Skyllian-Five

The moment was tense. The audience that had gathered around their game was dead silent as Tali prepared to make her move. She glanced across the table to where Shepard was sitting, the man did not falter, the barest hint of a smirk spread across his face as he nonchalantly leant back on his chair. He alone seemed unaffected by the atmosphere of nervousness that permeated the room. She gulped, clearing the feeling that had been building in her throat. She could play it safe, she reasoned, slowly regain the chips she had lost throughout the night, and whittle Shepard down little by little. But from experience, she knew the opposite was much more likely, and the longer the game went on, the more Shepard would cement his advantage. Her hand was a good one, her best all night in fact, but would it be good enough? She knew she had had to make a choice, if she let the game continue as it had been, her defeat would only be a matter of time. She steeled her herself for what she had to do, and made a move towards her dwindling pile of chips.

"Finally come to a decision have we?" Shepard asked as he smiled broadly across the table.
She closed her eyes. There was no turning back.
"I'm all in" she stated, the growing crowd burst into cheer as Tali pushed the remainder of her chips to the centre of the table.
"Oh? Rather an aggressive play for you, isn't it?" Shepard raised an eyebrow, his interest clearly piqued.
"I suppose," Tali shrugged "We can discuss it more after I use my winnings to upgrade my omni-tool"
Words of encouragement echoed to her from around the room.
"You tell him Tali!"
"He hasn't won yet!"
"Avenge me!"
Shepard chuckled to himself, before staring into Tali's eyes.
"I'll be looking forward to it"
Keelah. He could at least sweat a little, Tali thought to herself. Stay focussed. Confident. This hand will turn it all around. Tonight will be the night. The night where I finally beat him.

They were the last two left in the game, the other players long relieved of their chips. Just as they had been the last two left in every game. It had always been the same, ever since their very first match together with Gabby and Ken in the engineering deck. That first game where Tali began to love Skyllian-Five Poker.

Tali, Gabby and Ken had just finished installing the new T-6 FBA Couplings that Shepard found in a salvage shop on Omega, of all places.

Not only that, Tali thought, he also helped a stranded Quarian on his pilgrimage. 1000 credits was nothing to sneeze at, but Shepard had handed them over without a second thought, buying the poor Quarian a ticket off of that desolate rock. Too often would people in this galaxy ignore when others were in need, especially if the one in need was a Quarian. Not for the first time, Tali reflected on what a rare man her captain was. She smiled to herself as she continued to make some minor adjustments to the engine.

With the installation complete, the time needed for routine maintenance drastically decreased, allowing the three engineers some much needed free time. Tali looked at her console with anticipation, it was about this time that Shepard made his routine rounds of the ship, and she treasured the brief time they got to spend together. She sighed silently, maybe one day she would work up the courage to tell Shepard how she felt. She was not oblivious to her fellow crewmates' attraction towards Shepard, and she was not sure she could compete. Some days she would swear the entire female population of the crew was in love with Shepard in some manner or another, and probably half of the men as well.

Miranda, Kelly, and a dozen nameless female officers… if I didn't know better, I would suspect that the female crew were under standing orders to get close to Shepard, probably in order to make him more amendable to Cerberus' policies, she squeezed her gloved hands tightly, What chance do I have when there are so many other capable women around, none of which are stuck inside a damned enviro-suit…

She snapped out of her thoughts when she was called out to by a familiar voice, apparently Shepard had been talking to Ken and Gabby, but she had been too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice.

How long has he been here? Did he notice I was spacing out? Keelah, I hope not.

"I'm sorry Shepard, what did you say?" Tali answered with her usual cheery voice.

She pushed away her negative thoughts. It was one of the rare times that she got to spend with Shepard when nobody was shooting at him, and she was damned sure that she was not going to let her melancholic mood ruin it.

"Donnelly was just suggesting celebrating with a game of Skyllian-Five, I was hoping you could join us" Shepard said with a broad smile
"I- Sure, that sounds like fun" Tali replied, her mood brightening immediately as she joined the others on the other side of the engineering bay.
"I have to admit, I am a little rusty, you'll go easy on the rookie, right?" Shepard said as he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Of course, Commander, it's all friendly, I'll just go get the cards" Ken positively grinned as he raced out of the room.
"Ugh. You should not have told him that, Commander", Gabby shook her head, prompting a small chuckle from Shepard.

