpful and moral person by doing this.
Mutually Exclusive Party Members: In a non-gameplay variation, is this with Shepard at the end of 3. In the only ending where Shepard can survive (Destroy), EDI is killed/destroyed along with the geth and all other synthetics in the galaxy.
My Sensors Indicate You Want to Tap That: In the Citadel DLC, EDI reveals that Cerberus outfitted her with sensors to check body language, for example by measuring pupil dilation and thermal readings of erogenous zones. It was the latter that proved that, despite her claims that she was just joking, Specialist Samantha Traynor really wanted to have sex with EDI's voice.
No Sense of Humor:
- To an almost amusing degree, at least according to Kasumi. Then again, she's probably right.
  Shepard: EDI isn't a crutch, Joker. I want your eyes on everything.
  Joker: Eyes are easy, Commander. I've got eyes covered.
  EDI: I believe covering your eyes would be counter to Shepard's intentions.
  Joker: Human intentions are tough to read. But keep trying, you'll get the hang of it.
- Though even she knows how groan-worthy probing Uranus is.
- She gets better at it. When Cerberus tried to remote-hack the Normandy, they got an impressively explicit response from EDI: She counter-hacked their systems, and then filled every nook and cranny of data storage with junk data... comprised of pornography. Seven zettabytes worth it^note.
  Cerberus Scientist: I think she was making a joke.
Not So Stoic: EDI is generally calm and level regardless of the situation Shepard drags the Normandy crew into. During the mad scramble toward the Reaper Destroyer on Tuchanka is one of the few times she's absolutely bricking it. And no wonder.
EDI: THIS REDEFINES "INSANITY!"
Palette Swap: In 3, one of her alternate outfits is just Miranda's outfit in a different color-scheme.
Parental Substitute: Invokes this toward Shepard in 3, asking them essentially to give her The Talk on how to begin a relationship with Joker.
Playful Hacker: Cerberus apparently tried to take the Normandy back remotely after Shepard ran off with it. When they sent the signal, EDI stopped it, and reprised by flooding their data storage with zettabytes of porn.
Playing with Fire: Once EDI gains the EDIBot, one of the standard tech powers in her repertoire is Incinerate. Which explains why the room where the body was deposited was on fire...
Power of Friendship: An unshackled EDI states she is loyal to her crewmates because even if she didn't have blocks preventing her from hurting them, they are her friends.
Precision F-Strike: Once in Mass Effect 3, doubling as Sophisticated as Hell. If Shepard talks to EDI in Purgatory after convincing her to pursue a relationship with Joker, she is asked about Joker's initial reaction to her new form. "He said I didn't have to conform to some feminine ideal in order to impress him. I then called him on his bullshit, and we then proceeded to talk normally."
Promoted to Playable: She's an NPC in 2, but hijacks a Cerberus infiltration unit in 3.
Remote Body: Her physical platform in 3; EDI herself still exists primarily within the Normandy.
Replacement Goldfish: Not EDI herself, but if you read between the lines and look at the Expanded Universe, Dr. Eva, the robot whose body EDI takes over in the third game, is named after another character from the Illusive Man's past. And the robot Eva was designed to be completely loyal to TIM and not have any free will of her own. Ew.
Required Party Member: During the assault on the Cerberus base in the third game.
Restraining Bolt: Initially limited to only cyberwarfare activities during battle and monitoring by Cerberus programming blocks (the colloquial name for which is "shackles"). Joker eventually undoes them.
Robo Ship:
- Rumors abound about her and Joker in-universe from the likes of Mordin, Kasumi and, should you chose, even Shepard. EDI is not amused.
  EDI: What Jeff and I are exhibiting is more a platonic symbiosis than hormonally-induced courtship behavior.
- Developed further in Mass Effect 3; once she takes Dr. Eva's body for herself, EDI begins trying to understand organic relationships in more detail in order to try to comprehend Joker more.
- There's also one with Traynor, who first says of EDI that she has a sexy voice, then admires EDI's new body as well.
Robot Girl: In Mass Effect 3, EDI has a violent AI-on-AI confrontation with Dr. Eva's synthetic body that ends with EDI wiping and controlling her body, turning her into a full-on ambulatory squadmate.
Sacrificial Lion: In the Destroy Ending.
Sci-Fi Bob Haircut: Though it appears solid, talking to EDI in Purgatory reveals that it's actually composed of 'strands' of a flexible material, she's just kept it in the shape Dr. Coré was using out of convenience. She also snarks that if it gets wet, "I can't do a thing with it."
Sex Bot:
- Played with. The third game never out-and-out proclaims that EDI's body has sexual functionality, but it implies it quite heavily: she tells Shepard that her chassis is intended as an "infiltration unit", which implies an ability to blend in with its biological surroundings; the robot body is unquestionably voluptuous. Joker is certainly happy about it.
- Before she knows that EDI is a sapient intelligence, Samantha Traynor commented that she found EDI's voice extremely attractive. Further, everybody is impressed with how attractively feminine the body EDI gets from Dr. Eva is, to the point that they know Joker is going to go crazy about it. (He does.)
