Every 50,000 years, civilizations rose, developed along a specific path, and when they reached
the height of their power, were extinguished.
This was the work of the Reapers, servants of a synthetic intelligence which had relentlessly
carried out this cycle of genocide for millennia.
In 2186 it began anew, and the greatest nations of the galaxy were slowly swept away as the
Reapers tore across their worlds and harvested their populations.
But for the first time, there existed a spark of hope.
Whether by some miracle of fate or simple determination, a select few individuals were
given the chance to not only survive the cycle, but end it all together.
In orbit of Earth, they led one great final effort, a single counter-attack in which the
fate of all life would be decided.
Among them were soldiers, mercenaries, criminals, scientists, operatives, and a Turian officer
named Garrus Vakarian.
Garrus spent much of his early life on the Turian homeworld of Palaven.
Under the tutelage of his father Castis, a career law enforcement officer, Garrus was
taught marksmanship and trained in the martial traditions of the Turian people.
At the age of 15, he began his mandatory period of civil service and distinguished himself
as a fiercely capable soldier.
Garrus’s natural aptitude for special reconnaissance and target acquisition marked him as a potential
Spectre candidate.
He was offered additional training to prepare, but his father despised the extralegal freedoms
bestowed on Spectre operatives and blocked his candidacy.
Instead, Garrus joined his father in C-Sec, serving aboard the Citadel as a dedicated
officer and investigator.
Garrus again displayed a natural talent for this type of work, but grew frustrated with
the restrictions and regulations imposed by C-Sec that often interfered with his ability
to dispense justice.
His tendency to bend or break the rules drew the ire of his fellow officers, including
his own father.
Eventually the two had a falling out, one that was not repaired before Castis had retired
and moved back to Palaven.
After the destruction of a Systems Alliance colony on Eden Prime, Garrus was tasked with
the investigation of Saren Arterius, the longest serving Turian Spectre and one of the most
admired defenders of galactic stability.
Saren had purportedly gone rogue and attacked the colony, but his status as a Spectre restricted
any investigation.
Garrus was increasingly convinced that Saren was guilty, but without any means of obtaining
solid evidence, he took a leave of absence from C-Sec and instead joined a second, independent
investigation under the direct authority of the Citadel Council.
Aboard the SSV Normandy, Garrus was instrumental in uncovering the full extent of Saren’s
crimes and one of the first in the galaxy to discover the presence and manipulations
of the Reapers.
Saren was eventually exposed and in the Battle for the Citadel, was destroyed alongside his
master, the Reaper known as Sovereign.
Garrus was disappointed in how quickly the potential threat of the Reapers was discounted
however and grew disillusioned upon his return to the Citadel.
Inspired by his time aboard the Normandy, Garrus resigned from service and relocated
to Omega, a former mining station and the so called “capital” of the lawless Terminus
Systems, a haven for criminals, fugitives, and terrorists.
Determined to make a difference, Garrus adopted the moniker of “Archangel” and single
handedly began dismantling the station’s criminal apparatus.
His efforts drew the attention and loyalty of like minded individuals including mercenaries,
security consultants, and former C-Sec agents.
The devastating impact of Archangel and his squad on Omega’s criminal empires led to
its three most powerful mercenary groups forming an unprecedented alliance.
Pushed to their limits, Archangel’s squad was betrayed by one of their own and the resulting
ambush left Garrus as the sole survivor.
He was cornered and nearly killed on Omega, only to be rescued by some of his old partners
from the Normandy, now operating under the authority of a clandestine paramilitary group
known as Cerberus.
Aboard the Normandy SR-2, Garrus was again given the chance to investigate the lingering
threat of the Reapers.
Garrus saw to numerous improvements and retrofits of the SR-2, allowing the ship to successfully
pass through the infamous Omega 4 Relay and defeat the plans of the enigmatic Collectors,
servants of the Reapers, who lay beyond.
The experience convinced Garrus that an invasion by the Reapers was imminent and he returned
to Palaven to help coordinate its defenses.
Here Garrus was able to repair his relationship with his father and together they attempted
to convince Primarch Fedorian, the highest authority in the Turian Hierarchy, to take
the threat posed by the Reapers seriously.
Garrus was given an underfunded task force as a token gesture before Palaven, and the
entire galaxy, ran out of time.
When the Reapers finally arrived, Primarch Fedorian was killed in the initial strike
and brutal fighting swept across Palaven and its colonies.
On Menae, one of Palaven’s moons, Garrus assisted in seeking out General Victus, next
in the line of succession.
With this task accomplished, Garrus returned once more to the Normandy and set about coordinating
the Turian component of the planned counter-attack.
He employed what he termed a “ruthless calculus of war”, sacrificing billions so that billions
more might live.
(alt: survive)
In the end, Garrus gambled everything on the Crucible, an ancient superweapon constructed
in multiple cycles as a means to stop the Reapers, but never successfully implemented.
Aboard the Normandy, he fought alongside the fleets and armies of every nation, wholly
committed to victory.
Throughout his life and career, Garrus Vakarian epitomized the ideals of determination and
integrity.
In many ways he stood apart from his own people.
Raised in a society that valued discipline and the rule of law above all, Garrus was
instead committed to his personal sense of morality.
He resented any restriction that interfered with the administration of justice and operated
outside of the law whenever he deemed it necessary.
Like many Turians, Garrus could at times suffer from indecision and second-guess his own abilities.
Whenever the situation demanded it however, Garrus would rise to meet the challenge.
It is a testament to his immense internal fortitude that he never once buckled, despite
the strain of his duties and the demands that the galaxy placed on him.
In these moments, Garrus maintained a grim fixation on his responsibilities and was unable
to shake the uniquely Turian trait that insisted he place the welfare of the many over his
individual needs or even survival.
At a time when the entire galaxy was thrown into chaos and threatened with annihilation,
the actions of a single individual can be difficult to determine.
There remains a degree of mystery surrounding the life of Garrus, with conflicting reports
insisting he died during the final attack on Earth, or perhaps even earlier on the far
side of the Omega 4 Relay.
Some dossiers depict him as more receptive towards rules and authority, while others
omit his nature and contributions entirely.
But whatever the final fate of the galaxy, whether Garrus died in the fight against the
Reapers or survived in the new era that followed, remain mere details.
For those that knew him, served beside him, and earned his trust, there is no greater
friend than Garrus Vakarian.
I'm Commander Shepard and I have no strong opinions regarding The Templin Institute one
way or the other.