The next morning…
Shepard staggered her way down the corridors of Mother Base, eyes bloodshot and head pounding. Every time she passed a window, her eyes would squint closed as she recoiled in pain, as if she were a vampire. Last night, after killing the bottle of Orlesean wine, Shepard and Wynne decided to crack open another… then another. Even with her cybernetics helping filter out the toxins, Shepard still felt like she was headbutted by Wrex. In fact the last time she was probably that drunk was when she did ryncol shots with the Krogan on the Citadel.
And so, hangover and all, Shepard continued her walk of shame down to Mother Base's mess hall. The mess hall was once one of the larger dining halls of the castle, decorated with faded fresco walls and floors made from eroded cobblestone, furnished with Soviet-era folding benching and tables. Entering the mess hall, the Commander's tired eyes slightly widened as the rest of the Legion were already there dining.
Of course today is the day that everyone is in. Shepard thought to herself.
As constant patrols and recon missions were often necessary, it was a rare occurrence for the whole Legion to gather up for meals or meetings, unless previously planned. Luckily, the rest of her comrades were seemingly too distracted with their own meals or conversations to notice the disheveled commander. So Shepard went to the kitchen, grabbed herself several canteens of water, a pot of black coffee, and the plainest MREs available as to not upset her stomach. Haul in hand, she sat down between Pyrrha and Wynne, the latter of whom also had her head in her hands, trying to rehydrate the previous night off.
"Rough night?" Pyrrha asked, and eyebrow raised at the sheer amount of refreshments Shepard was carrying.
Shepard shrugged, sliding a mug of coffee to Wynne. "All honesty, not the worst I've had, but still not good."
Wynne only groaned behind her, accepting the drink. "It's been quite a few years since I've drunk like that."
Pyrrha giggled under her breath at the misfortune of her two allies. Leaving them to their meals, she then turned to Thane, who was sitting across from her. "So Thane, I wanted to know, what was your homeworld like? I've never left Remnant before, so outside of the worlds I've seen here, I know very little of alien planets. Oh, I guess for you it would just be, planets." Pyrrha awkwardly laughed. "I'm sorry I hope I'm not being offensive."
With a shake of his head and a wave of his hand, Thane cast off her concerns. "It is quite alright, and you are not. I was born on the planet Kahje, the homeworld of the hanar. It is an ocean planet, covered by nearly 90% water, the only land being small islands or floating cities."
"Ah, so are your people aquatic?" Pyrrha asked.
Thane shook his head. "Unfortunately no. The drell are more adapted to drier, warm climates. The humidity of Kahje in fact can be deadly for many of my race." Thane silently reflected on his own experience with his disease. "Living on Kahje was the root cause of my Kepral's Syndrome, which is what ultimately ended my life."
Pyrrha scowled in confusion. "I don't understand, how could your planet make your people sick?"
"That is because Kahje wasn't my people's original home. You see, the drell originated on the planet of Rakhana, a dry, desert planet. While our people expanded greatly with industrialization, we did not understand the ramifications of what we were doing. The population of Rakhana boomed to eleven billion, but our industrial development ruined the planet's environmental sustainability. As resources dwindled, billions began to die, and we did not have the technology to escape our own planet. Luckily, the hanar of Kahje had discovered our world, and saved thousands from extinction, saving my species." Thane emotionlessly taught.
Pyrrha's face went from confused to horrified. "I'm… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring up such a tragedy."
Thane waved her off once again. "It is of no trouble. The exodus occurred centuries before my birth, and the Compact we formed with the hanar that day laid the foundation for who I would become, so I do not dwell on it."
Despite Thane's dismissal, Pyrrha couldn't help but feel awkward and uncomfortable for having put her foot in her mouth like that. Shepard, sensing her discomfort from her fidgeting and downcast gaze, decided to intervene.
"You know there are a lot of other species in our galaxy besides the drell and hanar. I already told you about the krogans, the 7 foot tall reptiles with four testicles, but there's also the Turians, Asari, Salarians, and Quarians." Shepard quickly pivoted topics.
Activating her omni-tool, Shepard quickly projected several photos of her along with her squadmates over their adventures together. The first was a photo of Shepard along with Garrus in the Citadel. The two of them could be seen playfully arguing on top of one of the Citadel's bridges, aiming sniper rifles into a busy sky filled with air-traffic, shooting bottles. This photo was captioned "King of the Bottle Shooters."
The second photo was an in-action shot of Dr. Mordin Solus aboard the Normandy SR-2, in the middle of his musical number "Scientist Salarian" from Gilbert and Sullivan, with the title of the song written on the photo. Shepard had a deadpan look of disbelief, while Mordin had the widest smile on his face.
