Tali is giving me the grand tour of the ship. The whole shabang. Red carpet and everything. Quarians really know how to decorate a place. Truthfully, I feel out of place. I feel like I am in a rich Indian hotel. Fine tapestry adorns the walls. The metal floor is etched in a beautiful geometric pattern and painted to resemble marble. In the walls are broken shards of glass arranged in a mosaic illustrating former admirals. Why don't they look regal.
"Holy moly you people really like to embellish whatever you can. I thought you said quarians were poor" I said.
"Not so loud. All this you are seeing was made from scrap materials collected for over a hundred years. The ship is our home, of course we'd want it as best as it can be" Tali said.
"I'm very surprised. This doesn't look anything like the game, which reminds me, those other quarians on your father's research vessel, they made it back here, right?" I really hope I didn't accidentally plopped them into a different universe. It shouldn't but it isn't like my powers came with a manual.
"Calm down. He checked and they made it back safely. Although they asked him 'how the ancestors did they get back here'" Tali said.
I don't want to ask this but I should "What did he say?"
Tali answers "That the experimental weapon involved teleportation and it was never to be disclosed."
"That lying good for nothing admiral. He could have been a bit more creative" I said.
"Oh? Let's see you come up with something right on the spot" Tali asks.
"Ok here it goes. I… pay you well enough not to ask such stupid questions. Be glad you didn't come out with an extra arm" I said.
"Quarians don't get a salary, at least not like what humans earn" Tali said.
"I'll form a union" I said.
"Come I want to show you the 'courtyard.' Here we display artifacts of our past for all to see" Tali pulls me away. The courtyard is a large rectangular room, similar to the one Tali would have been tried for treason. In glass display cases are pressed flowers. One of them we saw on Rannoch. These must be over a hundred years old. Let me read the sign. It is in quarian. Can't read it yet. Tali reads it to me. I nod my head as I engage the museum curator's tall tales of the artifacts. I don't usually have a thing for history chicks but this one is HOT! Look distinguished art. Have an egotistical vibe. Tali shows me some of the original parts on the ship. Large ball bearings, springs, a weird one with a circular base with 6 miniature pistons coming out of it. I wonder what that does.
Tali shows me the important locations of the ship I should know. The supply station. Quarians can take whatever they need and are expected to bring it back whenever they no longer use it. It is essential stuff like scrapers for cleaning out algae or moss in air ducts, suit repair kits, a sewing machine for alterations, etc. Tali shows me where we will be sleeping. WHOA! The skyscrapers of hammocks make the Japanese capsule hotels look luxurious in comparison. We then went to where quarians collect nutrient paste in the morning and for lunch. Dinner is only twice a week. Next is the dump. This is where quarians dispose of their bodily wastes collected throughout the day. Thankfully I won't ever have to go there.
Finally, Tali shows me where I'll be working for the time being. I am dragged into a creepy alley away from everyone else. I shake my head no, but Tali drags me in. At the end is a small door with a piles of junk left and right. Inside the dimly lit room is a metal box containing a nasty solution. Wires are on each side of the strange contraption.
"What you are doing is what we call 'recharging our mechanical parts.' You see as the ships use whatever we bring to you, a little bit of metal is lost through friction. When it is time we bring it here and use this chemical solution and electricity to add the metal back on. Some things we have to buy new, say if the metal cracked from stress, we can't use that or something essential we cannot risk this method on. It is grunt work, normally quarians who are punished do this sort of thing, but I have a feeling you're going to like this" my sweetheart is correct.
"You guys found a way to make things last for a lot longer! I love this. You know how much I hate things being wasted. How long can parts last with this?" I ask.
"Our ancestors worked it all out and it depends on the item. Oh, that reminds me I'll add your omnitool to the database. Most parts we can extend the life expectancy by a couple of decades. We had one part that lasted over a century."
"I remember that. In the display. Why would you keep that? I ask.
"It reminds us that what we depend on lasts if we take good care of it" Tali said.
"You know I am high maintenance" I joke. My sweetheart laughs. God, I love hearing her laugh.
"You're worth it" she said. I think my heart warmed up 10 degrees.
"So this is what you do with your hardened criminals. I'm a bad boy. I knew under that nice exterior is a woman who loves danger. When are you going to tell your dad you're in love with an excon?" I asked.
"He can accept it or run to Auntie Rann" Tali said.
"Ooo… that is cold. How do you think Rann is handling the news?" I asked.