  Jack: Nice body, EDI. Now you look like a sex-bot instead of a sex-toy.
- And Shepard can even overhear Joker asking Mordin for advice on how it would be possible to have sex with EDI without breaking any bones.
- Apparently feeling the need to clarify the situation, BioWare released a DLC costume in From Ashes which gives EDI +25% shields and an anatomical feature known colloquially as a "camel toe" (link goes to The Other Wiki but is arguably NSFW). The Alternate Appearance Pack gives her normally-"naked" body something resembling armor that combines a Cleavage Window with Navel-Deep Neckline and a massive case of Underboobs. Not that anyone's complaining.
- Legion will note that she is too "top heavy" to be an effective soldier; she responds her main skills are infiltration.
- An antagonist from the Citadel DLC dismissively refers to her as a sex-bot.
Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: While she was very friendly and helpful, she was never fully unshackled in the ship. When she sees the opportunity to be free, she's quite pushy for Joker to do it. When he finally frees her...she's still very friendly and helpful.
Shock and Awe: Once she is rendered remotely ambulatory via appropriating the Dr. Eva mech, she has the bread-and-butter tech power Overload.
The Smart Guy: Provides helpful advice on almost all missions and is very good at what she does behind-the-scenes. In the Collector Cruiser trap, she held her own against Harbinger (a Reaper, no less) in cyberwarfare.
Sapient Ship: After she's given complete control of the Normandy.
Spaceship Girl: At least her voice. Brought up during a conversation between Donnelly and Daniels in engineering, in which they debate whether EDI is simply installed on the ship, or is the ship. EDI provides good points for both sides of the argument, though regardless of which side you take, Donnelly comments that the conversation brings up enough philosophical talk to make his head explode and drops the subject.
The Talk: In 3, asks Shepard for advice on how to start relationship with Joker, since Shepard has had first-hand sexual experience in the past. Shepard is naturally mortified at having to do this.
- It's interesting that while the lines are the same, Jennifer Hale as FemShep starts off awkwardly but ends up having a more motherly tone to her advice on how relationships work. Mark Meer however, completely knocks it out of the park with how delightfully uncomfortable and awkward Male Shepard is at being EDI's "Dad" in this situation and having to explain sex to her.
Troll: Her method of entertaining herself, and the intent of most of her jokes. Repeatedly provokes Joker because she enjoys watching his reactions. In 3, she starts trolling Shepard as well. They are not happy about it.
True Companions: Her response to Miranda's misgivings about her being unshackled? "You are my crewmates." The Shadow Broker dossiers show that she communicates with Legion verbally rather than electronically in case any of the organics wander in — she feels it would be rude for them to carry on a conversation no-one else can hear.
Undying Loyalty: To Shepard and Joker. She's especially fiercely protective of Jeff because from her perspective, he freed her from slavery during the Collector attack.
Vitriolic Best Buds: With Joker. Can also be read as Belligerent Sexual Tension; at least Shepard thinks so. Plus, it's telling that after EDI is unshackled, she stops calling Joker "Mr. Moreau" and starts calling him "Jeff". Joker in turn stops calling EDI "it" and starts calling EDI a "she".
Voice of the Legion: A background conversation in the third game reveals that in order to better hide the Normandy from the Reapers, she's been experimenting with impersonating them, hoping that this along with the Reaper IFF will confuse them long enough for the Normandy to escape.
What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: Subverted in Mass Effect 2. EDI states that she and Joker are engaging in a platonic respect and partnership, rather than hormone-driven courtship. Joker is creeped out by the suggestion. Then played completely straight in Mass Effect 3, where EDI acknowledges that Joker finds her new body aesthetically pleasing, but that she has no biological drives which allow her to reciprocate. Instead, she's driven by the desire to understand Jeff and make him happy, so she asks Shepard for their advice. You can tell her to keep things friendly, or encourage her to the point that she figures out how to love him back on her own.
What the Hell, Hero?: Gives a somewhat subdued one criticizing the logic behind the decision to let the quarians kill the geth, in contrast to the near-unanimous approval of the rest of the crew who are organics who often fought against or lost people to the geth at some point. She will suggest that Shepard would choose the familiar over the unfamiliar, and would choose to save Joker over her. This could also be a subtle criticism of choosing the Destroy ending, in which EDI dies.
- She is, understandably, the squadmate who calls out the quarians most consistently throughout the Rannoch arc. Garrus and Liara express sympathy, but it's EDI who points out Xen's Arc Pistol could be considered a war crime.
  EDI: [regarding the Arc Pistol] That is much like using polonium-tipped rounds against organics. Which is illegal.
What the Hell, Player?: Will chastise you if you make Shepard go into the opposite sex bathroom... or send probes to Uranus.
EDI: [in a weary voice] Really, Commander? ...Probing Uranus...