Tali wasn't usually one for card games, bonding with your crewmates was important, but time taken playing a lengthy card game could be better spent optimising the propulsion algorithms or running shield integrity simulations. But in this case, it meant spending just a bit more time with the man she admired. Very rarely did she feel grateful for her suit, but it could give her just the edge she needed in a poker game, if she won, perhaps she could even manage to impress Shepard a little. She was relatively new to Skyllian-Five, and she knew Ken was good, but she was sure that with her built in poker face she would be able to beat him, and as it sounded like Shepard was new to the game, her confidence was singular that she would emerge victorious. She did not notice however, the silent laughter in Shepard's eyes.

All things considered, the game was quick, brutal, and utterly one sided. Tali groaned and sat down, slumping in her chair, she rested her head face down on one of the work benches. She consoled herself that at least she managed to last longer than her co-workers. She was fairly certain that Ken was in shock; he had left soon after the game and had not since returned. Gabby, was sitting in the corner, silently muttering to herself.

Between the three of them, they had managed to lose 500 credits. Half a ticket off of Omega, Tali mused. Shepard had smiled warmly and thanked Tali for a good game, throwing her a wink as he left. But not before thanking all three of them for doing their part in funding the war effort; or buying a new fish for his aquarium. He hadn't decided yet.

Where did it all go wrong, she wondered, Every bluff called, every play read through, it was as if he knew exactly what cards I had at all times. As if he couldn't possibly lose.

Tali sighed. So much for her big chance to impress Shepard. A thought occurred to her, and she grabbed some cards and made her way towards the crew deck. Walking into the women's bathroom, Tali approached a mirror and raised her cards. Looking from several angles she ensured that the cards were not reflected in her mask, broadcasting her hand to the room. Out of ideas, Tali made several expressions behind her mask, none of which were evident in her reflection in the mirror. Her poker face confirmed, she wasn't sure whether to be happy or sad.

How did he do it? She wondered.

"Checking to see if your hand is reflected in your mask?" a voice came from nowhere.
Tali spun around as the ship's resident master thief deactivated her tactical cloak,
"What!? No, I was just- well maybe" Tali confessed.
Kasumi put a hand on Tali's shoulder, "You shouldn't beat yourself up, you did pretty well"
"So you were watching us" Tali scowled, putting a hand on her hip.
"Well of course! Someone had to make sure that none of you were cheating"
Tali gave the thief a sceptical look. Not likely, she thought.
"Well fine, sometimes when I get bored on the ship, I follow Shep around. Can you really blame me? Whenever something interesting is going on, he is usually at the centre of it. He really does get me the best gossip" Kasumi grinned.
Tali suppressed a laugh, "Did you at least figure out how he did it?"
"You mean was he cheating?"
"What? No, Shepard would never cheat, I mean-"
"Heh. Sorry, I know he wasn't cheating, at least nothing I could see," Kasumi affirmed with a wink, "And I wrote the book on being sneaky"
"I'll remember that if I ever play with you" Tali sighed.
"I'll keep that in mind. So what are you going to do from now on?"
"What do you mean?" Tali asked quizzically
"Well I assume you will want a rematch, it is a good chance to spend some extra time together, right?" Kasumi said slyly, "In any case, you should probably get some practice in before trying again, I am sure he will be open to another game"
Kasumi activated her cloak and the restroom door hissed opened.
"One more thing before I go, I am rooting for you know" Kasumi laughed as her presence disappeared.

For the second time that day Tali was glad for her mask, if only that Kasumi couldn't see how brightly she was blushing. She was almost certain that Kasumi was not referring to the poker game.

For the weeks that followed, when Tali was not part of the ground team or working on the Normandy's systems, she spent most of her free time practicing her cards, by herself, with Kasumi or with the engineering team. Through consistent effort, she steadily improved her skills to the point where Ken was no longer any match for her, much to his dismay and Gabby's amusement. Satisfied with her progress, she looked forward to the next time she would see Shepard. She had let her guard down when she thought he was new to the game. She would not make the same mistake again. This time, she would win.

Tali headed cheerfully to the dining hall, collected her ration of nutrient paste, took a single deep breath, and headed toward the table where Shepard was sitting, walking straight past where Garrus and Zaeed were swapping war stories with some of the crew.

