James Vega

Lieutenant James Vega is a human Systems Alliance Marine and a member of Commander Shepard's squad in 2186. While Vega is an experienced soldier, he is unfamiliar with the seedy underbelly and political workings of the galaxy.

Mass Effect: Homeworlds
James Vega joins the Systems Alliance Marines at Camp Pendleton in 2176 following the encouragement of his uncle, Emilio Vega. Upon returning home, his father Joshua Sanders sends him to pick up a package in San Diego. After obtaining the package from a shady dealer, the police move in and pursue James across the city. James escapes by slipping into a restaurant and blending in with the staff.

After bringing the package of drugs to his father, James' dreams of a military career are almost dashed when Josh threatens to tell the military what he did that night so that James will be forced to stay with him and serve as his errand boy. Later, Emilio finds James on the beach outside his home and reveals he knew what happened, and that Josh won't dare talk to the military because he would implicate himself in the drug deal. Emilio tells James that only he can choose how to live his life. James goes on to be accepted by the Alliance and becomes a Marine.

Mass Effect: Paragon Lost
Early in his career, Vega was stationed on the remote colony of Fehl Prime with Delta Squad, an Alliance special forces unit. When the Collectors attack, determined to capture the population, Vega and his squad were tasked with protecting the civilians. The events on Fehl Prime marks a turning point for Vega regarding his confidence as a leader.

Sometime after the destruction of the SSV Normandy in 2183, Vega's unit is deployed to Fehl Prime to stop an invasion by Blood Pack mercenaries. Being the lieutenant, he acts as the second-in-command of Delta Squad and is dead serious about being a good marine. A badge depicting the remembrance of the SSV Normandy is pinned to his uniform as he holds Commander Shepard as his role model. Even when other members of his squad make fun of his worship of Shepard, Vega is not embarrassed and earnestly explains to them about the importance of following a great example.

During the mission briefing aboard the Kodiak drop shuttle, Vega talks about how the fate of the squad and the people they have sworn to protect depend on a handful of choices they make, and they can only hope in the end that they have made the right ones. He is not at all worried by the lack of information from Alliance Command regarding the mission and encourages others to be cool and be ready for anything. When the CO, Captain Toni finally delivers the mission brief about the Blood Pack laying siege to the colony, Vega assures Nicky who hesitates at having to fight "walking tanks", that krogan can be easily killed once one aims for the head.

The shuttles are shot down while making a strafing run on the Blood Pack positions and Vega's shuttle makes a crash landing. Though wounded and jarred by the crash, he quickly makes an assessment of the situation like a veteran. He walks over to Toni who has suffered a leg dislocation and despite Toni's orders to evacuate the area and leave him behind, Vega sets his CO's leg on the spot, not leaving anyone behind. He then carries Toni on his shoulders to the retreat position, on the way, a missile strike by the Blood Pack throws them all to the ground. In the haze of battle, Vega looks at Toni's unconscious figure and sets his jaw straight, determined, assuming command of the situation.

He immediately gives the order to ceasefire on the Blood Pack positions, asserting that the squad needs to save the thermal clips for when they count. He then tells Nicky to use Milque's power cell to reinforce his barriers and when Milque protests, Vega retorts that he doesn't need shields as he has a large rock to hide behind and orders him to take up a good vantage point for sniping. Vega then asks for Nicky's tactical combat drone to assist him. When Essex annoyingly asks what Vega is going to do himself, Vega calmly announces his plan to challenge the Blood Pack leader to a duel, which will enable Essex and Kamille to flank the enemy. Vega then asserts the importance of making the plan work as otherwise they all die.

