Players taking control of Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect trilogy assume a very important and revered role long before saving the entire galaxy from the Reapers. Shepard becomes the first Human member of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance office in history, a milestone accomplishment for Humankind. Becoming a Spectre grants the highest possible authority under the Citadel Council, and affords one great respect and fear alike.
Near the beginning of Mass Effect, when Shepard is made a Spectre in order to pursue Saren into the Attican Traverse, they are told, "Spectres are not trained, but chosen." The council itself has no formal way of curating Spectres, though Garrus mentions that the Turians train many promising candidates in hopes they will be selected. Spectres must prove themselves capable in order to be afforded the autonomy they are granted. As the "right hand of the council," Spectres are authorized to use any means necessary, and follow any leads they deem worthy of investigation.
Spectres are not commonly encountered. In fact, there are only 10 known Spectres in the entire Mass Effect series. The identities and exact number of Spectres are largely a mystery, though Shepard is told that the Alliance estimates there are fewer than 100. Like most institutions in the interstellar society of Mass Effect, the Spectres existed long before the events of the games.
In the year 693, the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance operation is founded when a ruthless member of the Salarians' Special Tasks Group is offered a position as the first Spectre. Beelo Gurji had been incarcerated after an assassination mission for the STG in which he used 30 hostages as bait to lure his target into the open. Gurji's methodology was deemed promising by the Citadel Council, and he was offered amnesty in exchange for becoming the first Spectre. Shepard can witness the founding of the Spectres in a hologram recording during Mass Effect 3's Citadel DLC.
Although Spectres are rare, the very first alien encountered by players is the Spectre Nihlus Kryik. Nihlus is aboard the Normandy for its shakedown mission to Eden Prime. Though he is officially there to report on the Normandy's state-of-the-art stealth capabilities, Nihlus is truly there for two reasons: to recover the Prothean Beacon, and assess Commander Shepard for admittance into the Spectres. Nihlus is confident and capable, striking out alone once the team has landed on Eden Prime, though he meets an untimely demise.
Saren is first seen murdering his colleague Nihlus on Eden Prime. Celebrated for his ruthless efficiency, it is difficult for Commander Shepard to prove that Saren has betrayed the Council. Although Sovereign is eventually revealed as the greater threat, Saren acts as the main antagonist throughout the first Mass Effect. Once the Geth data module recovered by Tali is shown to the council, Saren is stripped of his Spectre status, and becomes a fugitive. Shepard's first mission as a Spectre is to find and apprehend Saren through any means necessary.
1,490 years after the founding of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance office, a Human enters its ranks for the first time. Humans had only entered the galactic community 26 year prior to Shepard's appointment following the First Contact War with the Turians. As a fledgling member of the interstellar community, the Alliance is eager to get one of its own named as a Spectre, but the other Council races, particularly the Turians and their Councilor, Sparatus, feel it is too soon.
Captain Anderson was the first Human to be considered for the Spectres, and was evaluated by Saren. Not wanting a Human to be granted Spectre status, Saren sabotaged their mission, blaming the failure on Anderson. Anderson remained in high esteem within the Alliance, however, and was instrumental in getting Shepard sponsored by Nihlus for Spectre consideration.
Shepard encounters Tela Vasir on Illium when investigating a break-in at Liara's home in Mass Effect 2 at the beginning of the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC. The two Spectres team up to find Liara, who has details on the mysterious Shadow Broker, before it is revealed that Tela is working for the information dealer and is trying to eliminate Liara.
On the main menu for Mass Effect 2, Commander Shepard's terminal provided news stories from the in-universe Cerberus Daily News. A new story was ran daily from Mass Effect 2's release through early 2011, before picking back up again in the lead-up to Mass Effect 3. On December 23, 2185, it was reported that a Spectre named Lonar Maerun was involved in an unsuccessful assassination plot targeting the commander of a corporate paramilitary group on the planet Garvug. No other details are known about Lonar.
Jondum Bau is encountered on the Citadel in Mass Effect 3. He has received information - from Kasumi Goto if she survives the suicide mission in Mass Effect 2 - asserting that Hanar diplomats are being indoctrinated by the Reapers. He requests Shepard's help with the matter, and will become a valuable war asset in the fight against the Reapers if he survives the investigation.
One of the biggest choices to make in Mass Effect is who to save on Virmire. Kaidan Alenko and Ashley Williams had both been serving under Commander Shepard on the Normandy since Eden Prime. Whichever is rescued before the nuclear blast that destroys Saren's lab on Virmire continues to serve the Alliance in the following years. When Shepard returns to the Citadel in 2186, it is revealed that the Virmire survivor became the second Human Spectre.
Avitus Rix retired from the Spectres after 15 years of service following the betrayal by Saren. Avitus was then recruited to the Andromeda Initiative to serve as second-in-command to the Turian Pathfinder, Macen Barro. After the disastrous entry into the Heleus Cluster by the Turian Ark, Pathfinder Barro is missing, and is eventually found to have died while trying to transfer the SAM AI to Avitus. It's possible for Pathfinder Ryder can convince the former Spectre to become the new Turian Pathfinder.
The Spectres are an elite and mysterious group, and even though they are of central importance to the games, BioWare avoids featuring them too heavily. The agents of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance team are simultaneously upholders of the law, while being above the law themselves. While they are given a potentially dangerous amount of power, the only Spectre known to do significant harm with their authority in Mass Effect was the notorious Saren Arterius.
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