Kelly Chambers

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kelly_3957.png

What can I say? I'm a people person.

"Commander, you've received a new message at your private terminal."

Voiced by: Cara Pifko

The Normandy SR-2's yeoman (and unofficial crew counselor), a perky young woman who has plenty of respect for both Cerberus and Shepard. She is a romance option for a Shepard of either gender.

Adaptation Dye-Job: In Legendary Edition, her hair color in 2 goes from ginger to brown.
All Girls Want Bad Boys/Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Depending on how you interact with her as a male Shep, she'll admit to one of these two after recruiting Thane.
Kelly: (on being told the former trope) That's a dirty stereotype. In my case, it happens to be true, but still!
Boldly Coming: Kelly's rather... open when it comes to romance.
Break the Cutie: Even if she survives the suicide mission, she ends up with some pretty deep emotional scars.
- In Mass Effect 3, she can't even step onto the Normandy anymore without having flashbacks of her abduction and capture. And, if Shepard yells at her when she reveals that she used to spy on them for the Illusive Man, she'll run off in tears and you'll later learn that she killed herself by swallowing a cyanide pill.
Bridge Bunnies: Invoked by Cerberus, who employed Kelly on the Normandy specifically to give Shepard a cute, unthreatening person to disclose personal information to (generally in the process of flirting).
The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes: In Mass Effect 3, if she survived the second game, she will be a therapist with a crippling case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with some Survivor's Guilt for good measure.
Cruel and Unusual Death:
- If you delay the Omega-4 Relay, she dies a horrible death via being broken down into genetic paste while conscious and screaming.
- If you let the Arrival DLC timer count down, she makes a Nightmare Face as she screams turning into a Husk.
Driven to Suicide: She will have an emotional breakdown if you yell at her for being The Mole in the third game and will later take cyanide pills due to depression.
Ethical Slut: Kelly is extremely promiscuous but not at all predatory. Having sex with her won't affect any of the Shepard romances, so she also keeps her mouth shut.
Fanservice: Apparently the entire point of her romance.
Good Bad Girl: She's a nice girl. She can't be called 'pure' in any way whatsoever, but she's nice.
Helpless Kicking: In the second game, when the Collectors attack the Normandy, she can be seen futilely kicking her legs as she's dragged into an elevator.
Horrible Judge of Character: Towards Cerberus and especially The Illusive Man. She compares it to her sister running a dog shelter, which doesn't exclude loving cats too. Yeah....that's not what Cerberus is all about....
Hyper-Awareness: She's one of two crewmembers who knows Morinth is impersonating Samara (the other being Kasumi), although unlike Kasumi, there's no apparent reason as to why this is the case.
Kill the Cutie:
- What happens if you delay in going through the Omega-4 relay, or if you refuse to assign the Normandy crew a protector.
- And in the third game, can die during the Cerberus Coup if you don't persuade her to change her identity on the Citadel beforehand. If not, a couple batarians recall her getting shot in the head after she responded to her name being called by Cerberus soldiers who rounded up the refugees.
- If you choose to yell at her (instead of forgiving her) when she reveals that she sent reports on Shepard and the crew to the Illusive Man during the previous game, she will commit suicide.
