"Alright, just a few more adjustments..."
It was fairly quiet on the Normandy. Most of the ship's inhabitants were either sleeping, doing things privately, or were off somewhere else. The only distinct noise emanating from anywhere on the starship was the metallic sound of a quarian tinkering away.
As she screwed in a couple of loose bolts, Tali couldn't help but reflect on what had led her into her current situation. It all started with what seemed like a normal mission - except that Tali wasn't brought along. To say she was a bit shocked was an understatement. Tali had always gone on missions with Shepard, every mission, since day one.
"It's not you, Tali," Shepard had told her as he was preparing to leave. "It's just... well, it's complicated."
Tali knew Shepard wasn't trying to spite her. They had been squadmates far too long for that. But the words stung nonetheless, mostly because of their vague nature. What was she doing wrong? Was it something she had said?
Those questions floated through her head, but received no answer.
"And now Liara and Kaidan are out stomping bad guys, while I'm sitting here all alone," Tali thought gloomily to herself.
Though she would probably never admit it to herself, Tali was growing a bit paranoid. She felt like she was being tossed aside like she didn't matter. She knew - or at least, thought she knew - that she had to work quickly to stop that from happening.
And thus, the last couple of hours that Shepard and crew had been away had been spent whittling away in her living quarters, trying to come up with something. But Tali thought she had finally gotten it.
After the last part had been set in place, Tali set the gun down, admiring her handiwork. It was a bit of a wild idea, but in her mind, a doable one. The only way to get back on the missions was to get stronger, right? That's what anyone would want in a soldier. So through a bit of quarian ingenuity and some tech parts that Tali proooobably shouldn't have had, she had managed to create a gun that, in theory, would strengthen up her muscles and give her extra abilities - better strength, better stamina, stuff like that. It would only be a minor boost, but it would hopefully be enough.
In the back of her mind, though, she couldn't help but fantasize about more than that. Imagine being strong enough to take on Wrex. Imagine being strong enough to take on Wrex with ease. Imagine being strong enough to wipe out entire squadrons with just her own body.
Tali couldn't help but chuckle a little. It was a nice thought, but an unrealistic one. Even science had its limits, and the gun wouldn't do any more than give her a little athletic boost.
Or so she thought.
After taking a second to make sure no one was walking around outside her door, Tali picked up the gun, looking at it from every angle to make sure everything was in its correct place.
It was only as she looked down the barrel of the shining pistol that the insanity of the situation really hit her. She was about to shoot herself. With a gun. This was crazy! What if something went wrong? Was dying really worth it at this point?
Tali shook her head. No. This was her only option at this point. She had devoted her life to Shepard's cause, and she was NOT just going to sit on the sidelines while everything happened around her. Plus, she had triple checked her work. Nothing could go wrong.
Tali took a deep breath, slowly raising the gun in front of her torso and turning it so the barrel faced her.
"Well, it's now or never."
Holding her eyes tight, she squeezed the trigger.
To be honest, Tali wasn't sure what to expect when the blast hit her. What she expected really didn't matter, though, because what she got felt like someone had hooked her up to a generator. Shockwaves of energy tore through her body, sending her sprawling to the floor. The quarian could barely muffle her cry as she hit the ground, feeling like she was on fire.
Oddly, though, the feeling was gone as quickly as it had come, leaving Tali lying on the floor, gasping for breath.
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