Garrus Vakarian

'"Fighting a rogue Spectre with billions of lives at stake and no regulations to get in the way? I'd say that beats C-Sec." '

Garrus Vakarian is a turian investigator with C-Sec. Like most turians, Garrus had military training at fifteen but later followed in his father's footsteps to become a C-Sec officer. He was responsible for the investigation into Saren Arterius after the Alliance claimed Saren had gone rogue.

Commander Shepard saw Garrus at the Citadel Tower, arguing with Executor Pallin and asking for more time to finish his investigation. Garrus told Shepard that because of Saren's Spectre status it was nearly impossible for him to get anything useful, but he knew in his gut that Saren was guilty. Though Garrus was told his investigation was over, he decided to defy the executor's order and pursue another lead on his own.

Garrus Vakarian is voiced by Brandon Keener.

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. However, Garrus 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 hadn't found any evidence of Saren's guilt, ordered the investigation over and reported that there was nothing to support a charge of treason. However, Garrus had one lead and just needed more time to look into it. He decided to pursue it on his own.

When Shepard began looking for information on Saren, Garrus seemed like a useful contact. The commander found out Garrus had gone to the Med Clinic on the Wards. Shepard arrived to find Dr. Chloe Michel being threatened by a group of thugs, telling her not to speak to Garrus - not realizing Garrus was lying low nearby. Shepard's arrival distracted the thugs, allowing Garrus to take one of them out with a single perfect shot to the head. After the firefight, Garrus told Shepard he was leaving C-Sec: he knew Saren was guilty but regulations and his position had meant his hands were tied. Now, however, he was determined to take Saren down. Shepard agreed to let him come along and become part of the Normandy's crew.

Garrus is very courteous to Shepard, calm and reassuring to victims like Dr. Michel, and ruthless when fighting. He is also very impressed by the 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 allows an entirely new angle on space combat. Though Ashley is suspicious of Garrus, despite the fact he's a C-Sec officer, Garrus 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, claiming that he thought all krogan were savage thugs, and 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' 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'll 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 he was only one of about 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 legal 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 part of the reason he hates him so much. According to Garrus, Saren is not only a threat but a disgrace to his 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 have seen Garrus as doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. Garrus' 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 they're aboard the Normandy. He is particularly frustrated when regs mean 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 of a risk of him escaping, or being exonerated and protected by the Council to prevent a scandal. Garrus suggests it might be better in the long run if they just take Saren out 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's learned a lot and 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.

Missions and Assignments
Garrus has a personal mission, Find Dr. Saleon, 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 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, later Garrus regrets missing the opportunity to take down Dr. Saleon.

Mass Effect 2


'"Just like old times, Shepard." '

In Mass Effect 2 Shepard is advised to recruit a tactical genius and infiltrator known as 'Archangel'. Shepard's search for Archangel leads the team to Omega where they find Archangel under assault from a group of Eclipse mercenaries led by a salarian named Jaroth.

After Shepard's team gets through to Archangel he removes his helmet, revealing himself to be none other than Garrus. After Garrus explains the situation to Shepard, Shepard's team assists Garrus in taking out the mercenaries, who have kept Garrus stuck on one side of a bridge, and escaping. At some point, presumably after this, Garrus is confirmed to join Shepard's squad. 

Turian Rebel
Turian Rebel is Garrus' class power.

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.
 * On the back of the armour that Garrus starts with, it appears to have a smiley face.