The Wanderer didn't have many spaces where an ODST could come and just be alone. Only a few of the officers had their own rooms, the rest had to make do with a cramped and smelly dorm which reminded Taliga Laurent more of boarding school than elite shock troop accommodation. She hadn't had real chances to get acquainted with any of the other soldiers either so she decided to entertain herself instead. She took her holopad to the Wanderer's little armory and grabbing her own personal weapon, settled down on a box outside it to check up on news from home and clean her sniper rifle. Sitting the fine weapon on her lap, she pulled a tiny automaton out of her pocket. Spherical in shape, it had an array of minuscule brushes and other instruments which it had been programmed to use with surgical precision. Opening her rifle's breech, Tali popped it inside and slowly took the rifle to pieces with it inside; allowing it access to all areas. Tali heard the satisfying whir as it cleaned and inspected all the components, matching it to the 100% efficiency model in it's memory banks.

While her bot went about its business, Tali turned her holo-pad on. It gave a cheerful ping and led her to the Hub, which showed her all the content she could ever need. News, lectures by eminent scholars and tacticians as they analyzed the war's progress, correspondence from friends and family. A video recording from her family on Reach popped up; Tali activated it immediately, looking around her surreptitiously before turning the volume up. The pad was taken up by a crystal clear picture of her Mother and Father. Tali loved their weekly offerings, they were usually a montage of them bickering in the most amusing way. They helped to keep her sane on the long spells of travel and garrison which kept them apart nowadays and Tali had often told them so. After imparting several tidbits of gossip and news from their hometown, they instructed her (as they always did) to message back right away. Seeing as she hadn't sent them a reply for over a month, Tali decided to turn on the camera and issue a message of her own. 

As the red light blinked on, she smiled her brightest smile and tucked a curl of browny blond hair behind her ear. "Hey mom, hey dad. I hope you're okay. You do make me laugh, never stop making these videos but be aware i'm recording all of them." She smiled again and wondered what to say. "Something is happening. We've been deployed somewhere and we haven't been told what's going on. It scares me but at the same time, i'm ready y'know? It's this waiting that kills me." Tali found she had nothing more to say so she ended the recording and sent it whizzing on its way back to Reach. She read a few articles of news but they weren't sinking in so she turned her Pad off and focused on her rifle. After a few contemplative moments of silence she was brought back to reality when her bot flew out her gun and back into her hand. In a surprisingly clear voice it chimed. "Cleaning and inspection complete. 99.4% efficiency. Do you want my suggestions for improvement?" Tali shook her head no before kissing the tiny machine and tucking it back in her pocket.