- See also: N7, N7 Operations, Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer
During the Reaper War, the Alliance News Network published two blogs regarding the N7 Special Ops.
Firebase Hydra
- From Firebase Hydra: Medigel works on Batarians too. http://bit.ly/IWkGwF
“CONCERNED BATARIANS EXPLAIN THAT MEDIGEL WORKS ON THEM, TOO – ALLIANCE NEWS NETWORK
Firebase: Hydra — In response to perceived misunderstandings, elite troops from the now-defunct Batarian Hegemony have issued an official dictate making it clear that medigel works normally on their species, and should in fact be used on injured batarian fighters. “We are pleased to join the galaxy in the fight against the Reapers, as well as Cerberus and geth forces,” explained Squad Commander Shar’lak Gurek, spokesman for the insular, xenophobic race that had been preparing for war with the Alliance before falling to Reaper forces. “And to better serve in that fight, we wish to clarify that applying medigel will absolutely help us regain consciousness when we are lying bleeding on the ground.”
Gurek also noted that batarian technology and culture is not so different from those of other species. “Many of our new allies in this great struggle seem to think that batarians view warnings about incoming banshees as an insult — nothing could be further from the truth, and it would be great if people could let us know when one of those was standing right behind us. There’s also a rumor that our kinetic barriers are thermally charged, and thus we actually benefit from being hit by a geth pyro’s flamethrower. We’re honestly not sure where that one came from.”
Admiral Peter Mikhailovich issued a public statement of support for the batarian fighters: “As we fight for survival, we must give all due respect to our new allies,” said the veteran of the Skyllian Blitz. “These warriors are fighting alongside races they had once declared undying hatred for, and doing so without the slaves to treat their injuries, as they were accustomed to. They wish to prove that they can shoulder any burden and fight any opposing force, no matter how horrific the casualties they will incur doing so. We owe them that chance.”
Alliance soldiers responded positively to the clarification. “You know, I honestly didn’t think that batarians bled the way we did,” admitted Lieutenant Girard, currently recovering from a fight against Reaper forces on Noveria. “But then, I’ve only really seen them that one time, on Mindoir. Definitely, though, provided I’ve got enough medigel, and that the mission won’t be compromised by me trying to give first aid during a firefight, I’ll be sure to use that medigel on our new friends from Khar’shan. Just as soon as I’m done helping any injured salarians, turians, drell, asari, krogan, quarians, or geth.”
— Alliance News Network publication
Special Operations in the Systems Alliance
- Special Operations in the Systems Alliance. Read about it here: http://blog.bioware.com/2012/07/20/special-operations-in-the-systems-alliance/ …
“Special Operations in the Systems Alliance
Interplanetary Combatives Training (ICT) is the Systems Alliance’s premier leadership and combat expertise course, dedicated to battling the threats of the 22nd century. The Interplanetary Combatives Academy, informally called “the villa,” recruits officers from all branches of Earth’s major military powers; the finest candidates may attend the school’s primary location at Vila Militar in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The trainees undergo brutal courses, content varied depending on how many times they have trained at the school.
If this is their first time at the school, trainees participate in scenarios experienced by the elite units of most land-based armies; a typical candidate may be in training more than 20 hours a day, leading small units into combat over hostile terrain with little sleep or food. If the trainee does well, he is considered “ICT-qualified,” awarded the internal designation N1, and invited to return. Subsequent courses (N2 through N6) are not held at the school proper, but at space stations or other planets, to put the trainee in more extreme conflict situations.
Some of these schools include zero-G fighting, military free-fall (parachuting), jetboot/jetpack flight, combat diver qualification, close-quarter combatives instructor courses, first responder/combat lifesaver training for human and alien biology, language instruction, and assault procedures. Soldiers with specialized duties may also attend specialized schools for training related to their field. Forward observers may attend naval gunfire training and close air support courses; pilots and mechanized soldiers learn how to drive, maintain, and shoot from several types of vehicles and powered armor; communications specialists attend joint communications courses.
The highest grade of training, N6, concentrates on actual combat experience, and trainees join combat theater commanders in conflict zones across the galaxy. Only when a trainee has survived actual combat scenarios in an “admirable and effective fashion,” does he or she receive an N7 designation. Before the events of the Reaper War, their graduation ceremony took place at Arcturus Station; now, it happens practically on the battlefield. N7 is traditionally the only school rank permitted on field or dress uniforms – the N1 through N6 are for internal use only. It should be pointed out that there is no stigma attached not to receiving an N-designation – the training is so extreme that even qualifying for an N1 course is considered above and beyond normal duty. This helps cull the ranks of eager trainees who might lie about their exploits or risk themselves unnecessarily in hopes of getting the school’s highest honor.
ICT qualification does not guarantee higher rank, but officers who succeed at the combatives training typically have personalities compatible with leadership positions. In some cases, however, a given force will form a special operations regiment made solely of ICT-qualified soldiers to deal with a specific problem. For example, if the Alliance were to attack Reapers on a volus colony, the Alliance might form an armed forces regiment made of ICT soldiers who trained in high-air-pressure or ammonia-heavy environments, and use them to complete an objective.
The Alliance’s prominent role in the Reaper War means that many N7 soldiers have been called upon to train alien species in asymmetric, anti-Reaper warfare, taking advantage of their expertise in fighting on alien worlds. From a command perspective, these are designated “N7 forces” because of the status of their commanding officer; it does not mean that all the soldiers under that CO are N7s themselves. These mixed-species teams have given the galaxy some of their most valuable victories. Conventional wisdom holds that small, elite ground troops, such as the N7s, cannot possibly win a war against foes with space superiority, such as the Reapers, but long odds do nothing to diminish the spirits of the Milky Way’s finest combatants.”
— Alliance News Network publication
Trivia
- Those blogs were launched to promote respectively the Mass Effect 3: Resurgence Pack and Mass Effect 3: Earth DLCs, where Firebase Hydra, batarian and N7 characters are introduced to Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer.