Paul Grayson

Paul Grayson is a Cerberus operative, red sand addict and the adoptive father of the autistic biotic Gillian Grayson. He is also a certified starship pilot. He was introduced in Mass Effect: Ascension and returns in Mass Effect: Retribution.

Grayson, as he is usually called, is described as tall and thin with dark hair. His addiction to red sand gives him red, bloodshot eyes and luminous teeth, common to all addicts. He could be described as xenophobic, due to his loyalty to human-supremacist Cerberus, but he genuinely believes in Cerberus' ideals.

The Cerberus Operative
In service to Cerberus, Grayson undertook many horrific missions. He made his bones by killing Keo, Claude Menneau's bodyguard. Most notably, Grayson sabotaged starships over colony worlds to release dust-form element zero. The worst of these was over Yandoa, which caused unknown numbers of birth defects along with thirty-seven biotic children, including Gillian herself.

Grayson was given Gillian, as a mission, by the Illusive Man when she was just a baby and told to raise her as his own daughter. His dossier would say that his wife died during child birth and he never remarried. According to the Illusive Man, Gillian was intended to play a key role in humanity's future, even to be a 'saviour', and that Cerberus would help to nurture her potential.

Naturally, Grayson loved his daughter very much, even though they were not biologically related, and missed her greatly when she went to the Ascension Project. The pain of being separated from her made him more dependent on red sand until he was visibly addicted.

Saving Gillian
As Gillian's father, Grayson was able to pass on orders and special medicines to the undercover Cerberus operative at the Ascension Project, Dr. Jiro Toshiwa. When the medicine caused a seizure and Jiro's cover was blown, Grayson was ordered to remove Gillian and take her to a Cerberus facility, but he was blocked by Kahlee Sanders. Unaware of his true identity, Kahlee and Hendel Mitra travelled with Grayson and Gillian to Omega in the Terminus Systems. Grayson had secretly intended to meet with his old partner Pel, but Pel double-crossed him.

The four of them were held prisoner in an Omega warehouse, awaiting sale to the Collectors, but Lemm'Shal nar Tesleya launched a rescue attempt. Kahlee told Lemm to leave Grayson behind; in the confusion, Grayson was able to break out and kill Pel in revenge. He also found the sick quarian Hilo'Jaa vas Idenna and managed to recover access codes to the Migrant Fleet from him.

Attacking the Migrant Fleet
Believing the quarians had taken Gillian, and becoming more wary of Cerberus' methods, Grayson pleaded with the Illusive Man to make him head of the retrieval team sent to the Migrant Fleet. The Illusive Man finally agreed and Grayson, along with the traitor Golo, led a small squad of Cerberus commandos aboard the Idenna, using the scout ship Cyniad as a decoy. He planned to abandon the Cyniad and steal another shuttle to escape; the Cyniad was rigged with explosives to scuttle the Idenna in the attack.

Grayson found Gillian returning to the shuttle where she had been quarantined and stunned her, hoping to escape quickly, but Kahlee Sanders caught him trying to escape. As she was beaten viciously by Golo, Kahlee pleaded with Grayson to see the truth - Cerberus was using his daughter, not turning her into a saviour. All they cared about was her biotic power and how they could use it as a weapon. Grayson finally made his choice, shot Golo in the head, and warned Kahlee that the Cyniad was trapped.

After the incursion on the Migrant Fleet, the quarians spent several days deliberating what to do with Grayson for the crimes he had committed against them. While Gillian prepared to leave on the Idenna's five-year scouting mission, custody of Grayson was given to Kahlee Sanders. She intended to turn him over to the Alliance for sentencing, and she and Lemm began the journey to Cuervo with their prisoner. However, as Grayson told her, Cerberus had eyes and ears across the Alliance, and taking him to Cuervo would effectively be a death sentence. Grayson managed to get hold of Kahlee's Ascension Project-issued stunner and knocked both her and Lemm unconscious. They woke up unharmed on Daleon, but Grayson had vanished.

Grayson later sent a message to the Illusive Man to tell him he was leaving Cerberus forever. He also ensured Kahlee Sanders' safety by claiming that if the Illusive Man ever took action against her, Grayson would tell the Alliance all he knew.

Mass Effect: Retribution
In Mass Effect: Retribution, Grayson, alias Paul Johnson, is on Omega, working as an enforcer for Aria T'Loak, and is also involved with Aria's daughter, Liselle. Under Aria's orders, he steals a shipment of red sand from the Talons, a turian gang who have become more prominent after a recent shakeup within Omega's underworld. He has a crisis of conscience, as he does not want to give the red sand to Aria, and is fearful of relapsing into his old addictions. He is found by Cerberus operative Kai Leng, who reports his whearabouts to the Illusive Man. Grayson is soon kidnapped and implanted with Reaper technology, as part of an experiment to study indoctrination. Though the Illusive Man had planned to kill Grayson before he became too dangerous, an attack by the Turian Hierarchy gave Grayson a chance to escape. As the indoctrination grew more powerful, he felt a prisoner in his own body. The indoctrinated Grayson eventually made it to Jon Grissom Academy, as the Reapers were interested in the biotic potential of its students, with Leng, Dr. Sanders, and Admiral Anderson in hot pursuit. Grayson was mortally wounded when Anderson blasted him with a shotgun at point blank range. Kai Leng then executes Grayson with two bullets to the head. Afterward, Anderson and Sanders make plans to autopsy Grayson's body and study the Reaper technology within him in the hopes of learning how to fight the Reapers.