Tali'Zorah nar Rayya always noticed the sound of the elevator. Whether it was going up or down or left or right, her eyes would slowly drift up from her work. Most of the time, though, it was Grunt wobbling his way down from the mess hall for the hundredth time that day, one of the engineers returning from the restroom, or even Miranda, occasionally and randomly "checking up" on activity in the engineering hub. Tali had gotten better at distinguishing the crewmembers by nothing more than their footsteps weight or pace. Not that it mattered, though. Even the sound from the heaviest strides of Grunt did not shake her hope away. She would still stand there, hands and fingers prodding away at keys of inconsequence, hoping those footsteps would make their way through the double doors and come to rest only inches from her back.
And as the elevator touched down on the engineering bay, for Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, time slowed to a crawl once again. She listened carefully. They were light, this time. Light enough that they could not possibly belong to that half-ton of a solider, Grunt. They continued out of the elevator and to the right. Could it be Jack? She rarely left that dungeon she called her room. Possibly Miranda? No, they were a bit heavier than they should have been for that 105 pound Barbie Doll of a woman. Tali caught herself from cursing her. Could it… Could it be him? The first door slid open. My god, is this happening again? She thought to herself. He was just down here a few hours ago. Could he be down here again to… to see me? The second door slid open and made Tali's heart jump back to life. Oh god. It's him, it has to be. She put her head down to stare at her console. Type Tali, look busy! Her fingers prodded keys, typing random words and then immediately deleting them. Maintenance. Backspace. Flower. Backspace. Water. Backspace. Wet. Backspace. Bedroom. Backspace.
"Tali." the voice said.
"Oh, hello, Shep…" She turned to look at him over her shoulder. "I mean, Ken. Hello Ken."
Kenneth Donnelly, one of the two other engineers of The Normandy gave her a smile as he walked past to his station. Once he was out of earshot, she let out a sigh, which became slightly mechanized by the voice emitter in her helmet. For the first time in her life, Tali thanked the gods she was stuck inside this decontamination suit. It hid her looks of utter disappointment and a few parts of disgust quite well. Why would he use the door behind me when his station is on the other side? Dammit. She looked back down to her console, the words Water, Wet, and Bedroom still lingered on her screen. She had accidentally entered them into the stations search hub. Tali blushed, glancing over both her shoulders and quickly deleted them from the log. That was the last thing she needed, for that stupid AI to pop out of the wall and say Ms. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, I am unable to find any information on the key sequence you entered consisting of: Water. Wet. Bedroom. Please specify your inquiry to continue with the search.
I need a damn drink. Tali thought. She looked to her right. Those two can handle it for now. With the push of her button, she locked the terminal and made for the elevator. You cant keep doing this, Tali. She told herself. You're letting your feelings affect your work. What if something goes wrong with the ship and someone gets hurt? What will you say to him, then? I'm sorry, I was going to install that new diffusion device but I couldn't stop thinking about what the inside of your room looks like. I would have installed the necessary shield components, but I was too busy thinking about what it would be like to feel your hands on my skin. Oh, a collector ship got the drop on us, shot through the engineering hull, and crippled our core leaving everyone to die? Well, I could have prevented that if only you wou…
The elevator doors slid open but before Tali could walk in, he spoke to her.
"Ahh Tali, I was just coming to see you."
She lifted her head, her mouth wide open. The second time in one day she thanked her damn mask.