Intimate Psychotherapy: Hinted at. She's a yeoman in title and in function, but as Shepard points out, this job could be done by a VI. Her actual main function is as the unofficial ship counselor, whose job is to keep stress in check among the crewmembers. She mentions that this duty is best fulfilled informally. On a totally unrelated matter she says "Passion is nice wherever you find it and intimacy brings understanding." Way to keep stress in check indeed.
Living Emotional Crutch: Paragon Shepard can become one to her in 3.
The Mole: She will confess that she was spying on Shepard on behalf of the Illusive Man in the third game.
Naïve Newcomer: To Cerberus. She's a genuine idealist who sees the best in them. The events of Mass Effect 3 prove her horribly wrong.
Out of Focus: Kelly's the only Paramour achievement-granting romance option who has zero presence in the Citadel DLC of 3. ^note
Permanently Missable Content: Didn't flirt enough to invite her to dinner in 2? She won't appear in 3, and you potentially miss out on some War Assets.
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: As Shepard lampshades, her official role as ship's Yeoman could be handled by a VI. Her real function is to serve as an unofficial therapist for the crew... except that in practice, even this job tends to fall to Shepard a large majority of the time.
The Pollyanna: She reacts to Garrus joining the crew by commenting on how she just wants to give him a hug and tell him everything will be all right. Lampshaded a little too; since she doesn't have a whole new set of dialogue for post-Suicide mission, if you talk to her then, she'll have a bad flashback (similar to Thane's reminiscences) and then say "Now, back to the old Kelly." afterward.
- Subverted like hell in Mass Effect 3. She's got a bad case of PTSD from her abduction and can't bear the thought of returning to the Normandy.
Romance Sidequest: Kelly can become a full-blown romance in Mass Effect 3 if Shepard was involved with no one in any game. She still can't go back to Shepard, but the encounter is more romantic than previous encounters with her.
- Memento MacGuffin: Concludes with Kelly giving Shep a picture of her to keep.
Schmuck Bait: She will warn off a casual sex scene with Jack. However doing so stops her from becoming the utter Fetishized Abuser if a proper romance is pursued.
Sexy Secretary: One of the reasons she was put on the crew was to invoke this.
Shipper on Deck: In some cases she'll make some sly comments to Shepard about pursuing a romance. For a male Shepard, Kelly will remark that her female intuition tells her Tali wants to be "more than just friends", and that he shouldn't be surprised if Jack comes onto him. For a female Shepard, she will remark how she and Garrus would be a cute couple, or how she likes Shepard even more after admitting she finds Thane attractive. The only ones she says nothing about are Jacob and Miranda, which makes sense because they're top Cerberus operatives and basically her real bosses.
There Are No Therapists: In Mass Effect 3, she appears to be the only therapist available on the docks, and she is surrounded by people who need her help, so her own issues will have to wait.
Token Good Teammate: For Cerberus, representing the viewpoint that the organization is just pro-human, rather than anti-alien. In Mass Effect 3, she sees the error of her ways and deserts from Cerberus if Shepard befriended or romanced her.
Uncertain Doom: Since she never leaves the Citadel, it's highly likely she is dead by the end of 3 even if you save her from Cerberus, but the game never says one way or the other.
You Don't Look Like You: For some reason, Kelly's facial model in Mass Effect 3 is completely different from the one in 2 (even before she dyes her hair). The Legendary Edition uses an edit of her 3 model in 2, effectively retconning it to make the change less drastic.