Third was a selfie of Shepard with Tali'zorah Vas Normandy. The two were in the Normandy's port observation deck, sitting at the bar with purple drinks in their hands. Tali was sipping on hers through a large, bendy straw, although the photo had the caption of "Emergency Induction Port,'' beneath it.
The final photo was one of both Shepard and Liara, a selfie the two of them took on the Citadel when they first started dating. Posing in front of the Presidium's mass relay monument, Shepard's arm was wrapped around Liara's shoulders, and both smiled wide as they looked into the camera. This photo was simply captioned, "First Date."
Pyrrha looked up in awe over the photos, studying each of them, letting her imagination create the stories behind each of them. Eventually she got to the photo of Liara and Shepard, and was amazed by the genuine smiles the couple shared. Despite knowing Shepard for sometime now, she's never seen her smile like that before. A small part of her felt a little envious that she and Jaune never got to take a photo like this.
"The asari, they look so human." The huntress muttered out as she studied Liara's features.
"Yeah one of the biggest mysteries in the galaxy. People would always joke that asari and humans were intergalactic cousins. This one right here is actually my girlfriend, Liara T'soni, love of my life." Shepard said with a proud grin.
Pyrrha went a little red at Shepard's unabashed feelings, and took a closer look at Liara. "She is very beautiful." She all but whispered, still feeling a bit embarrassed talking about relationships.
Shepard's grin shifted into a more of a smirk. She smelled a chance to tease Pyrrha, and would never let such an opportunity go.
"This isn't going to cause any problems, is it Pyr?" Shepard asked, making her voice sound nervous. She knew Pyrrha would never be a judgmental person, but she also knew that asking something like that would get her all flustered. And in a world without the extranet, Shepard had to get her entertainment from somewhere.
And on cue, Pyrrha went beet red. "What! No, of course not! I don't think that human-faunus relationships are an issue, and this is similar. Also my partner Jaune, his sister was married to a woman she loved, and I was more than happy for them. I would never be so closed minded to judge someone based on who they love!"
Shepard could only crack up with how adamantly Pyrrha was defending herself. "Relax Pyr, I was only joking." Shepard said between laughs.
Pyrrha only groaned and placed her head between her hands in embarrassment. Meanwhile Sev, who was attracted into the conversation by Pyrrha's outburst, looked over Liara's photo as well.
"Oh, you guys had aliens like that too?" The commando grumbled out as he examined the image.
Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Wait, were there asari in your universe too Sev?"
Sev shrugged. "I don't think so, but to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if there were. I was thinking about alien races in my galaxy like the Twi'leks or Togruta." Shepard remained confused so Sev continued on. "They're human looking aliens of various colors that all had tentacles on their heads, though they had fewer, longer tentacles than your asari."
"They are not the only human-like alien races from our galaxy either." Starkiller cut in, deciding to give his two cents. "There are several species of near-human aliens within our galaxy as well."
"Near-humans?" Shepard questioned.
Galen nodded his head. "Indeed. Near-humans are usually evolutionary offshoots of humans, brought on by generations of isolation on various planets. Examples would be the Arkanians, Zeltrons, and Chiss, who all mostly maintain their human appearance, but have some differences such as non-standard human skin tones such as snow white, red, and blue respectively. Some races, such as the Zabrak, would have more prominent differences, such as small horns."
That was an interesting idea to Shepard. Where so far in the future, humanity evolves into different species as they adapt to new worlds. And with the synthesis of organic and synthetic life, who knows what kind of new races could be seen developing in the future.
The conversation seemed to strike a chord with several members of the Legion, as Wynne, having finished her coffee, decided to enter it. "My world had several human-like species as well. Namely the dwarves, elves, and qunari. Dwarves are short, stout, rambunctious people who live underground. Elves are more similar to humans, save for their pointed ears and lithe builds. While Qunari are humanoid, but are much larger than humans, with two very large horns protruding from their heads." Wynne extended both index fingers from her forehead, pointing them as if they were horns.
"Wait, you had actual elves and dwarves in your world?" Shepard was flabbergasted.
Wynne nodded. "Yes we did. Did they exist in your world? You seem rather familiar with them."
"In a sense, I suppose. In my world, elves and dwarves are fictional races, created in old folklore and fantasy stories. They even have the same descriptions." Even in Shepard's time, fantasy stories were still popular. Tolkien's novels had even been translated into several alien languages, becoming an intergalactic bestseller when humanity entered the galactic scene. Unsurprisingly, the idea and societies of the elves found many fans within the asari, while the Krogans were quite fond of the tales of dwarves and orcs.
"Hmm curious. Perhaps it is an example of this multiversal crossover, where someone in your world was aware of mine and wrote stories based on it, or maybe such races existed in your ancient past. Or perhaps it was just pure coincidence." Wynne shrugged, having no real answers nor anyway to find out the truth.