Shepard pushed out a chair as Tali approached
"It's getting pretty late Tali, is something going on in engineering I should know about?"
"No, It's fine Shepard, I promise, I just had a few things to take care of"
"Is that so? Well, make sure you take time for yourself. I can't have my chief engineer overworking herself."
He is always so considerate of me, Tali thought to herself before summoning her courage.
"… Um, Speaking of not overworking myself, I was wondering, if you aren't too busy, would you like to have another game of Skyllian-Five with me?" Tali asked, wringing her hands as she did so.
Was it just her, or was the dining hall growing silent? She realised the dining hall's attention was rapidly shifting from listening to war stories to eavesdropping on her and Shepard.
Maybe I should have waited until there were less people around, Tali thought.
Shepard grinned with a slight glint in his eyes.
"All right Tali, I have some time, just let me finish off my meal first. Will Donnelly and Daniels be joining us?"
"Um, no, I don't think so. Ken still hasn't recovered from the last time you played with him."
"I'm sorry, I don't follow?"
"It's not important, should I meet you in the starboard observation lounge in 10 minutes?"
"Of course, I'll be looking forward to it."
"Right. I will see you then" Tali moved to make a quick exit, conscious of the crews eyes upon her. Evidently, she did not move quite fast enough.
"Wait just a minute, can anyone join this party, or is it invitation only?" Zaeed's gruff voice resounding throughout the hall as he sauntered up to Shepard's table.
"He makes a good point Shepard, can't let you two have all the fun," Garrus stated plainly, "My calibrations are done for the day, and I certainly could use some R&R"
Shepard raised his hands in defence, "Not my call, It's Tali's game"
The gazes of the two scarred veterans turned to Tali. Although you couldn't tell through the mask, Tali was despondent, she knew she had missed her timing.
"Um, Sure, the more the merrier" Still, she did her best to hide her disappointment that she would no longer be alone with Shepard.
I definitely should have waited until there were less people around, she thought as she resigned herself to her fate, on the bright side, more players meant more chances to impress Shepard. Beating all three of them has to be better than just beating him alone, right?

Tali and Garrus sat side by side on one of observation deck couches, Garrus cradling his head in his hands. Zaeed just stood by the window, staring silently into space. Shepard had left the lounge victorious some half hour earlier.
"You know what, that was goddamn mortifying" said Zaeed as he continued to stare emotionlessly into the void, "I dunno about you two, but I think I am gonna get something to drink. Maybe shoot something. Just put this behind me. I'll be playing this one by ear."
Tali averted her eyes as Zaeed skulked out of the room.
Tali turned to Garrus, "You know what his mistake was?"
"I think I'll go with betting his pants when he ran out of chips?" Garrus remarked without raising his head from his hands, "Still, that was pretty horrifying. Not just Zaeed, It was like Shepard was in my head, looking at all my cards, my plans, and he would always be better."
"'You shouldn't have underestimated him" a hint of amusement in Tali's voice
"Yeah, well lesson learnt. Though it pains me to admit, you were pretty amazing yourself," Garrus smirked, "I would hate to say it, but if Shepard weren't here, you would have cleaned us out. You held your own. At least for a while there, you know, at the beginning of the game. Honestly, you are both monsters"
"Thanks. I think. I practiced a lot," Tali smiled sadly, "For all the good it did me…"
"Well, despite what Miranda would have you believe, nobody is perfect, now if you don't mind, I am going to do my best to forget that this ordeal ever happened."
"I'll talk to you later Garrus, I think I'll watch the stars for a while."
"Goodnight Tali, don't stay up too late"

Tali sat alone in the observation lounge.
Well, that certainly didn't go as I planned, she gave a listless look out the window, is it really so wrong to want to show him a positive side of myself?
She had done much better than her previous game, for a moment, she even thought that she might be an even match, but as the game went on, more and more chips amassed on Shepard's side of the table.
He was always calm… he never hesitated, just placed his bets and played his cards. With that smirk of his, that confident demeanour, those pretty eyes, broad shoulders, big arms... Tali shook her head clearing the errant thoughts, what was all the practice been for? I was so certain I could win this time… Well, no sense dwelling on it.

