If Garrus had to point out one of his many faults and damn it to hell, it would be forcing himself to try and be a good turian. He's beyond pissed-- can barely contain his outburst. He's angry with Pallin for stunting his case. With Saren for being untouchable. With himself for coming up short.
But good turians don't showcase their emotions. Good turians are composed and disciplined. Good turians obey their superior officer when they tell them that their criminal investigation on a Council Spectre is over.
Garrus is a bad turian.
"Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren."
She doesn't bat an eye at the sudden introduction. "Come across anything I should know about?"
Yeah, don't hold your breath, he wants to tell her.
But he doesn't. Something about her makes him reconsider that statement. Something about her makes him want to hold his breath.
·~··········~·
If Shepard had to point out one of the many things that was annoying her to no end and damn it to hell, it would be Udina.
"He has no right to say that! That's not his decision!"
She resists the urge to face-palm. What an absolute child! To have risen to Saren's petty bait with little to no effort!
The hearing's supposed to be professional, as it usually is when meeting with the Council and accusing one of their top Spectres of going rogue and all. But she's starting to feel like shoving professionalism up everyone's asses and giving them all a preview to a book she's taken to writing in her head titled Go Fuck Yourselves: A Guide to Shepard's Insults.
The hearing ends with the Councillors placating Udina with the matter of her Spectre candidacy and declaring Saren innocent. Oh, and Saren insinuating that she's lost her mind. No biggie.
"We need to find some way to expose him," Udina declares needlessly.
Alenko perks up. "What about Garrus, that C-Sec investigator? We saw him arguing with the executor."
It seems his optimism is infectious, seeing how Ashley's expression brightens. "That's right! He was asking for more time to finish his report. Seems like he was close to finding something on Saren."
Shepard wants to join in on their hope train, but there's enough layers of shit crusted onto this mess to make her a pessimist. She wants to hope that the C-Sec investigator has dirt on Saren. She really does.
But she's not holding her breath.
·~··········~·
A drunken old pig and a story about Anderson she didn't ask for later, Shepard finds herself in a standoff in a small corner clinic. She spots Garrus at the back exit of the clinic and deems it necessary to play the distraction while he expertly blows a neat hole in the head of the moron holding the doctor hostage. They obliterate the remaining thugs, so much that she almost feels pity for how ill-prepared they were for this tornado of what she finds is a hell of a team. And if this guy's got shit on Saren, she figures that maybe she can hold a breath or two.