Garrus Vakarian

Garrus Vakarian is a turian, formerly part of C-Sec's Investigation Division. Like most turians, Garrus had his military training at fifteen, but later followed in his father's footsteps to become a C-Sec officer. He was responsible for the investigation of Saren Arterius, the Council's top Spectre, after the Alliance claimed Saren had gone rogue. Although Garrus was told that the investigation was over, he decided to defy the Executor's order and pursue another lead on his own. Eventually, Garrus joined Commander Shepard's team to help defeat Saren and the geth.

Dossier
Garrus was put in charge of investigating Saren after Ambassador Udina complained to the Council, claiming that Saren had gone rogue and attacked a human colony. Garrus, however, found himself hampered at every turn: As a Spectre, most of Saren's activities were classified, and it was nearly impossible to get any solid evidence. He appealed to Executor Pallin for more time, but Pallin, seeing only that Garrus had not found any evidence of Saren's guilt, ordered the investigation closed and reported that there was nothing to support a charge of treason. However, Garrus had one lead and only needed more time to look into it. Regardless of Pallin's orders, he decided to pursue it on his own.

During the investigation to find out whether Saren had gone rogue, Commander Shepard learns from Harkin that Garrus has gone to the Med Clinic in the Wards. If Shepard follows this lead, the Commander arrives to find Dr. Chloe Michel being threatened by a group of thugs, not realizing that Garrus is lying low nearby. Shepard's arrival distracts the thugs, allowing Garrus to take one of them out with a single well-placed head-shot. After the firefight, Garrus tells Shepard that he is leaving C-Sec: He knows Saren is guilty, but regulations and his position mean that his hands are tied. Now, however, he is determined to take Saren down. Shepard agrees to let him come along and become part of the Normandy's crew.

If Shepard recruits Wrex first, Garrus will come to Shepard requesting to join the team later, but the Med Clinic encounter will still be available. It is possible for Shepard to refuse Garrus's request and complete the journey without ever recruiting him.

Garrus is very courteous to Shepard, calm and reassuring to victims like Dr. Michel, but ruthless when fighting. He is also very impressed with the SSV Normandy, saying she is proof of what races can accomplish when they work together. He is eager to see what she can do in a fight, because the stealth system offers an entirely new angle on space combat. Although Ashley is suspicious of Garrus (despite the fact he's a C-Sec officer), he tends to get along well with the rest of the crew, enjoying the chance to get off the Citadel and see how things are done outside C-Sec. He is surprised by Wrex, stating that he thought all krogan were savage thugs, prompting Wrex to retort: "What, using the genophage was more bearable when all krogan were savage thugs? You'd better head back to the ship, kid – any longer out here in the real world and you just might have to learn something."

Little is known of Garrus's past, other than the fact he grew up on Palaven—he says Virmire reminds him of home, and if talked to on Therum's surface, he will say that he "thought Palaven was hot"—and that he had a very "by-the-book" father, a well-known C-Sec investigator whose mantra was "Do things right or don't do them at all." Shepard is surprised to hear that Garrus was targeted as a potential Spectre candidate, but Garrus claims that he was only one of close to a thousand potentials picked from the turian military. He could have received special training to prepare, but his father blocked his candidacy, despising Spectres for their extralegal freedoms. Garrus doesn't appear to have any regrets over losing his chance, but he is very interested to see how Spectres do their job, and wants to learn from Shepard. He has no qualms about hunting Saren, a fellow turian—in fact, that is one of the reasons for Garrus's hatred of Saren. According to Garrus, Saren is not only a threat, but a disgrace to their species.

Harkin describes Garrus as a hothead who "still thinks he can change the world", saying he is always arguing with the Executor. Pallin himself respects Garrus as an investigator, but claims that as a C-Sec officer he should have more consideration for the law; he may see Garrus as doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. Garrus's main objection to C-Sec is the abundance of restrictions and regulations: He believes it doesn't matter how you do it—just get it done. Garrus and Shepard can debate this while aboard the Normandy. He is particularly frustrated when regulations mean that a suspect goes free. He does mention to Shepard that he is concerned about their apprehension of Saren: If they arrest the ex-Spectre and bring him back to the Citadel, there's too much risk of him escaping, or being exonerated and protected by the Council in order to prevent a scandal. Garrus suggests that it might be better in the long run if they just kill Saren, rather than strictly going by-the-book. Shepard can offer an opinion on this.

Eventually, Garrus thanks Shepard for bringing him aboard the Normandy and letting him be part of the team. He says that he's learned a lot and that he doesn't want to let those lessons go to waste. Depending on what Shepard has said to him, and the commander's behavior throughout the mission, Garrus states that he is going to reapply for Spectre candidacy, with or without reapplying for C-Sec in the process.

Personal assignment
Garrus has a personal mission to track down a criminal who got away from him. When asked about his views on C-Sec and some of his old cases, Garrus mentions a particularly gruesome case involving a salarian doctor, Dr. Saleon, who escaped the Citadel with hostages because the authorities wouldn't fire on his vessel, despite Garrus telling them that the doctor would only use the hostages as test subjects. This incident caused him to start losing faith in C-Sec policy.

Shepard can offer to track Saleon down as an assignment—the experience gives Garrus some food for thought. If Shepard doesn't take Garrus as a party member for that assignment, Garrus later regrets missing the opportunity to take down Dr. Saleon.

Mass Effect: Homeworlds
After the Battle of the Citadel, Garrus is disappointed when the public accepts the official line that the threat posed by Sovereign and the geth has ended and goes back to living as if the tragedy never happened. Frustrated with C-Sec's red tape, Garrus quits and goes after a local drug smuggler on his own. The smuggler reveals that his supplier is Omega. Garrus heads there, where he thinks he can actually make a difference.

Upon arrival at the station, Garrus stops a vorcha from mugging an elderly human couple, who thank him and call him a "real-life angel". At Afterlife, Garrus meets Sidonis and the two agree to form a squad to combat Omega's criminals. Garrus assumes the moniker of "Archangel" and spreads the word of what he's doing by going after thugs personally. Before long, Garrus' squad expands to twelve members, including himself, Sidonis, a salarian explosives expert, a batarian tech expert, and various former mercs, security consultants, and C-Sec agents. Together, they declare war on Omega's criminals but are careful to avoid civilian casualties. Even when the gangs unite against Garrus' squad, they are unable to stop them. Eventually, the squad's success earns them a surplus of credits. Some members want to settle down and live comfortably, but Garrus pushes them to use their funds to hit parts of the station that were previously out of reach. Instead of listening to his squad, Garrus pushes them to their limits, hoping to completely purge Omega of crime.

At some point, Sidonis is captured by the Blue Suns and forced to trick Garrus into leaving the squad's hideout to strike an alleged Blood Pack gun running operation in the Kenzo District. Garrus finds no trace of the operation, and returns to the hideout just as the gangs bomb it and gun down the rest of his squad. Garrus remembers his arguments with his father and decides that he was mistaken to ignore what his father tried so hard to teach him, that he had to be strong enough to do the right thing even when it was difficult.

Resigned to his fate as the gangs move in to kill him, Garrus contacts his father and apologizes. His father, realizing Garrus' situation, tells him to forget about that and to finish up his "target practice" then head back to Palaven so they can sort everything out. Through his rifle's scope, Garrus spots a familiar emblem on one individual's armor, and tells his father that he'll return home when he can because "the odds just got a lot better."

Weapon proficiencies

 * Assault Rifles
 * Sniper Rifles

Dossier
Shepard is advised to recruit a tactical genius and infiltrator known as Archangel, who is currently operating out of Omega. Apparently, over the past few months, Archangel has developed a reputation of being nothing short of a menace to Omega's crime empires; arriving with his team of twelve operatives, Archangel caused an impressive amount of trouble for three of the Terminus Systems' most powerful and successful mercenary groups (Blue Suns, Blood Pack and Eclipse). The impact on the mercenary groups' operations was so devastating that it drove all three into forming a temporary alliance with one another, intending to use all their available manpower and resources to eliminate Archangel. Seeing Blue Suns, Eclipse and Blood Pack work together was unprecedented; as Aria T'Loak explained, unless a war broke out, the three were almost never seen together.

After Shepard's team gets through to Archangel, he removes his helmet, revealing himself to be none other than Garrus Vakarian. After the Battle of the Citadel and Shepard's death, Garrus reveals that he followed Shepard's example and created his own squad to enforce their own version of justice on Omega, leading to his current predicament. After Garrus explains the situation to Shepard, Shepard's team assists in taking out the mercenaries, who have kept Garrus stuck on one side of a bridge. During the battle, Garrus is attacked by a Blue Suns gunship and suffers multiple wounds to his face and upper torso. Following the battle, he is rushed back to the Normandy SR-2 to receive medical treatment.

After being treated by Dr. Chakwas, Garrus greets Shepard in the comm room, showing the damage he sustained in the gunship attack. A quarter of his face on the right side has been badly damaged, replaced by a bandage/artificial graft; Jacob Taylor mentions that some cybernetics were also needed to keep Garrus alive. There are various degrees of damage to Garrus' armor, and a chunk of the armor's collar has been blasted off.

It soon becomes clear that, in the previous two years, Garrus had lost his way in life. Sometime after the Battle of the Citadel and Sovereign's defeat, Garrus returned to the Citadel either to begin Spectre training or to rejoin C-Sec, depending on his conversations with Shepard in 2183. However, Garrus grew increasingly disgusted with the bureaucracy of the Citadel, a situation likely exacerbated by the Citadel Council downplaying and dismissing the Reaper threat as nothing more than a rumor. To know of the Reapers and be unable to do anything about it was frustrating enough. After hearing of Shepard's death and the Normandy's destruction, Garrus could no longer tolerate the Council's unwillingness to act. He abandoned either his Spectre training or C-Sec and headed to Omega, determined to make a difference there. After beginning to strike back at Omega's mercenary and criminal elements on his own, he eventually gathered a team of eleven specialists to aid him in his vigilante activities. As Joker describes Garrus' change, the turian had "worked that stick out of his butt", only to start "trying to beat guys to death with it". After one member of his team betrayed the others, an act that lead to their deaths, Garrus became overwhelmed by anger and guilt, making him increasingly violent.

Garrus half-jokes that he doesn't think he's a very good turian since he lacks the discipline expected of him. He feels that, in the face of the Reapers and the galactic extinction they bring, it is simply not worth blindly following bad orders.

Loyalty
Throughout the course of the journey, Shepard has an opportunity to ask Garrus about past events when catching up. Garrus eventually tells of a past deployment in the Terminus Systems in which his squad was sold out to the mercenaries by Sidonis, a former team-mate of his. Garrus eventually finds out that Sidonis is on the Citadel, and Harkin (under the alias "Fade"), was the one that facilitated Sidonis' disappearance. After interrogating Harkin, Shepard can choose to aid Garrus' assassination attempt on Sidonis or attempt to warn him, though either choice secures Garrus' loyalty and unlocks his Armor-Piercing Ammo ability and alternate outfit. During this mission, Shepard has the choice to either let Garrus shoot Harkin in the kneecap or stop him. If stopped from shooting Harkin, Garrus will headbutt him instead. If Shepard stops Garrus from killing Sidonis, a news report made later on by Emily Wong will inform Shepard that Sidonis has turned himself in for the murder of 10 people, but C-Sec can't really take action against him since there is no government on Omega to extradite Sidonis to.

Romance
In 2185, Garrus becomes a potential romance for a female Shepard. The option becomes available after completing Garrus' loyalty mission. Throughout the romance, Garrus' demeanor is somewhat awkward; nevertheless, if Shepard asks Garrus whether his behavior suggests that he is uncomfortable with the idea, Garrus says he is just nervous, and that Shepard never has to worry about making him uncomfortable. In these more vulnerable moments, Garrus admits he feels very alone in the galaxy, considering Shepard is the only friend he has left. Garrus confesses he wants "something to go right" (he mentions Sidonis and his work with C-Sec as times where he failed, implying his departure from C-Sec may not have been entirely his choice) after which Shepard—who slowly approaches him while he talks—touches his face, stroking the scar he gained during his recruitment mission. The two of them touch foreheads affectionately, followed by Garrus reaching up as though to touch Shepard's shoulder.

When Mordin notices Shepard's attraction to Garrus, Shepard can ask him for advice regarding the turian, to which Mordin will warn Shepard about chafing. He advises her not to ingest turian tissue, as it is based on dextro-amino acids, and can cause an allergic reaction in Shepard's body. He then suggests that she return later for a painkiller and forwards information packets regarding turian physiology and positions comfortable for both species to Shepard's room.

Lair of the Shadow Broker
After defeating the Shadow Broker, Shepard may invite Liara aboard the Normandy to catch up. She will ask Shepard what she's fighting for, and if it's a chance to give Garrus peace. The Commander will respond that Garrus has been hurt and betrayed and that she would like to offer him something better. Shepard will also note that she never expected to find happiness in the arms of a turian. Liara remarks that it is by no means uncommon for a human to be attracted to an alien, given the widespread obsession with asari, and wishes them both happiness.

