Donnel Udina

Donnel Udina was a human diplomat stationed at the Citadel, humanity's ambassador to the Council races and a relentless advocate for human interests. A cautious, calculating political operator, he frequently clashed with Commander Shepard, whose direct methods threatened the standing he worked to protect. Depending on the choices made during the campaign against Saren Arterius, Udina rose to become humanity's first representative on the Citadel Council, and in his final days he conspired with Cerberus in a coup that cost him his life.

Ambassador to the Council#

Udina was humanity's ambassador to the Council races, following Anita Goyle in the post, and he believed humanity deserved a seat on the Council sooner rather than later. He pressed for a human to be inducted into the Spectres as a first step toward that goal. Cautious by nature, he demanded solid, irrefutable proof before committing to any course of action, a habit that often put him at odds with Commander Shepard. He played the political game above all, refusing to rock the boat if doing so might endanger his standing, and by extension humanity's, with the Council.

During the hearing against Saren Arterius, Udina judged it a mistake to bring Captain Anderson into the proceedings, as their shared history complicated matters and Saren was cleared. He removed Anderson from the case and directed Shepard toward leads that might expose the rogue Spectre. Once Shepard had been made a Spectre, Udina's diligence showed itself as a preference for playing things safe and looking good before the Council, and he was quick to find fault with how Shepard handled crises on Feros, on Noveria, and elsewhere.

After Shepard convinced the Council of an imminent attack on the Citadel, Udina tried to take control, wanting humanity at the forefront of the battle to prove its worth. When Shepard pressed warnings about the Reapers that the Council was tired of hearing, Udina ordered the Normandy grounded and its controls locked. Anderson countermanded the order, and in some accounts knocked Udina unconscious to use his terminal, allowing Shepard to retake the ship and confront Saren.

Humanity's first Councilor#

Udina survived the assault on the Citadel by Sovereign and Saren. In the aftermath, the offer of a Council seat for humanity could follow, with both Udina and Anderson nominated for the post. Shepard could recommend either; if Udina was chosen, he vowed to make humanity a powerful presence united with the other races against the Reapers, and if Anderson was chosen, Udina objected before accepting the decision. Other outcomes depended on Shepard's choices, including paths in which a human-led Council emerged. Whatever the configuration, Udina either took the Council seat or served as the human Councilor's adviser, and his hostility toward Shepard endured even as he occasionally passed along grateful messages from those the Commander had helped.

By 2186, Udina held the human seat on the Council. After the destruction of Arcturus Station and the death of the Alliance government, he became the most powerful political figure in the Systems Alliance, and despite his fury at the Council's refusal to cooperate he threw himself into the war effort. He supported the construction of the Crucible, instituted a draft across Alliance colonies, pressured allies for resources, and ensured the fleets were rebuilt. He appointed the survivor of Virmire as humanity's second Spectre and converted part of the Presidium docks into emergency housing for refugees.

The coup and his death#

Udina's desperation to save Earth, and his mounting frustration with a Council that would not commit to retaking it, led him to a fateful bargain with Cerberus. He agreed to instigate a bloodless coup, intending to arrest the Council and force it to grant him emergency power to send all Citadel forces to Earth. The salarian Councilor detected his maneuvering and gathered evidence of his dealings, and the rush to silence that Councilor, combined with the differing aims of Udina and the Cerberus operative Kai Leng, turned the coup into a massacre, with Cerberus imposing martial law and killing C-Sec officers and civilians alike.

Udina led the surviving Councilors toward an escape vehicle that Cerberus had already destroyed, leaving them cornered. The plan unraveled when Shepard reached the Council first and sealed the entrance against Leng. Confronted over his treachery, Udina tried to frame Shepard as a Cerberus collaborator and moved to override the door's lock to admit the pursuing operatives. When the asari Councilor interfered, he shoved her aside and threatened her with a pistol, and was shot and killed by either Shepard or the Virmire survivor. Afterward, Shepard and Anderson could only speculate whether Udina had been indoctrinated.