APPENDIX B

OPERATION CLARION

Dossiers of Command Staff/Combat Team

Author's Note: Companion to "If It Meant Living: Beyond." These are Dossiers for the three new, original characters. After you have read through at least Chapter 5 of "Beyond," see "chapter" 4 of this document for full dossiers and more information.

Quarian Heavy Fleet Commander Keenon'Daal vas Idenna

Species/Gender: Quarian/Male

Specialties: Engineering and tech, cutting-edge communications, bashful glowing skin

Last Posting: Fleet Headquarters, Rannoch. After The War, Keenon'Daal transferred from his position as XO of the Idenna to Rannoch, where he served as Chief Design Engineer overseeing the construction of a state of the art facility for the construction of new ships. Following its completion, he continued to periodically serve on the Idenna as the fleet began to transition from its role as "home" for the Quarians to a more traditional military role of patrol and defend.

GRaDeF History: Keenon met and became a friend of Admiral Tali'Zorah-Reegar and Commander Kal'Reegar during the construction of Fleet Headquarters. He was introduced to Admiral Shepard during a personal visit by her to Rannoch in 2188; upon discovering that they also shared another mutual acquaintance, Research Council member Kahlee Sanders-Anderson, they stayed in touch. A year later she asked him to join GRaDeF.

Personal History: Born in 2165 on the Tonbay to a machinist father and technician mother, Keenon displayed an extraordinary aptitude for electronics at an early age; a friendly and good-natured child, by the time he was a young teenager he had a reputation for being able to repair any electronics on the ship.

For his pilgrimage, he traveled to Illium and secured an internship with Armali Council; he adapted technologies from the prestigious Nexus line of Omni-tools for the drones used by the Migrant Fleet to repair external damage to their ships, significantly increasing their efficiency.

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Turian Marine Corps Lieutenant Commander Litha Palamin

Species/Gender: Turian/Female

Specialties: Infiltration and sabotage, smart-ass commentary

Last Posting: Turian 43rd Marine Division/Blackwatch. A team of exceptionally skilled Special Ops soldiers, the majority of Blackwatch's operations are classified, although it's generally accepted that they have the highest success rate of any Turian unit in history.

GRaDeF History: Commander Palamin was recommended for GRaDeF by C-Sec Executor Vakarian upon its formation. Shepard accepted her into the force sight unseen, presumably trusting the recommendation of her longtime friend implicitly.

Personal History: Born in 2160 to a mid-level Defense Ministry official and a manager at a ceramics materials manufacturer, Palamin received a traditional middle-class upbringing in a suburb of Cipritine. Known as a smart but unruly student, she spent much of her youth in and out of minor trouble; nonetheless, her IQ tests and overall GPA was sufficiently high to gain her admittance into officer training shortly after she began her term of public service.

Consistently labeled a troublemaker and more than once winding up in the brig for insubordination, Palamin was nonetheless identified by one instructor, a Lieutenant Garvon Nallack, as potential special forces material. Siphoned into a more intensive and specialized training program, she showed immediate talent for infiltration into high risk areas.

Palamin was completing an internship in the Intelligence Division when she was loaned out to Garrus Vakarian's Reaper Task Force. When The War began, she was transferred into Blackwatch. As is typical with Blackwatch, her activities during The War are highly classified.

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Systems Alliance Staff Lieutenant Timah Naik

Species/Gender: Human/Male

Specialties: Heavy assault, heavy weapons, light-to-medium explosives, uncomfortable silences

Last Posting: 103rd Marines. Earth's largest collection of Special Forces, the 103rd saw heavy fighting during The War, in the arctic desert one week, crawling through jungles the next.

GRaDeF History: Naik first came to the attention of Admiral Shepard via Alliance Consultant Jacqueline Nought ("Jack"), who became acquainted with Naik, then a young 2nd Lieutenant, when her biotics students joined the 103rd on Earth as a front-line support squad. When recommending him for consideration as a GRaDeF agent, Ms. Nought is reported to have said: "He's more of a tight-ass than even Vakarian, but he knows how to blow shit up real good; Shepard'll love him."

Nevertheless, Naik was initially deemed too young and inexperienced to join GRaDeF. However, a year later he received an open invitation after he played a critical role in rescuing a Team Delta squad led by Commander James Vega on Gei Hinnom during an unsuccessful attempt by Alliance Marines to bring an end to the ongoing ruins conflicts.

Personal History: Born in 2166 to an Indian dignitary farther and a British humanitarian and minor royal mother, his youth was spent in both the affluent suburbs of New Delhi and Chelsea in London. A quiet and respectful child, Timah was a good student but excelled in athletics. He received a full athletic scholarship to play football for Notre Dame University, where he led the team to two division championships (but no continental championships) as quarterback.

The War erupted during his senior year at Notre Dame; already a member of ROTC, he joined the Marines and was quickly selected for special forces training and service. After The War, he completed his schooling via the extranet and received his B.S. in Civil Engineering in 2187. He maintains a modest apartment in the Kirkland suburb of Seattle-Vancouver. An intensely private person, little is known about his personal relationships or non-military activities.