So we've seen what Beckett, Resolme and Engelbrektsson have been up to. Now it's time to take a pit stop for some target practice with La Rosa and Tangilanu. Bonus points if you can name what music video is being referenced in Tangilanu's perspective section…
...
1523 Hours, March 1st 2683
Office of Naval Intelligence Headquarters
Citadel
Widow System, Serpent Nebula
...
It had been a while since La Rosa visited Top Shots Munitions and Firing Range. The last time he was here, it looked like something from a different century. The walls were rusted, the selection was minimal and the whole place gave a vibe of a vintage cowboy store. Its firing range was still legendary in the right circles, but not even the biggest fans would call it a booming business.
So it threw him off to see the store as it was now. The walls had been cleaned, the whole place had been tidied, the weapon selection expanded ten-fold and it shone with a modern blue and white hue. There were actually customers in lines too!
With all of this change, however, it was good to see a familiar face approaching him.
"Jared La Rosa, you son of a bitch!" His old Turian friend, Kardus Drugarian, said walking towards them from behind the front counter.
La Rosa and Kardus had originally met in the arena combat circuit. Kardus and his team were the reigning hot shots before La Rosa's Grey Wardens beat them in their first championship. Kardus never held a grudge though and the two of them actually started a good friendship once they met outside the ring. The moderators labeled them 'friendemies,' but La Rosa had nothing but love for his only close alien friend. Even after Kardus retired, La Rosa made a point to visit every time he came to the Citadel.
"That's me, alright," La Rosa said giving Kardus a fist bump and looking to the busy store. "Where the hell did all of this come from?"
"Long story," Kardus replied nodding behind him. "Friend of yours?"
La Rosa saw him point to Tangilanu approaching by his side. He hadn't planned on bringing anyone here, but Tangilanu didn't have anything better to do anyway.
"This, mi amigo," He said placing a hand on Tangilanu's shoulder. "Is the 'Tongan Terror' himself, Tu'uta Tangilanu."
"'Tongan Terror?'" Tangilanu asked incredulously.
"I may have talked up your reputation. Just go with it," La Rosa said before turning back to Kardus. "So, are you going to show us around or am I slowing down your work?"
"I'm on break," Kardus said leading the way. "Has the 'Tongan Terror' been here before?"
"I've never even heard of this place," Tangilanu replied still rolling his eyes over his new nickname.
"Most people haven't. It's only one of the most famous underground firing ranges in the galaxy."
"Could have fooled me."
La Rosa agreed looking around. This place had lost a lot of that 'underground' charm with this redesign. Did some corporation buy it out? He knew Kassa Fabrications had made offers in the past, but he didn't see any of their labels.
"You should have seen it before," Kardus said. "It was a shit hole, but it was a good shit hole...if such a thing is possible."
A female customer approached Kardus holding a folded Hammer sniper rifle. "Excuse me, sir."
"How can I help, madam?"
"I'm looking for a rifle my husband can use on weekends. Do you have any recommendations?"
"Hm...I'm not sure a Hammer would be his type. Let me get someone to help. Olmin!"
A Salarian employee taking a nap in the corner under a Fornax magazine woke up startled.
"How about getting off your ass and helping this nice woman find a good 'weekend shooting' rifle?"
Olmin grumbled as he tossed the magazine on the floor and helped the woman.
As he did so, La Rosa continued to check the people in the store. While he was happy business had been picking up, he was surprised no one made a big deal about the fact two champion arena combat fighters were walking in the midst of them. He wanted to point this out to someone, but no opportunities presented themselves.
"All the Salarians who could be working here and I get the lazy one," Kardus mumbled to himself leading the way through a back door. "I don't know if that's irony or an oxymoron."
The two ODST's followed as La Rosa looked back to Olmin trying to pitch a series of rifles while half-asleep.
"When did Olmin start listening to you?" He asked.
"Since I became general manager two months ago," Kardus replied.
"Get out! What happened to Ponchus?"
"Found himself on the wrong end of a C-Sec sting operation. I always knew there was some shady shit going on, but no one expected weapon smuggling to be the LEAST of his offenses."
"Geez..."
"Yeah, but screw him. This store's not big enough for two hot shot Turians, especially a crooked one like him."
"So how does your boss getting arrested lead to all of this?" Tangilanu asked.
