David Anderson
From Mass Effect Wiki
| David Anderson Systems Alliance | |
| |
| Captain David Anderson of the Systems Alliance | |
| Species: | Human |
| Rank/Title: | Captain |
| Location: | SSV Normandy / Citadel |
Captain David Anderson (voiced by Keith David) is a human war hero and the captain of the SSV Normandy. Captain Anderson plays a major role in the prequel novel Mass Effect: Revelation.
[edit] Mass Effect: Revelation
In the novel, David Anderson is depicted as a young lieutenant who discovered the massacre at the research station on Sidon and led the ensuing investigation into those responsible. He was born the year 2137 in London but held almost no discernible regional accent. Lieutenant Anderson was considered one of the Alliance's 'elites', having been trained in the N7 Marine program and graduated from the Academy at Arcturus Station, 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. He was also married to a woman named Cynthia, but the long absences of his military career meant that it ended in divorce.
As part of his investigation into Sidon, Anderson was eventually assigned to work with Saren Arterius during the rescue of Kahlee Sanders. The mission was also intended to help assess Anderson's Spectre candidacy, but he and Saren disliked each other from the word go, and it went badly. Though Sanders was saved, Saren destroyed the refinery she was being held in and many innocent people died as a result. Saren managed to put the blame onto Anderson, claiming the lieutenant alerted the guards and forced Saren's hand. True or not, this was enough to keep Anderson out of the Spectres.
Anderson remained in the Alliance military, gaining an excellent reputation, and was eventually promoted to captain. Because of the secret and sensitive nature of the Normandy's shakedown run, the Alliance gave him command and allowed him to hand-pick his crew. He chose Commander Shepard as his XO and effectively became Shepard's mentor. Both Navigator Pressly and Doctor Chakwas speak very highly of Anderson's bravery and leadership skills.
[edit] The Hunt for Saren
After Saren went rogue and began working with the geth, Anderson was faced with his old enemy again, but there was little he could do to stop him. Ambassador Udina told Anderson to step aside and let Shepard handle the investigation, so the Council wouldn't claim the Alliance's accusations of treason were based on old grudges. Anderson was able to offer Shepard an explanation of Saren's history, and dig up some leads to help build the case against him. Finally, once Shepard had been made a Spectre, Anderson stepped down as the captain of the Normandy and handed her over to Shepard. He admitted this wasn't how he imagined his career ending, but he was content to pass the torch on to his XO.
Anderson remained on the Citadel, able to give Shepard advice and guidance when necessary. He was one of the few on the station who actually believed Shepard's vision from the Prothean Beacon was true, and understood the magnitude of the threat the Reapers posed. Anderson guessed that the Conduit was some kind of Prothean weapon, one Saren was planning to unleash against the galaxy. When Shepard finally gathered enough evidence of Saren's role in the impending Reaper invasion and returned, Anderson realised the Council and Udina might use Shepard's talk of the Reapers as an excuse to ground the Normandy, but couldn't get a message to Shepard in time.
Concocting a plan, Anderson invited the commander to a meeting at Flux and offered his help to unlock the Normandy's systems. Shepard warned him that he could be arrested for treason, but Anderson only cared about getting the Normandy to Ilos in time to stop Saren. He offered to either risk facing armed C-Sec patrols to unlock the ship's systems directly (getting shot in the process), or to break into Udina's office to countermand the lockdown order. Anderson's plan worked and the Normandy got off the Citadel safely. Somehow Anderson managed to survive the initial assault on the Citadel when Saren put his plan into action. After Sovereign was destroyed, Anderson led the rescue teams into the Council Chambers, hunting for Shepard's squad.
Depending on the outcome of the story, Anderson is one of the two candidates Shepard can recommend as either the human Council representative, or the chairman of a human-controlled or human-exclusive Council if the Destiny Ascension is destroyed. If chosen, Anderson was honored to accept the role. He vowed to either help strengthen and unite the Citadel races against the Reapers, or use his military experience to the full, and drive the Reapers back into dark space.
