#parasenko

Rules: post the first sentence of your last ten fics. If you haven't written ten fics, share as many first-sentences as you have. 

I was tagged by @dandenbo and @mtreebeardiles (yes, I have waaaaay more than 10! lol) - thank you, my friend! As for tagging, I'm going to leave it open to anyone who wants to share because you tagged my usual suspects! LOL *high fives*

All right, let's see what we have..

If London Falls (M, Mass Effect, Abby Williams/Major Coats (aka: Abboats) - set in London during the early days of the Reaper War)

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…

2. Brain Freeze (G, Mass Effect, mClone Shep/Kaidan Alenko - a oneshot for Kaidan and Aubrey in which Aubrey discovers freezy pops)

The heat was a problem.

3. Tales From The Inquisition (T, Dragon Age Inquisition, William Trevelyan & Cullen Rutherford - small moments in the friendship of the Inquisitor and the Commander)

There weren’t many things William could say he enjoyed while growing up more than looking through stacks of books.

4. Under Covers (T, Mass Effect, Gianna Parasini/Kaidan Alenko - little moments from a pairing for whom I have a story but have yet to get it written)

“You know, when they said we would be going under cover together, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

5. Bait & Switch (T, Mass Effect/Mass Effect Andromeda, AU/crossover, Kaidan Alenko/Reyes Vidal - The Alliance comes asking for Reyes Vidal's help. Part of The Golden Boy & The Shady Bastard series)(my SpecRecs 2022 piece written for @mallaidhsomo)

Of all the places in the galaxy to end up in a back-room meeting with an Alliance representative, the lower level of Afterlife on Omega wasn’t his first choice. 

6. Run Away With Me (M, Mass Effect, male Shepard & female OC - background story of how Earthborn Michael Shepard and his best friend leave the Reds and join the Alliance - part of the Biotic Pinball Wizard series)

Dimly lit, overly shadowed halls, even those that are supposed to offer safety, hold risks for those who enter unprepared.

7. Gaia's Chosen (M, Mass Effect/Werewolf: The Apocalypse crossover, set in Mass Effect world, Caleb Shepard/Kaidan Alenko - this story is set at the beginning of ME2)

The first rule of law for any soldier is that life becomes a constant assessment of risk from the moment they don the uniform.

8. May The Road Rise To Meet You (M, Mass Effect, Caleb Shepard - this is Caleb's story of Akuze)

Shannon’s grey skies weep readily across the city, a steady, calming rhythm during otherwise precarious times.

9. Nerf Gun Wars (T, Mass Effect, male Shepard - this is what happens late at night when my brain goes off the wall. Mass Effect + Nerf Guns + Assassination Game from back in the '80s when I was in high school)

It’s all fun and games … until the helmsman ends up in the medbay with a fractured toe.

10. As Cold As Ice (T, Mass Effect, Kaidan Alenko/Major Coats (aka: Alenkoats) - Kaidan and Coats face off with a Thresher Maw on Xawin)

A writing prompt from one of my Discord servers: Apprehension

Summary: Teamed up together for a mission of galactic importance, there are some aspects of working with a partner that take some getting used to.

Characters: Kaidan Alenko, Gianna Parasini

Excerpt:

Slinking around through dark rooms in search of evidence to in convicting white collar criminals was one thing.  A thing she was good at, her record was proof enough of that.  Still, Gianna wasn’t the type to ignore help when it came her way, as evidenced a couple of years before on Noveria when Commander Shepard helped.  The evidence obtained then had put Anoelis away for a very long time.  

But that was then and this was…

The screen in front of her flickered as a file menu popped onto the screen.  “Okay, I’ve got a list of the files,” she hissed over her shoulder at her partner in crime – literally – where he was keeping an eye outside the room.  “You can look at them now.”

Finally started writing/posting for Parasenko! Today's prompt in one of my rare pair servers: sleep/sleepy. Surprisingly, Gianna and Kaidan jumped at this one!

Summary: As one of the top undercover agents for Internal Affairs, Gianna Parasini has been on many missions, but this one is turning out to first for many reasons...

Excerpt:

“You know, when they said we would be going under cover together, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”  

Gianna Parasini gave the comforter – a light blue field with interchanging gold hexagonal shapes in the foreground – another tug towards her side of the bed to give added emphasis to her observation.

Her current situation wasn’t that complicated in the grand scheme of things.  She was used to working undercover in her job.  Preferred it, actually.  Each mission a fresh start, a new identity, a different challenge.  Who do I get to be this time?  Not so different from acting in drama club back in school, though the stakes at this level were much higher.

What she hadn’t counted on, and what currently elevated her level of awkwardness and embarrassment, was that she and her partner – one Major Kaidan Alenko – weren’t just working together on this mission.  Gianna was used to going solo, adapting her plans as necessary, improvising on the spot without having to consult with someone else.  