"Well," Kardus replied. "Turns out Ponchus had funneled a healthy cache of credits from our store over the last few years. Since it was technically still our money, the investors decided putting it into a 'grand re-opening' would inspire good will with customers."
"The customers who haven't been here before or the veterans?" La Rosa asked.
"Both. The vets had been complaining about the lack of supply and we weren't getting enough new customers to meet their demand. This way, everyone wins."
La Rosa wasn't entirely confident with that, but he didn't say anything. He kind of liked the old fashioned, disorganized look.
"Your bosses must be excited having an arena combat champion managing the place," Tangilanu said.
"That hadn't even crossed their minds," Kardus noted. "They just needed someone who wasn't incompetent. And they could say a lot to describe me, but incompetent isn't one of them."
"Why hadn't your previous career crossed their minds?"
"There are a lot of ex-players and only a few are still 'celebrities,' so putting my face on an advertisement wouldn't change much. Besides, this place doesn't need any more celebrity endorsements. It has plenty of its own."
La Rosa had felt a little down hearing Kardus shit all over his post-career status, but he picked back up as they entered the firing range. The place had gotten a similar cleaning and re-design, which was surprising since some of those element zero scorch marks had been on these walls for decades. It looked like they had doubled the number of shooting stalls too and they were almost all full!
"Wow..." Tangilanu said before whipping out the sarcasm. "Looks like any other shooting range."
"That's what you would think," Kardus replied pointing out to over the range. "But this is what makes the place special."
La Rosa smiled seeing the old score cube floating proudly high above the range. Everybody who was anybody knew about the score cube. Ever since Jorak Tyr set the bar for assault rifle speed shooting, people have come from far and wide to dethrone the self-proclaimed 'greatest gunman in the galaxy.' His category's score still reigned supreme, but that hadn't stopped people from taking titles in other categories. Some of the galaxy's best were represented here, including Gnalgus Tragarian, Taylor Freeman, Elyra Khaas and Turgo 'The Destroyer.' And yes, La Rosa remembered those names in case he ever felt the drive to challenge their records.
"They come for a moldy old scorecube?" Tangilanu said as the cube's displays routinely shifted to showcase another category's top ten.
"That 'moldy old scorecube' is the most famous in the galaxy," Kardus defended. "Anybody who's anybody comes here to put their name on the cube. La Rosa's a testament to that."
"Is he now?"
"You should have seen how many times he did the speed shooting track. Worked his ass off, but he finally made it to eighth."
"I can tell my own life story, Kardus," La Rosa said.
"Sorry. Well, he can see for himself in a moment."
The three of them waited while the cube went through several categories. La Rosa didn't mean to snap at his friend, but it still irked him that no one had recognized him yet. Hell, somebody should have noticed that Tangilanu and he were part of the squad that revived the Master Chief at least. Nobody even looked twice.
The scorecube eventually reached the sniper speed shooting category and the display slowly revealed the top ten record holders. La Rosa smirked as he was about to prove to Tangilanu how much his hard work paid off...
...until the full list had been revealed and he was nowhere to be seen.
"Um...where's my name?" He asked in disbelief.
"Huh..." Kardus said surprised. "You were here last week. I swear."
La Rosa didn't know what to say. Something inside of him felt...offended. It was like everything he had worked for had been erased. No one cared he was a champion arena combat fighter. No one cared he had rescued the Master Chief. And now no one cared that he was, at least before a week ago, one of the top ten snipers at this range.
Well...they were about to care.
"Is there a stall open?" He asked Kardus.
"I think there's one right there," Kardus replied pointing in front of them. "Why-?"
Before he could finish, La Rosa was already there. He quickly scanned the stall to adjust himself on the layout. Even with the re-design, all the features were the same.
"Hey," Tangilanu said catching up with Kardus beside him. "What're you doing?"
"The tenth place score is only a few thousand points ahead of mine, right?" He said to the two of them. "I can beat that."
"You want to warm up first?" Kardus asked.
"I've been warming up for the last five months."
He sensed Kardus and Tangilanu look to each other concerned, but he wasn't interested in their concern. Ever since Klensal, he had been feeling a bit...off about his aim. Mavigon proved he could still hit a moving target, but he was usually better than that. Was the ODST making him lazy? Did that Sangheili jackass kick something loose in his head? He was about to find out.
