One eagle-eyed Mass Effect 2 player has just uncovered the names of Garrus's lost squad members hidden away in the game's information dossiers. Garrus Vakarian is one of Mass Effect’s most popular characters, having remained a steadfast ally of Commander Shepard throughout all three installments of Bioware’s epic sci-fi RPG series.
However, when players reunite with Garrus in 2010’s Mass Effect 2, the soft-spoken Turian sniper is in a much darker place than he was at the conclusion of the first game. Growing disillusioned with the Citadel’s bureaucracy following Shepard’s supposed death, Garrus travels to the crime-infested space station known as Omega, where he puts together a team of vigilantes under the codename Archangel. By the time Mass Effect 2 rolls around, this squad is completely wiped out following a betrayal in their ranks, and Garrus's Loyalty Mission tasks Shepard with helping him hunt down the traitor and either killing or forgiving him once the circumstances behind his actions are revealed.
A couple of days ago, Reddit user Serocco uncovered the names of Garrus’s dead Omega teammates within his information dossier in Mass Effect 2 and posted this discovery to the Mass Effect subreddit. In addition to listing several songs that Garrus likes to listen to during firefights, the dossier notes that he has 10 names carved on the frame of his monocle-like holo-visor, the names of his squadmates: Erash, Monnteague, Mierin, Grundan Krul, Melenis, Ripper, Sensat, Vortash, Butler, and Weaver. Sidonis, the aforementioned traitor to this team, is also there, but his name has been burned out to signify his treachery.
This is just a small piece of the vast and expanding lore that Bioware crafted for the Mass Effect series, spanning an entire galaxy and containing tales of ancient civilizations, alien cultures, and interstellar wars whose ramifications are still felt during Commander Shepard’s struggle against the Reapers. Players have been uncovering little tidbits hidden away throughout the trilogy while replaying the Mass Effect Legendary Edition collection, ranging from unused creature concept art to sly references in Mass Effect to other games like Grand Theft Auto.
The list of Garrus's lost squadmates is a relatively low-key Easter Egg in Mass Effect 2, but it helps make his backstory all the more vivid. The fact that he keeps these names carved on his eyepiece speaks volumes about how much they meant to him, as well as how haunted he is by their deaths at the hands of one of their own. Luckily for Garrus, Shepard is there to help him move on from this tragedy during the events of Mass Effect 2, as well as find a greater purpose among the crew of the Normandy in their fight to save the Milky Way from the Reapers.
Source: Serocco/Reddit