Weapon proficiencies

 * Sniper Rifles
 * Assault Rifles

Dossier
Garrus returns to fight the Reapers, provided he survived Shepard's attack on the Collector base. If Garrus did not survive the suicide mission, his name will appear on the Memorial Wall aboard the Normandy.

After the suicide run on the Collector Base, Garrus realized what little time the galaxy had before the Reapers arrived. With the Council still unwilling to listen, Garrus went to his father, the last thing he thought he'd do, relaying all the events that had started from the Eden Prime War. As unbelievable as his story was, his father, having been C-Sec, put all the pieces together and believed him. Though Primarch Fedorian was a friend of his father's, the former wasn't easy to convince. Eventually, Garrus managed to gain his own "Reaper task force" as a token resource to improve turian defenses, which he hopes has bought Palaven a limited amount of time when the Reapers invaded.

Shepard encounters Garrus on Menae, one of Palaven's moons, acting as a military consultant given his experience against Reaper forces. Shepard had arrived on Menae in search of Primarch Fedorian, but the turian leader has already been killed by the Reapers. Garrus assists Shepard in seeking out the next primarch, General Adrien Victus, before rejoining the Normandy. He once again takes up residence in the Normandy's main battery. When not in the Main Battery calibrating the guns, Garrus can often be found on the Port Observation Lounge after missions. He spends time with Ensign Copeland, Javik and Liara on occasions.

Immediately after Palaven, the Normandy experiences technical problems due to EDI's interface process with the synthetic recovered from Mars. If Shepard heads to the main battery before going to investigate the AI core, they find Garrus in a conversation with Joker, who jokingly suggests that Normandy's technical problems are due to his miscalibration. Garrus quite seriously reminds him about his proficiency in that field and Joker laughs and says that he was just joking.

Upon recruiting Javik, Garrus is amused at all the crazy things he has seen on the journey, a talking Reaper, a talking plant and now a real live Prothean. Garrus reflects on how Javik must be feeling, a sense of loss but also a desire for revenge. He jokingly speculates on what Javik might eat, saying that he will not tolerate it if Javik's food included turian meat. Garrus also quips that if the war is lost, Shepard can be frozen for 50,000 years, which will turn them from "merely famous" to "legendary".

When Shepard visits the Citadel after rescuing the Primarch from Palaven, they find Garrus coordinating housing and supplies for the turian refugees. Garrus quietly says that the turian frontline squads are getting slaughtered platoons at a time. If Shepard asks if the wounded can still fight, Garrus replies that ammunition is in short supply and weapons should be given to only those still capable of bearing them. Garrus also asks how Shepard is handling the war, to which the Commander can say that its affecting them or that they can handle it. Garrus advises Shepard to come to the Citadel more often for free time.

Once the evacuation of Grissom Academy is completed, and if Garrus was part of the shore party with Jack being present, he says that his life wouldn't have been complete if he didn't see Jack one more time. He admits that Jack saw through Cerberus in 2185 and that he might even have takes her seriously back then, but her tattoos gave him a headache every time he saw her. Garrus also sympathizes with the children caught up in the war which will change them if not for the worse. He speculates on what the Illusive Man would do to his lieutenants for failing. Garrus also wishes he got a chance to go to a Grissom Academy which would have enabled him to kill enemies with style and more efficiency.

Garrus admires Eve for her tenacity and courage at having to endure the genophage after the mission on Sur'Kesh. He hopes that he and Shepard can measure up to her courage in the difficult times ahead. He also jokingly asks if the krogan-turian alliance will be sealed with his arranged marriage with Eve owing to female krogans' liking for scars. He admits he has never seen a female krogan before and suggests that the females might be the real brains on Tuchanka.

After ascertaining the fate of the Urdnot leader's missing krogan team on Utukku, Garrus is in the Port Observation Lounge sharing his experiences with the rachni with Ensign Copeland. Garrus rebuffs Copeland's flattering complements, saying most of the time he was trying to get out of a mess, only to land into another one.

