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Tali was down on Deck 4, standing at her terminal, trying to do the job of three people. For whatever reason, Ken and Gabby had rushed out of the room a little over an hour ago, leaving her to do their work on top of her own. She couldn’t be too mad, after all, they had covered her when she was out on missions with Shepard as part of his ground team (and maybe a few times when she snuck off herself to be with him). However, considering that they were in the final stages of getting the Normandy ready to battle against the Collectors, she really could have used all hands on deck for this part.
As she was typing commands into her terminal and running simulations to see how the CBT she had installed would fair against a Collector attack, she had received a message from Shepard on her omni-tool. It simply read “Come up to Deck 3.”
She was curious as to the brevity of the message, but she trusted that her captain had a very good and completely understandable reason for calling her up. After signing out of her station, she makes her way to the elevator.
After what felt like a 20 minute ride to go up one floor, the elevator finally arrives at Deck 3 (apparently even Cerberus couldn’t fix how slow the ship’s elevator was).
However, when the doors open and she steps out, only blackness welcomes her.
This was strange, she didn’t see anything a few minutes ago that would have indicated a power outage. On her end, the Normandy was running smoothly, not a blip on her screen about any electrical or power issues.
Then, she sees the ship’s emergency floor lighting was active along the main walkway of the deck, leading around the elevator and towards the mess hall. At that very moment, her omni-tool pings again, another message from Shepard. This one simply reads “Follow the lights.”
Before she was curious, now she was starting to get annoyed. By the ancestors, her boyfriend better have a damn good explanation for what was going on.
She started walking along the path illuminated by the lights. She noticed that, along with the utter darkness that prevented her from seeing too far in front of her, there wasn’t a single sound coming from the floor. She would have figured that someone would have been present, especially since this was where everyone slept and ate.
She turns the corner, watching her steps carefully to avoid tripping over anything that might be possibly on the ground. She keeps walking until she arrives where the dining table would have been, but finds the space completely empty. Confused, she was about to yell out for someone to explain what was happening, when suddenly…
FLASH!
A bright light hanging from the ceiling turns on right as she hits the center of the common area. She brings her hand up to shield herself from the overpowering brightness. She felt like she was on some sort of stage and the spotlight was on her, but for what, she did not know.
Then, all of a sudden, a voice comes over the ship’s PA system. It belonged to none other than the Normandy’s pilot, Joker.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you…Miss Vas Normandy!”
All of a sudden, the room was awash with light as the power finally came back on. And with it, came the sound of…applause?
Her eyesight finally adjusting, she begins to see that practically the entire crew was gathered and standing in front of her. Most of them were cheering and/or clapping.
She began to recognize a few of the faces as her eyes darted around the room in bewilderment.
She could see (and hear) her friend Kasumi whistling over the cheers of the crowd.
Her engineering partners, Ken and Gabby were standing shoulder to shoulder, both with their arms extended out and their thumbs pointing up. Tali had no idea what that meant.
Garrus was trying to calibrate the camera settings on his omni-tool so he could capture the moment.
Zaeed was holding a beer and raised it up in approval.
Miranda looked colder than usual, mock clapping and her eyes narrowed directly at Tali in what she guessed was a look of jealousy.
Both Thane and Samara were standing tall, hands clasped behind their backs, with smiles adorning their faces.
Grunt, of all people, was wiping away tears from his eyes. The sheer excitement of the spectacle before him had finally bested the battle hungry krogan.
Jacob…was also there.
As the applause began to die down, Joker’s voice returned. “Tonight, Tali is wearing a lovely environmental suit, enhanced by the most striking shades of purple, gold, and black that bring the whole thing together. Her beautiful and eye-popping realk is adorned with the intricate swirls that mark everyone who belongs to clan Zorah. Wearing her sexiest belts as she struts down the runway, Tali’s face may be a mystery, but her outfit leaves very little to the imagination.”
She feels herself heat up with that last comment, both in embarrassment and in anger. Once, whatever this is, is finished, she would need to have a “word” with the ship’s pilot about his “imagination.”
“These suits are staples of the quarian people, but none pull it off like her. Ladies and gentlemen, once again…your Miss…vas…Normandy!”
It was at this moment she finally sees Shepard come in from around the opposite corner. She hopes that her boyfriend can finally restore some semblance of peace and order.
That was, until she saw him holding a few things in his arms, and a grin stretching from ear to ear.
Oh no, he was in on this too.
Music starts blaring through the speakers, and she picks up what sounds like Mordin singing lyrics that are supposed to go with the song. It all sounded very elegant and ceremonious.
This was the cue for Shepard to start making his way over to his befuddled girlfriend. Standing directly in front of her, he slides a sash over her head and places it directly on her shoulder so that it drapes over her body. She looks down and sees the words “Miss Vas Normandy” written on it.
Next, he places some strange looking crown right on top of her realk. Her auditory receptors pick up him saying “I always knew you were quarian royalty.”
Lastly, he presents her what looks like a trophy, with a miniature Normandy decorating the top of it.
Once all of the gifts had been presented, he places his hand on her right hip and pulls her close to him so they are standing shoulder to shoulder, facing the throng of people. Blushing harder at the gesture, she sees Garrus walk towards them. Now with his camera fully calibrated, he takes a few photos of the two of them. Once he is finished, the room once again bursts into a round of applause.
One by one, the crew came up to congratulate her personally before dispersing. Some hug her, some give verbal felicitations, and Grunt even provides a light (by krogan standards) punch to her shoulder. Miranda comes up, looks her dead in the eye, and whispers “It should have been me.” Jack decides to shake her hand, while slipping her what appeared to be a handwritten poem commemorating the occasion. Lastly, Dr. Chakwas hands Tali a beautiful bouquet of flowers that she takes in her remaining free hand.
Once the room had cleared and the music died down, she turns to Shepard as he connects his head with her mask, giving her a quarian kiss. He eventually pulls away and follows the rest of the crowd out of the room.
Tali was now left alone, standing in the middle of the mess hall, holding a trophy in one hand, flowers in another, a sash around her body, and a crown on her head.
“Wha-What? What the hell just happened?”