James Christianson

James Christianson is a Lieutenant Commander in the Systems Alliance, as Commanding Officer of the SSV Wake Island (as of 2185). James Christianson is also the third human Spectre, following the induction of both Commander Shepard, and Lt. Cmdr. Ashley Williams following the Reaper Incursion.

Christianson soon fought in what would be known as "The Second Galactic War" following Shepard's decisions from Mass Effect 3. Though he kept the rank of Lt. Commander throughout the saga.

Profile
James Christianson was born on June 30th, 2154 on Earth. As a young child, James was exposed to massive amounts of Element Zero after an incident in New York City involving the explosion an experimental Element Zero reactor in 2160. His mother was killed in the accident, and he was forced to live with his father, Col. Robert Christianson of the SSV Kangchenjunga, which was stationed in New York Harbor at the time. From age 6, he grew up in space with his father on board multiple ships. Though he returned to the SSV Kangchenjunga occasionally and at the age of 17, signed up for the Systems Alliance. Though he trained a whole year before basic training until he became 18 in 2173, following in his father's footsteps.

In 2176, Christianson enlisted in the Alliance Navy as a Marine after high school and was assigned to the Recruit Training Depot in San Diego. During training, Sgt. Christianson was certified proficient with the M-8 Avenger Assault Rifle and standard to heavy-weight combat hardsuits. He also completed certification in zero-gravity aboard Gagarin Station in the Sol Cluster.

For Hostile Environment Assault Training, he was assigned to Fort Charles Upham on Saturn's moon, Titan, where he was awarded two commendations: for his boldness in assault techniques in a field exercise simulating an attack on turian point defense emplacements, and for expert survival skills on an unknown hostile environment simulating surviving a crash landing.

Drill Instructor Gunnery Chief Ellison noted his constant endurance and brash instincts, and promoted him to Lieutenant and squad leader of the 205th Infantry after observing how he taught less skilled marines. His platoon had logged numerous complaints that his training was rigorous and tough, though these were ignored by Ellison as he was following the rules. Christianson soon began to receive positive feedback and even praise from his units after basic training.

After basic training, he arrived at Jon Grissom Academy for six weeks of Military Biotic Training, it was an experimental program for military personnel to train the use of biotics to military officers and soldiers. Though this was the first and final time this would happen, James openly accepted the classes and surpassed greatly compared to other Adepts and Vanguards. James soon was certified as a Military Biotic Marine (MBM) which only included 45 other graduates and held little to no degree to the Alliance brass.

To make up for the MBM Course, many of those who did go through the training were offered positions in the N7 Program, James accepted as well as many others. He passed N1, though few others did too. He continued his training on a hostile planet, training with Turians and Krogans. He learned much about alien biology and during combat was more likely to work on an alien than a human. By N6, James knew more about alien biology than most high ranking officers. His N7 course was unexpectedly cancelled when Reapers attacked the Citadel in 2186.

Battle of the Citadel; 2183
During the Battle of the Citadel, the SSV Wake Island was part of Tenth Fleet following the SSV Kangchenjunga into battle. The Wake Island, being the fastest ship, was to provide a distraction while the main guns of the Kangchenjunga charged. The Wake Island did a splendid job until a rogue laser ripped through the Fifth Fleet and struck the SSV Wake Island's flight path causing major damage to the side.

At that time, Christianson was getting ready to fight fires aboard in the Drive Core when the side of the ship ripped open and was sucked out into the Citadel. He landed on a building roughly and sprained his leg, His oxygen breather mask protected him from death as husks began to take the roof. He held them off, and eventually made it to ground floor where a group of geth were waiting.

James blew open the door and threw a grenade, one exploded and catching two in the blaze. He then charged out and used a Nova charge, the geth were destroyed. He fell to the ground and remembered his leg, he began to crawl and saw the whole fight. He laid against a nearby wall, killing any geth that came towards him. An unknown man found him and took him to safety. After Soviereign was destroyed, his crew found him and told him that the SSV Wake Island would be undergoing repairs and would be grounded for the next two years. His stadegy and hard work on the Citadel, awarded James with the rank of N7.

Horizon; 2185
In 2185, Christianson was assigned to a garrison on Horizon during the Collector Crisis. At this time he was still leading the 205th Infantry. He, along with Ashley Williams, were on a covert assignment to see who was abducting colonists throughout the Terminus Systems. Ashley suspected it was Cerberus, having met them the previous years. She also mentioned a lot about Shepard around him and telling him how much she reminded her of him.

Ashley and him soon had a dropping out after an intense argument about suspicions. She suspected him of being a worker of Cerberus after he revealed he believed rumors that the colonists were being abducted by someone else. During an unscheduled evening patrol, he began to realize that the power was out and that communications were down, both of these being signs of disappearing colonies.