Vega then goads Archuk to fight him one on one by exposing himself and rushing from cover to cover towards the krogan, dubbing his own movements as a "dance". Archuk then commences heavy fire at Vega's position and Vega has to perform several evasive maneuvers to stay out of the line of fire. Due to his superior agility, Vega is able to close in on Archuk while firing at him at the same time, eventually hitting his shotgun and disarming him. Meanwhile, Essex and Kamille flank the enemy and cut through their ranks effortlessly while Milque snipes off target after target. Archuk finally gets a hit on Vega's weapon and Vega hits the dirt, but immediately reaches for his sidearm, but Archuk gets to him first. Archuk is about to kill Vega when he receives a shock attack from Nicky's combat drone and is distracted. Vega quickly fires at Archuk with his sidearm to full effect as the krogan's barriers are depleted and the subsequent shots penetrate his armor. However, owing to his regeneration capabilities, Archuk shrugs off Vega's fire and charges into him, throwing Vega into the cliff face and grieviously wounding him. Vega's resolve never wanes and he tries to fire his sidearm into his opponent's armor at close range, only to realize that the gun has overheated. Archuk is about to kill him yet again when Milque kills him with a shot to the head. Despite his injuries, Vega gets to his feet and guns down Brood as he is about to kill Essex. Essex, enraged at Brood, is about to kill him when Vega stops him, saying that they are not murderers and the krogan is now a POW.

Vega is then thanked and congratulated by everyone for his heroism and tactical feats. Vega humbly maintains that it was a group effort and all of Delta Squad deserve commendations. Later, during the mission debriefing, Admirals Anderson and Hackett commend him for his actions and give the squad new orders to act as security detail for the colony. Vega is indignant at having to perform guard duty, being a special forces unit, but his objections are overruled by Hackett who stresses the importance of guarding a valuable asset. The Admiral, seeing Vega's efforts to follow in Shepard's footsteps, cautions him to be careful of what he wishes for, since Shepard's journeys are littered with excessive death and destruction.

Two years later, Fehl Prime is flourishing and new defense cannons are being installed owing to a spate of colony disappearances in the Terminus Systems. During the two years, he has made friends with the colonists who regard him as a hero, in particular, April and Christine. Vega has developed a brotherly affection for the lively little girl who worships him and romanticizes the marine service. Vega lifts her up on his shoulders and tells her to act as a lookout to which April enthusiastically agrees, with all the innocence and purity of a child. Vega also develops an attraction towards Treeya, an asari anthropologist, who however, is oblivious to his rather transparent attempts at romance. His dismal failures at attempting to talk with her is keenly scrutinized by the squad who never fail to tease him for it.

Sensing an opportunity to talk with Treeya after meeting her while playing with April one day, he boards the tram with her to the research labs. He however, chickens out, not having the courage to broach the subject and an awkward silence ensues in the tram till the arrival of Messner, a trader, who presents himself as a fan of Vega and gushes over his victory over the Blood Pack. Arriving at the labs, the trio find that it is under lockdown and even Vega's military credentials could not get them in. Treeya sighs exasperatingly and goes back to the tram, annoyed. Her annoyance is compounded when Vega offers to help her with her work and defends the Alliance when she voices her frustration with them. Vega asserts that even though he is a "grunt", he can still try and ease her problems. Toni contacts him during the conversation and tells him about a new mission and asks him to bring Treeya along.

The new mission turns out to be the investigation of a jamming signal on the colony outskirts and Delta Squad heads there in a M35 Mako provided by Messner as the colony's APC is under a system overhaul. Arriving at the target site, Vega orders Essex and Kamille to head south and flank the signal point; Milque to take up a sniping position and cover his and Nicky's direct approach to the artifact; Messner and Treeya to stay back with Milque; Mason to stay aboard the Mako to provide heavy fire support when necessary. Nicky performs scans on the artifact and determines it is alien in origin. Not taking any chances, Vega decides to destroy the artifact and Essex takes it out with a biotic attack, much to Treeya's chagrin. He then tentatively follows as Treeya grumpily heads towards a Prothean ruin to investigate the artifact's remains. Vega listens attentively to Treeya's analysis of the artifact but becomes incredulous when her mentor Liara T'Soni talks about the Reapers and how they were responsible for the Prothean extinction. But the arguments are cut short when a Collector ship shows up and starts abducting the colonists.

Vega assumes command yet again as Toni is unavailable. Ordering the squad to lie low, they head back to the colony and encounter the hostile aliens everywhere. Vega decides to use stealth and recon till they find out what's going on and stay below the Collectors' sidelines. Slowly they sneak into the colony without being spotted by blending in with the mined rock on the mining elevator. As Vega helps Treeya step out of the cargo elevator, she clumsily steps on a pebble which makes a loud sound after falling to the ground below. The Collectors arrive immediately and destroys the elevator while Vega and Treeya hide in a crevice along the pipelines. The Collectors leave without finding any disturbances owing to the squad keeping absolutely silence.

