Author's Note: I've written this to be as user friendly as possible. Those who aren't familiar with Guardians of the Galaxy and/or Mass Effect should have no trouble understanding it. At minimum a vague understanding of each is recommended but not required. This doesn't follow the canons so don't expect complete faithfulness to either. If it works, expect more, if not, well I can't say that I didn't try.

Quill, Rocket, Gamora, Drax and Groot, collectively known as the Guardians of the Galaxy, were sitting in the common room of the Milano having themselves a late dinner. The special for that night was the same thing that it always was, beef and carrot stew. Lately, due to a shortage of the supplies, the stew was more carrot than beef, not that anyone was complaining, at least directly, about it to begin with. As they sat around the table, making general small talk, the newly installed AI that was controlling the ship, Victor Prime, was trying to figure out their next destination.

"Let's see" Victor said to himself, for the AI identified itself as male despite having no real gender, "Shall we hit Leos or Tartarus? Which would be more profitable? Based on that logic, the obvious answer is Leos, for it has one of the largest trading hubs in the sector, but it is rather dull. If it's fun we're looking for Tartarus is the better option, a safe haven of criminals, deadbeats, lowlifes and degenerates, which makes it bad for business but good for just about anything else."

Victor set a course for Tartarus.

The radio in the common room began playing the Dobbie Brothers' Listen to the Music. Rocket, in response, began hitting it, for he knew it to be Quill's taste in music, which he had an utter disdain for, mostly because Quill played it constantly and that it was too happy and upbeat for his liking.

"Shut up!" Rocket said as he began beating the radio, which was conveniently next to him, "Either play something good or don't play anything at all you worthless piece of shit!"

Quill laughed, slightly amused in that Rocket was talking to the radio as if it were a sentient thing.

"It can't hear you Rocket" Quill exclaimed as he tried to stifle his laughter, "Stop trying to talk to it like it's alive. And don't bash on the Dobbie Brothers, they didn't do anything to you."

Rocket huffed, "Does hurting my eardrums count as doing something to me?" he asked, "Your taste in music is terrible Quill. No offense to that dead mother of yours but did she ever hear of Quantum Mechanics?"

Quill raised his eyebrows curiously, for he had no idea what Rocket was referring to.

"You mean the fundamental branch of physics that deals with physical phenomena at nanoscopic scales based on the Planck constant?"

Rocket spat out what stew was in his mouth, his face bearing the look of total confusion and loss.

"The fundamental branch of phys-"Rocket began, exasperated, "No, no, no Quill, Quantum Mechanics is a band. Heavy metal. Mostly instrumental, the works that do have lyrics are personal, most of those are ballads. Shows their softer side. Seriously you've never heard of 'em?"

Quill shook his head, Rocket looked around the room to find Gamora and Drax in the same boat. Groot was the only exception.

"I am Groot" Groot replied, "I am Groot."

Rocket rolled his eyes, "Yes I know everyone's taste in music is different, don't lecture me! Just voicing my opinion, is that alright with you Green Giant?"

Quill laughed again, this time making no attempt to hide.

"You did not just call Groot the Green Giant" Quill exclaimed, "Please tell me that didn't just happen!"

Rocket groaned, "I picked it up from you asshole" the raccoon declared, "I may be many things Quill, but stupid and dumb ain't among them. So you can stop laughing now pretty boy because I'm not going to be nice for much longer if you keep this up."

Quill ignored Rocket completely and only continued laughing. Truth be told it wasn't very funny to begin with, Gamora and Drax felt that Quill laughed to compensate for something, perhaps homesickness. They kept these opinions to themselves however and only resumed eating, trying their best to stay out of the confrontation.

At that moment, Victor appeared at the terminal at the end of the room, causing all of them to look in his direction.

"Incoming transmission" Victor said in his monotone voice, "Shall I patch it through Quill?"

Quill nodded, for his mouth was full of food and thus, he was unable to give a proper response. Victor did as instructed and patched the message to the table.

"If you're hearing this then there isn't much time…."

Drax, who was closer to the terminal, stood up and moved towards it, activating the video feed to allow the others to see the speaker. It was a male alien, unlike anything they had seen before, covered for the most part in scales, with a distinct scar, a burn mark of some kind, on his face. Over his left eye was holographic scanner of sorts, also foreign to them. He was wearing a set of blue body armor, the right side of it was damaged, a large hole, irreparable, was located just before the neck line and obviously the cause or result of the scar on his face.

"Who are you?" Drax asked curiously, speaking for the group.

The alien, recognizing that he was on a video feed, nodded in compliance.

"Garrus Vakarian" he answered, "Now please, there isn't much time. Before we continue you must agree to help."

Drax turned to Quill, uncertainty in his eyes.

"Please" Garrus begged, "I know it's a lot to ask, especially to complete strangers but I have little choice. If there was any other way I would do it. But I'm out of options. Out of time."

Quill nodded, swallowing what remained of his food and stood.