Soon, the swarm came. He tried to call Ashley and the Alliance but got no response (As mentioned before, the radios were down). In a bit of heroism, he managed to gather a group of colonists into an Alliance Vehicle Garage and lock the door and preventing the swarms from entering. He told the colonists to enter the M35 Makos inside the garage in case the doors didn't hold and don't open until he said so.

Afterwards, He, along with five armed civilians, swept the colony for survivors. After finding most of them, Christianson waited until Alliance Military arrived to take them off world. He was the only surviving soldier of the 205th Infantry, and was less than proud of it. He earned a commendation and medal for his bravery and sacrifice, the surviving colonists soon built a memorial on Horizon calling it "The Christianson Wall" which held the names of all those abducted.

He and Williams managed to clean up the colony before Christianson was sent to another post. Shortly after returning to the Citadel, Christianson was given the SSV Wake Island to investigate the Collectors in the Terminus Systems and was told about Shepard who was doing the same thing. He traveled around the Terminus Systems until finally finding a Geth/Reaper ship, from what Alliance Brass was hearing that the only way to defeat the Collecters was to get Reaper technology and soon boarded the ship.

Aboard the Reaper they realized what the colonists were being used for, and that Kingfish had been removed from his core long ago to be placed in a Human-Reaper. Shocked at this, Christianson ordered that they find the Reaper IFF as soon as possible as their was now a chance that the colonists were still alive. They soon found it, but it was cracked and fractured. Angered by this, he placed it in his pocket and walked back to the ship and letting A.N.I.T.A. handling it. She was able to fix and test it, unlike the Collector Ship and other Reaper there was no security code and thus it was fully operational.

The Alliance Military wouldn't let the SSV Wake Island enter the Omega 4 Relay though, due to the "High Chance of Death". He managed to sneak passed and enter the Galactic Core, only to see the Normandy recieve heavy fire. Keith managed to redirect that fire onto them as they were more built for it and causing a distraction, but got more damage than expected and was forced to retreat once the Normandy crashlanded on the Collector Base back to Omega. Where the SSV Wake Island was repaired, there Admiral Mikhailovich showed his displasure for disobeying orders and stripped him of his rank and ship, grounding him on Earth with the Alliance Earth Defense Force as a Gunnery Chief.

Reaper Incursion of 2186
Before the Reaper assault on Earth, Christianson was grounded to serve with the Alliance Earth Defense Force under the command of the Systems Alliance. Unable to do much else as the SSV Wake Island was being prepped for battle against the Reapers by getting newer plating and stronger cannons. Christianson, having fought Reapers before, knew they would be there soon.

Stationed in Queens, New York City, He served as an analyst as well as soldier for the Defense Force on Earth while the SSV Wake Island received extensive modifications to help it fight the Reapers. When the United Kingdom was struck without warning, New York soon followed as Reapers took control of the Empire State Building and the Harbor.

Christianson, along with his ground team, ran out of the Defense Building before it was torn in half and blown up by a Reaper Laser. While trying to reach the SSV Wake Island, James was caught off guard by the explosion of the SSV Kangchenjunga. He became seriously burnt by the nearby explosion, and told the Wake Island to come back for him and ordered them to leave and help Shepard. His crew left to find Shepard while he fought off Cannibals in the harbor. He was soon saved by his commanding officer, Cecil Zachary and brought to the New York Library, which was now a military operations base.

After a few days, Christianson recieves a video of Cecil killing innocents outside the Stock Market Building. When he confronted him, Cecil threw a shock wave at him and turned his omni-tool asking for an extraction. As James chased Cecil to the roof, he overheard their conversation about the Reapers and how Cecil was actually an agent for Cerberus. James met him on the roof and Cecil shows that he has a bomb and isn't afraid to blow the whole building up. James shot the detonator out of his hand and the two fight.

After the fight, Cecil is breathless and laying on the ground as James places his foot on his chest and says a prayer before shooting him in the head, killing Cecil. He deactivates the bomb and gets a message of a massive assault in London, led by Shepard and Admiral Anderson. He loads the bomb onto a shuttle and gets a few soldiers, the rest hold their last stand as survivors are shuttled off Earth, about 22% Survive. When he arrived, the bomb was dropped on a Reaper, killing it but the shuttle was caught in the blast and was thrown into the ground.

Christianson survived, but was nearly struck by a Reaper laser. He saw the huge force heading for the tower to retake the Citadel and followed, suddenly a barrage of Reaper Lasers struck near the tower devastating the whole unit including Shepard and Anderson. Christianson got the worse of it, both by the heat of the laser and the explosion of a Mako. As he regained consciousness, he found a piece of shrapnel had broke into his hip and his leg. Using the last ounces of will he had, he stood up.

