I own nothing Mass Effect related; I only play in Bioware's sandbox. Inspired by a picture seen in the Bioware Forums.

Risks and Surprises

"Are you sure Kasum?" Tali asked nervously. "Something like this?"

The duo were on Illium, browsing some of the kiosks. The Normandy was docked and being repaired after returning from the Omega 4 relay. After Commander Shepard spoke with counselor Anderson, he decided to repair at Illium and give the crew some much needed R&R. So Tali found herself pulled aside by Kasumi and convinced to go shopping.

Kasumi nodded and smiled. "You bet Tali! You would look great in something like this," the thief said, pointing at a display.

"Keelah!" Tali exclaimed as she wrung her hands together. The object in the display was beautiful. But could she really wear something like that?

"C'mon, try it," Kasumi urged excitedly.

Shaking her head, Tali brought up her omni-tool. An image of her suit sprang to life, then was overlapped with the object in question. She stared in fascination. It could work, she thought to herself. I'd have to make some changes here, and add this... Entering in some data, the image changed slightly.

"Now we're talking," the thief said. "That'd look even better! Shep would die if he saw you in that."

Tali hesitated. Could she really wear something like that? It could fit under a suit. But her normal suit takes so long to get out of. It would be worth it to see his face, the naughty part of her mind stated. And you know you want to test how good the new decontamination suite works...

Tali eventually nodded to herself and looked around. Perfect! She walked over to a different kiosk. It had everything she needed.

"Tali!" Kasumi called out as the quarian walked to a different store. "Don't you want....oh,"she said, as she saw what Tali was purchasing. "That'll be even better!"

Later that day, Shepard found himself in engineering. As he looked around, he was surprised to not see Tali at her station. Shrugging, he walked over to Ken and Gabby.

"Shepard! What c'n we do for ya?" Ken asked as he noticed his commander walk up.

Shepard nodded to the duo. "Just seeing how everything is." Gabby waved slightly as she turned.

"Everything is green Commander," she said with a smile. "If you are looking for Tali, she is up in R&D."

He nodded his thanks. "Good to know. Anything I should know?"

Ken smirked. "The lass is just putting something together, or so she says." He shrugged. "Won't tell us what though."

"If it's important, she'll let us know," Shepard replied easily. "Well, I have to go. Ken, Gabby." He turned to leave.

The male Mechanic called out, "since she's busy and we're caught up, want to play some Skillian Five?"

"Why, so you can lose to him again?" Gabby said with a smirk.

"Always bustin' me chops aintcha gal?" Ken said with a groan.

Shepard laughed. "Maybe later. Still making my rounds."

Gabby nodded. "Well, Jack's up in the mess last I saw. Grunt and Garrus are shooting targets in the docking bay judging by the sounds."

"Yeah, they are pretty into it," the commander agreed. "I'll talk to you both later."

Shepard arrived in the mess hall just in time to dodge a plate that was flying at him. Not again, he thought to himself. He rounded the corner and stopped in his tracks.

"What'd you say to me?"

"Zero-Subject Jack, it was a simple query," Legion replied in its monotone. "We have been unable to build consensus: Your attire is significantly less comprehensive than the rest of the crew and we are unable to determine the reasoning behind it."

Jack's hands glowed blue. "So you saying I dress funny?"

"Negative, Zero-Subject Jack. We are simply attempting to," and the geth platform backed up

"I'll give you your answer you walking scrap heap!" Jack yelled.

With a sigh, Shepard moved to intervene. He walked in between his two crew members. "That's enough!" He said firmly.

Jack crossed her arms with a scowl. "Out of my way Shepard. I'm gonna wreck him!"

"Not today Jack," Shepard said calmly. "I don't think Legion is trying to insult you."

Legion nodded. "Shepard-Commander is correct. We wish only to enquire..."

The commander turned to Legion. "Her clothing is an expression of individuality Legion," He said quickly. The geth looked at him. "It's her choice what she wears." He sighed. "And because it is a personal decision, it is usually not appropriate to ask in a public setting like this."

"Very well Shepard-Commander," Legion replied. "We will restrict any such questions in the future." With a nod, it retreated back to medical, and presumably the AI core.

Jack let her biotics ramp down. "You shoulda let me scrap it," she said with a snort of contempt. He looked over at her.

"Not for asking a question Jack," Shepard said evenly. "Think of Legion like a child; it doesn't know which questions it can ask and wich it shouldn't."

"Hell, even Grunt knows better than that," she said with a snarl. Then she smirked, "Now, anyway."

Shepard nodded. "Well, you did throw him into a wall. Thank you for your restraint."

Jack only shrugged and walked off back to the elevator. With another sigh, Shepard started to walk to Miranda's office when he saw a flash of purple from in the medbay window. Curious, he looked over.