"Please select your-" the stall's V.I. started before La Rosa programmed the speed sniper course into the terminal. He knew the codes like the back of his hand, so he didn't need anyone to walk him through it.
"Course set," the V.I. said. "Please stand at the firing line"
La Rosa unfolded his sniper rifle from his armor and stepped to the line.
"You guys ready for this?" He said looking to the others.
"Are you sure you-?"
"Yes," he cut off Kardus.
"Alright..."
The stall's timer started the ten second countdown as La Rosa eyed the course and the stall scanned his vitals. He knew he was acting irrationally. He remembered seeing the lieutenant get beat by the Chief back on the Mt. Everest when they unfroze him. However, he wasn't trying to butt heads with one of history's greatest soldiers. This was just a routine sniper course.
"Two...one!" The V.I. finished counting.
And like that, La Rosa started firing. Three holograms to the right went down the moment they popped up. Two more to his left got a shot where their eyes should be. Three more down the range went down after that. Target after target popped up only to be gunned down by his precision sniping.
The first round went by in a flash. Kardus and Tangilanu were completely silent watching him. He also noticed a few people curiously talking about him from a stall nearby. There we go, he thought to himself. He couldn't pat himself on the back though. The next round was starting and he had seven more to go.
The next couple minutes felt like a blur. He felt like a machine firing at the targets. Soon, moving targets were introduced into the mix. Then targets that could duck behind cover. Then target that could fire back. None of them were a match for him though, as they all got a round through the face or the heart.
In between his rounds, he heard a small crowd gathering around him. He smiled as he continued shooting. Most of them had likely never seen a veteran practice here. It was always a big deal to have someone who wasn't just an amateur mop the floor with a course. And he wasn't done yet.
Round eight started and he now faced targets that could take multiple hits unless shot at certain regions. This took more focus as he sniped out the smaller targets first and dodged incoming hologram fire before taking down the big boys. The first one got a well-placed shot in the heart. The second one didn't go down as quickly, as he missed the instant kill spot by several inches with his first shot. He cursed to himself in Spanish before taking the bastard down.
He then did something he never did when he was in the mode: he checked his current score. He was doing well so far, but he still hadn't cracked the top twelve scores yet. Shit! All of his little errors from the match flooded into his head. The extra seconds he took sniping one target behind a barricade. That one he didn't hit in the face when he could have. Other things that would have lowered his points seemed to rear their ugly heads as he prepared for the final round. He was getting slower. That wouldn't stop him though. As long as he did his damn best in this next round, he could make the top ten.
With that, the last round started with a bang. Several holograms fired at him, forcing him to duck and dodge wildly.
Then he heard a buzzer...which was not a good sign. He quickly looked to the terminal to see a flashing red light on the shoulder of his holographic display model. He got nicked! That ruined his current score multiplier!
He angrily fired back at the holograms, blasting them with head shots. His focus wavered, but he couldn't stop himself. It was either him or the course who gave in first and it was going to be the course!
He finally made it to the final two targets. He ducked past the returning fire and took aim at the nearest one. He could do this. He just needed to-
A shot flew from behind the course and hit his hip. Shit! There was a third target. How could he have missed that?
"Five...four..." He heard the V.I. countdown. He was running out of time!
He spun around and quickly shot the rouge hologram through the neck. He then turned and shot another through the head, earning a multiplier. This was it. If he could hit this one in time, he could make the list.
He spotted the hologram running for cover and took aim. This guy wasn't getting away!
Time slowed to a crawl as a shot erupted from his rifle. The glowing piece of metal zoomed towards its target with exact precision. This was it. This was-
And then the hologram disappeared right before the shot hit it.
"Time's up," the V.I. sounded.
The disappointment from the crowd was inaudible to La Rosa as he quivered with disbelief. How could he have run out of time? There was an extra second on that timer. He was sure of it. Did that third target mess him up that badly?
He set his rifle against the stall's wall and leaned forward to catch his breath. The screen calculated his final score, deducting points from the hits he received and calculating his multipliers. The final result flashed in front of his face like a badge of shame; eleventh place. He had beaten his previous score, but he was three hundred points short of the tenth place holder. Three hundred points. That's what those two hits cost him...