He called for Shepard who he saw laying on the ground unconscious and bleeding out. Christianson walked over and introduced himself for the first (and final) time. He helped Shepard to his feet through talking, and told him that he lost a lot of good men and wasn't afraid to die anymore. Shepard handed him a pistol and the two shot their way into the beam of light to the Citadel.

James didn't fully make it and collapsed on the ground. He told Shepard to go without him and that he'll have his back here on Earth. As Shepard disappeared into the light, a Reaper's leg crashed nearby and James looked up at he leaned against the leg of the tower with just a pistol and loads a thermal clip and fired at it as it readied to fire.

On his last shot, the Reaper's face explodes from a missile and his eyes glazed over as Systems Alliance members retook London. A medic found him and as his voice fades in blurriness, he can be heard saying his condition is critical and he's not gonna make it. Christianson then saw the Crucible's effect, annihilating the Reapers but destroying the Citadel. The Mass Relays were destroyed and the galaxy is saved as James passes out, only to reawaken in a med-bay hospital in New York Harbor.

Second Galactic Conflict; 2194
At this time, Christianson retired from the Systems Alliance and was staying on Earth helping rebuild. At this time, the Citadel had been long destroyed and a newer form of satellite called "Thermopylae" was being built, and near completion.

Appearance
James Christianson is a muscular well built man with an average height and blue eyes. He has a shaven head and stubble covering his chin and upper lip. He has a large tattoo on his right arm that resembles a unit of men, and a group of names and ending on the back of his hand, a planet with a banner that reads "Remember Horizon" on it. Through, there are names of those that weren't on Horizon so it is suspected that it is a list of people he knew at one point.

Christianson's outfit remains the same, when on board the ship it is a classic Colonel's uniform. A dark blue uniform with three silver bars on each shoulder and three medals on his right pocket and his name plate on the left. During combat, he relies heavily on his shields as his armor is thin. It is a heavy golden colored steel over a black tank top and black pants. His belt holds ammo and a holster for his M-5 Phalanx.

His armor is considered heavy due to the thickness and weight it gives, though it is often confused as light armor. It is a dark material able of holding a regular 60-70 degrees inside while keeping the body's systems at an optimal level. The metal parts project mass effect fields and shields for protection, as well as adding protection once shields break. The helmet has built in lighting system, along with strong metals prevent easy penetration. This armor also has three interior layers that heat and cool the body as protect it. The armor is very advanced, compared to most Systems Alliance armor.

Biotic Abilities
James shows a mastery over his biotic abilities. Using them well in combat and stealth situations, James knows various types of biotic skills:
 * Radius Charge: Rank 4 - Hit up to 2 additional targets within 2 meters of the impact point.
 * Pierce Nova: Rank 6 - Increase recharge speed of all powers by 25% for 15s.
 * Shockwave : Rank 3 - Damage: 250; Force: 720 N; Radius: 2m.
 * Singularity: Rank 1 - Create a sphere of dark energy that traps and dangles enemies caught in its field
 * Detonate Throw: Rank 5 - Increase force and damage of biotic detonations by 50%.

Regular Skills
Increase power duration and force by 25%.
 * Assault Mastery Power Intensity: Rank 6 - Increase power damage bonus by 15%,
 * Melee Damage Fitness: Rank 3 - Increase melee damage by 15%.
 * Incediary Ammo: Rank 2 - Improves the odds of panicking an enemy by 15%.

Weapons

 * An M-8 Avenger with Precision Scope and Stability Damper.
 * An M-5 Phalanx with Magazine Upgrade and High Caliber Barrel.
 * Grenades with Fusion Charges.
 * ML-77 Missile Launcher with Heat Seeking Missiles.

Trivia

 * James is derived from the same Hebrew name as Jacob, meaning "heel" (in the Genesis narrative, Jacob was born grasping Esau′s heel and later bought his birthright).
 * Christianson is a patronymic surname and an anglicized form of the Danish/Norwegian Christiansen.
 * In the Profile Reconstruction, he is a Vanguard; Spacer Pre Service History; and Sole Survivor even though he, and a few survivors escaped from Horizon.
 * The beginning of the Reaper Incursion is similar to that of Mass Effect 3, only he never met a Prothean Beacon, though he had a meeting with a Reaper.
 * His story of the Reaper Incursion is based off Shepard's ending combined with Anderson's responses from "How things were going".
 * It is known that Christianson has been awarded at least three medals, the Medal of Military Exploration, the Medal of Heroism, and the Medal of Colonial Service.