"Mass Effect" - Universe [9] - Virmire Quiz

Answer: In the Mako

Virmire was home to Saren's research base. A salarian Special Tasks Group (STG) was sent to investigate it, but they ran into problems. They sent out a distress call, and the Citadel Council sent Shepard to investigate. Kirrahe, the Captain of the STG, noted that sending Shepard was a repetition of their original task.

Saren had anti-air defenses that made landing at the base impossible. Shepard was dropped in the Mako, and the squad disabled the local anti-air towers while making their way to the salarian camp.

Port Hanshan was a the landing location on Noveria.

Answer: Curing the genophage

The Krogan Rebellions were a series of battles that took place over a millennium before the events in "Mass Effect". To end the krogan onslaught, salarians created the genophage, a fertility modification. It affected krogan birthrates to make their population more manageable.

Every krogan was infected, and it was passed on through the generations. The krogan cared more for fighting than science and medicine, and just accepted their new place in the galaxy with bitter resentment.

The genophage was a sore spot for many krogan, and played a central role in many events throughout the "Mass Effect" series.

Answer: "Hold the line"

In Kirrahe's inspirational speech to his soldiers, he explained that although the salarians often used sabotage, assassination, and information to avoid major conflicts, it was the STG that still fought to, "Hold the line."

"Keelah Se'lai" was a quarian saying that was featured more in "Mass Effect 2" and "Mass Effect 3". It meant "By the homeworld I hope to see one day." Sometimes it was shortened to "Keelah", which was "By the homeworld".

"Embrace Eternity" was said by asari before melding minds. Liara, Shiala, and Sha'ira all said it before melding with Shepard.

"By the goddess" was exclamation use by asari sometimes.

Answer: Tali

Captain Kirrahe required that one of the two Alliance squad members join him (Ashley or Kaidan) making either one unavailable for the base assault. Later, the other Alliance member armed the nuclear device, becoming unavailable also.

Recruiting Liara was one of four primary quests after becoming a Spectre. It was possible to recruit her after Virmire, making her unavailable.

It was possible to not recruit Garrus at all. Garrus was the only optional squad member for the entire game.

It was possible for Wrex to die if Shepard could not convince him that destroying the genophage cure was the right thing to do.

Tali was always recruited on the Citadel, and there was no way to have her die, or become busy with a different task. Tali would always be available for this mission.

The only time in the game that Shepard had only one squad member was on Eden Prime before meeting Ashley. If Shepard arrived on Virmire without Garrus and Liara, then Wrex would always survive. Once both Alliance members were busy helping Kirrahe and arming the nuke, Shepard's final squad on Virmire would be Tali and Wrex.

Answer: None of these

The three main groups were named after the firsts salarian colonies, and were named to remind the soldiers what they were fighting for. Shepard and squad formed the smaller Shadow Team that infiltrated Saren's base while the geth were distracted by Kirrahe. Shadow team had numerous opportunities to help out Kirrahe's other teams, such as disabling communications towers.

Answer: Asari

Rana Thanoptis was a scientist studying indoctrination at Saren's base. She found out that indoctrination affected the researchers and the test subjects alike, and began to worry for her own health. Shepard found her hiding under her desk, trying to avoid the firefight outside.

She unlocked the doors to Saren's private chambers to gain favor with the Commander. Shepard then had the option to let her flee or execute her for her work at the base. If left alive, she reappeared in "Mass Effect 2".

Answer: Vanguard

A vanguard is the front unit in a military formation. It is often smaller than the main force, and dedicated to scouting ahead, clearing obstacles, and attacking the enemy. They are not meant to hold a position - that is a job for the main force advancing behind them. An example of a modern day vanguard would be the United States Marine Corps.

The name Vanguard suits the "Mass Effect" class well. They focus on moving forward at a rapid pace and being in the thick of the fight. They generally don't sit still to secure a position.

Sovereign called itself a vanguard, indicating that it was a smaller force ahead of the much larger attacking force.

A sentinel is generally a small unit that keeps watch over an area for suspicious or enemy activity. The Prothean VI on Ilos, Vigil, called Sovereign a sentinel of the Reapers.

Answer: Saren

Each major world had a strong enemy at the end. At the end of Noveria, Shepard fought Benezia, Saren's second-in-command. At the end of the Feros mission, Shepard fought the Thorian. At the end of the Virmire mission, Shepard fought Saren himself, though unlike the other fights, no one won.

At the end of the game, on the Citadel, Shepard either had to fight Saren a second time, or convince him that he was indoctrinated. If convinced, Saren committed suicide. After Saren died, Sovereign turned the turian's corpse into its own avatar to fight Shepard, making Sovereign the last enemy in the game.

Answer: Ashley and Kaidan

Most choices in "Mass Effect" could be classified as either Paragon or Renegade. Paragon choices often meant that more people survived or were not hurt, often because Shepard that to fight more enemies. Renegade choices offered expediency, sometimes at the expense of others' lives.

This often made it easy to save many people, just by making Paragon choices. The Virmire choice was the first time in "Mass Effect" when Shepard could not save everybody, making it much more difficult. Shepard had to choose to save one squad member at the expense of another.

Answer: Detonated a nuclear device

To destroy Saren's base, Kirrahe decided to turn the drive core of their ship into an improvised nuclear device. Because of the fortifications and structure of the base, the nuke had to be placed inside at a specific location (although the blast seen from orbit would have said otherwise).

Shepard had the option of using a neutron purge at the Peak 15 Research Facility on Noveria to remove the rachni infestation.