Tali had always liked blue.
Her favorite was purple of course, but blue was a close runner up. Cool, logical, smooth, blue was great. Blue was a precious color in Quarian society- blue was the color of water, one of the most precious resources on the Flotilla and their desert homeworld of Rannoch. Rare, desirable, sensual, vital, unique.
Blue was a good color.
Sighing, Tali pulled Chiktikka, her combat drone, close as she sat alone on the engineering deck. Gabby, Ken, and the rest of the crew had long ago gone to bed. Her long toes curled around the edge of her cot, her knees pulled to her chest and her back leaning against the wall. The soft pink glow of the drone illuminated the dark area just around them.
"Mm, you're running warm tonight, Chiktikka." Tali spoke to the drone like one would a pet, stroking a hand across its round surface, "I guess I need to add more cooling if I'm going to overclock your battery that much."
The drone simply beeped in response, its surface colors glowing and warping. Tali knew there was not even really any sort of animal cognisence within the droid, but that didn't stop her from treating Chiktikka like any pet owner would their beloved animal companion.
Tali continued stroking the sphere. "Sorry I didn't notice earlier, Tikka. I've just been distracted." She rested her chin on a hand.
Beep, beep. Tali's imagination filled in the robot's unresponsiveness with made up replies. Why is that, Tali'Zorah?
"I guess I've just been a little lonely." Tali sighed heavily. "And been thinking about someone again."
Who?
Tali's eyes drifted to the side, nervous to even say the words to herself. "Somebody I shouldn't be thinking about."
Why not?
"Because she doesn't need me to distract her. She's got a job to do and I can't make things tougher for her just because I've got some stupid feelings..." Tali whispered to the sphere, lowering her head until the mask made contact with the sphere. "It's not like I'm noticable at least. I can hide it all behind the mask, right?" She let out a hollow laugh.
With one long finger, Tali wrote out the awkward, funny shapes of the human English language on the holographic surface of the drone. N.
She'd always admired the commander. How could one not? Commander London Shepard was a legend in so many ways. Everyone admired the commander for her actions on the field of battle, for her brilliant negotiation and diplomatic workings, for her heroic bravery. But few people admired past the soldier, few people admired the woman herself. The woman who diligently spoke to every member of the crew after every mission just to make sure they were okay, the woman who rescued and trusted a Quarian she barely knew without a hint of judgement, the woman who took time out of their important mission to help the common person, the woman who sought common ground with just about any person she came across.
Tali was one of the few.
But she never said a word about it. She knew there was no chance that admiration would be returned. Oh sure, Tali knew the commander respected her tech and engineering skills, that she valued Tali as a friend and battle compatriot. London admired Tali as a soldier.
There was no way London could see past that and admire the woman behind the mask.
Tali curled even tighter around Chiktikka. The droid whirred mechnically, the sound almost like a comforting purr to Tali. She sniffed back a few tears and pulled herself together. "Sorry, Chiktikka. Come on, let's go to bed. It's late."
But even as sleep fell upon her tired eyes, Tali saw only images of her beloved commander dance across her mind's eye.