Shepard grunted. She didn't have an answer either and thinking upon the mysteries of the multiverse was an exercise in futility. Instead, her teasing, big sister-like mind honed in on a single slip of the tongue that Pyrrha had.
"So Pyr… partner huh." Shepard glanced and Pyrrha with a smarmy smirk as Pyrrha froze. "Tell me more about this Jaune."
Pyrrha was now full tomato. "Oh no! Jaune wasn't THAT kind of partner! He was my huntsman partner. At our school we were supposed to live and train together with our team for the next four years" Pyrrha waved her hands in a flurry, denying the insinuation. "Jaune, while inexperienced and sometimes dense, was a great leader and cared for all of us. And he was one of the few people who saw me for who I was, not what my reputation said I was." Pyrrha spoke that last sentence with a softness and care that was obviously stemmed from love.
Shepard gave a genuine smile at seeing a young woman in love, before again shifting to a mischievous grin. "So you ever get together?" The Commander bluntly asked. Pyrrha's jaw dropped as Shepard continued her offensive. "I mean, two hormonally charged teenagers, living in the same room. Something was bound to happen."
"I… NO! Nothing happened Shepard!" Pyrrha cried out.
"Did you want something to happen?" Shepard prodded.
"Of course I did!" Pyrrha yelled in frustration, causing everyone to stop and stare at her. Pyrrha instantly made herself small and mumbled out, "I mean I sent him… signals. But they just bounced right off. As I said before, he was dense. And I was rather… passive about it."
"If you were interested in him you should've been more aggressive." Sarah called out from her side of the table. "Men are idiots who would miss such subtlety."
The sentinel gestured to Snake, Six, Thane, Galen, and Sev, who were all eating their meals in silence, trying to avoid being dragged into the conversation.
As Shepard and Pyrrha also looked them over, the commander was able to make eye contact with Sev and raised an eyebrow.
Sev brought both hands up defensively, not wanting to get involved. "Hey don't forget, I'm thirteen."
Wynne however, wouldn't let the conversation go off course. "Pyrrha, if you're going to be having a relationship with a boy, I feel compelled to tell you where babies actually come from."
Pyrrha sputtered out a muted cry as her head sunk into her hands.
With a wry grin, Wynne continued on. "You see, when two people are in love, some people say that a spirit or a bird flies down from the Fade to deliver them a baby. This however, is not actually true. What actually happens is-"
"For the love of the Brothers Wynne I know where babies come from!" Pyrrha cried as her face was perpetually the same hue as her hair.
Everyone began laughing at the outburst as Pyrrha went back to cradling her face in her hands.
Shepard again took control of the conversation."Ok so you never went all the way. Did you at least kiss him?"
At that moment, the embarrassed countenance of Pyrrha morphed into one of sadness and regret.
"I actually did." Pyrrha said with resignation. "I kissed him the last time I saw him, before I rushed up to Beacon tower to fight against Cinder."
Shepard's teasing attitude immediately vanished as she realized she overstepped. "God, I'm sorry Pyr. I didn't mean to bring up a memory like that."
Pyrrha gave a sad smile to Shepard, "It's fine Shepard, you couldn't have known."
Before Pyrhha could say anymore a small chortle caught their attention. They turned to the source and saw that Galen was actually chuckling to himself.
Shepard scowled at the Jedi. "What the Hell are you laughing at Galen? This isn't funny."
Immediately Galen nodded, despite the small grin on his face. "Indeed it is not. I am incredibly sorry Pyrrha, and I meant no disrespect." The former Sith turned to face the huntress with a look of commiseration. "Let me guess, you felt regret and pain for not saying anything sooner, but also happiness as the object of your affection finally returned your feelings. The result being a bittersweet first and last kiss."
Pyrrha's look of confusion became one of understanding as she understood what Galen was getting at. She nodded her head in response.
"Hm believe me, I am more than familiar with the feeling." He finished as he took a sip of his coffee.
Shepard also now understood that Galen had gone through the same tragedy that Pyrrha went through. Most likely before his battle with the Emperor. "What was their name?" she asked.
Galen looked off into the distance as he answered. "Juno. Her name was Juno."
Shepard then took her drink and raised it into the air. "To Juno" she toasted.
Galen's eyes went a bit wide, before he smiled and looked to Pyrrha, raising his own glass. "To Jaune."
Pyrrha then looked back to Shepard as she raised her drink. "To Liara."
They looked around as all of the members of the Legion raised their own glasses in respect.
Lastly, Snake stood up with his drink and added on, "To all those left behind…" And together they all shared a silent drink.
A/N: Another chapter more focused on the day to day life of the Legion. This one I came up with while thinking of ways for Shepard to tease Pyrrha, and the rest sorta came naturally. Anyway, this'll be the last "filler-y" type chapter as the next arc begins next chapter! So I hope y'all are ready.
As always, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you in the next one.