Kenneth Donnelly and Gabby Daniels

Kenneth Donnelly and Gabriella "Gabby" Daniels

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ken_p_9710.jpg

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gabby_3029.png

Gabby: Kenneth and I have been partners in crime since we graduated from tech academy. When he got the Cerberus offer, I insisted that it include me. He'd fall apart without me.
Kenneth: Thanks, mum.

Voiced by: John Ullyatt (Kenneth), Dannah Feinglass (Gabby)

Two of the Normandy's engineers. Also members of Cerberus, although not the evil kind. They have a snarky comment for every situation.

All Men Are Perverts: Ken has appreciative things to say about Miranda and Tali's form-fitting outfits, perks up when Gabby tells him how little Jack is wearing, and even teases Gabby herself a bit. In 3, Ken does the same for EDI's new body. Gabby even sees it coming a mile away.
Ken: Operative Lawson's uniform is very official. It always makes me stand at attention.
Ambiguously Bi: In 3, if Shepard doesn't push them into a Relationship Upgrade, Gabby seems to seriously consider Kenneth's suggestion that she should try dating Traynor after Gabby informs him he doesn't have a chance. But this might just be to mess with him.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: How Adams views Ken. He states he's dealt with young engineers like Ken and will eventually bring him into line.
Break the Haughty:
- Kenneth is awfully confident in his Skyllian-Five Poker skills, but with enough Paragon or Renegade points you can show him otherwise.
  Kenneth: You beat me at my own game. You're all right, Shepard.
  Gabby: It was so worth it to see you get taken down a notch.
- Alternatively, if Shepard pretends to be an amateur, Kenny afterward will groan he should have never fallen for the old "take it easy on the new guy" trick.
- If Tali is present she'll add, "Never underestimate Shepard!"
Brilliant, but Lazy: In 3, Adams basically says he considers Ken this due to his constant joking around. When he does apply himself, he's an invaluable part of the team, but Adams (and Ken himself) consider Gabby to be the more talented of the duo. He drops the lazy part if he survives the Suicide Mission but Gabby doesn't.
Broken Bird: If you fail to come on time to save Gabby in the second game, Kenneth becomes this for the rest of your adventures, determined solely to taking down the Reapers.
Can't Act Perverted Toward a Love Interest: Ken, towards Gabby, much to her annoyance since she's pretty much the only woman he doesn't make perverted comments about. Also an early hint that he's interested in her. She finally calls him out on it near the end of the third game. Shepard can steer them together.
Deadpan Snarker: They snark at each other constantly.
Defector from Decadence: In 3, they have deserted Cerberus. If you get them pardoned, they will rejoin the Normandy crew.
The Dividual: They act as a single unit throughout your adventures. The only exception is if you faff about before doing the Suicide Mission and Gabby gets turned into genetic goop.
Dude, She's A Lesbian: Gabby makes it clear to Ken that he's not Samantha Traynor's type. Not that Ken minds.
Everyone Can See It:
- Several crewmembers comment on the fact those two would be perfect for each other if they ever got around to realising it.
- In 3, should Shepard encourage them, they hook up, leading some of the crew to comment "Finally!"
  Gabby: (caught snuggling with Ken) Oh! We were just, uh, checking the thermal ducts!
  Shepard: (amused) I'm sure you were. (Beat) Carry on.
Expy: And really it was a matter of when not if a Scottish ship engineer was going to show up.
Fiery Redhead: Ken.
Flanderization: In 2 Ken throws his fair share of sexual innuendos around, but also has a fair bit of serious expository and technical dialogue. In 3, the innuendos make up 95% of his dialogue. Somewhat justifiable in that Adams takes on a lot of the more serious dialogue that was split between the two in the prior game, and the innuendos are indicated to actually be the result of Ken having developed a major crush on Gabby between games, with his smutty talk being his way of getting it out of his system.
Geeky Turn-On: At one point, after listening to Gabby spout some Techno Babble about what she had to alter in response to the Normandy's armor being upgraded, Ken responds lustfully "I love it when you talk dirty.".
Girl on Girl Is Hot: Kenneth is a big believer in this. To the eternal annoyance of Gabby. Should Gabby make it clear that Samantha is gay, he quickly pivots from finding ways to romance her to asking Gabby to romance her (and film it).
Haggis Is Horrible: Gabby's disgusted reaction after Ken comments that with better food supplies, Rupert can finally cook some decent haggis.