As she raised herself from her seat, readying herself to go to bed, she was interrupted an incoming call notification on her omni-tool
Shepard?
"Oh good, you're still up" his familiar deep voice was slightly distorted by the speakers
"Ah, yes, I was just heading to bed now" Tali rushed a response.
"Is that so, then I won't keep you long"
Me and my big mouth, She instantly regretted her quick reply.
"I just wanted to say that you played an excellent game tonight, you must have been practicing. I would wager that Ken can't even hold a candle to you anymore"
"I don't understand, can't hold a candle?"
"Sorry, it is a human idiom. It means you are much better. No competition."
"Ah no, well, yes, but I am not that good, I mean you are much better, I mean thank you, I- sorry I'm babbling, aren't I?" Tali blushed with embarrassment.
Shepard laughed, "Maybe just a bit. In any case, it has been a long time since I felt that challenged, and I had a lot of fun tonight. How would you feel about making it a regular event? "
Tali's heart caught in her throat. She always treasured spending time with Shepard, but was it really alright to keep losing in front of him? He said he felt challenged, but could he have been just humouring her?
Or just maybe, he likes spending time with me too? Tali found herself grinning despite herself.
"Tali?"
"Thankyou Shepard, I would like that a lot"
"Great, it's a date then. I will let you get to bed, we can sort out the details another time. Goodnight Tali."
"Goodnight Shepard."
Tali hung up, pleased with the latest turn of events.
Maybe just a little practise before bed, she smiled as she accessed the poker application she had installed on her omni-tool

I hate Skyllian-Five.

Tali was livid. It had been too much.

Bosh'tet! Every damn time! Tali tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the elevator

She had suffered yet another loss to Shepard earlier in the evening. They had played many times since they first organised their regular matches, yet Tali had never managed to beat him. New challengers arose each week, and each week they were readily and quickly decimated, leaving her and Shepard to finish the game. Tali had no trouble relieving the rest of her crew of their chips, so why, why couldn't she manage to beat Shepard?

I was so close! So damn close! Just once, if I can beat him only once I would be satisfied! I can't keep losing in front of him!

Tali had come close to winning several times before, but it seemed Shepard always had a way to make a comeback. He never panicked, never got frustrated, just smiled that little smile of his and played the cards he was dealt.

I hate it. I hate this game. It was a chance to get closer to him, but now…

No matter how much she loved spending time with Shepard, it was only natural she would become frustrated if she only ever knew defeat. She found herself dreading the matches, instead of looking forward to them. Tali'Zorah was a mechanical genius, and whilst some of her engineering skills could be attributed natural talent, the bulk of it is the result of endless hard work. She was not used to her labours not bearing fruit. And that's what had been happening, with all her work, her practice, she could not feel the gap between her and Shepard shrinking. She had come to a decision.

That's why... That's why I have to ask him how he does it. Discover his secret to winning, and either defeat him once and for all, or bow out of the matches gracefully.

The elevator door hissed open, and Tali charged into Shepard's cabin.

I won't back down! Tonight I found out how- Oh KEELAH!

Shepard was standing before her wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist, his skin still wet from the shower, he had a somewhat bemused look on his face.
"In human culture, it is considered polite to knock before entering someone's quarters"
"Oh, yes… right" Tali mumbled, her righteous determination momentarily forgotten.
"Uh huh. I'll change in the bathroom. You can take a seat on the couch if you like."
"Oh- Okay, I'll do that then." Tali stared at her feet, not quite brave enough to look up as Shepard entered his hidden bathroom. She crumpled onto his couch.

This is not going how I planned it. Not that it was an unwelcome development but…
Tali was forced to once again come to terms with the reality of suited life. She was not used to seeing so much skin, and that left her flustered. The impact was made all the greater by physical similarities between Humans and Quarians. She would never be able to compete with women who could remove their clothes freely, touch him freely and not worry about a slow lingering death by infection. She could not even freely show him her face. Despite these thoughts, she was quite happy she got to see her captain in such a state, if not somewhat embarrassed.
I wonder if I could have secretly taken a picture … Maybe I should ask Kasumi to later…

