Karin Chakwas
Chief Medical Officer of the Normandy
Dr. Karin Chakwas was the human physician of the Normandy across both of its incarnations, a calm and devoted Alliance major who stayed at her post out of loyalty to the soldiers she treated. She regarded the crew as her family and counted Commander Shepard and the pilot Joker among the truest friends she ever had.
Dr. Karin Chakwas was the human physician of the SSV Normandy and later the Normandy SR-2, serving under Commander Shepard across the campaign against Saren Arterius and the war against the Reapers. She had enlisted in the Systems Alliance soon after medical school, originally seeking adventure, and rose to the rank of major. Even after the hard realities of service tempered her, she stayed out of a sense of duty, believing there was something special about caring for soldiers and that she would be abandoning them if she left. Trained in alien biology like most Alliance doctors, she could treat the ship's non-human crew as readily as its human one.
Service aboard the SSV Normandy#
Chakwas served as the doctor of the original Normandy, where her calm bedside manner and steady judgment made her a trusted figure. When the Prothean beacon on Eden Prime rendered Shepard unconscious, the Commander was carried back to her care rather than a civilian clinic, and though she found the resulting visions troubling enough to note in her report, she reassured Shepard that the readings looked normal. She had worked alongside Captain David Anderson on several missions and respected his judgment, knowing when he would let matters slide and when he would crack the whip.
When Shepard defied orders to ground the Normandy and pursued Saren to Ilos, Chakwas reflected on the strange position of being a fugitive from the Alliance she had served so long. She gravely asked the Commander not to let the crew down, noting that they had sacrificed everything for the mission's success.
Joining the Normandy SR-2#
Chakwas was aboard the Normandy when the Collectors destroyed it, and she evacuated by escape pod along with several crew members. After Shepard's apparent death she was posted to the Mars Naval Medical Center, but she missed the life of a starship. When the rebuilt Normandy SR-2 was assembled, she took the post of chief medical officer, working out of the medical lab. She was emphatic that she did not serve Cerberus but Shepard, having signed on to help defeat the Collectors, and she expressed no regret over the choice, having lived through the liberation of Shanxi, the Skyllian Blitz, and worse.
If Shepard recovered a lost bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy she had long regretted never opening, she shared a drink with the Commander. In the course of that evening she revealed the deeper reason she had joined the new crew: the pilot Joker, who would always need her care for his Vrolik syndrome whether he admitted it or not, and the comfort and stability that serving alongside him and Shepard gave her. She asked the Commander to promise that they would share a bottle together every year.
The suicide mission#
When the Collectors abducted the Normandy SR-2's crew and took them to their base, Chakwas was among the captives. Whether she lived depended on how swiftly Shepard reached them: a prompt rescue freed her along with the rest of the crew, while delay left her, in the end, one of the few survivors, traumatized by watching her shipmates dissolved alive and increasingly bitter the longer the team took. Shepard then chose whether to spare a squad member to escort her and the other rescued noncombatants back to the ship. Without an escort they were killed by the Collectors before reaching safety; with one, they returned alive, and back in her med bay Chakwas counted Shepard and Joker as the truest friends she had ever had.
The Reaper War#
Provided she had survived the suicide mission, Chakwas returned in 2186. With the Normandy SR-2 impounded by the Alliance, she had been working at a research and development laboratory and coordinating closely with Admiral Steven Hackett; never formally a member of Cerberus, she had done nothing wrong but acknowledged she could be tried as an accessory if Shepard were convicted. If invited, she returned to the Normandy's medical bay, saying it felt like home.
She held to her annual promise to share Serrice Ice Brandy with the Commander, this time without losing herself to it. Though she claimed to have put the abduction behind her, she eventually admitted to confidants that she had only been putting on a brave face. She revealed that she had no real family, the last of a long line of distinguished physicians, and so regarded the Alliance as her spouse and her patients and shipmates as her children. As ships were lost to the Reapers and friends with them, her resolve to help Shepard end the war only deepened, and on the eve of the final battle she told the Commander that it had been her honor to serve, bidding Shepard a last farewell.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Karin Chakwas?
- Dr. Karin Chakwas was the human physician of the SSV Normandy and later the Normandy SR-2, serving under Commander Shepard against Saren Arterius and during the war with the Reapers. An Alliance major, she was the calm, respected chief medical officer who treated both human and non-human crew.
- Why did Karin Chakwas join the Systems Alliance?
- She enlisted soon after medical school, originally seeking adventure. Even after the hard realities of service tempered her, she stayed out of a sense of duty, believing there was something special about caring for soldiers and that leaving would mean abandoning them.
- Did Karin Chakwas serve Cerberus aboard the Normandy SR-2?
- She was emphatic that she did not serve Cerberus but Shepard, having signed on to help defeat the Collectors. She expressed no regret over the choice, having lived through the liberation of Shanxi, the Skyllian Blitz, and worse.
- What is the Serrice Ice Brandy promise between Chakwas and Shepard?
- If Shepard recovered a lost bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy she had long regretted never opening, she shared a drink with the Commander and asked Shepard to promise they would share a bottle together every year. During the Reaper War she held to that annual promise.
- What happened to Karin Chakwas during the suicide mission?
- She was among the crew abducted by the Collectors and taken to their base. Whether she lived depended on how swiftly Shepard reached them and whether a squad member was spared to escort the rescued noncombatants back to the ship.
Gallery
Images via Mass Effect Wiki
Sources
- WikiKarin Chakwas — Mass Effect Wiki entry
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