He could hear the crowd leaving. He didn't want to hear Kardus or Tangilanu praise or apologize to him right now. It wouldn't make his score go up any higher.
Someone did say something though...but it wasn't what he expected.
"Are you...Jared La Rosa?" A woman asked.
His eyebrows raised in surprise. Someone here knew him? How? The stall hadn't displayed his name anywhere.
He turned to see a woman standing between him and his two friends. She was an Alliance soldier, sporting that girly looking Phoenix armor and a kind of ugly hair bun. She wasn't a bad looking woman though.
"Uh...yeah," La Rosa said still surprised.
The woman suddenly became ecstatic and nervous. "Oh my god!" She said containing her excitement. "I knew it. The moment I saw your shooting style though, I knew it was you."
La Rosa looked behind her to see Tangilanu and Kardus appear just as surprised as him. "Really?" He said.
"Yeah! Who could forget one of the best marksmen the Grey Wardens ever had?"
She was a Grey Wardens fan. Correction...she specifically was a fan of his! He wasn't even sure he still had a fan base after all this time.
"Sorry," the woman apologized. "I didn't mean to interrupt you. I was just surprised you practiced here."
La Rosa figured he should reassure her inner fan girl. "Well, of course," he said putting on a more confident face. "It's only the best firing range in the galaxy. Hell, we got another arena combat pro running it behind you."
"I noticed," she said looking to Kardus. "The 'friendemies' under the same roof. I didn't know you guys still hung out."
"I'm occupied more than I would like to be," he said pointing to his ODST logo. "But I wouldn't turn my back on a friend."
"It helps he's one of our best customers too," Kardus added stealthily winking to La Rosa. "Keeps the money flowing in. So, you're am arena combat fan, huh?"
"When I get the chance," she said. "I'm a little out of the loop lately, but my family and I followed your teams when you two played."
"You haven't missed much," Kardus said. "Guys like us are hard to come by."
La Rosa noticed Tangilanu's confused look and waved a hand to tell him to forget about it. This was something only people in the loop appreciated.
"I'll say," the woman said turning back to La Rosa. "That was an amazing speed run."
"Well..." La Rosa said trying not to look back at the flashing eleven. "I've done better."
"Could have fooled me."
"Thanks," he said as he reached out a hand to her. "I don't think I caught your name by the way."
"Oh right," she said flustered shaking his hand. "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams."
"Do your family call you that too?"
She chuckled nervously. "Sorry. I'm just used to introducing myself like that."
"I don't blame you. What brings you to the range today, Gunnery Chief?"
"Target practice. My boss is pushing everyone to get better and I'm feeling rusty with anything other than my assault rifle."
La Rosa looked back to Kardus as she said that. Kardus silently smiled and encouraged him to offer a hand. Even with how much of an ass La Rosa was a few minutes ago, Kardus was still watching out for him.
"Well..." He said immediately getting her attention. "I could show you a few sniper tips if you have time."
That was probably a lot more than she expected based on her reaction.
"Really? I mean, that would be great, but-"
"Yeah totally," Kardus said covertly motioning Tangilanu to leave. "It's not every day he gets to meet a fan. He can fill you in on the tournament circuit too if you want to catch a game. We'll meet up later, right?" He asked La Rosa.
"Sure," La Rosa said nodding to him. "Give us an hour."
Kardus and Tangilanu left and Ashley joined La Rosa at the stall. "Got a weapon of choice?" He asked.
"Nothing in particular," she said walking up to him and examined his armor. "So that's what you've been up to."
"Hm?"
"Everyone in my family wondered what happened to you after you retired. You kind of fell off the grid."
"Yeah, well..." He said remembering that time of his life. "I had a lot to work out."
"Sorry," she said understanding. "I heard about that. It must have been rough."
"The worst," he said as he picked up his rifle again and tried lightening the mood. "Anyway, your boss sounds like a hard ass if he's pushing you like this."
"Well," she said picking up a spare rifle off the stall's gun rack. "When your boss is the Master Chief, you need all the help you can get."
That made him smile. He still didn't believe there was a god, but something beyond his control was working in his favor today. "Funny you should mention the Chief," he said while programming a practice course...