The squad then proceeds and suddenly comes upon incapacitated colonists. Vega inspects the colonists and determines that they have been paralyzed. Suddenly a scream rents through the air and Vega rushes on ahead to investigate it, commanding the others to hold their positions. Treeya defies his order and follows him. Vega silently catches her from a hiding place and restrains her from making a sound when she lumbers into view. His protests at Treeya's defiance are cut short by an icy stare from her. Rounding a corner, the duo come upon the paralyzed bodies of Christine and April. Vega is devastated at the discovery but quickly recovers, making an immediate and smart decision to go into hiding when Collector troopers arrive to take away the lifeless forms of Christine and April. When Treeya impulsively starts towards the Collectors, Vega restrains her, stressing discretion and the need to be smart to save their friends.

The squad then assembles at a hiding place to decide the next course of action. Vega dismisses the speculation of the others regarding the Collectors' motives, saying all that matters is stopping them. He orders Nicky to check their inventory for heavy weapons to find something to take down the Collector ship. When Messner comes up with the obvious idea of using the defense cannons for the job, Vega quickly formulates a plan of attack; Mason is tasked to sabotage the fuel depots to draw off the Collectors from the defense cannon; Milque to take up a vantage position to cover the others as they head up the maintenance scaffolds towards the cannons. After Mason sets off charges destroying the depots, Vega's team quickly and stealthily slip into the defense cannons' operational room. Before going in, Vega orders Kamille and Essex to guard the entrance. Nicky begins to charge up the guns while Vega comes up with a brainwave to track the colonists by syncing with their omni-tools and doing so, finds the colonists herded into two groups, stowed away for transport.

The charging up of the guns takes a painfully long time and Vega grows impatient, growing edgy about the precariousness of the situation if the Collectors attack them. Treeya advises to fire the gun at half power to minimize collateral damage and Vega agrees. This turns out to be a wrong move as the underpowered shot is deflected off the Collector ship which, now alerted to their plans, destroys the defense cannons. Vega and Treeya barely escape the blast but starts falling as the entire gun station is incinerated. Vega holds Treeya in a protective way and shields her from flying debris. With Essex and Kamille's help, Vega lands on a tram, Treeya safe in his arms. He then shouts for everyone to fall back to the underground bunkers and takes Treeya with him in there, with Essex and Kamille watching their backs. However, Kamille is abducted by the Collectors in the chaos.

Outside the bunker's entrance, Vega and Essex hold off hordes of enemies while Nicky hacks through the bunker security. Mason and Milque then arrive in the nick of time and seals off the Collectors' approach by causing a cave-in. Mason is furious at Essex for failing to watch Kamille's back. Vega chastises them for quarreling and shouts at them to fall back. The squad retreats into the bunker with Essex covering them with his biotics. Once inside, Vega formulates a new plan: to escape in the freighter Messner arrived in. However, the plan doesn't last long as the Collector vessel incinerates the ship as if it has heard Vega's plan. Messner then brings up Vega's unintended wrong choice, which causes Mason to vent his fury at him. Vega unflinchingly says that he hasn't given up on anyone yet and stresses the necessity of fighting together and setting aside differences. He and Nicky then proceed to bring Essex's paralyzed form inside the bunker.

Vega orders Nicky to use the Alliance databases to find a possible cure for the paralysis. While searching, Nicky comes up with a startling find: Messner is an undercover Cerberus agent. Vega is furious at this revelation, hitting Messner across the face while explaining to Treeya about Cerberus goals. He relents once Messner asserts Cerberus is looking for a cure to the seeker swarm paralysis too. A new distraction occurs when Brood who is being kept as a test subject in the labs struggles to free himself from confinement. Vega quickly goes to meet Brood and despite Brood's promises to help them escape the colony, decides not to trust him.

Later, being by himself while Nicky continues the search for a cure, Vega reflects on his past decisions. Noticing how he is awfully disquieted, Treeya comes to console Vega. Vega quietly asks if he made the right decision to fire the defense cannons at half power. Treeya honestly answers that he made what he thought was the best choice. When Vega talks about how Shepard would have made the right choice, Treeya firmly tells him Vega is not Shepard and that he should stop trying to act like them. She then bonds briefly with Vega who then experiences a moment of peace.

