The celebration at Flux was bustling with activity. Saren was dead. Sovereign lay in pieces. And the first human spectre had earned humanity a seat on the council. Tevos herself arranged a few party favors as a show of gratitude. One of the most prominent bands in Asari space was onstage offering quite the view. Noria, famous for her pristine voice and figure, was singing her number one hit, Everytime I Hear Your Heart Beat, while exotic dancers shimmied suggestively in the background.
Garrus wasn't really into asari, unlike every other male, and a few females in the bar. Instead, his gaze followed his human commander as he chatted up politicians and mingled with dignitaries. Spirits even this celebration had, to borrow a phrase from that toad Udina, "political ramifications." Garrus found the whole display tedious and made a mental note to drag his friend from their clutches when the opportunity presented itself. He and Wrex had arranged a far better celebration down in Chora's Den. It involved a lot of hard alcohol, strippers and zero politicians. As Shepard strode up to the ambassador for the Turian Hierarchy, Sparatus's right hand man, Garrus allowed his thoughts to wander. There was an unbelievably hot little waitress working at Chora's Den. She was one of the few turian females employed at the establishment. Her red plates and striking green eyes had certainly grabbed his attention. And that waist, spirits. She had a dainty waist accentuated by a cocktail dress that hugged her curves. He could only hope she was working tonight. With a little liquid courage, surely he could ask -
Garrus was abruptly (and rather rudely) ripped from his day dreams by a loud belch as Wrex unceremoniously plopped next to him on the couch and downed the remainder of his beer in one gulp.
"This has got to be the lamest party I've ever had the displeasure of attending. Much more of this and I'll need to shoot something."
Garrus groaned and took a sip of his beer. "Let's try to make it through the evening without reenacting the Krogan Rebellions. While spending my evening bailing your ugly mug out of C-Sec sounds like a barrel of laughs, I was hoping to spend my time with someone of the female persuasion."
Wrex roared in approval and slapped him on the back so hard Garrus found himself sputtering and coughing as beer leaked out his nose.
"I was getting worried about you boy! You're way too stodgy."
"Wait, what?"
"You heard me." Wrex guffawed "Alright. Let's grab Shepard. I've had about all I can handle of this crap."
With far more hustle than a 750 lb creature should have, Wrex practically bounced to his feet. Crowds quickly parted as he lumbered past the slot machines.
"Garrus, what the hell? You said he'd be waiting by the quasar kiosks. He's gotta be done talkin' to Sparatus's lap dog by now."
"Uh, he was right here a couple minutes ago Wrex, maybe your breath scared him off."
"Whatever. I'm heading down to The Den to get a real drink. Catch up with me when you two princesses are done."
As him and Wrex parted ways, Garrus meandered around the casino in search of Shepard. Not wanting to delay the real party further, he switched his visor on and began scanning the crowd. After their encounter with Elanos Haliat, Shepard had Tali write a team specific scanner program which was subsequently installed on everyone's omnitool. Well, except for Garrus who uploaded it to his visor. The commander liked to be prepared for everything. And in the event of a cave-in they'd have no way of identifying where their team-mates were, much less if they were alive without this software.
Liara was deep in conversation with Rita who was regaling her with tales of her time undercover in Chora's Den. Kaiden had retreated to a dark alcove, looking rather miserable. The noise was probably giving him a terrible headache. At least Tali seemed to be enjoying herself. She was dancing like there was no tomorrow with a group of Asari and human women. But there was no Shepard. Not in the casinos. Not on the dance floor, to be fair he wouldn't need a scan for that. The man's dance skills were…. lacking to put it lightly, and he tended to stick out like a sore thumb.
He turned the ongoing scan towards the bathrooms and bar next. No luck.
Shepard wasn't in Flux.
That was odd to say the least. They had been looking forward to some shore leave. That being said, if anyone knew where the commander was, it'd be Tali. The girl followed him around like a lost little puppy.
"Hey, Tali" Garrus tapped the young woman on the shoulder.
"GARRUSSSSSS!" Tali clamored. Stretching her arms wide in recognition. To this day, Quarian body language made him uncomfortable. He wasn't used to all this …. open affection she laid on every team member she was familiar with.
"Have you seen Shepard? We had plans…."
"No Shep isn't here. But I would love an update." The girl swayed a bit on her feet.
"Wait, aren't you underage? How are you getting drunk?"
"Pshhhhh Garrusss. Since when do you care about the rulesss? With that geth data, I've completed my pilgrimage. I just need to make it official. It'sss a dumb rule anyway. I shoot and am shot at! Anyone who serves should be allowed a few drinks."
"Alright. Well, when he comes back let him know Wrex and I went ahead to Chora's Den."
Garrus really didn't want to miss that cocktail waitress. Tali retorted with a thumbs up before practically diving back onto the dance floor.
Ignoring a pang of guilt, Garrus quickly made his way to the rapid shuttle terminal. Who cared where Shepard was anyway? If he wanted to miss a sweet party, it was his loss.