Tali and Chakwas were leaned over one of the tables and deep in conversation. They appeared to be working on something. Not seeing a person, the commander shrugged and headed off to his original destianation.

"XO Lawson is currently in the Armory, Commander." EDI prompted when he approached Miranda's quarters.

"Thanks EDI," Shepard said. He turned and headed to the Port Observation Deck instead.

Entering, Shepard saw Kasumi sitting on her couch reading a book. She looked up as he entered and waived.

"Good to see you Shep," She said with a smile. "What brings you to my corner today?"

"Just checking in," He replied affably.

The thief nodded, "well, here I am. Have you seen Tali yet?"

"She's working on something with Chakwas."

Kasumi's smile widened. "Reaally," she said as she drew out the word.

Shepard frowned. "Something I should know?"

"Not a thing Shep!" she replied while she mimed zipping her mouth closed. Shepard only shrugged and waived goodbye as he turned to leave. "See ya later Shep."

Shrugging, the commander decided to head up to the CIC. Only to run into Mordin.

"Shepard, good timing," the salarian said. "Just stopping to get some food while tests compile."

Shepard nodded. "Working on something?"

"Yes," Mordin replied. "Experiment going well." He looked pensive for a moment, then looked back at Shepard. "Any results the new decontamination unit? No, no. Would have seen either you or miss Zorah if unit tested. Hmmm, body chemistry does not indicate nervousness; clearly not in same train of thought. Oh well," and he stopped to breath. "Looking forward to that data as well."

The commander laughed. "Good to know It's an 'experiment' doc."

"New tech, always has new, interesting results," Mordin replied with a nod. Once tested, can make adjustments, increase effectiveness, make environment better for inter-species relations." He smiled. "Always happy to help."

"I'll keep that in mind," Shepard said. "Talk to you later Mordin." Shaking his head, he entered the elevator and punched it for deck 2.

There was only a skeleton crew on the CIC. Looks like just about everyone is out on leave, he thought to himself as he headed toward the armory. I wonder if I should take Tali somewhere after the crew celebration tomorrow?

Entering the armory, Shepard was surprised not to find Miranda or Jacob inside. It looked like Jacob's table was in good condition; looking around he could see that all of the weapons were back to their previous condition. Many of them had taken a pounding in the collector base.

"EDI, where are Miranda and Jacob?"

Her blue interface flared to life. "Executive Officer Lawson and Security Chief Taylor left the Normandy and went ashore approximately 10 minutes ago."

"Huh," he said to himself. "Guess she doesn't need a 'better man' after all." With a smile, Shepard headed up to the cockpit.

"How you doing Commander?" Joker asked as he walked up.

Shepard nodded to the pilot. He noted that Jeff was dressed in casual clothing, his hat sitting on the console. It was almost enough to make him ask. Then he remembered his advice to Legion and decided against it.

"Good Joker. I assume everything is good up here?"

Joker smirked. "You know it Shepard. I just introduced EDI to a new game before I went ashore," he said, as his grin widened. "I think she really enjoys it."

"That is not entirely true mister Moreau," EDI replied. "It is an interesting conundrum however. It seems the only way to win is not to play."

The commander shook his head at Joker. "Tic Tac Toe? Really?" Smiling he moved to leave.

Joker just laughed as Shepard walked away.

Heading toward the elevator, Shepard was stopped by his Yeoman. She was out of uniform, and on her way to the dock. She smiled and waived.

"You have one new message Commander." she said as she walked by.

"Thanks. Have fun on shore." He said as she walked by. Kelly nodded and continued on her way. Shepard decided to head to his cabin and check the mail there.

"Decontamination in progress."

He waited patiently for the unit to finish its task. A little inconvenience now, but it is worth it, Shepard thought to hismelf. Finally, the process was finished and he entered the Loft.

It was subtly different than it used to be. He looked around, noting the changes. While the 'office' near the bathroomwas still the same, it finally had a picture in the frame, one pulled from his personal files.

It was a picture Kaiden had snapped years ago. It showed Shepard sitting in the Mako, leaning his head back with his eyes closed. Tali was leaning against him, her eyes not visible behind her mask.

Shepard smiled as he remembered when it was taken. I never would have though Kaiden would take a pic like that. He looked around some more.

The shelves to the his right now had his old helmet on it, next to the hamster and his collection of hardcover books. It looked a little cluttered, but it just made him smile. The commander looked through the model collection over at the other desk.

The top of the other desk had a high powered lamp and a scattering of parts and tools on it. There was a small collection of knives hanging on the wall, next to a scroll with Kellish words written on it.

With a smile, Shepard sat at his private terminal. After it booted, he noted the current events. Looks like they are still talking about the activation of the Relay. Then he caught the email. Huh. Looks like we didn't miss the celebration on Terra Nova after all.

After he considered it a moment, Shepard decided to reply. Why not? He thought to himself. It will also be good for Garrus and Tali to get recognition as well.