Nicky finally finds a cure which however fails to show any immediate effect on Essex. A Praetorian suddenly attacks the lab and tears through it, claiming the life of Mason, who impulsively approaches it on seeing Kamille's twisted form inside the creature's head. Vega and Milque open heavy fire on the Praetorian, but are unable to penetrate the heavy armor. While falling back, Vega decides to take a quick detour and frees Brood after forming an uneasy alliance. Brood leads the way to a hidden shuttle of his and the team board it and tries to get away as fast as it can. The Praetorian follows however and despite the sustained fire from Vega, Milque and Nicky, it manages to stab the latter in the gut when he steps in to take the blow meant for Vega, wounding him mortally. Vega, aghast and furious at the casualty, jumps onto the Praetorian's back which is now held in a stasis by a revived Essex. Vega discharges his gun into the Praetorian's skull at point-blank range and the enemy is defeated at last, falling into the industrial vats. After being hauled back into the ship by Essex, Vega immediately goes to a dying Nicky and tries to apply first-aid bit in vain as the marine breathes his last after urging Vega to save the colonists.

Hidden for the moment, the squad sets the shuttle down in a safe spot and commences repairs. Vega decides to take the fight to the Collectors by infiltrating their ship. Quietly, he slips the seeker swarm antidote into his flask containing a drink and offers it to everyone, encouraging them to use Brood's idea of punching straight through the Collector weapons port. The plan is then to disable the ship's drive core and save the colonists. The shuttle then goes airborne and punches through the desired spot flawlessly. Vega, Essex and Milque then proceed to defend the shuttle from incoming Collector troopers, using Brood's store of heavy weapons. Even Treeya joins the fight and Vega compliments her, causing her to blush. Messner shows his true colors at this time and shoots Brood in the head as he is about to take out the drive core, causing the shuttle to make a crash landing.

Vega, Essex and Milque are captured and paralyzed by the Collectors while Treeya is forced away by Messner, who is actually working for the Collectors. The antidote works and Vega is able to break free of the paralysis and take down his Collector guard. Revealing his plan to inject the antidote into the processing plant system, Vega then proceeds to make tiny holes in the colonists' pods, pausing once to look at April in her pod, promising silently to come back for her once Messner has been dealt with. The trio stow away on a Collector platform heading towards the processing area. Vega then orders Milque to pilot an intact cargo freighter to save the colonists while he and Essex go after Messner. Reaching the area where the Collectors are dealing with Messner and Treeya, the duo open fire. Treeya's joy at seeing Vega again is cut short when a Collector fires at her pod and ejects her into vacuum. Vega rushes after her while Essex single-handedly engages the Collectors. Despite Vega's desperate efforts to stop Treeya's pod, it slips out of the ship and starts descending into the planet's atmosphere.

Vega yells in frustration but which is cut short by Messner who shoots him in the side. He then proceeds to stomp on Vega, humiliating him further. Vega plays dead and suddenly stabs the gloating Messner in the gut, turning the tables. He then contacts Treeya on the comm, promising to save her. In a chilling voice, he tells Messner that he is not done with him yet and then goes to back up Essex. The Collector leader proves to be Essex's bane who impales him from behind. In a last herculean effort, Essex releases all of his biotic energy into the leader and coupled with Vega's fire, drags the Collector leader to its death with him. Vega then watches on sorrowfully as Essex falls to a hero's death. Enraged, he goes back to interrogate Messner about his data on the Collectors; Messner begs for his life, but Vega mercilessly snarls that the Cerberus mole made his choice. Treeya tells him she has the info and Vega, not wasting any time, leaves a pleading Messner to die, while fighting hordes of fresh Collector reinforcements. Milque arrives just in time with the freighter and finishes the Collectors.

The moments of agonizing indecision come when Vega realizes he can't save both Treeya and the colonists due to a shortage of time. Tormented at the thoughts of having to leave someone behind, Vega rages in his own personal hell as he considered his course of action. At the last moment, Vega decides to sacrifice the colonists and save Treeya and the intel.

During his debriefing on the Citadel, Vega is quiet, burdened with the deaths of the colonists. The Admirals commend him again and promote him for his actions, but he feels he doesn't deserve them. His shoulders are bowed, no thoughts of savoring the victory. He feels hollow and tells Milque and Treeya that he is no hero.

