Mass Effect 30 Day Challenge Day 7

Prompt 7: Favourite Alien species.

SPOILERS: Mass Effect 2

Discipline

2185 CE, Normandy SR-2, 6 hours from Thorne System

The Port Observation Lounge was deserted at this hour; Garrus didn't know why he couldn't sleep – something about the nature of their last mission hadn't sat well with him perhaps – but he hoped that a couple rounds of poker and a beer with Kasumi would put him a touch more at ease. The thief was nowhere to be seen as he entered the lounge however, and it wasn't just that she was playing the invisibility game. Garrus scanned the room with his visor and found no trace of the slight human woman lurking behind couches or on top of one of the shelves. He did pick up another scan, however, and turned to see… well, he wished he could consider it unexpected company.

"Garrus," Shepard said. She sat on one of the stools at the bar to the right of the door, a glass of something purple and fizzing in her hand. "Couldn't sleep?"

"It's just not happening tonight it seems," he said, walking over and standing at the bar. "You?"

Shepard laughed, and downed the fizzing purple liquid in a single gulp. "You know me Garrus," she said, slamming the glass down on the bartop. "I'll sleep when I'm dead."

"You were dead Shepard," Garrus pointed out. "I don't think you got much rest then."

"That's just because the second I woke up people were yelling at me to do shit," Shepard shrugged. She took one of the long cylindrical bottles from the counter and poured some of the green liquid into her glass until it was half full. "And when there's a galaxy to save, sleep is kind of the opposite of restful."

Garrus nodded. He looked at her with mild concern as she took a bottle with blue liquid and mixed it with the green liquor in her glass, causing the concoction to fizz purple. "How many of those have you had?" he asked, unable to hide the concern in his voice. Shepard loved her liquor, everyone knew that, and nobody could blame her for cutting loose when they were on shore leave. But they were six hours away from a crucial mission and she was here getting drunk?

She shrugged. "A few. Just relaxing a bit – that last mission was… well, you know, you were there."

Garrus nodded again, shaking his head as he remembered the three of them fighting through the squads of reactivated geth, of Tali sobbing over her father's corpse and listening to his last message, which didn't hold even an ounce of affection or comfort for the poor girl. That said, the tongue-lashing Shepard had given the Admiralty board may go down in his personal history as one of the greatest things he'd seen on this crazy mission. He'd recorded it on his visor and showed it to the rest of the team after getting back to the Normandy. It had given them all comfort, for the message Shepard had given was clear:

If you fuck with me and mine, I will crush you.

Shepard gave him a tipsy smile. "Watch this," she tipped her head back and drank the fizzing purple drink, slamming the glass down on the counter. Then she pointed up towards the comm. system, and Garrus waited a few seconds before EDI's voice echoed through the room.

"The women's restroom is on the other side of the ship, Shepard."

Shepard cracked up and almost fell off of her stool. Garrus darted forward to steady her and she slumped against the counter, giggling. "She does that every time!" the Commander said. One of her empty glasses rolled away across the counter, bumping against the blue liquor bottle. "It's awesome!"

Garrus shook his head. "Is this really the best way to wind down after a mission Commander?" he asked, knowing he was being insubordinate just by thinking the question. "When we're about to go board a derelict Reaper?"

Shepard gave him a stern look. "It's my ship Vakarian," she said. Thankfully, she didn't reach for the liquor again. "I can relax any way I want." She leaned forward and gave him a smile that would have been seductive if she hadn't been so intoxicated. "Did you have something else in mind?"

Garrus rolled his eyes and reached over, helping her off the stool and onto one of the couches. "You're drunk Commander," he said, though a small part of his brain gave him a kick for it. She had certainly made her interests clear in the Main Battery after their encounter with Sidonis. "It would be inappropriate for me to take advantage of you in your compromised state."

"Even if it's not taking advantage?" Shepard smiled up at him from the couch, leaning back so her head rested on the back cushion. "Because if the woman consents Garrus, it's not taking advantage."

Garrus sighed. She really was rather adorable when she was drunk. Not something one usually says of the fierce Warrior the rest of the Galaxy knew as Commander Shepard, the woman who defeated Saren, who was ready to go to hell and back to stop the Collectors, who had crossed the galaxy twice over to help every single member of her crew, including him.

Warrior woman she may be, but in this moment, she was drunk off her ass, and she was adorable.

"All the same," Garrus said, sitting down next to her. "I'd rather wait until you have the ability to move without the threat of vomiting."

Shepard giggled, and she slumped sideways so that she leaned against him. Garrus gently put an arm around her and she let one of her hands rest on his chest. She looked up at him and he saw that even through the drunken haze she now looked more subdued.