If the mission to rescue Victus' stranded turian platoon was done before dealing with the genophage, Garrus shares a drink with Liara in one of the lounge's couches, reminiscing about his sojourn on Omega as Archangel. In response to Liara's amused question of whether or not he killed three Blue Suns mercenaries with one bullet, Garrus calmly states that the third guy had a heart attack and it wouldn't be fair to count him. He also tells Shepard that he is worried about the bomb on Tuchanka and says that he is surprised that he was kept in the dark about it.

After the bomb on Tuchanka has been disabled, Garrus is contacted by the Urdnot leader (if he is present aboard the Normandy at that time). If Wrex is present, he asks Garrus if he knew anything about the bomb on Tuchanka. Garrus sincerely answers that he was in the dark as much as Wrex was. When Wrex laughs and tells him that he was just joking with him only to see him squirm, Garrus tells him that he will be more than happy to give the krogan lessons on relaxing provided he is given the chance.

Garrus is also contacted by Javik who commends the turian decision years ago to implement a fail-safe plan on Tuchanka. Javik considers the turians apt for integration as subservient race given their cunning and brutal efficiency. Garrus is offended at this complement from Javik and makes it quite clear that he doesn't want his race to be slaves. Javik continues unfeelingly, saying that the turians should have used the bomb as a leverage rather to their advantage. When an annoyed Garrus asserts that peace was to be achieved, Javik callously remarks that peace is a static mode of existence which doesn't prosper change. Garrus then abruptly cuts the comm, having had enough, but not before quipping "At least we all get to live another day. Nice chatting."

Moments after the mission on Tuchanka to cure the genophage, Garrus advises Shepard to take some rest; they both know there's no room for mistakes in the war. In the interim, he has taken up the job of coordinating several dry-dock ships from the Hierarchy for helping in the Crucible's construction.

Garrus can be found later in the cockpit trading jokes with Joker. When Shepard arrives, they reminisce about Mordin if he was present during the mission. Garrus shows some satisfaction at being able to pull off a krogan-turian alliance and a cure for the genophage. He encourages Shepard if the Commander expresses worries for Earth, promising them that he would make sure the turian fleets are there for Earth. Garrus also quietly mentions to Shepard that he would have considered the salarian deal, to which Shepard can comment depending on their previous choices.

After the Cerberus coup, Garrus can be found staring at the Memorial Wall. When Shepard joins him, he reflects on the events of the day. If the Virmire survivor was killed during the coup, Garrus is disquieted, hoping that he/she has found peace. If the Virmire survivor survived again, Garrus comments on the tense situation the Commander was placed in, asking the Commander if they could've pulled the trigger on a friend willingly.

After the Cerberus scientists have been rescued, Garrus is found loitering in the Mess Hall, competing with James Vega over who has done more amazing things, during which he mentions busting a batarian spy ring trying to assassinate a councilor, stopping Saren with Shepard or just helping to stop Saren from the sidelines (depending on whether Shepard recruited him way back or not) and his time as Archangel on Omega. Things continue on a swaggering vein until they both settle for taking credit on recent major events that have transpired prior to their faceoff.

After the destruction of the Ardat-Yakshi Monastery on Lesuss, Garrus is once again in the lounge conversing with Javik and Ensign Copeland about wars past and present and the nature of its participants. If Samara was present and survived the events on Lesuss, Garrus is glad to have such a relentless ally in the war. Otherwise, he curses at the loss of an important asset.

After the mission to disable a geth dreadnought, Garrus expresses doubts at his abilities as a leader, since Primarch Victus gave him the responsibility to coordinate all turian fleet activities. He finds it difficult to take certain decisions, knowing that the lives of millions of people hinge on them. Shepard can encourage him saying that Garrus is a good leader and he has to make do with he has to take decisions, or admonish him saying that Garrus shouldn't let others see his doubts, as a war is lost if people lose faith in their leaders.

Following the rescue mission of Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib, Garrus establishes a connection to his father still stranded on Palaven, trying to get to the escape shuttles. Garrus's sister, Solana, broke her leg but the injury isn't life-threatening. However, the connection dies before Garrus could talk more. He silently mutters a prayer to the turian spirits, wishing for to see his family again.

After the mission on Thessia, if Shepard decided to sabotage the cure on Tuchanka, Garrus takes notice on how the salarians had chosen to commit resources to the war despite the genophage "cure" and wonders how the Commander had managed that, additionally asking if Wrex jumping Shepard at the Citadel had anything to do with it (if that happened). At this point Shepard can either come clean or avoid the questioning.