Reply sent, Shepard fed the fish and then fed Boo. Chores done, he opted to take a quick shower before he got started on some of his paperwork. After showering, he sat at the couch to read over the repair manifests.

Three reports later, the commander heard the door chime. It opened to reveal the other resident of the loft. Seeing her man already inside, Tali quickly moved to her section of the cabin, putting a sealed box next to her desk.

"Shepard looked. "Hello Tali," he said with a smile. He noticed the box. "What's that?"

She started, then turned to him. "Oh, just something I am working on. It isn't ready yet though."

"That the project you were working on with with Chakwas?"

Tali nodded. "Yes it is Captain. It should be done tomorrow," she said, a smile in her voice. "I'll show you it when it's done."

Shepard nodded, then motioned to the couch. "Shall we relax a bit then before bed?"

"Definitely," she said softly. She sat next to him and curled up on the couch. the engineer noticed that he was reading the repair manifests.

"How are the repairs going?"

"Well," Shepard said as he tossed the pad on the table. "We should be ready to go in two days. That will give us enough time to go to Terra Nova."

As she remembered the events on the asteroid, Tali asked, "why go there?" The commander smiled.

"You, Garrus and I got invitations to a celebration honoring us for saving the Colony. I figured we could go and give the crew a chance to relax on a more open colony than the places we usually visit."

Tali smiled behind her visor nervously. "Me? Why?"

Shepard put an arm around her. "I wasn't the only one there Tali. You helped quite a bit." He smiled. "I think it is great I'm not the only one getting recognized for our good deeds.

She still seemed unsure. "If you think it is a good idea Captain." She snuggled closer with a sigh of contentment. Shepard pulled her tighter to him, content.

"Decontamination Complete"

I can't believe he went through the effort to put in a decontamination unit up here, Tali thought as she entered the room. Looking around, she could see the commander leaning back on the couch, apparently asleep.

Thankful for the opportunity, she slipped into the bathroom with her completed package. She started the process of getting out of her suit. A few minutes later, she found herself out of her suit, staring at the surprise Kasumi had talked her into.

Keelah, what was she getting herself into? She stared at the garment for a moment longer before she reached for the next piece. Well, here we go.

Shepard woke to music starting up in the Loft. The lights had been dimmed, but he could hear someone in the bathroom. He relaxed, and looked over at the door.

"Tali?"

Her voice muffled through the door, she called out, "I'll be right out!" He smiled.

"Need any help?" He said with a grin, starting to stand. Just then, the door opened. He stopped and could only stare.

Tali stood there, in a different suit. It still had the purple material, and was mostly black. However, most of the harnesses were missing, along with the armor and shielding components. It almost looked bare, and left little to the imagination.

She was nervous. Tali had never worn anything like this before; it was surprising that she had found the material for an envirosuit like this. she blushed, as Shepard's intense gaze followed her every movement.

"Do you like it?" she asked softly.

Shepard swallowed, unable to take his eyes off of her. When she started to fidgit nervously, he finally found his voice.

"It's, fantastic Tali," he said, his voice deepening with desire. "Is this what you were working on?" The quarian vision in front of him nodded.

He walked over to her, gathering her into his arms. Tali reached up, and removed her mask, letting her cowl slide to her shoulders. Shepard smiled softly at her, ash she leaned in to kiss him softly. She then removed her helmet completely.

"Yes, now please sit." She gestured to the couch. "The surprise isn't done yet."

Shaking himself to regain some semblance of thought, Shepard complied. He watched as Tali stood in front of him. She spun around so he could see the work she put into it. Then, slowly, she reached up to her neck and touched a barely visible button.

With a snap, a seam appeared in the center of the suit. Running a hand down the seam, it came open. Starting with her left arm, she divested herself of the suit. Shepard looked on in awe.

Soon enough, Tali stepped out of the softsuit. She stood before him, in a two piece garment. It had a black collar, leading down to a gray and white patterned top that was very revealing. The lower half looked to be made of the same materials, and it hugged her flared hips wonderfully.

Opening her eyes, which she had closed as she removed the suit, she found Shepard staring at her. The look in his eyes was everything she could have hoped for.

"Tali, I, what..." He stuttered out, barely able to think.

She did not wait for him to finish. With a single leap, Tali pounced on top of him. She kissed him, nearly shaking with desire and love. Her captain returned the kiss voraciously.

The next day, Tali was at her station in engineering. Feeling a presence, she looked to her left and saw Kasumi sitting on the console, and eager expression on her face.

"Well?" She asked. "Did he like it?"

Tali could only nod as she sneezed slightly. Kasumi smiled, as the quarian cleared her throat.

"It was totally worth it," Tali said with a smile.

Kasumi smiled in victory. Tali smiled back as she thought of her captain, and his response to her friend's idea.