This time around, though, she and Alenko were posing as a married couple.  That in and of itself wasn’t a bad thing.  He was pretty easy on the eyes, after all, and that charming smile of his apparently sent a number of hearts fluttering, if the stares as they’d entered the hotel side by side earlier this afternoon were anything to go by.  She’d chanced a quick look at his reaction to discover he appeared to be oblivious to the attention.  She was still debating whether or not to share that little tidbit with him.

No, the problem had nothing to do with that at all…until it did.  Because of course the hotel, or whoever it had been who booked their accommodations, had decided to put them together.  In one room.  With one bed.

A writing prompt from one of my Discord servers spoke to Gianna and Kaidan again! gasps And it's SHORT!

I'm not sure exactly what this is just yet or where it goes because they won't tell me, but these two just popped into my head with part of their story (I think?)...

Setting: sometime between 2183-2185, Gianna Parasini, Kaidan Alenko

~~~

“How much longer?”

Softly snorting, Gianna kept her focus on the console.  “As long as it takes.”  A pause.  “Are you always this impatient?”

He moved in close behind her, his breath tickling in her ear, as he whispered, “Only when it matters.”

A ripple stuttered across her skin and she couldn’t stop her shoulders from scrunching, but her hands kept moving across the keys.  “Yeah, yeah,” she muttered beneath her breath. 

In the reflection of the console, she caught just a hint of his smirk before he turned towards the door to stand watch again. 

C’mon, c’mon, come ON! 

She was pretty good at hacking.  Alenko had even told her she was better than him after the last time.  But whoever was responsible for the security on this console either was just that good or they were expecting someone highly skilled to come in and…

“Got it!”

“Copy the data and then let’s get the hell out of here!”

She kicked the chair out from behind her as she stood, already reaching for the OSD as his words faded.  “Already done.  Let’s go.”

They retreated the way they’d come, ducking into shadowed halls and darkened rooms whenever footsteps came close.  It took three times as long for them to get back as it did to get there, or maybe it just felt that way. 

Arriving at the door, Alenko led the way inside.  As he had done the last time, he secured the door then had her wait until he scanned the entire suite before nodding the all clear.

She’d called him paranoid the first time.  After Illium, she thanked her stars for his training.  Or, maybe he really was paranoid.  Either way, if it meant they didn’t end up dead in a back alley, throats slit or worse, all the better.

Grabbing her laptop, she sat down at the table and popped the OSD into the drive.  Alenko took the seat next to her. 

“You know,” she murmured, side-glancing him briefly, “this could be an elaborate trap.”

His lips twitched before he acknowledged, “Could be.  Or, could be just what we need.”

So, for over two years, I've had this story idea in my head involving Gianna Parasini and Kaidan Alenko during ME2, post Horizon/Illium and involving Parasini's 'next mission.' Ever since seeing that for the first time, it clicked with what Tali tells us about Haestrom, and I always figured Tali might at least stay in contact with Kaidan, maybe hint to him at some point there's a problem, and so he gets the bug in his ear too. So... you end up with a mission involving Internal Affairs and Kaidan's Black Ops. This is from the start to what that story will become...

Setting: Citadel, 2185, the wards

~~~

Surveying the bar, her eyes fell on a table across the room serving up two elcor and a volus. It wasn’t unusual for the Citadel, center of galactic politics and all, but it sure was strange to watch… especially when one of the elcor tilted its head towards her and… Wait. Did you just wink at me?

Dropping her gaze, she shuddered. Hell, she wouldn’t have minded being sent to Omega this time. The personal risk there might be greater, but at least it was easier to blend in with the crowds. What are the chances the people I’m tracking would come through here?

But, no. It wasn’t to be any of those places, or even Earth… just, Noveria. Another shudder rippled through her shoulders, less due to the elcor and more due to the memory of the cold. Damn, she hated the cold.

Pointedly avoiding the table with the elcor, she glanced around the bar again. It wasn’t overly crowded at the moment, which was good, but neither did she see anyone familiar. Not like if they’d arranged to meet in Port Hanshan. Though over two years had passed, there were still familiar faces around there, and it was going to be risky enough heading back through there to get to Peak 17. Better to conduct any preliminary business well away from there.

But why the Citadel? Why not Omega? Internal Affairs didn’t explain the whys or wherefores to her, they simply said be there. So, here she was, in a semi-reputable bar in the Wards waiting on her contact to show for their initial meeting before setting off on yet another investigation. Because for some reason, this time Internal Affairs had paired her up with someone. Despite her proven track record of working alone. Despite her preferences for working alone.

Sighing, she tipped her glass back to empty it. At least this time she wouldn’t have to wear a dress.