If the Commander decides to come clean with this, Garrus assures Shepard that he would have done the same to save Palaven under the same desperate circumstances.

Garrus inquires whether the salarian scientist willingly went along with Shepard's plan. If the scientist did not, Shepard doesn't reply, to which Garrus swears at the war. If they did, however, Garrus is astounded. If Mordin was the scientist, Garrus calls him a devious salarian before realizing the implication. With Wiks, Garrus just jumps to the implication of tricking Wreav.

If Wrex was once a member of Shepard's team before dying on Virmire, Garrus remarks that the krogan might've figured it out but his replacement brother Wreav is just too stupid. Otherwise, he states that Wreav scares him. In any case, Garrus opines that he can't tell the Urdnot leader what he thinks. Garrus compliments Shepard for playing both sides and asks that he be reminded to never play poker with Shepard.

If Shepard still kept the truth from Garrus, either by mentioning "a disagreement about strategy" with Wrex or "careful negotiation about strategy" with the salarians otherwise, Garrus states that he won't be one to judge if that "strategy" involved paying a price to save Earth.

If Shepard went through with curing the genophage, Garrus reveals that his father and sister made it off Palaven safe, but Primarch Victus is calling a full retreat until the Crucible is ready. After the talk, Garrus will try to comfort Shepard by saying that it wasn't the Commander's fault and Thessia was already dead before they could get there. Garrus also says that he doesn't care the Illusive Man won this fight and reveals how he lost a few fights in his time and how he always made sure the next one belonged to him.

Garrus then attempts to raise Shepard's spirit, by saying that this is the time Shepard takes all of their anger and frustration, bottle it up, and use it to rearrange every cell in Kai Leng's body. Garrus ends the conversation saying that Shepard will get their chance to get back at the ruthless assassin.

During one of the calmer moments in the war, Garrus invites Shepard to meet him in the D24 docking bay of the Citadel. Upon meeting him, Garrus states that he wants to partake in one last entertaining activity with Shepard before the final battle with the Reapers on Earth. The two travel to the top of the Presidium and shoot beverage containers with sniper rifles and reminisce about working together. If Shepard misses the second shot on purpose, Garrus states, "I'm Garrus Vakarian, and this is now my favorite spot on the Citadel." If Shepard doesn't miss, Garrus will state that next time they will throw in a herd of rampaging Klixen, which is "what separates the rookies from the pros."

After the mission to Horizon, Garrus is disquieted at seeing the horrible experiments performed on the refugees. He vows to take his revenge by carving the names of the turian refugees who died at Sanctuary into the Illusive Man's skull.

During the Battle for Earth, Shepard can speak to Garrus, reflecting on how far they have come as comrades. Garrus is quite optimistic about their chances at victory and even jokes about retirement plans. Shepard can agree with him or just say that civilian life is not suitable for them. Before saying goodbye, Garrus tells Shepard "Go out there and give them hell, you were born for this." Shepard then bids him goodbye, saying that if they don't make it and he does, they will be looking down and always have his back.

If Shepard chooses to activate the Crucible, Garrus, along with Joker, Cortez, and any surviving squad members, can be seen paying their respect to Shepard, placing the Commander's name above Anderson's on the Memorial Wall aboard the Normandy.

If Garrus is in the squad at the final push towards the Conduit, he will be killed by Harbinger if Shepard failed to gather enough of the galaxy's military forces.

Mass Effect 3: Citadel
If Garrus is in a romantic relationship with Shepard, then he will come to her aid when Shepard is ambushed by mercenaries while on shore leave. Garrus contacts Shepard asking if she is ok, having been filled in on the situation by Joker. Garrus meets Shepard at the Cision Motors skycar lot where Joker extracts them with a shuttle. If they're not in a relationship then Garrus will soon join the squad at the Personal Apartment to help the Commander.

Sometime after the clone is defeated, Garrus sends a message to Shepard asking to meet at the bar of the Silver Coast Casino. If Garrus is being romanced, the two roleplay a first date but Garrus runs out of banter ideas. He spontaneously pulls a reluctant Shepard onto the dance floor and the two proceed to tango. Alternatively if Shepard is not romancing Garrus he can direct him friend to talk with a female turian. Garrus is clearly uncomfortable and his attempts to talk are clumsy, but with the Commander's help (and beer), Garrus steels himself and starts again, making a more positive impression.

