As the galaxy prepares to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the end of the Reaper War, we here at the Alliance News Network are making preparations of our own. Normandy: Eye of the Storm, a seven-part series giving the inside story of the SSV Normandy, will make its galactic premiere in a month from today.
Containing interviews of the crew of the Normandy, some of whom have never spoken publicly before, along with a host of other prominent galactic figures, Normandy: Eye of the Storm promises to be a touching and informative tribute to those brave souls who led the quest to save us all from a fate worse than death.
Every day in the lead-up to the first airing of Eye of the Storm, we'll be publishing interviews with just some of the many famous (and not so famous) figures you'll be seeing in the show. First up, it's the second human Spectre, and the first of many crew members to be recruited to serve under Commander John Shepard. Please enjoy ANN's interview with Major Ashley Williams.
Who are you, and what is your connection to the SSV Normandy and its captain?
Major Ashley Williams, Systems Alliance and Council Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. I served on the Normandy under Commander Shepard from the invasion of Eden Prime all the way to the ship's destruction over Alchera. I was on the SR2 briefly after the invasion of Earth, and returned full-time just after being inducted into the Spectres, following the attempted coup by Cerberus.
What was your first meeting with Shepard like?
Terrifying. Amazing. Heaven-sent. I was running for my life from the Geth on Eden Prime. I'd just found some rocks to take cover behind, while I tried to figure out what to do next and how to stay alive. I'd been running on adrenaline for what felt like hours. I'll be honest: I was pretty sure I was going to die.
And then, out from the hills overlooking my position, I saw two human soldiers coming up on me. Before I could even say I word, they flung out biotics at the Geth chasing after me and tore them apart in seconds. It was incredible.
I kept it together for the rest of our time on the planet. Just as well too, because a lot happened out way to find the Prothean beacon. But after I found a quiet spot to myself on the Normandy, I just bawled my eyes out. I lost a lot of people I cared about that day, and I was so close to being just another casualty myself.
Remembering that moment of salvation still gives me goosebumps. Thank God for John Shepard and Kaidan Alenko.
Do you have a favourite memory of your time with the two of them?
It's hard to keep it to just one! As serious as our mission to stop Saren was, we had a lot of fun too. Not just with Shepard and Alenko, but the whole ground team on the SR1. They were crazy days, but it felt like an adventure, not a war.
If I had to pick one stand-out moment with my fellow Alliance soldiers, it'd be our first time on the Citadel. It was just after Eden Prime. None of us had ever been there before. Arriving at the Citadel to dock was awe-inspiring. Being on the Presidium made me feel like a total tourist.
But as we searched for a way to get information on Saren, we found a place in the Wards with this beautiful vista looking over the station and off into space. The three of us spent a good ten minutes there, just chatting and admiring the view, and this sense of peace washed over me. I felt like everything was going to be ok. Like I was exactly where I was meant to be, with exactly the people I was meant to be with. I'll never forget it.
How did your time on the Normandy change you?
How didn't it change me? I came onboard as a backwater colonial Gunnery Chief, and left as a confident and proud member of the crew that stopped Saren. I would never have made it off Eden Prime without the Normandy, let alone become a Council Spectre.
But the biggest difference being on the Normandy made in me wasn't just about me. It was about my family. After the Virmire mission, I told Shepard that I should've been the one to stay behind, not Kaidan. The Commander put me straight. He asked me if I was trying to be a martyr to redeem my grandfather's honour. He was right.
In the end, it wasn't martyrdom that would change the perception of my family. It was living to fight another day alongside the greatest man I've ever known, taking on the Reapers with everything we had. When our kids learn about the Williams family in the future, it'll be a matter of pride, not shame. That couldn't have happened without the Normandy, and without Shepard.
How would you like history to remember you?
As a kick-ass marine who served her people well and did her family proud.
Make ANN your extranet homepage to get the latest interviews from Major Williams and many others, as we celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the end of the Reaper War.