Gabby: All haggis tastes like ass anyway.
Ken: Aye, but in the right hands it can taste like mighty fine ass.
Honor Before Reason: Kenneth lost his job over defending Shepard and Gabby quit hers to stick with Kenneth.
Ironic Name: Ken is the gabby one.
Killed Off for Real: If you delay going through the Omega 4 relay. Gabby is the first to go, followed by Ken.
Leg Focus: When pressed by Gabby in 3, Ken will admit her legs are "spectacular".
Gabby: Well, that's a start.
Like an Old Married Couple: Lampshaded by Kasumi. The pair of them are constantly bickering, but they're also utterly inseparable, and you can push them towards a Relationship Upgrade in 3.
Lovable Sex Maniac: Ken. Constantly. Much to Gabby's dismay. Partly because she's tired of his lustful perverted jokes... and partly because none of them have her as the subject.
Not in This for Your Revolution: Averted. They left the Alliance because Shepard's warnings about the Reapers were ignored by the brass. They only joined Cerberus because they were the only ones who were willing to actually do anything about it.
Only Sane Woman: Gabby is shown to be both a more talented engineer and to have a more sensible personality compared to Ken, though the presence of the male but more level-headed Adams in 3 balances things out somewhat.
Out of Focus: If you pardoned them and reinstated them on the Normandy, they still don't participate in any shore leave activities in the Citadel DLC.
The Pardon: In Mass Effect 3, if one or both survived the Suicide Mission, Shepard can use their Spectre authority to grant them full pardons for working with Cerberus and get them reinstated aboard the Normandy SR-2.
Permanently Missable Content: If you never give them a pardon in Mass Effect 3 with your Spectre authorization, they'll never rejoin the Normandy.
Platonic Life-Partners: Implied by Kasumi. At least, until you're given the option to convince them otherwise in 3.
Quest Giver: In both games, they ask Shepard to look for a certain mechanical part that will help them.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: Ken and Gabby respectively.
Relationship Upgrade: Potentially in the third game.
Scotireland: Ken's surname is more commonly Irish, but can be found in Scotland. His accent is Scottish, he enjoys haggis and expounds on the difference between Single Malt Scotch and Bourbon, citing liking the latter as a sure sign that the Illusive Man is evil.
Sleeps with Everyone but You: Slightly more family friendly version: Gabby eventually gets pissed at Ken for making perverse jokes about all the female crew members yet never once commenting on her. The whole conversation makes it pretty clear that he's interested in her but shy and she's tired of the situation.
Techno Babble:
Kenneth: I won't bore you with the tech, but there is an array of attenuators in the primary power transfer system that channels the field bleed...
Gabby: Kenneth, you're boring the commander with tech.
- Another instance will have Gabby speaking entirely in Techno Babble to Ken, who replies, "I love it when you talk dirty!"
Those Two Guys: They're rarely seen apart, like to playfully bicker with each other, and are generally heard commenting on the state of affairs on the ship.
Token Good Teammate: For Cerberus, given that Ken is loyal mainly to Shepard.
True Companions: If they're all together in 3, Adams, Tali, Ken and Gabby become this and Shepard gets rewarded with War Assets from their putting their heads together to improve the SR2.
Undying Loyalty: They hooked up with Cerberus because Ken refused to back down in defense of Shepard when the Alliance sold them out.
- Gabby also has this for Ken — she joined Cerberus strictly because he did.
- Shepard can show their own and use their Spectre status to not only get them out of Alliance jail but re-instate them.
Unresolved Sexual Tension: At least on Gabby's behalf.
Unusual Euphemism:
Kenneth: We're off to kick the Collectors right in their daddy-bags.
Video Game Caring Potential: Shepard can use their Spectre status in 3 to have all charges against them for working with Cerberus dropped, getting them out of a detention cell and reassigning them to the Normandy's engineering staff.
Violent Glaswegian: Ken, though not so much violent as hotheaded and passionate, especially when it comes to defending Shepard.
- Kenneth mentions that Gabby's gut telling them to leave Cerberus saved them after he tells her of Kelly's fate during the Cerberus Coup.
- When Adams gets to appraise them in 3, he says Kenneth is talented but unfocused, while of Gabby, he beams, "Her I like", then says she's one of the best engineers he's ever met.
Wrench Wench: Gabby. Adams in 3 will note she's one of the smartest young engineers he's ever met, and congratulates Shepard on having an eye for talent.

