Mass Effect Ficlet/Drabble Roundup (various characters/pairings)

[wallwalker]

I've done a lot of stuff for the Mass Effect fandom for fic_promptly lately (trying to clean out all of the old unfilled prompts that'll probably never get picked up.) Most of them are too short to warrant their own posts; I wanted to round them up and post them here for archival purposes. So here goes...

[eta: I've been spelling Kaidan's name wrong this whole time. I... guess no one else noticed either, at least.]

Title: Headaches
Canon: Mass Effect
Characters/Pairing: Kaidan/Ashley
Rating: T

The headaches are getting worse.

Kaidan isn't surprised. Anderson hadn't been putting him in squads lately; not using his biotics every day had helped a lot. But Shepard trusts him, and he's been planetside more in the past week than he had in months. He likes the action, but it takes its toll. He spends the time between missions in his quarters, waiting out the sharp aches.

Sometimes Ashley joins him, brings some hot tea. She doesn't talk, thank goodness; she sits with him as they drink, sometimes holds his hand.

It's... nice. He almost looks forward to it now.

Title: The First Year
Canon: Mass Effect (between 1 and 2)
Character: Joker
Rating: T

You spend most of the next year staring out of windows, the gravity on Earth too heavy for you to feel really comfortable after spending so many years in space. You go to the simulators, do your best to keep your skills honed, but it's hard when it feels so pointless. Especially when they give you the disaster sims, and the ship starts falling apart around you, and you keep flying in the simulated mass effect field around the cockpit and resisting the urge to look over your shoulder. You tell yourself that Shepard isn't about to step out behind you, in that old spacesuit, ready to grab you and pull you out just as the ship finally falls apart completely.

You're always right, of course; Shepard never comes. No one does. That's not the point of those sims; the point is to get pilots used to the idea that they might die up there, if things go wrong. That no matter how good you are, you're still in space, and no matter how safe the ships are, space is not a good place to be when they fall apart.

Good thing, too, because you're not sure you could keep it together if someone did come for you like that. It's just too close to all of those bad memories. Way too damn close to watching Shepard getting sucked out of there, and you know damn well you were too far away to see the suit breach but you imagine that you can - all the air just flowing out of the suit, leaving one of the best damned soldiers you've ever known choking in the dark.

If you'd been a second faster - if you hadn't been too slow for the first time in your damned career - you could've gotten the Normandy out of there. You could've saved Shepard, the Normandy, the crewmen who hadn't gotten out in time. You could've done a lot of things if you hadn't been an instant too slow.

They need to give you a chance, you think, to prove that you won't do that again. You need to be up there. You need to fly. You failed the Normandy, and you failed Commander Shepard, and maybe you're never going to forgive yourself for that. But that doesn't mean you don't want to go back up there. Maybe you can save somebody else. You can do some good for somebody. But the Alliance doesn't want to hear it, says things about PTSD and conflicts of interest and keeps you down there on Earth, and it's driving you up the damned wall.

After a whole year of that, when the arrogant woman with the dark hair shows up and starts talking about opportunities and wasted talent, you don't look too closely at the insignia on her uniform. You're not sure you care anymore who you're working for. You've had enough time to sit in that apartment and drink and relive the past. You've got something to prove, and you're ready to go and prove it.

Title: Eclipsed
Canon: Mass Effect 2
Character: Miranda
Rating: T

I spent so time rebuilding her. So much of myself went into putting her back together, repairing what I could with cybernetics, making her perfect again. The galaxy needed her back, and I was the one who had the skill to do it.

I did it, knowing that she would take the spotlight. I would be her second-in-command, always in her shadow. Supporting her, never eclipsing her.

It’s not something I'm used to, to be honest. I’ve always been the center of attention; I don't enjoy giving that up. Humanity is at stake here, however. We all must make sacrifices.

Title: The Sound of Thunder
Canon: ME2/LotSB
Pairing: Feron/Liara
Rating: T

Feron had always flinched when thunder had crashed in the sky overhead, since he'd been a child. He hated the anger of the sound; it was unnatural.

For most of his life it hadn't mattered. But the Shadow Broker had been amused by the way he'd cringed. He'd made a game of it; every time Feron had cringed he'd gotten a jolt. If thunder had scared him before, wedding it to the memory of searing pain terrified him now.

Staying there was torment, but Liara stood beside him, and sometimes her hand brushed his when he cringed. Sometimes it helped.

Title: Rather Be Flying
Canon: Mass Effect
Characters: Shepard, Garrus, Kaidan
Rating: T
Note: Double Drabble.

