Item from Mass Effect by BioWare
The black-and-red armor worn by Commander Shepard — recognizable galaxy-wide as the mark of the Alliance's most elite soldiers and, by ME2, specifically Shepard.
The N7 designation marks the highest tier of the Alliance's Interplanetary Combatives Training program — the program that produces special operations soldiers. Fewer than one percent of Alliance soldiers who enter ICT reach N7. The armor communicates this: not just that the wearer is dangerous, but that they passed the specific program the Alliance uses to find out who can operate in the worst possible conditions without support. By ME2, the armor is more recognizable for Shepard specifically than for the designation in general. The galaxy knows what the N7 on that chest means. Legion incorporated a piece of the armor into its chassis from the SR-1 crash site and has not explained why.
Matte black with red striping along the right arm, the Alliance Naval Special Forces designation N7 stenciled on the chest. Heavy-grade military armor designed for sustained combat, featuring kinetic barriers, thermal venting, and medical monitoring systems. In Cerberus's reconstruction, some elements were upgraded; in ME3, the Alliance restored it to their specifications. The red stripe has been there through all of it.
Also known as: N7 Armor, Shepard's Armor, Cerberus Armor