They sat that way for a while before she said, her voice echoing in the otherwise empty room: "I was just thinking about my father," she said. "You know, after what happened with Tali."

Garrus nodded. "I admit, I've been in a similar state of mind since we left the Flotilla."

Shepard leaned back, giving him what passed for a scrutinizing look. "Your father's still alive, right?"

Garrus nodded. "We haven't spoken in a long time." He repositioned himself so that the Commander's elbow wasn't digging into his thigh. "After everything that happened at C-Sec, he made it clear he wasn't interesting in talking."

"Shit," Shepard shook her head slowly. "He should be proud of you. You're saving the galaxy. You defeated Saren! You're about to go on a suicide mission. What's his problem?"

"He would have preferred I have stayed with C-Sec in the first place," Garrus said, sighing. "That's the Turian way. Honor. Duty. Discipline. Follow the rules, maintain order, and most importantly, don't be a hero."

Shepard laughed. "That last part sounds like the opposite of you."

Garrus shrugged and wrapped his arm around her a little tighter. "Well," he said, looking out the observation window into the blackness of space as he spoke. "I never claimed I was a good Turian."

Commander Kara Shepard leaned against him and followed his gaze out to look at the stars. "Whatever your Dad thinks," she said, her words slurring together slightly. "You're my favourite Turian. And you guys aren't so bad. Even with those sticks up your asses."

Garrus laughed. "One thing can be said about a stick up the ass," he said. "It gets the job done."

"Unless the job is trying to stop the Reapers," Shepard noted, her voice slightly more sobered. "There's nothing conventional about this war we're fighting."

"Well," Garrus looked down at her, his blue eyes sparked with humor. "That's when you take the stick out of your ass and you beat the bad guys to death with it."

Shepard began to giggle uncontrollably until tears began to form in her eyes. "You heard Joker say that?" she asked, when she could speak again.

Garrus chuckled. "Kasumi thought it was funny," he said. "She shared it with me."

Shepard shook her head again. "She's everywhere man," she said. "Like a fucking ninja."

Garrus didn't know what she meant by that, but decided not to press the issue, assuming it was a human thing. "Where is she tonight?"

"She gave me the keys to the liquor cabinet and told me to help myself," Shepard said. "Mentioned something about creeping on Jacob in the armory."

Garrus snorted. "She's interesting, that one."

Kara nodded. She stared out at the stars for a long while, so long that Garrus thought she might have fallen asleep. When she spoke, she did so softly. "My Dad died about a year after Akuze," she said. "We weren't close."

Garrus looked down at her. She still stared out the window, looking neither happy nor sad. "I'm sorry Shepard," he said softly.

She shook her head. "It was a long time ago," she said. "And he was a better father than Tali's Dad, by a long shot."

Garrus gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Even I could say that about my father," he said. "He may disapprove of my life choices, but he'd take the time to say he loved me on his deathbed. Or maybe at least say the Turian equivalent."

Shepard looked up at him. Her eyes were a bit unfocused, clearly a side-effect of whatever it was she had been drinking. "What's the Turian equivalent?"

Garrus rested his head against hers and gently stroked her shoulder, hoping she wouldn't mind. She didn't seem to. "I'm proud of you." He said.

Shepard nodded. After a moment of silence, she giggled. "Turians are weird," she said. "But somehow I guess I'd rather have a parent tell me they were proud of me than just give me a simple 'I love you'."

"We're soldiers Shepard," Garrus said. "We come from military families. Love is just a word, but pride? Especially the pride of our parents?"

She looked up at him. He should have made an effort to hide his disappointed expression, but it was so late, and she was so drunk, and ultimately Garrus didn't care if Kara Shepard caught him without his defences. After a moment she spoke. "Turian discipline and honor be damned," she said. "If your father isn't proud of you, then he's an idiot."

Garrus shrugged, her words warming him and causing a faint smile to cross his face. "That's true Shepard," he said, stroking her shoulder again. "But when it comes to this kind of thing, most Turians are."

She fell silent after that. Garrus was fairly certain she had fallen asleep, and he didn't want to risk waking her by moving. He watched the stars go by and reflected on his father, his family, his entire race.

Pack of idiots or no, he thought to himself as Shepard began to lightly snore in his arms. No matter what, Turians always see our missions through to the end.

*
Answer: Turians

It's a bit of a ramble, and I just wanted to give you guys more drunk!shep, but I do love Turians. Not just because of Garrus, but they're a snarky bunch of badasses, the lot of them. So forgive my drabbles.