Garrus Vakarian ran a hand over his head, bored out of his mind. Another day of desk work at C-Sec was dulling his mind, day after day. The holographic computer screen in front of him taunted him with the unfinished day's report, though the motivation to complete it was simply not there. It was 2180, and Garrus had been with C-Sec for almost an entire year now, and seen exactly two firefights, one of which was against a drunk inside of a bar, refusing to leave after closing hours. His noncompliant nature called for C-Sec to arrive on the scene, and after a small "discussion" with the man, he brandished a pistol. Garrus took him out with a shot to the shoulder, and then hauled him to jail. Unfortunately, so far, that was the highlight of his C-Sec career.
It wasn't that Garrus wasn't grateful for his job, he was. He was just young and wanted to be out in the dark alleys where deals for red sand were taking place, or illegal weapons merchants were selling outlawed guns to over-eager bounty hunters or stupid teenagers. Sure, he had taken a few night patrolling jobs in more dangerous Citadel areas, but nothing ever came out of it.
Garrus yawned and then stood up, flicking a switch that caused the holo-screen to close. He couldn't finish the report right now, he needed some fresh air. As he was walking through the hallway of C-Sec Academy, occasionally glancing around at his co-workers, a thought crossed his mind. Perhaps he could request a promotion, or more patrol time? He shook his head. It was unlikely that any such request he would ask for would make it past Executor Pallin's e-mail without being deleted.
As Garrus stepped outside, breathing in the fresh air, his gaze wandered over a large portion of the Citadel. Wondering how many different crimes could be taking place at any of those locations, he shifted his position and leaned against the railing. A decent sized crowd of Salarians passed behind Garrus. He turned and looked at them for a moment, before sighing and returning to the view of the Citadel. His sight-seeing break was cut short as the door leading back into the Lower Wards slid open, and Executor Pallin emerged, a frustrated look on his face.
"Vakarian, Get your ass back in here, you've got a report to finish!" He shouted from across the walkway. It took Garrus a second, and then he turned to face Pallin. The Executor rarely yelled or cursed, only when someone of a lower rank was behaving out of line or disobeying a direct order. Garrus released the guard rail, and with a sigh, nodded and headed back into the Lower Wards, heading for C-Sec Academy.
A few hours later, Garrus had made his way over to the Combat Simulation Center. Currently ducked behind cover, observers could tell he was engaging in a virtual combat simulation. Clutching a sniper rifle in his hands, he slowly peeks over the hip-high cover he is currently hidden behind. A virtual human enemy compromised of millions of small blue digital blocks advances toward his positions with precise realism, wielding a pistol and firing a few shots in the turian's general direction. As the virtual human fires, he quickly begins for cover. Garrus pops out from his cover and in one swift movement glances down the sight of his rifle and fires, scoring a headshot. A buzzer plays over an intercom, and a digitized female's voice says, "Virtual Combat Session ended, all opposition has been eliminated. If you wish to have another go, say 'restart'."
Garrus stands up, and moves a hand up to hold the rifle at the barrel, walking away from the simulation course. As he exits the combat area, a long time friend of his, Chellick, appears. A smile plays over his face, and he gives Garrus a friendly nudge on the shoulder, revealing he had been viewing Garrus in the virtual combat simulation.
"Damn Garrus. You've topped the scores again with that run. Killed all ten enemies in just less than two minutes! You've gotta show me and the rest of the guys back at C-Sec how you became such a sharp shot!" Chellick requests with enthusiasm.
Garrus smiled a bit, before glancing at the ground, attempting to downplay his achievement. The truth was that he had always been an excellent shot, ever since his father took him shooting for the very first time when Garrus was only 7 years old. He surprised the hell out of his father with his quick aim and near dead-on accuracy, particularly with the snipers, or any scoped weapon. Garrus had favored range when combating enemies, as it felt it wasn't about how quickly you killed the enemy, but rather that each shot counted, and wasn't wasted.
"It's no big deal." Garrus said in a regular tone, though a small smirk still present on his face, hinting at just a bit of personal satisfaction from his score on the virtual combat simulation.
Chellick shook his head in disbelief that someone as good as Garrus would play down his score as "no big deal." Every Officer back at C-Sec wished they had Garrus's skill when it came to ranged weapons, though Garrus unfortunately hadn't seen a lot of action since joining C-Sec.
On his first day as a C-Sec Officer, Garrus had been quite nervous. Chellick had been working as a C-Sec officer for about 9 months when Garrus first joined, and had decided to introduce himself to the newest addition to the team. The two instantly hit it off with common interests and their obvious career choice. It wasn't until just recently that Chellick had learned Garrus had been a potential recruit for the spectres, before joining C-Sec. Chellick was amazed at this first, but was disappointed to hear that his father had completely blocked Garrus's shot at specialized training, and had urged Garrus to re-apply for the training, but Garrus dismissed his urges, despite his less-than-thrilled attitude about working a desk job for C-Sec most of the time.
As Garrus and Chellick walked along the walkway through an area populated with foliage vibrant in their green color, and relaxing fountains surrounding them, Garrus was once again lost in his own thought, causing an awkward silence in the conversation.
Chellick brought up his omni-tool, the orange hologram lighting up over his left forearm. This stole Garrus's attention, distracting him from his thoughts. Chellick brought up a small digital clock, and sighed.
"Ah. I better get home. Gotta get to bed early, I have to come in an hour early tomorrow, Pallin's really been riding me these past few weeks about crime reports in the wards. See you tomorrow, Garrus?" Chellick asked, turning his omni-tool off and cocking his head to face his friend, awaiting a response.
Garrus nodded. "Sure, of course." He said, the short response coming out more as a fact than an answer.
Chellick nods, and then turns to walk in the opposite direction. A few seconds pass, and then Chellick turns to face Garrus again. "Hey, Garrus, Wanna maybe grab something to drink after work tomorrow? It's Friday."
Garrus had never been one to go out to clubs or bars just to get out, but Chellick was a good friend to him, so he might as well go just to satisfy Chellick and then take the weekend for himself. After all, it wasn't like one night out would kill him.
Garrus chuckled a bit before responding. "Sure, why not?" He said, before waving to Chellick and continuing down the walkway, heading for his apartment a few miles from here. He'd likely grab something to eat on the way home. Besides, he wanted to focus on anything except tomorrow's inevitable day of sitting at a desk, typing away at another report.