tersa
in
masseffect
Mass Effect HOMEWORLDS: Vega
As this may be of interest to at least three people other than myself who aren't going to run out and buy the new Mass Effect HOMEWORLDS comics, the first of which dropped today, I thought I'd share the synopses of the story for anyone wanting to know what it is.
Free Preview here
Synopses and some lore commentary for general interest (or fic purposes) behind the cut.
Synopses:
Framed narrative, it starts out on the Citadel just a few days after the Reapers attack Earth--if I had to guess, probably that first visit there after Mars when Shepard has to meet with the Council. Vega is asking for information on a Josh Saunders and an Emilio Vega, and there is no info about them as yet.
Fast forward to the past and the day James enlisted (which happens to be during the time of the Skyllian Blitz). Emilio, who turns out to be his uncle, accompanied him to Camp Pendleton so that James can enlist. He comments that his father isn't going to be happy about it. He goes home and his dad asks him to go pick up a package for him, and it's pretty clear it's illegal and probably drugs. James does so but the cops find him during the exchange and he makes a run for it. Does a pretty credible job thinking on his feet (helps an old lady get into a locked apartment building then sneaks into a restaurant and pretends to be a bus boy in order to evade the cops chasing him), tries to call Josh for help and gets no answer, then calls Emilio, although why is unclear, because...
He goes home and has a confrontation with Josh. Turns out the package was red sand, and when James tries to stand up to Josh, Josh smacks him down--literally, right on James's keister--and threatens to ruin James's enlistment by reporting to the Alliance that James delivered drugs to him.
James is about ready to throw in the towel altogether, convinced he's ruined, when Emilio comes and finds him and points out there's no way Josh is going to admit to setting up a drug deal then sending his minor son to be a courier for it, and convinces James to go through with it and find his own path.
Back to the 'present', Liara finds him and there's some fluff about families and her wishing him luck in finding out about his.
-----
Additional lore bits:
- It's clear from the context he's from San Diego, California
- Mom died, but there is no real sense as to when. I'm guessing it's been a while and that James was probably young when it happened.
- Interesting that James has taken his mother's maiden name as his last name, even when he was signing up. Parents unmarried? The sense of the dynamic I got from Josh and James in the comic, it doesn't seem to me that James would have been mentally strong enough, at that time, to choose to take his mother's name as a way to disassociate himself from his father. I think his father would have taken it as the giant F-U it is, and I given that he agreed to get dad's drugs for him, I suspect that confrontation afterwards was the first time he'd stood up to him.
- That Emilio noted James was a minor makes me wonder what the Alliance's rules are about enlistment; U.S. rules have a minimum of 17 with parental consent or 18 without, while the age of majority in the U.S. tends to be 18. With his mother dead and Josh obviously not giving consent, does this mean Emilio has custody? Except that wouldn't explain that James seems to live with his father.
- Good to know Camp Pendleton is still alive and kicking as a marine base 170 years from now. :)
- A note at the back reveals that Vega was originally supposed to be thinly based off Sawyer from "LOST" but was evolved into what we see now. The sarcasm and disrespect for authority is a holdover from that. However, it makes me wonder if Josh Saunders continues to be a callback to the original idea, as the model for his father in the comic loosely resembles Sawyer's actor, Josh Holloway.
- (ETA) Also interesting that in the game, James only mentions his uncle as his 'family back home', and not his father, and yet is asking about both of them at the Citadel. The only time I can recall him mentioning his father at all was the reference to his father having the same last name as Kahlee, but...that's it. And was there ever follow-up mention of Emilio's fate in the game and I missed it, like they did with Garrus's family, Ashley's sister and brother-in-law, Kaidan's parents, and Joker's sister?
- This wound up fitting the headcanon I'd sussed out for him, so I'm glad to see it was supported.
Free Preview here
Synopses and some lore commentary for general interest (or fic purposes) behind the cut.
Synopses:
Framed narrative, it starts out on the Citadel just a few days after the Reapers attack Earth--if I had to guess, probably that first visit there after Mars when Shepard has to meet with the Council. Vega is asking for information on a Josh Saunders and an Emilio Vega, and there is no info about them as yet.
Fast forward to the past and the day James enlisted (which happens to be during the time of the Skyllian Blitz). Emilio, who turns out to be his uncle, accompanied him to Camp Pendleton so that James can enlist. He comments that his father isn't going to be happy about it. He goes home and his dad asks him to go pick up a package for him, and it's pretty clear it's illegal and probably drugs. James does so but the cops find him during the exchange and he makes a run for it. Does a pretty credible job thinking on his feet (helps an old lady get into a locked apartment building then sneaks into a restaurant and pretends to be a bus boy in order to evade the cops chasing him), tries to call Josh for help and gets no answer, then calls Emilio, although why is unclear, because...
He goes home and has a confrontation with Josh. Turns out the package was red sand, and when James tries to stand up to Josh, Josh smacks him down--literally, right on James's keister--and threatens to ruin James's enlistment by reporting to the Alliance that James delivered drugs to him.
James is about ready to throw in the towel altogether, convinced he's ruined, when Emilio comes and finds him and points out there's no way Josh is going to admit to setting up a drug deal then sending his minor son to be a courier for it, and convinces James to go through with it and find his own path.
Back to the 'present', Liara finds him and there's some fluff about families and her wishing him luck in finding out about his.
-----
Additional lore bits:
- It's clear from the context he's from San Diego, California
- Mom died, but there is no real sense as to when. I'm guessing it's been a while and that James was probably young when it happened.
- Interesting that James has taken his mother's maiden name as his last name, even when he was signing up. Parents unmarried? The sense of the dynamic I got from Josh and James in the comic, it doesn't seem to me that James would have been mentally strong enough, at that time, to choose to take his mother's name as a way to disassociate himself from his father. I think his father would have taken it as the giant F-U it is, and I given that he agreed to get dad's drugs for him, I suspect that confrontation afterwards was the first time he'd stood up to him.
- That Emilio noted James was a minor makes me wonder what the Alliance's rules are about enlistment; U.S. rules have a minimum of 17 with parental consent or 18 without, while the age of majority in the U.S. tends to be 18. With his mother dead and Josh obviously not giving consent, does this mean Emilio has custody? Except that wouldn't explain that James seems to live with his father.
- Good to know Camp Pendleton is still alive and kicking as a marine base 170 years from now. :)
- A note at the back reveals that Vega was originally supposed to be thinly based off Sawyer from "LOST" but was evolved into what we see now. The sarcasm and disrespect for authority is a holdover from that. However, it makes me wonder if Josh Saunders continues to be a callback to the original idea, as the model for his father in the comic loosely resembles Sawyer's actor, Josh Holloway.
- (ETA) Also interesting that in the game, James only mentions his uncle as his 'family back home', and not his father, and yet is asking about both of them at the Citadel. The only time I can recall him mentioning his father at all was the reference to his father having the same last name as Kahlee, but...that's it. And was there ever follow-up mention of Emilio's fate in the game and I missed it, like they did with Garrus's family, Ashley's sister and brother-in-law, Kaidan's parents, and Joker's sister?
- This wound up fitting the headcanon I'd sussed out for him, so I'm glad to see it was supported.