Garrus is an optional invite to Shepard's big party. At the beginning, he loiters with Liara and Traynor by the kitchen. In a quiet setting, he complains about the lack of hard drinks, though in an energetic setting he dares Shepard to partake in the swill being served. He finds the apartment a good place to retire, its features appealing to his sniper sensibilities. If Shepard's his girlfriend, Liara calls the pad the "Shepard-Vakarian love nest" when he announces his thoughts, though if Shepard's involved with someone else (Tali, Liara, or Traynor) Garrus himself calls attention to the pair's "love nest" and teases about not interrupting anything they might've been "planning".

By the second phase of the party, he's hanging out with different groups of people. At an energetic party, Garrus helps Steve goad Joker over the latter's lack of proper sidearm training at the bar, claiming that "[a] weapon [he] can't get to is no weapon at all." In a quiet setting, Garrus discusses beefing up the apartment's defenses with Zaeed at the balcony, if the merc is around.

By the last leg of the party, in an energetic setting Garrus is dancing with Steve, Traynor and some other invited guests on the improvised dance floor between the kitchen and the conference room. On seeing Shepard dance, he suggests recording and broadcasting it to the Reapers as he sees three things that may happen: they'll run away, melt down, or fall in love. If Shepard's his girlfriend, not even their relationship can stop him from wondering what she's doing with her arms, utterly unable to keep a straight turian face at Shepard's (lack of) talent.

If someone in the group starts reciting from the periodic table of the elements, he sarcastically comments how turian parties almost never end up with something like that happening. At the mention of "element 69", the humans in the group snigger while Garrus takes the time to remind them it's thulium.

In a quiet setting, Garrus makes good on some of his (and Zaeed's) plans for the apartment's "security", inspecting the glass by the apartment's door, collaborating with Zaeed over comms if he's around, and initially feigning innocence when Shepard comes checking by. When questioned, Garrus enthusiastically launches into an explanation of micro-filaments - tiny explosives laid across the glass in a grid that shred intruders to pieces upon flipping a switch. He gets to name a proposed coffeemaker booby trap "caffeine rush" later when the brainstorming turns to Shepard's kitchen appliances.

Garrus poses at the back of the group photo Shepard assembles the whole gang for if they're just friends, or sits next to her if they're in a relationship. The morning after the party, Garrus and Shepard wake up beside each other if they're lovers. If not, or afterward, Garrus can be seen sitting at the one of the upper floor's couches opposite of Liara, promising to cut down on the calibrations jokes but only if Liara stops saying "by the goddess" herself.

Romance
Garrus is an available romance option in 2186, provided he was previously romanced in 2185. Shepard runs into Garrus while he is stationed on the moon, Menae, attacking the Reapers. Not much is said about their relationship while they are fighting the Reapers, but once Garrus is aboard the Normandy, Shepard can visit him in the main battery. It is here where Garrus asks where they stand and if she still has feelings for him, jokingly recalling that she had an attraction towards scarred men and that he is more than willing to get more if it will improve his chances. Shepard has the option to either end things with Garrus here, or to continue the relationship by kissing his scar and confessing that she missed him.

During the course of the journey, Shepard can provide emotional support for Garrus, who is worried about his family on Palaven and about being asked for advice by the Primarch, something he is not used to. Garrus, in turn, tries to help cheer Shepard up when the pressure of the war begins to be too much for her to bear.

On the Citadel, Garrus asks to meet up with Shepard and they ride off to the Presidium in a skycar. It is here where Garrus asks her if she is ready to commit to a relationship and "ready to be a one turian kind of woman." If pursued, Shepard will say that "the only thing that made leaving Earth bearable was knowing [he was] out there" and that she loves him and the two kiss. Afterwards, Garrus challenges her to a bottle shooting round with sniper rifles similar to the regular encounter, except that if Shepard misses the shot, Garrus will say, "There, there, it's okay. I know there are other things you're good at" after declaring the spot his "favorite spot on the Citadel."

Before heading to the Illusive Man's base, Garrus meets Shepard in her quarters and offers to keep her company. After Shepard wakes up from another dream and admits that she's worried she hasn't done enough, Garrus reassures her that they could have died at any moment before, but they are still alive now and have faced dangerous risks before.

After attacking Cerberus Headquarters, Shepard can find Tali and Garrus talking in the main battery. When she thanks the two for believing her since the beginning, Garrus will reply that "[she] gave [him] some incentive."