Back on Fehl Prime, Vega finds April's teddy bear in the rubble and overwhelmed by the feelings it invoked, he runs away by himself, hating himself at not being able to save them all. He drowns in his dark moments, reminiscing again and again about those few moments of indecision back on the freighter and seeing visions of April. Treeya arrives to comfort him and asks him why he saved her. Vega answers he made the choice what he thought was right at that time, but now he is not so sure. Vega then reassures Treeya with a half-smile that he is glad she is there with him. Together with Milque, they salute the Memorial Wall.

Mass Effect: Conviction
Some time after the aftermath on Fehl Prime, Vega takes up residence in Omega playing cards in bars. During a game, a broadcast regarding Commander Shepard's actions during the events of Arrival and the galaxy's reactions airs on a nearby vidscreen. As a reporter relates how batarian officials have called for Shepard's head, Vega calmly tears the screen off the wall, telling the bartender to pay for the damages with his winnings.

The group of batarians he has been playing cards with take umbrage at the act, accusing Vega of being a "Shepard Lover". The Marine proceeds to defend himself against the attacking batarians with the damaged screen and a knife before escaping. Midway through his escape, he encounters Admiral Anderson. The Admiral comments on the difficulty he endured while trying to find Vega, and orders the Lieutenant to clean up and follow him. Anderson tells Vega to "get over" the incident on Fehl, and reveals that he has a job for Vega. Vega promptly refuses, claiming he doesn't wish to do so and defiantly demands why Anderson simply doesn't toss him into the brig and be done with it.

Anderson explains that Vega's job is close, as he has recruited the Marine to guard the brig and its sole prisoner: Commander Shepard.

Weapon proficiencies

 * Assault Rifles
 * Shotguns

Dossier
James Vega is tasked to escort Shepard to an Alliance defense committee hearing, but the hearing is interrupted when the Reapers attack Earth. Vega and Ashley Williams/Kaidan Alenko (depending on who survived Virmire) retrieve the Normandy SR-2 and pick Shepard up from Earth; Anderson convinces Shepard to leave Earth until Shepard can gather allies from the other races. Vega, however, is displeased with this decision and does not wish to leave Earth; unfortunately for him, Shepard overrules him since with their current resources they cannot realistically drive the Reapers away from the Earth at the time. Vega is still displeased but lets the matter drop in favor of professionalism.

During a mission on Mars, after Shepard and Ashley/Kaidan reunite with Liara, Shepard sends Vega outside the Mars facility so that Vega can cut Cerberus off if they succeed in escaping with the Prothean data. This turns out to be a wise move; Dr. Eva Coré, revealed to be a Cerberus mole, does indeed manage to get outside the facility with at least part of the Prothean data, but when she attempts to leave by shuttle, Vega crashes his own shuttle into hers, cutting off her escape.

Later, on the Citadel, upon noticing how quiet and peaceful the Citadel is, only because the races living here are isolated from the Reaper threat and almost don't believe it's real, Vega finally admits that leaving Earth was the correct decision for Shepard to make. The other races need, in Vega's opinion, a wake-up call, and staying on Earth would not have accomplished such a thing.

Vega normally loiters in the Shuttle Bay by a weapons bench, occasionally bantering with his good friend Steve Cortez over topics of interest. The first time Shepard visits Vega in the Shuttle Bay after returning to the Normandy from the Citadel, James is doing some pull-ups using the overhead bars in his place. They eventually get into a sparring match, where he gives a brief summary of his activities before joining the Normandy.

James narrates that his old CO, Captain Toni, a "hard-assed son of a bitch" but a "good leader" in Vega's words, was killed along with most of Vega's squad while the squad was protecting a civilian colony from a Collector attack. The leadership vacuum caused by Captain Toni falling in battle was filled in by Vega himself, and he had to make a choice between saving the colony or saving the intel the squad had recovered that could be used to destroy the Collectors. Vega chose to save the intel, but found out far too late that his choice was rendered completely unnecessary since Shepard managed to destroy the Collector threat without the intel Vega saved, which meant that Vega allowed the colony to die for nothing.

In the present during the sparring match, Shepard expresses worry that Vega is blaming himself unnecessarily for what happened to the colony, and Shepard believes, based on Vega's reckless stunt with the shuttle back on Mars, that because of his guilt Vega has ceased to care whether he lives or dies. Shepard advises Vega that he needs to get past that incident and stay focused.