"Step up to the firing line, lieutenant," Ackerson said leading Kyle into the ONI headquarters firing range. It was one of the smallest ranges he had ever seen, but it was also one of the most advanced. Everything inside the room was streamlined, from the prestigious appearance of the giant square panels everywhere to minimal amount of features on the main control panel. It was really clean too, like it hadn't been used in months but was still regularly maintained. It was most likely an 'officers only' range, so this was probably a big privilege for him. The black, white and grey color scheme would take some getting used to though. He might go color blind!
He stepped up to the line as scanners mapped out his body and a floating terminal read his vitals. The room hummed as the usual firing range features disappeared into the floor and the square panels re-arranged themselves. Suddenly, he was standing in the middle of a three-sixty degree arena.
"Falana says you're quite the cowboy with a pistol," Ackerson said tapping away at a data pad.
"'Cowboy's' a hyperbole, but I'm pretty good," Kyle said quickly making mental notes on where the holographic displays were.
"Let's see if she's right. The current program has prioritized pistol combat, but we'll vary the weapon testing to make it fair."
A panel next to Kyle opened and a locker full of weapons ascended to the floor. Now this was his kind of test. The long-winded talk about his squad's individual merits, his previous service history, his Alliance regulations knowledge, his leadership responsibilities and all that other stuff was standard stuff, if a bit irregular. Shooting things was a lot more fun and useful. If this was where the test ended, it would end with a bang.
The floor hummed with orange lights and the holographic displays shimmered in preparation. He picked up a Razor pistol from the top of the locker and twirled it with his good hand.
"What's the proper weapons check for a Razor?" Ackerson quizzed.
He quickly and mechanically went through the process of switching on and off the safety, checking the element zero chamber, working the firing chamber and doing the other minutia.
"Good," she said. "Two to your right!"
Shit! She already started the test. At least it was keeping him on his toes. He spun to his left to see two holographic dummies materialize. They both went down with headshots.
"Four to your left. Different crippling shots each."
Specific shots now? He could do that. He turned and aimed from his hip after quickly judging where each dummy was. He hit a different one in the shoulder, hip, kneecap and elbow in rapid succession.
"Three in front. Head shots."
That was easy. He turned to the three dummies up ahead, each moving around at different distances to make the shot harder. Not much harder though, as he adjusted his vision to snag the first one in a split second and the other two with the same shot.
"Krogan to your left."
Krogan? He turned to see a tall Krogan hologram materialize. He quickly ran through his combat knowledge to remember what the most effective tactic was. He decided to just fire two shots at the eyes, two more at the legs and rapidly fire at the chest until he broke through the chest armor. There was no right way to kill a krogan. All you could do was just shoot until either one of you stopped moving.
"Four to your right. Assault rifle."
He quickly holstered his pistol, switched to the Avenger rifle and quickly hosed down the four dummies to his left without much effort. This wasn't terrible so far.
"Three to the left and two behind. Shotgun."
He folded the assault rifle and picked up the Hurricane shotgun. Holographic shots whizzed over his head from the left, prompting him to duck before returning fire. They all went down pretty quickly.
"Eight in all directions. Two pistols."
Man, she wanted to see his whole bag of tricks! He unfolded the Razor and picked up a Judgment pistol as the dummies materialized. The scene turned into a Wild West shootout as his arms flailed in different directions taking them all out. He was actually sweating now.
"Four above you."
Above him? He looked up to see several holographic...things, possibly robots, crawling on the ceiling. He wasn't quite sure what they were, but they went down all the same.
"Mgalekgolo behind you. One pistol."
Shit…he twirled and folded one pistol as he faced the holographic Mgalekgolo in a frozen charging motion. Explosives would be preferable here, but she wanted a pistol show. The Mgalekgolo unfroze and swung its right arm, which he rolled under to take potshots at the exposed weak spot in the armpit. He then quickly stood and unloaded into its back until it vanished. That wouldn't have killed it, but maybe that was the point.
"Assailants behind me!'
Behind her? He turned to see three holographic dummies materialize around her. He hesitated, suddenly being reminded of Beckett being threatened by that one Turian. He snapped out of it and fired a shot into each dummy's eye. Ackerson didn't even flinch as they whizzed past her. She was quiet for a few more seconds before stepping to a nearby terminal.