The Mako hummed along, rumbling as it rolled over the planet's surface. Dust rose behind it, buoyed by a thin atmosphere.

Shepard sighed as she hit the jump jets, although the way that Kaidan and Garrus both seemed to tense up as the motion hit them did amuse her slightly; they were terrified of her driving, although neither would admit it to her face. But she had to do something. The Mako was boring in every way the Normandy was not - slow, noisy, restricted by gravity. At least with the jets she could pretend she flew, like she did back on the ship. Honestly, if she had wanted to clomp around on wheels, she would've stayed back on Earth, picked up one of those antique reproductions and drove around in the sprawl -

The Mako clipped a rock face and flipped, skidding to a halt.

The internal compensators started whirring, and it was a long, disorienting moment before the Mako righted itself. She frowned back at her passengers; Kaidan was doing her best to avoid her gaze, and Garrus was giving her his best "I knew it" look.

Fine. Maybe she'd lay off. But she'd still rather be flying.

Title: The Great Seas
Canon: Mass Effect 2
Character: Thane
Rating: T

Thane had once made a journey - what some of the still-faithful called a pilgrimage, although he personally thought the term dignified it too much - to a museum that the hanar kept on a small moon in their own system. Its vistas were much more similar to the deserts of Rakhana; Thane recalled looking out onto the sands when he had been young and wishing that his lungs could breathe its thin atmosphere, that he could run and play in the desert. He wished that they could have lived there, at times, although he understood the hanar's apologetic argument that maintaining a full, sealed, self-sustaining colony there would be prohibitively expensive.

The museum housed the few artifacts that the hanar had been able to take from Rakhana before the drell who had chosen to stay behind had forced them to leave. There were ancient robes set with precious stones, once worn by priests to the various gods as they said their prayers. There were all manner of old tools, although not every one of them had been assigned a purpose. And, most famous of all, they held copies of the ancient texts of the drell religions - books written by wise and noble priests, inspired by the gods themselves.

The ancient theology texts had been brittle and weak, even so many years ago; each drell pilgrim was only allowed to look at them once in their lives, for fear that too much contact would damage them beyond restoration. Fortunately, for them once was always enough. Thane had spent as much time as they would allow him, reading carefully over each book, knowing that he had found the truth. Let the unbelieving say that they were ancient follies of an ignorant, childish race; they would come to understand, if the gods willed it.

The texts of Amonkira had sustained him for most of his life, as he became a weapon for the hanar; the texts of Arashu had helped him regain his balance when he had become a husband and a father. But now, as he felt the slow creeping heaviness grow in his chest, it was the scriptures of Kalahira that he turned to for comfort. He knew that it would not be too much longer before he took the journey to the Great Seas, but at least he knew what was to come.

The Seas were beautiful, the texts said, filled with wonders beyond the comprehension of any who lived - creatures that glowed with brilliant and strange lights, to light the path and guide their way. But not every creature who lived there was so benign. They were said to be filled with harriers, dark fearsome creatures who defied all mortal description - one for each regret, for each moment of doubt and pain. The harriers would stop at nothing to prevent the souls of the dead from reaching the other side, the texts warned, and many who were not truly faithful would be ripped apart before reaching their final rest and meeting the gods themselves.

But there was yet hope, the old priest had stressed. For each good act, for each moment of love or charity or concern, a protector would be created, a beautiful creature with fearsome strength. They would be the banes of the demons, and they would protect the one who had created them on his journey. The rest was up to him.

Thane already knew that he would have many harriers on his voyage. He hoped that what he did now - the fight with the Collectors, the saving of so many lives - would be enough to surround him with protection. He hoped that he would have enough to see him through to the other side; it would be his only hope.

But he had killed many others on this mission. Most of all, he hoped that he had not made a mistake. He hoped that their souls would not haunt him there.

Title: Childhood
Canon: Mass Effect
Characters: Shepard
Rating: T

It was easier for Shepard to forget now just how hard it had been growing up on Earth. Easier to think that she loved her home, even back then.

Really, she'd barely tolerated it. Earth had been like hell, hot and dirty and full of people who'd hated her. She'd done her best to help the few people who'd cared, swiped what she could from the planet and ran; life had begun after she'd left.

In space she was Commander Sheperd, feared and respected Spectre. On Earth she'd been Jesi, frightened child. No surprise about which she preferred, was there?

Title: Belonging
Canon: Mass Effect
Pairing: Ashley/Kaidan
Rating: T

Ashley sat very still at the mess table, Shepard's words still ringing in her ears.