If Shepard speaks to Vega enough, he invites Shepard to go to the Purgatory Bar for drinks on the Citadel. Upon speaking to Vega in Purgatory, Vega reveals that the lower-ranking soldiers he is having drinks with are slightly intimidated by Shepard, and advises that Shepard buy them all a round of drinks to get them relaxed and consider Shepard to be one of them. Shepard can refuse, prompting Vega to ask Shepard to at least buy Vega a drink. Alternatively, Shepard can agree, and during the round of drinks Vega starts up a variation of an old Scottish toast ; either Shepard can finish the toast, prompting the soldiers to become friendly with Shepard, or Vega finishes it, apologizing for thinking the Commander "knew that one".

Once Javik has been integrated into the team, Vega reflects on his mental state, saying that it can mess with anybody's mind after being brought forward 50,000 years and being the last of one's kind. Vega hopes that despite all that, Javik will help with the war effort. He also laughs imagining the Illusive Man's reaction at his failure to secure Javik.

After the mission on Palaven, Vega admires Primarch Victus for having "some real cojones" and says that the war needs more politicians like him.

Once the evacuation of Grissom Academy is completed and if Jack was present, Vega speaks appreciatively of her, saying that she is a tough woman, then adds that she is "hot." Vega also comments on the relationship between Anderson and Kahlee Sanders, saying that they make a nice couple. He speaks of his dad having a surname of "Sanders", clarifying that he and Kahlee are not related.

After the retrieval of the krogan female from Sur'Kesh, if Wrex was present, Vega admires Wrex for his tough guy attitude and is interested in hearing some of the old krogan's stories. If Mordin was also present, Vega finds his habit of speaking very fast quite funny, saying that "Mordin's mouth moves faster than a frog on a hot rock in the middle of summer." If Padok Wiks is present, Vega says that he finds the salarian to be be very strange, even compared to other salarians.

Upon completing the investigation into rachni on Utukku, James shakes his head in amazement at Shepard's ability to find trouble. If Grunt was present, James quips that he is crazier than Shepard but who is better looking.

After rescuing a turian platoon from Tuchanka, Vega compares the deserts there with those back on Earth, saying that the lizards and the worms are bigger on Tuchanka. He also remarks that the Primarch's son is way over in his head.

Once the Cerberus bomb was defused at the cost of Tarquin Victus' life, Vega sadly states that he would have liked to know Tarquin better.

After the mission to cure the genophage is over, Vega comically asks Shepard if the cure they dispersed could affect them and start growing scales. He also hopes that they can put aside the diplomacy and go back to fighting the Reapers.

James occasionally chats with Cortez while off duty. At one time, he debates with Cortez on the topic: M35 Mako vs M44 Hammerhead. James asserts that the Mako is vastly superior to the Hammerhead, with its powerful cannon and durable armor triumphing over the Hammerhead's inability to take hits. Cortez disagrees, saying the Hammerhead's mobility and maneuverability more than makes up for its low durability. When James says that the Mako doesn't need mobility owing to the presence of a very powerful cannon, Cortez laughs and sarcastically suggests that the M29 Grizzly is more suitable for James. James immediately says that he loves that tank, leading to a snort from Cortez and a remark that only James would like grizzly bears.

Yet another time, James congratulates Cortez for "loosening up" a little. When Cortez expresses misgivings over drinking mescal late into the night, James says that it gives one heart which is needed to fight the war. Cortez disagrees, saying it would give him a heartburn and moans about not finding decent tequila. James suggests Cortez should be responsible for setting up drinks as a procurement specialist and asks him to set the up.

After stopping Udina's coup on the Citadel, James reveals that he knew Udina was a dirty bastard, but never guessed the crooked Councilor was that rotten. After giving his thoughts on Udina to Shepard, he complains about people not seeing that they have to work together if they are going to win the fight against the Reapers, but Shepard tells him that when people are scared they are slow to trust. James agrees but also states he's adopting a 'shoot first, ask questions later' policy when dealing with politicians. Shepard finds that fair enough.