"A little slow, but otherwise impressive," she said tapping at a few keys. The floor lights dimmed and the rest of the range reset gradually while Kyle returned the weapons to the locker. "Good to know the ODST keep their soldiers well-rounded."
"They won't accept anything less," he replied watching the weapons locker descend into the floor.
" I can only imagine what you'll teach the guys on my ship."
"I doubt I can do any better than—" He said before realizing what she just said. "Wait…what?"
"Oops," Ackerson deadpanned. "Did I give away the surprise?" Damn, I'm so bad at keeping secrets." She then looked him in the eyes as she continued. "I guess I should be more forthcoming with you, lieutenant…"
Tangilanu had seen some ridiculous things in his day, but he had never seen what he and Kardus were watching right now. Their walk to the Presidium had been interrupted as they stopped to watch some kind of street performance that had drawn a huge crowd. In the center was a group of twenty comprised of humans, Asari, Kig-Yars, a Turian, a Salarian, a Sanheilli and an Unggoy dancing to some synthed-up version of an old song. It wouldn't seem so weird if it wasn't for the fact that they were dressed in human 20th century business suits, or at least their equivalent for the non-humanoid races. There was even a giant box full of costumes somewhere in the back for their other performances.
Tangilanu chuckled watching the group do an admittedly impressive choreography dance while the lyrics played on a speaker:
Don't be shocked by the tone of my voice
Check out my new weapon, weapon of choice
Don't be shocked by the tone of my voice
Check out my new weapon, weapon of choice
Be careful, we don't know them
Be careful, we don't know them
Be careful, we don't know them
You can go with this,
Or you can go with that,
You can go with this,
Or you can go with that,
You can go with this,
Or you can go...
The group then went into a complicated dance routine involving a lot of hip shaking and leg moving over a repeated beat. What some people would do for fame, Tangilanu thought to himself.
After another minute, the song finished and the group was greeted by the thunderous applause of the audience. The group went back to the costume box as the Unggoy greeted the audience.
"Thank you! Thank you!" The Unggoy said. "We are The Elements; the essential building blocks of all things music. We have singers, musicians, mixers and everything needed to resurrect the classics. We're accepting donations while we spread our sound throughout the extranet to the masses, but I know you need more than that little sample. So let's bring out our lovely and talented lead Asari vocalist Olena Nassali to sing-"
"You had enough?" Tangilanu asked Kardus.
"They've have here for a year," Kardus replied smugly as they left. "They'll be back next week."
The two of them made their way to the elevator leading up to the Presidium. Kardus had felt like doing some exploring while La Rosa and his fan girl enjoyed their time together. Not that Tangilanu had much else to do today. Unplanned Citadel visits were hard to savor because everything he wanted to do took time. Guess he'd have to spend time with La Rosa's friend for now.
"So what's your story, 'Tongan Terror'?" Kardus asked as they waited for the elevator.
"Is that nickname going to stick?"
"Better get used to it. So how did you join the ODST? I know La Rosa's story, but I've never talked to anyone he worked with."
"Not much to say. I had family who fought in various service branches and the corps offered to help pay for my education. Didn't realize that it would be like this."
"Like what?"
"You know," Tangilanu said as they saw the elevator descended. "The ODST life. Hard action when it actually happens, but grueling downtime when it doesn't."
"You expected to fight a war every day?"
"No. I just...they say they want the 'best of the best.' So obviously I joined. And what am I doing eighty percent of the time? Training and talking shit when I could be working. It's a waste of talent."
"Everyone has their day," Kardus said as they entered the elevator. "If you keep waiting for something 'exciting' to happen, you won't live long enough to regret it."
They slowly rode the elevator up alone as soothing music played in the background. At least they weren't in a hurry.
"Is that an old Turian nugget of wisdom?" Tangilanu said continuing on Kardus' thought.
"Nope. That comes straight from the school of Kardus."
"Yeah, cause arena combat was such a life or death situation."
"More than you think."
"How so?"
"It's not the fighting that kills an arena combat player. It's life after the sport."
"Explain."
"Ok. Ever heard of Dyon Shu'um from the Blood Dragons?"
"I don't watch a lot of sports."
"It wouldn't have mattered if he had played his cards right. He was one of the greatest snipers the Blood Dragons ever had. A real Sangheili hot shot. He had the charm, the charisma and the talent to stay relevant even outside the sports circles."