Back on Earth, Garrus jokes about retiring with Shepard to "somewhere warm and tropical" and "find[ing] out what a turian-human baby looks like," though Shepard may opt to say that adoption is likely a better option due to their incompatible biology to which Garrus replies there will be a lot of little krogan around soon, or that they probably wouldn't make very good parents anyway, to which Garrus asks whether Shepard is scared that "Daddy's rifle collection might scare junior." Shepard is jokingly concerned that instead he might like it, and that having two expert killers in the family was more than enough. Garrus then says that if everything goes bad, to meet her at the bar in heaven. Before parting, Garrus gives her an order to come back alive before they kiss. If the Commander chooses to comfort Garrus further, Shepard says that if she dies and he doesn't, she will always be watching over him, and he will never be alone.

During the charge to the beam, Garrus may be wounded by an exploding vehicle, along with another squad mate. Shepard calls in the Normandy in and carries Garrus to the Normandy, where she tells the Normandy crew to take him and go. Garrus refuses to leave Shepard, but she insists that he doesn't argue and that she will always love him, holding his face. After a brief silence, Garrus will say that he also loves Shepard just before she sprints for the beam and the Normandy departs.

If Shepard chooses to activate the Crucible, Garrus will be the last person Shepard sees before ending the Reaper threat.

If Shepard chooses to control the Reapers or merge organic and synthetic life, Garrus will be seen placing Shepard's name on the Memorial Wall, or, if Shepard chooses to destroy the Reapers and enough of the galaxy's forces have been mustered, he will smile and refrain from placing the plaque, and the Normandy is seen flying off.

If Shepard chose to merge organic and synthetic life, Garrus will place the Commander's name on the memorial wall. After that, he will share a hug with EDI.

If neither Garrus nor Tali'Zorah vas Normandy are romanced in 2185, they enter a romantic relationship with each other and Shepard may walk in on them embracing each other in the Main Battery. Caught in the act, they both make a hasty excuse that one of Garrus's mandibles may have gotten hooked on Tali's helmet, and that Tali asked for him to check for a rupture. Shepard can tell them that they are happy for the two of them, and the two thank the Commander. Garrus says that it helps knowing that there is something to go back to, to which Tali replies that the relationship is a fling and she is "using [him] for [his] body." Garrus responds by saying "You're so mean... and I'm okay with that."

Trivia

 * Along with Ashley, Garrus is one of the "poster" characters for Mass Effect and appears on most of the promotional art and demo footage.
 * During the Xbox 360 demo, a conversation with Garrus was used to demonstrate the dialogue system, where Shepard interrupted Garrus' complaint about endangering the mission to rescue civilians, and ordered the turian to fall in line.
 * There is currently a bug on the PC version of Mass Effect where even on Ultra-High detail, Garrus' face is remarkably low textured. This is known by the developers of the game, who have said that a patch is not currently in the works and most likely never will be, since due to the way the game is made, it would require a multi-gigabyte patch to fix.
 * Garrus' trademark visor is explained to be a custom targeting visor based on the turian version of the Kuwashii Visor. It holds great personal significance to him, as he is never seen without it, even during his romance subplot. He also has the names of his former Omega team members carved into the frame, removing Sidonis' after his betrayal.
 * Early promotional screenshots for the first Mass Effect show Garrus would originally be able to wear heavy turian armor; however, this was scrapped later during development. As of Mass Effect 2, heavy turian armor is his default outfit.
 * Shepard and Garrus' relationship is, to a degree, one of mentor and protegé, respectively, as Garrus usually seeks out Shepard's advice and opinions regarding missions and always follows Shepard's example.
 * As observed in the E3 2006 and X06 demos, Garrus underwent many revisions, including changes to his visor, turian insignia markings, and armor.


 * As with all squad members, Garrus has unique dialogue that can be heard at various locations, during missions or assignments, or if a specific squad member is in the selected team.
 * The Shadow Broker has files on Garrus which can be accessed aboard his ship.
 * Bioware has considered Garrus for a spin-off role, detailing his time in C-Sec. In Bioware's words, “while being one of Shepard’s most loyal friends, Garrus has also had some of the most driven personal goals. He’s a hero in his own right, as Archangel and beyond. Who wouldn’t want to see the further adventures of the bold, charming Garrus Vakarian (there’s a lot of guns out there to calibrate).”