"People call me Star-Lord" Quill exclaimed, "We're the Guardians of the Galaxy, what do you need?"

Garrus hung his head, apparently in shame. It was obvious that whatever it was somehow personal.

"My commander" Garrus answered, "She's dying. The crew and I have been looking for answers, but so far we've come up with nothing. That's why we're here, or at least that's part of the reason."

Gamora stood up, she had not spoken much since dinner began but something within her compelled her. She sensed something in Garrus' voice that spoke of desperation, but there was also something else, something that she couldn't describe. Drax noticed it as well, he knew exactly what Garrus' voice was saying, even if he did not speak the words. It was the same voice that he used when he discovered his family murdered by Rohan. It was the same voice that he heard Rocket use when talking about his origins, when Quill mentioned his past, Gamora, her father and sister. It was pain, desperation, hope, desire, longing and fear all at once.

"What can we do?" Gamora asked helplessly, "We're not doctors Mr. Vakarian."

Garrus smiled a bit at this, for he had never been called Mr. Vakarian before.

"If you don't mind it's just Garrus" he corrected, "I'm not one for formalities. Speaking of which, I never did get the rest of your names."

Rocket shook his head in disbelief and sighed, almost as if he were annoyed with Garrus, which in all honesty, was a very easy thing if you didn't know him for extended periods.

"Are you sure this is the time for introductions?" Rocket declared, "That commander of yours isn't going to wait around while we sit here talking out our asses you know."

Garrus folded his arms insultingly, he had hoped there to be as little confrontation as possible to avoid uneasiness and to make any request seem all the more reasonable, but it was obvious, even at the very beginning, that it simply wasn't going to happen.

"Excuse me for trying to get to know you" Garrus said, his voice returning to normal levels, "I guess that was too much to ask."

Rocket nodded, "You got that right Scarface" the raccoon continued, "You don't know us, we don't know you. Let's keep it that way for now."

Garrus groaned, for he hated being called Scarface, for that was one of the many things that he picked from Shepard, his commander, on human lore. The mere alliteration was enough to make Garrus' skin crawl from head to toe, for he was a man of justice.

"It's Garrus" the alien exclaimed sternly, "I refuse to be called anything else. Do we have an understanding?"

Rocket was just about to speak again when Quill stepped in, redirecting the conversation.

"You won't have any trouble with him Garrus" Quill reassured, "You have my word on that. Now, what can we do to help?"

Garrus turned around, he could be heard talking to someone. At the same time, Victor reappeared, this time on the wall.

"Sorry to interrupt" Victor exclaimed, being as polite as possible, "But I'm picking up an interesting signal."

Groot turned towards Victor, curiosity getting the better of him.

"I am Groot" Groot replied

"If I'm reading this correctly" Victor continued, "I believe it's another AI."

Garrus leaned forward as if it mattered on his end, which it didn't, for he couldn't see them, in an attempt to hear Victor better. It took him a few seconds to process the information.

"An AI?" Garrus said, rather impressed, "I didn't think a vanguard ship would have such a thing. Very unusual."

Gamora laughed at this, remembering the reason for Victor in the first place.

"You can thank Quill's lack of administration skills for him" Gamora declared in a smartass kind of way, "He can't even file."

"Who is this Quill?" Garrus said curiously, "Is he that pigheaded?"

Quill raised his eyebrows at Gamora as if to say "What the hell?" and turned to Garrus to give an explanation before anyone else could, beating Rocket by two seconds.

"That's me" Quill answered, "I'm Quill. Peter Quill, otherwise known as Star-Lord."

Garrus remained silent. His stare was blank as if he had become a stone wall.

"You okay?" Drax asked, concern in his voice.

"I'm fine" Garrus said, half lying, as he broke out of the small trance he was in, "Just…thinking. It doesn't matter. We've strayed long enough, time to get back to the task. Have your AI send your coordinates to EDI and we'll go from there."

Victor didn't even have to ask for permission, for throughout Quill and Garrus' interaction he had been talking to EDI and sending her coordinates as well as making general small talk typical among AIs. Victor, during this conversation, also learned that the ship that Garrus was on was called the Normandy, currently under Garrus' command while the real CO was stuck in the med bay.

"Setting a course for the Normandy" Victor declared, "Don't get too comfortable, it's a short trip."

The ship rocked and swerved for a total of ten seconds before coming to a full stop. They weren't even so much as swayed, for they had gotten used to Victor's piloting, which he had to do on occasion.

"And we're here" Victor continued, "Do you want me to dock or do one of you want to do it?"

Drax laughed, "I'll do it Victor" he replied, "You've done enough as it is. Besides, can't afford to be rusty can we?"

Victor laughed in response, for Quill personally installed a human personality chip which allowed him to display the most basic forms of human emotion.

"Quite right" Victor added, "A crewman must always know his ship."

Drax stood and headed towards the cockpit to begin the tedious process of docking, which was something that he actually enjoyed, to the relief of the others, who generally hated it. Quill, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot turned their attention back to Garrus.

