You've Got Mail
"Of all the people I thought I'd run into, Tali was the last person on my mind," Shepard thought quietly to himself. After letting Tali go to continue her mission, Shepard began to feel this feeling which he hadn't felt in a long time. "I haven't felt this feeling since…" he stops and glances over to a picture of Ashley, who gave her life on Virmire. Was it possible that Shepard was starting to develop feeling for Tali? Or could it just be that he was in shock of seeing Tali after living through the destruction of the Normandy? Whatever it was, Shepard didn't have time to waste for it was up to him to begin building the squad that would take the fight to the Collectors.
All of a sudden Joker voice came over the loud speaker, "Commander, you have a message from the Illusive Man is waiting for you in the Comm room."
"Alright," said the commander as he headed off to listen to the Illusive Man talk about how he was initially suspicious of the Collector threat. He tells Shepard, based off the pattern of the attacks, that in around six months most of the human colonies in the Traverse system could be gone. Shepard then goes off to begin his search for the potential squad members that the Illusive Man suggested. He would bet starting on Omega to find a Doctor Mordin Solus and an Omega vigilante who went by the name Archangel. As they began heading for Omega, Shepard decided to log onto the extranet to help passed the time. He spent awhile just messing around trying to occupy his time, but then a message shows up in his inbox. It was from Tali! He rushes to open his inbox and to open Tali's message.
"Shepard, I can't believe you're alive after all these years. When I had heard that the Normandy had been destroyed, I was terrified not knowing if you made it out safe. My fears became worse after I had heard that the Council and the Alliance pronounced you dead. I'm sure you know by now that it wasn't long after we saved the Citadel, the team went there separate ways. As I said on Freedoms Progress, I went back to the Flotilla with the information you gave me on the Geth and it helped my people tremendously. Not long afterwards, I started my mission. I'm sorry I can't give you any details. Do not worry about me Shepard, thanks to the time I spent with you and your crew my combat skills have greatly improved. I only hope that we will be able to see each other again. I hate to say this Shepard, but it would be best if you don't reply to this message because someone might pick up the trace and it could endanger both of our missions. Be careful Sheppard, Cerberus can't be trusted and I know you will use jour judgment and see what is right and that you stop anything that you think is wrong. Take care Sheppard.
Sincerely,
Tali' Zorah vas Neema
Shepard continued to stare blankly at the screen wanting to reply the message, but decided it is better to heed her warning and not jeopardize either of their missions. He dragged himself to bed and closed his eyes. He reminisced of all the times all he and Tali went out on an assignment together during their hunt for Saren. He thought about the first time they met in that hallway in the Wards of the Citadel saving her from a trap set by Fist to extract information she had on the Geth and Saren. The more he thought of her, the more personal the visions became. He had envisioned grasping Tali close to him and, even though her enviro-suit made her cold to the touch, he could almost feel her body warmth as if the suit wasn't there. Just as he was about to take off Tali's suit, EDI came online and broke him away from his thoughts.
"We have arrived at Omega Commander Sheppard."
"Thank you… EDI," said Shepard with an aggravated tone. As he got into his armor, he looked over the message one more time. Just as Shepard headed to the elevator to take him to the shuttle he muttered to himself, "Be safe out there Tali."