A/N: Just something I put together in an hour because, well, simply put, I was... bored. My reaction to the Tali-comment made by Engineer Donnelly at, uh, somepoint in Mass Effect 2. Enjoy!
Engineering
10:32 [Standard Earth Time]
Wednesday 11th February 2185
Normandy SR-2
Deck 4
Engineering - Main Corridor
Onboard the Normandy SR-2, a pair of elevator doors slid silently upon their well-oiled tracks. A pair of military-standard earth-made boots took two confident steps out, and then continued down the brightly-lit hall labelled "ENGINEERING" in large white font on the walls.
For the first time since he had been reawakened by Cerberus a few weeks ago, Commander Shepard felt quite positive about the inevitable coming of what had been described to him by the Illusive Man as a 'suicide mission'; whether it was from the cheery, focused attitude conveyed to him by his team of specialists and his crew, or the simple fact that the Normandy felt once again like his home, we cannot be sure. It may very well be a mix of both, or due to another, third reason, that was less obvious to an outsider. For the reason there was a spring in the Commander's step, the reason there was a light-hearted whistle emanating from his lips, was quite simply put; he was going to see the one person that could put a smile on his face simply by being in his presence; Tali'Zorah vas Normandy.
There were four sets of doors leading from that particular corridor marked "ENGINEERING"; two of them lead to Cargo Holds, and the other two led to the Normandy's Mass Effect Field Generator. Usually Shepard would have turned right as he came out of the elevator to take the quickest route to his favourite quarian engineer, but today was different; different in the fact that the door was, well, broken. It was in the process of being fixed by two Cerberus crewmen, one balancing unsteadily on an A-ladder, attempting to see into the gap between the door and the frame. The other was holding the ladder steady with one hand, and in the other was accessing his omni-tool to check something clearly not work-related. Shepard would have liked nothing better than to go over to him and tell him to get back to work, something which ordinarily he would have done with no hesitation; but today was different, he would deal with it later.
Shepard had lived onboard a starship for as long as he could remember; his first memory was having great fun with a door very much like that one, running through it, waiting for it to initiate closing, then attempt to run back through; of course, being a child, he had thought it was an awesome idea, although looking back, he could certainly see the potential flaws.
His thoughts returned to the one he had come to see, and realised that her childhood had been much the same as his, growing up onboard a spaceship. Shepard briefly considered bringing that up in their next discussion; but no, he hadn't really led an interesting childhood, unlike one particular quarian. The very idea that children on the Migrant Fleet went around in bubbles, for crying out loud, begged for some sort of recognition.
As Shepard stepped through the other door, the one with the slightly longer route to Tali, he could hear Engineer Ken Donnelly talking in his deep Scottish accent, no doubt cracking some kind of joke.
The door slid open, and Shepard could suddenly hear Donnelly in perfect clarity. He could also hear the distinct hum of the Mass Effect Field Generator, which was lurking ominously just around the corner. It took a few seconds to register just what it was Donnelly and his co-worker, Engineer Gabriella 'Gabby' Daniels were discussing; Daniels in a distinctly quieter voice than Donnelly.
"Gabby, what do you think of our new quarian boss?" asked Donnelly innocently.
"Ssh, she's right over there!" replied Daniels in a hushed whisper.
"Aah, she can't hear us with her head in that bucket," countered Donnelly. In Shepard's mind, he was either blissfully unaware that Shepard, the "bucket-head"'s boyfriend, was standing right behind him, or just plain stupid. Shepard felt his hands begin to clench into fists at the blatant insult. He glanced across the room at Tali'Zorah; it was clear to him that she could hear everything that was being said.
However, Donnelly wasn't finished; he had more to say. "Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful bucket; a lovely suit altogether." Oh, I get it, thought Shepard, A back-handed compliment. Donnelly continued, "Quite snug; in all the right places." He finished perversely. Shepard stepped up between Donnelly and Daniels; Daniels gasped in shock that their commander had witnessed what Donnelly had just said; but…
"Yeah, you're right there," agreed Shepard. "It's a perfect fit over such a heavenly body."
At this last remark, the particular engineer they were referring to looked up from her work, and over at the human crewmembers. Shepard was sure that she was smiling under that purple-tinted visor; she said, in that sweet, sweet accent of hers: "You know I can hear you."
Both Donnelly and Daniels looked at Shepard at this point; but their Commander just grinned, and pretended to examine the wiring above the workstations. And then he said in a sly voice:
"I know…"