Eventually, Vega asks to speak to Shepard privately in Shepard's cabin. After Shepard invites Vega to the Captain's Cabin using the intercom, Vega will explain that he has been approached with an offer from the Systems Alliance to undergo N7 training. However, Vega is unsure whether or not to accept the offer since N7 training is a lot of work, and Vega humbly wonders why he was even approached, given his past failure, hence the private conversation. He also confesses that during that mission, his team was betrayed by a colonist who was actually a Cerberus spy working with the Collectors. Vega had no choice but to kill the spy and destroy the Collector ship, which left himself and one other squad member as the sole survivors of the mission. Shepard can either encourage Vega to go for it without hesitation or tell him that such a decision should not be taken lightly.

Either way, however, eventually Shepard can meet Vega in the refugee camp getting something tattooed on his shirtless back. Upon being queried, Vega explains that he eventually decided to accept N7 training after all, and is getting a tattoo on his back to celebrate the occasion. Shepard can either congratulate him or admonish him not to take N7 training lightly since it involves huge responsibilities; then, Shepard asks Vega if he can return to duty given the pain from the tattoo. Vega responds that it's true that he's not looking forward to putting his armor back on after getting a tattoo on his back but the pain will not prevent him from being part of Shepard's squad.

Once the mission to Lesuss is completed, once Cortez expresses his worries for Shepard every time he blows up something, and if Vega was part of the mission, he quips that Cortez should worry about him too.

After the Cerberus scientists have been rescued, Vega and Garrus are found in the mess, challenging each other to prove their superiority as warriors by relating their previous battles. Vega jokingly retaliates at every one of Garrus's accomplishments, finally saying that he taught a Harvester youngling to let him fly it, at which Garrus dismisses it as a fake and asks if the Alliance actually taught him to make up stuff. James proudly replies that its a gift.

After the the assault on the geth dreadnought, Vega questions Shepard's trust in Legion or the Geth VI. If Legion is the synthetic on board, the Commander can choose either to assure Vega of his trustworthiness or agree with the need to keep an eye on him. Vega agrees that its not fair to judge an individual by their species; if Tali is present, Vega notes that she worked with a geth despite the history of animosity between their two races. Vega remarks if all the quarians were like her, Shepard wouldn't be stuck referring their war with the geth. He shakes his head at the quarians' decision to attack the geth in the middle of the Reaper war, saying that the end of life makes everyone a little crazy.

After the disabling of the geth fighter squadron server, Vega is found in the mess with Javik, cooking his favorite dish. Shepard can ask him about his cooking. If Ashley is on the team, Vega asks Shepard to inform her about the food, remarking that she will need some after the previous night's hangover. Vega attempts to make conversation with Javik, trying to get to know him better. However this proves unsuccessful as Javik doesn't approve of gambling or smoking, something which Vega asks him about. Javik then tells him a joke, which Vega doesn't understand but pretends to and laughs anyway. Javik will snidely comment on how Vega easily believed something that was made up.

After the mission to rescue Admiral Koris, James contacts Joker on the comm suggesting he use a variant of the quarians' medical exoskeletons to improve his mobility. When Joker complains that it feels like wearing heavy armor which messes with his spatial awareness, James retorts that his own spatial awareness is perfect with heavy armor.

If Kaidan is on the team, Vega can be found playing poker with him in the Port Observation Deck after the destruction of the Reaper on Rannoch.

If Kaidan is not present on the Normandy, Vega reflects on the quarians' history of warfare with the geth, which took them almost 300 years. He hopes that it doesn't take that long to retake Earth.

After the failed mission on Thessia, Vega tries to cheer Shepard up, saying it wasn't their fault that the mission failed. Vega encourages Shepard to cut themselves some slack because they did all they could. Vega also speaks very appreciatively of the asari, saying that Thessia is one of the wonders of the galaxy, filled with beautiful blue women.

Before the final assault on the Citadel beam, Vega can be found a little disquieted at the state of Earth. Shepard assures him everything will be rebuilt and tells him to focus so that he doesn't lose the will to fight. James then salutes the Commander, saying its been a great honor serving with them. Shepard can choose to shake hands with him and praise him as a good man and a terrific soldier; or the Commander can retort saying that honor won't be worth anything if they lose, to which Vega will agree.

If Commander Shepard chooses to activate the Crucible during the battle for Earth, James, along with Joker, Cortez, and any other surviving squad members can be seen paying their respect to Shepard, placing the Commander's name above Anderson's on the memorial wall aboard the Normandy.