"Tali?"
Tali blushed and looked at Shepard, now fully clothed, his hair still a little wet.
Why was I here again? Oh right. Poker.
"Shepard, I have to know. How are you so good at poker? I can't stop thinking about it. It is driving me crazy"
The man raised his eyebrow quizzically, "For this you barge into my room this late at night? I'm just lucky I guess"
"Please. I am serious Shepard. I have to know." Tali stared him in the eye.
With a quick sigh, Shepard sat down next to her.
"Alright then, fair enough," He thought hard for a moment, "I have never really thought about it before, but I suppose it comes down to two factors. Neither have much to do with what cards I am holding. First of all, I have always been good at persuading others. If I could convince Wrex on Virmire that destroying the Genophage cure was a good idea, you had better believe that I can convince someone I have an unbeatable hand. Or a lousy one, as the case may be."
Tali nodded. It made sense, she had seen firsthand just how persuasive and charismatic he could be. It was one of the reasons she was so attracted to him.
"And the second reason?" Tali prompted Shepard to continue.
Shepard paused.
"As you know, on the battlefield, I am more or less undefeated," He shrugged, trying to keep some semblance of modesty "It is not just because I am an excellent marksman, or an excellent tech, but because first and foremost, I am a tactician. I excel because I read my opponents state of mind, I examine them, interpret their emotions, evaluate what I know about them, and determine their likely course of action. This ensures that when they do make their move, I have a bullet ready for them"
Tali blinked, "I'm sorry, but what does that have to do with our poker games?"
"Everything," Shepard smiled "In poker, the opponent will try to keep a blank face, or fake one, but I have always been able to pick up the subtleties in their expression, and I determine exactly how they feel about their hand. It is almost as if they were showing their cards to me. From there I decide on my next move. That's about it really. Does that answer your question?"
Tali took a moment to digest this. If what he was saying was true, the bulk of his wins were because he was so apt at reading faces and expressions. But that didn't make sense. If that was the case it should not work on her. She looked at her gloved hand. It shouldn't work, not so long she was trapped inside her enviro-suit.
"Then what about me?" She asked meekly.
"What about you?" Shepard showed a hint of confusion.
"You know what I mean. My suit. My faceplate. There is no way you could be using my facial expression to determine my cards. It is not as if you can see my face through the helmet." Tali became quieter as she answered, reminded of her the harsh reality she lived.
There was a brief silence, and what happened next surprised her to no end. Shepard laughed. He laughed as if she had just told him a joke.
" I am sorry Tali, you can hide behind your helmet all you like, but I can still read you like a book."
"W-what?" She was shocked.
"It's all in your body language, don't get me wrong, you have been getting much better, but even so, I don't need to see your face to figure out what you are thinking."

Tali was astounded. She had always anguished over the fact that she would likely never be able to show her face to Shepard, but there he was, large as life, declaring that she didn't need to. That he could already tell what she was feeling. She was left with a single thought that made her warm inside.

He can see past my mask.

Tali could not believe that a few minutes ago she had hated the game, hated that she always lost to Shepard. But there he goes brazenly announcing that it is proof her fears are groundless. Her fears that all he sees when looking at her is a mask, a suit. It made her realise that maybe, just maybe, she had a chance to be together with Shepard after all.

I love him, she thought to herself, and I love Skyllian-Five

The moment was tense. The audience that had gathered around their game was dead silent as Tali and Shepard made their moves. Tali glanced across the table to where Shepard was sitting, the man did not falter, the barest hint of a smirk spread across his face as he nonchalantly leant back on his chair. He alone seemed unaffected by the atmosphere of nervousness that permeated the room. They revealed their hands.

Cries of anguish came from the crowd.
"Goddamn it!"
"Always! How does he always win?!"
"He is like some kind of monster…"

"Alright everyone, settle down," Shepard calmed the crowd, "Good game Tali, you had me going there for a minute." He waved casually as he walked out of the room, as if there was never any doubt as to his victory.

The crowd slowly dispersed, offering commiserations to Tali as they left.

Kasumi put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't sweat it Tali, you'll get him next time."

Kasumi could not have known that beneath her mask, Tali was smiling to herself. She smiled because it was her proof. It was her proof that Shepard continued to be able to read her. An affirmation that he could see past her suit, and recognise what she was feeling.

She would always try her best to beat him, but she knew that deep inside, she truly hoped he would never lose.

Keelah, I love this game.

Hi everyone, this is my first attempt at writing fan-fiction, and I have to say this story ended up a little longer than I had intended. I had fun though, and I might try my hand at it again later down the track. This isn't likely for for a while, however, as this story was essentially elaborate procrastination in deference of final exam study, and I really should get on that. Spelling is in English (AU), and I apologise if this irks some of you.

Best Regards, Caliburn91