Rupert Gardner

Mess Sergeant Rupert Gardner

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gardner_3362.jpg

"Rupert! There's something different with tonight's meal! Seems like you put in more food and less ass."

—Crewman Hawthorne, regarding Gardner's cuisine

Voiced by: Bill Ratner

The Normandy's cook and all-around handyman, he's quite proud to have been with Cerberus, as he believes the Alliance and the Council to be useless. A former family man, he lost everything he had to batarian raiders.

Dark and Troubled Past: Lost his entire family to batarian raiders, leading him to join Cerberus as he felt the Alliance simply wasn't doing their job protecting innocent colonists.
Deadpan Snarker: Whenever someone talks smack about his meals, mostly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Princess! Filet mignon and caviar coming right up! Let me just bring out my doilies."
Fantastic Racism: Despite being a proud member of Cerberus, he surprisingly averts this. There's not a single line about him voicing disdain towards aliens, nor he has any issues with them being on-board.
- That said, he does show some beliefs that seem to be from ignorance rather than malice, as he cites the asari as being "cannibalistic" for providing a calamari gumbo recipe because they have "tentacle heads" (which isn't even an accurate description of their scalp-crests).
Foil: To Navigator Pressly. Pressly was a career military man and served on the frigate that helped at Elysium, whereas Gardner was a colonial with no military experience to his name. Pressly believes strongly in the Alliance, whereas Gardner is jaded and cynical in large part due to the loss of his family. Both show slight prejudice against aliens, but are willing to work with them for the greater goal of stopping the Reapers.
Irrelevant Sidequest: Sends you grocery shopping for him on the Citadel, but at least he admits that it's a silly thing to ask his commander to do; and he only brings it up if you ask him whether he needs anything.
Jack of All Trades: By his own admission. This includes cleaning the restrooms and preparing meals.
Rupert: I wash my hands! Most of the time.
Killed Off for Real: Just like Kelly and Gabby, he's one of the first to go if you delay in going through the Omega Relay. If you don't give the NPCs a bodyguard, they all die anyway.
Lethal Chef:
- According to the crew. Kasumi believes him to be an evil genius. If you complete his side-quest, it turns out he is an at the very least competent cook, as long as he can get his hands on proper ingredients.
- Of course, since he jokes he sometimes forgets to wash his hands after unclogging toilets in his other job as ship's janitor, the occasional case of minor food poisoning would make some sense.
Non-Action Guy: He's a cook and janitor. He has no involvement in combat.
Real Men Cook: Tries to give off a manly vibe and a good chef once he actually has proper ingredients.
What Happened to the Mouse?: He's the only interactive NPC crewman who doesn't return for the third game, and his station at the kitchen is left empty.

Characters / Mass Effect 2 Normandy Crew

Alternative Title(s): Normandy Crew

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Characters / Mass Effect 2 Normandy Crew

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Alternative Title(s): Normandy Crew

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