If James is in the squad at the final push towards the Conduit, he will be killed by Harbinger if the Effective Military Strength is too low.

Mass Effect 3: Leviathan
While gathering forces to strike back against the Reapers, Shepard pursues leads across the galaxy in search of a mythical creature called Leviathan, rumored to have the power to destroy Reapers. As part of the Commander's crew, James assists to a certain degree during this period.

After searching one such lead on the asteroid Mahavid, Vega comments on the people trapped by Leviathan on the asteroid, how they must be feeling coming back into the present. He reflects on how he himself must be feeling if he was on of the ones trapped.

James comments on the huge number of harvesters the squad had to encounter while rescuing Ann Bryson, noting that while he doesn't know what the "scientific measurement of a 'shitload' is" the number of Harvesters encountered on the planet sure fit the definition. When Cortez expresses distress at not being able to make a proper landing due to overwhelming opposition from the harvesters, James tells him not to let those "oversized roaches" push him around. When Cortez suggests that the situation on Namakli was as hopeless as sending James to Earth alone armed with brass knuckles. James asks with a straight face "What, you don't think I could do it?"

Later on the Citadel, He comes to Dr. Garret Bryson's lab, when Shepard is searching for clues to find Leviathan with Ann. James is deeply sympathetic to her loss and asserts he wants to be there for her, despite having not been invited by Shepard. A rather comical scene unfolds as he becomes interested in the husk head on display, which bites him, much to his bewilderment. He asks EDI if husk bites can turn people into more husks, and she simply recommends that he apply medi-gel.

When Shepard uses the Leviathan artifact in the lab to locate Leviathan, James holds Ann in place as Leviathan takes control of her. James is very opposed to the idea of allowing Leviathan to take over Ann and tries to stop the connection when the control starts to hurt her, though Shepard can order him otherwise. If Ann is incapacitated by the ordeal, James takes her to the medbay.

Later on the Normandy, after Shepard persuades the Leviathans to take part in the current war, James muses that it was too bad Ann "never got to see her dad's work pay off", hinting at Ann's darker fate if she was incapacitated earlier. Otherwise, James just comments on Ann's situation in the positive. He further adds that maybe with the Leviathans onboard there's a chance of actually beating the Reapers.

Mass Effect 3: Citadel
When Shepard is being pursued by CAT6, James Vega will be heard talking to Shepard saying he is coming to assist. If Urdnot Wrex is not alive, James Vega will appear and fire a M-560 Hydra at the C-Sec shuttle carrying CAT6 troops, then support Shepard and Liara T'Soni as they fend off more CAT6 forces.

After pursuing him, James Vega can be a romance interest. Alternatively if Ashley Williams is in attendance and is not locked in a romance with Shepard, there are dialog options that can lead to her and Vega hooking up at the party.

After inviting James up to the apartment following the completion of the DLC (before the party) James will show off his N7 tattoo (provided he has been lead down this route by the commander). After this James will not leave the apartment. Instead he will find the punching bag in the lower bedroom and tell the commander that he/she has been holding out on him. Shepard can then interact with the bar between the bedroom and closet and do a pull-up. If so, James will comment that his record is 182, and if the commander can beat it. Shepard can affirm that they can and can do pull-ups via a mini-game using Interrupts. James will comment on the commander's performance at certain landmarks, i.e. 10, 20, 50, 91 (half his record), 100 and around 110 (where he states most people would be happy with 100). The interrupt feature's time to press the button is reduced as time goes on, and if the commander does beat Vega's record, he will admit his amazement, and tell the commander that (he/she) has still got it, and don't let anyone tell them otherwise.

Trivia

 * According to BioWare, James Vega is intended to reflect the perspective of a new player coming to the franchise.
 * James Vega was originally known as James Sanders, however the name was changed some time after several gaming press outlets visited BioWare and revealed his original name. Vega himself references this after saving Kahlee Sanders from the attack on Grissom Academy, saying his father's last name was Sanders, but has no relation to Kahlee.
 * Like Garrus Vakarian, James also shares the relationship of mentor and protege to a certain extent, following Shepard's advice regarding his military career decisions.
 * As with all squad members, James Vega has unique dialogue that can be heard at various locations, during missions or assignments, or if a specific squad member is in the selected team.