Disclaimer: None of the authors here own Mass Effect or Sonic the Hedgehog.

Joining this omake collection is a new face! Please, say hello to Awareness Bringer! It's a short but sweet one, so I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

APOCRYPHA: Universal Greeting – by Awareness Bringer

As part of the Citadel Security Services, Garrus Vakarian had been part of events that ranged from mundane and harmless to unfathomable and grotesque. But seeing an excitable, awe-struck primate disembark from an unknown vessel that was allowed to dock on the Citadel via a Salarian S.T.G. code was odd and inconclusive.

The primate, who Garrus surmised was female, did not strike him as dangerous, but rather curious and hyper, if a bit overwhelmed by her surroundings. In a cosmic sort of way, he honestly thought her antics were cuter than the average pyjak's, especially since, unlike the pyjaks, she had grey fur underneath some sporty clothes. Nonetheless, as part of the C-Sec detail welcoming the ship, he had to get her attention, so he shouted, "Excuse me, ma'am?!"

Seeing that got the primate's sheepish attention, Garrus made a friendly enough smile as he said with a stretched out hand, "Garrus Vakarian, Citadel Security."

With an embarrassed giggle, the primate formed a hand from her extended tail to return Garrus's greeting, replying, "Sorry about that. I'm Tangle the Lemur from Planet Earth. This place is a first for me."

Genuinely chuckling, Garrus remarked, "Trust me, young lady, you wouldn't be the first to have such a reaction. Although some control it a bit better than others."

"Right," Tangle commented with a scratch on the back of her head. Soon enough, her attitude changed back into glee as she then exclaimed, "Wait! I won't get a better chance than this!" Clearing her throat, Tangle then theatrically took out a wrapped object from her clothes and presented it to Garrus while chanting, "Bah-weep-Graaaaagnah wheep ni ni bong!"

After a long moment of awkward silence, Garrus said, "Okay," and taking the object, unwrapped it to see it was a chocolate bar. With a pleased smile, he said, "Seriously, thanks. I've been dying for one of these," he cut of his words when he then realized something important. "Wait, are you a dextro species, or an amino one?"

Confused, Tangle only said, "What?"

"Uh, Tangle," a worried voice called out as the other passengers of the ship the primate came from, including a Salarian, all went out. The Salarian with a shaky smile then approached Garrus and Tangle, saying, "I'm sorry I forgot to tell you this, but certain races in the galaxy can't eat Earth food. And this Turian is one of them."

With a worried frown, Tangle asked, "You mean, if Garrus here ate Earth chocolate, he'd throw up like an allergy."

Awkwardly scratching the back of his own head while giving the Salarian the chocolate bar, Garrus said, "Honestly, I'd probably die at worst."

With a horrified expression, Tangle yelped and cried out, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't know!" Gasping in acknowledgment, she then added, "I'm not going to get thrown in space jail, am I?!"

Tangle's worries got to her fellow passengers, with one woolly female with horns comforting Tangle while saying to the C-Sec officers, "I take full responsibility for her actions! Please go easy on her and our home planet!"

Alarmed by the concern, Garrus gestured for calm, saying to both the Earthlings and the C-Sec detail, "Everybody relax! I didn't eat it and she didn't know, so there's no reason to arrest someone for daring to be stupid or something like that."

In response to Garrus's words, Tangle and the Earthlings traded glances before erupting into laughter, even if some like the woolly female looked somewhat exasperated from doing it, their fears beforehand seemingly gone, and leaving Garrus to wonder why he felt like the butt of some cosmic joke that only those from Earth knew.