Maybe not being able to keep her mouth shut was one of her problems. Maybe she should have known better than to speak up. But damn it, she wasn't going to sit around and stay quiet when she saw something going on that could end up being a threat to all of their security. Her grandfather hadn't gone through what he'd gone through to have a krogan and a turian running around on the most advanced ship the Alliance had ever created so that they could steal all of their secrets.

Obviously, Commander Shepard didn't agree with her risk assessment. And there wasn't a damn thing Ashley could do to change his mind; she knew that look. As soon as she'd brought up her concerns, his usually friendly face had just... gone cold. And Ashley couldn't understand why what she'd said had deserved a reaction like that. As if she didn't have enough reason to feel like she didn't fit in....

She was so busy brooding, she didn't even notice Alenko slipping in beside her. "How're you holding up?" he asked, startling her than she would've liked to admit.

She made a quiet, noncommittal grunt. "You haven't already heard?" she asked wryly. The rumor mill on that ship was ridiculous; even though it had just happened, she was sure that someone else was already talking about it.

"I'd rather hear it from you, if that's all right." Kaidan's smile was disarming. He was kind of cute, in a clean-cut sort of way. Not that Ashley should be thinking about that kind of thing...

She sighed, lowering her voice to almost nothing. "Well... the commander just sort of chewed me out, over suggesting that maybe we shouldn't be giving aliens the run of the ship. He didn't have to agree with me, but I didn't expect him to be so angry about it."

"Ah." Kaiden nodded thoughtfully. "Sounds like you hit one of his pet peeves. Not that he likes it when we call it that, but it is what it is," he added with an impish grin.

"What? Not trusting aliens?"

Kaidan shrugged. "Shepard was going to be an ambassador. He'd wanted to be one for years, and if he hadn't tested so high for biotic ability, he'd probably be working at the embassy. But the military gave him a better offer. We've talked about it before - he's a strong believer in not judging people until they've done something to deserve it."

"But it might be too late by then," she argued.

"I said that once. He didn't agree." He shook his head. "We don't agree on everything, but Shepard's a good man. Don't worry. This doesn't mean he doesn't trust you, or anything."

"I hope not." She stared down at her hands. "I just... it just reminded me that I really don't belong on this ship, you know? Maybe I'm just a stupid grunt who doesn't know anything -"

"Hey," Kaidan interrupted her. "Don't say that. Don't ever think you don't belong here. I'm... we're all glad to have you aboard."

She looked up, amused at the odd stutter, and saw that Kaidan's face was turning ever-so-slightly red. "Thanks," she said, smiling, wondering if she was starting to flush herself. Oh, no, she told herself. Bad idea, Ash. Really bad idea.

Still. Wouldn't be the first time she'd had a bad idea turn out to be a good one.

"Hey," she said, and felt her smile soften a bit. "When we get back to the Citadel... how about I buy you a drink?"

"Heh. Yeah." Kaidan nodded, smiling a little more himself. "I think... I think I'd like that."

"Good. It's a date."

Title: Dangerous
Fandom: Mass Effect 2 (spoilers for Kasumi's mission)
Character: Shepard
Rating: T

Jesi would've never dreamed of wearing this sort of getup on Earth. When she'd had a choice she'd worn the same stuff as the boys she'd ran with; dressing up would've just been asking for trouble. People figure you have money when you get stuff like that - stolen money, most likely, but creds were creds.

She'd expected to hate the dress. It was too tight, too... leathery. It made her look ridiculous, she thought, especially with the scars on her face. She was a soldier, damn it, not a socialite.

Now that she was wearing it, though, it wasn't half bad. She didn't feel ridiculous at all. Matter of fact, she felt dangerous. Like a spy from an old action vid - pistol hidden on her leg, wicked smile on her face, ready to take down a dangerous criminal.

Yeah. She could definitely get used to this. She hoped that she managed to keep the dress. It'd be a shame if it got damaged when the shooting started.

Title: Demon
Canon: Mass Effect 2
Character: Morinth
Rating: T

They call Morinth a demon, and she loves it.

Not to her face, of course; most people never suspect her. But she's heard a lot of stories about Ardat-Yakshi, how they're demons who can steal their lover's souls, how they can give so much pleasure that it destroys any who touch them.

The asari stories are predictable and boring. She prefers it when others tell them - turians with their concealed disdain, humans with their open lust. It's fun, seducing turians in spite of themselves. And humans are so... easy.

Let her sisters mourn their condition. She embraces it gladly.

I think that's all of them!

Comments

[lassarina]

*rolls around and purrs*

All of these. Yes. ♥