"Quarians don't have stories about gods in our culture. Mostly it is about the fall of our people and the rebellion of the geth. She is reacting how both I and my father did" Tali said.
"You never told me how you reacted when Thane ousted me" I said.
"At first, I had no idea what you were talking about. I was so confused, and you were speaking nonsense, then you became that mist, and I freaked out. Even now I don't understand how it works" Tali said.
"Yeah, I can explain it the best I can, but I can't make others understand it" I said.
"She'll grow to love you. Heyyy… do you want to visit the secret sterile room…hmm?" Tali asked.
"About that… why did you need a secret sterile room?" I asked.
"I… I was a bit of a wild child in my rebellious youth and there was this one guy-"
"STOP! Do I want to hear this?" I ask.
"I really wanted to know what it felt like to feel another quarian with my skin and we-"
"STOP. I DON"T WANT TO HEAR THIS!"
"We only kissed and it didn't feel right" Tali said.
"Was he the one you rubbed sporting cups with?" I asked.
"Why are you getting so jealous? I've gone alot further with you than anyone else I've dated" Tali reminds me of good times. Back to the present.
"That is not a yes" I said.
"Aren't you being a bit unfair? You have much more experience than I have" Tali said.
"Yes but I wipe my relationship attachments with every relationship. I don't want my woman to have an energetic cord with another man" I said.
Tali stumbles "Th-that is a thing? Does it go away?"
"The stronger the connection the longer it lasts. You're clean" I said.
"Do I have one with you?"
"We haven't had the opportunity to swap energy yet so no. But I still love you so much. In fact… why don't you show me that special room you were talking about, and I can show you" I said.
"I love you too, but… we're supposed to wait for when we establish a permanent bond. My compromised immune system makes it difficult to have multiple partners" Tali said.
"Oh, why do good things require waiting. (Crosses fingers) One day. Honestly, I want to show you my face" I said.
"I already know what you look like" Tali said.
"Yeah but I thought I'd return the favor. You shown me yours, and it is beautiful, time to show you mine" I said.
We are in the special sterile room she made with the help of others. This is the quarian version of behind the bleachers. Thankfully they keep it clean in here. I can sense sticking power cord electrical socket energy everywhere, and I don't mean in technological terms. The room is very small. We have to sit on the padded matt as standing would be impossible. One led light strip illuminates a small rectangular space surrounded in opaque hard plastic. I attempt to remove my visor and fail. Tali shows me how to do it by demonstrating it with her own visor. Oh how I love that angelic face of hers, and that long black hair is perfect. My blue visor is removed and my face is in out in the open.
"Well… how do I look?" I asked.
"You look very handsome" she said. YES!
"Is it better than my human face?" I asked.
"Yes" her voice carried a sad tone.
"What is the matter? Is something wrong? I could try changing it to something you prefer" I offered. Not like she is going to see it most of the time anyway. Tali runs her fingers along the side of my head.
"I like it. I do. But… something is missing" Tali said.
"What?" I ask.
"This isn't the face I fell in love with" Tali said. I can't help myself but smile.
"I'm sure you'll come to love this face" I close my eyes and lean forwards for a kiss. Tali shoves me back. My frail shoulder hits the plastic wall.
"What are you doing!? I have a bondmate!" Tali looks pissed. It is freaky how my cute adorable little quarian girlfriend can look so ferocious.
"YEAH. ME! Tali what the hell?" I asked.
Tali eyes widen and she snaps back to her old self. "I'm sorry. I t was a reflex. I'm sorry, but it felt like I was about to cheat on you with… you" she said.
"Well, it's reassuring to know this is how you'll act if another man tries to steal you away from me" I said.
"I'd never do anything to hurt you. I love you. I'm so sorry cherished. How is your shoulder?" Tali scouts over.
"I'm fine. You just scared the crap out of me which is shocking because I can feel the train isn't close to the end of the tunnel just yet" I said.
"Sorry. I just need time to get used to this. We can try again" Tali said.
"You killed the moment. Now I don't want to. You messed with the vibes. No one messes with the vibes" I said.
"I'm sorry. I'll promise to make it up to you" Tali said.
"You shoved me towards the ground like a cranky dominatrix. It is going to take a lot more than a sorry to make it up" I said. Tali leans forward. I'm still on the floor in a half crunch position. She slowly crawls on top of me, her strong but soft calves lightly compress my obliques. The ship's artificial gravity pulls her divinely intoxicating hair down and it runs across my face as she comes closer to whisper something in my ear.
I hit the switch, and the lights are out.