"Looks like we found you" Quill said, "So, do we board you, or do you board us?"

Garrus looked out the portside window, he could see nothing of particular interest, the Milano completely invisible behind the mass of the Normandy.

"You board us" Garrus answered, "If we board you…well, let's just say you're going to need a bigger ship."

Quill, completely confused, for he hadn't even so much as looked out a window since they arrived, moved towards the cockpit to investigate. By the time he got there, the Milano was safely docked and ready to board. Looking out the window, Quill was completely speechless, for no amount of words were justice enough for what he saw. Without even so much as giving himself time to process it, Quill returned to the common room to find the terminal closed and Gamora, Rocket and Groot resuming dinner as if nothing had happened.

Garrus stood up from his seat, halfway between the galaxy map and the cockpit, where Joker, the pilot, was sitting and solemnly, without saying a word, made his way towards the medical bay. As he passed various crewmen saluted him, some even called him Commander Vakarian, which he hated, one because of the formalities and two, he saw it an insult to Shepard, who although dying, was still alive and still the commander of the Normandy. Garrus wasn't much for leadership, this was mostly due to poor self-image, his scar on the right side of his face playing a big part. Shepard was the only one who made him feel like none of that mattered, the only one who understood what it was like to lose absolutely everything and still have the strength to get back up and find a reason to carry on.

Passing the ship's laboratory, Garrus, checking in, peered his head, hoping to find Mordin, the ship's professor, a slender looking alien with a flask shaped head and wide bug eyes, working on a cure or a means of finding one. The lab was completely empty, the only things that were in it were lab materials, a research computer, and a decent sized table full of glass boxes, inside of which were various experiments that Garrus knew nothing about. Finding nothing of particular interest and his mind currently occupied, Garrus left the room and headed down the elevator to Deck 3, the crew quarters.

Ten seconds later, Garrus was walking towards the med bay, when he discovered Mordin, and Dr. Chakwas, the Normandy's doctor, a woman of fine tastes and little time for nonsense, standing in front of the door, talking in hushed and whispered voices.

"Garrus" Chakwas began, "I don't think now is a good time."

Garrus raised his eyebrows defensively, he looked as if he were about to destroy anything that stood between him and Shepard. Mordin stepped forward, motioning for Garrus to step aside, eventually sitting down at a nearby table in the middle of the deck.

"Tell me what's going on Mordin" Garrus pleaded, cutting to the chase, "Is there enough time?"

Mordin shrugged, he saw no point in hiding from Garrus so he did what any good doctor would do.

"She's stabilizing" Mordin answered, "But if we don't find something soon, she will die. I'm sorry Garrus, I wish I had something more."

Garrus shook his head, for this was the last thing he wanted to hear, he had given up too much, suffered for too long and loved too much, for it to simply end here.

"But it is curable?" Garrus continued hopefully, "There must be a way!"

Mordin nodded, "Most definitely curable" he said reassuringly, "But it may take time. Too much time."

Garrus grabbed Mordin's shoulder as firmly as possible and looked into his eyes, trying to find answers that Mordin didn't have. The only thing he found was doubt and uncertainty. It wasn't exactly what he was looking for, but it was comforting to see Mordin, who processed emotions quickly, to have these feelings. It reminded him of Shepard's trust and open-mindedness, how it didn't matter what you were, or who you were, good-heartedness and respect were above all else, if you had that, you were on Shepard's good list for life.

"I understand" Garrus replied, "If you can, please…"

Garrus didn't even his sentence, as if speaking it out loud would cause it happen. Mordin didn't need him to, for he was thinking the same thing.

"I know how much she means to you" Mordin said with a smile, "Love, powerful thing, perhaps the most powerful thing. Must be preserved. Good for you, good for all."

Garrus stood up and without so much as a warning, embraced Mordin as quickly as he could. Mordin, uncomfortably, returned the embrace.

"That's all I ask" Garrus exclaimed, "You're a good friend Mordin. Whatever happens, I'll be grateful."

Mordin nodded once again and stepped away, heading back to Chakwas. At that moment, EDI came on one of the terminals on the far side of the room.

"Garrus" EDI began, "Your guests have arrived. Shall I send them down to the crew quarters?"

Garrus shook his head, "That won't be necessary" he replied, "Keep them in the control room, I'll be there shortly."

"Of course" EDI continued, "And Garrus?"

Garrus looked back at EDI, having walked away before, the AI catching his full attention at the sound of his name.

"I'm glad you're taking charge in Shepard's place. We need a strong leader, someone who understands. She couldn't have made a better choice."

Garrus said nothing and simply headed up the elevator, trying to compose himself to the best of his ability and for the most part, failing. When the doors opened, Garrus made a quick right back into the command room and stood at the galaxy map. No sooner did he take his position did Quill, Rocket, Gamora, Drax, and finally Groot, exit the airlock and walk down the hallway.