"What stopped him?"
"Jared."
"La Rosa?"
"Do you know any other Jareds? Yep, the minute Shu'um stepped out of the spotlight, Jared had one of his best seasons ever. He broke all of Shu'um's sniper records and became that VIP everyone was chasing. Shu'um tried to keep up his buzz, but without anything to fall back on he just faded out of existence. Last I heard, he was working at a vendor in Buffet Alley."
"So...your point?"
"Chasing after the spotlight is a fruitless endeavor. It's what I keep trying to tell Jared, but he's..." Kardus said lightly tapping on his skull. "You know."
"Yeah. So why did we stroke his ego letting him hang with his fan?"
"He'll learn someday, but not today. All that stuff with his family dying just slows the process."
Tangilanu nodded. La Rosa didn't talk much about any of that stuff, but he did tell Tangilanu during a drunk night out. It was one of the more unorthodox stories he heard about people joining the ODST though.
"Chasing the spotlight's not all bad," Tangilanu said. "A 'thank you' is nice if you can get it."
"'Thank you' and galactic adoration are not the same thing," Kardus said.
"That one also from the school of Kardus?"
"Yep."
Almost on cue, the elevator speakers played a news recap on some big battle that happened on Therum. The Master Chief's name was mentioned no fewer than six times in the story.
"Like that," Kardus said. "The Master Chief would make galactic news if he helped a three legged Varren cross a street."
"That would be adorable," Tangilanu joked before continuing. "And yeah, trying to steal the spotlight from him would make anyone cynical."
"What about all the stuff you do?"
"I told you. I don't-"
"Not 'you' you. The general 'you.' Jared told me you guys busted a galactic Red Sand ring. That's a big deal. Did anyone say 'thank you' for that?"
"Do they have to?"
"Don't you want them to? Don't you want to be more than a second fiddle to someone with easy fame?"
Tangilanu then sensed something beneath the conversation's surface. "La Rosa took your spotlight too, didn't he?"
Kardus mandibles twitched a little, but he didn't answer.
"Well," Tangilanu continued. "How come you're not pissed at him?"
"He earned it," Kardus replied. "We fought enough times where I knew what kind of person he was. It helps being 'friendemies.'"
"What makes him different from the Chief?"
"Jared wasn't unfrozen after a century of sleep and handed the keys to the Citadel. Hell, you guys were the ones who unfroze him. Did the Chief give you a 'thank you' for that?"
"Does he have to?"
"It would be nice to be remembered for something that historic, wouldn't it?"
The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened to the Presidium. The two of them exited while Tangilanu replied.
"Guess it's all about perspective. I mean, you didn't work at Top Shots to stay famous, right?"
"No."
"And how many people do you help on a regular basis?"
"Hm?"
"Well, you're helping a lot of people become better combatants with the shooting range and shop. That's got to be doing some good in the galaxy, even if it's just small."
"Your point?" Kardus asked as they made their way to the area outside the Lower Wards entrance.
"That's a spotlight. Just...you know, a smaller one."
"So are you happy with a small spotlight?"
"Well it would be nice if-"
"What makes a small spotlight any good?" Kardus said crossing his arms.
Tangilanu wanted to say something in response, but instead he saw something that may make his point better. A short way from them, a Sangheili C-Sec officer was in an argument with a Hanar and a young Asari. It gave Tangilanu an idea.
"Alright," he said smirking back at Kardus. "Follow my lead."
Kardus followed along confused as they approached the group and Tangilanu greeted the C-Sec officer.
"Something wrong, sir?" He asked.
"This is a civilian matter," the C-Sec officer replied breaking from the conversation. "There's no need for ODST intervention."
"He's here as a civilian," Kardus replied still seeing where Tangilanu was going with this. "He's well within his right to ask."
"What seems to be the problem?" Tangilanu asked again.
"This one believes it has the right to preach freely in this area," the Hanar defended itself in that weird third person talk they used.
"Your presence is creating a public disturbance," the officer said to the Hanar.
"This one is unsure why the other would not want the word of the Enkindlers to be spread. The other allows preaching of the Forerunners."
"Those people had permission!"
"Maybe we shouldn't get caught up in this," Kardus whispered to Tangilanu, who brushed his concern aside.
"Ok, one second," Tangilanu said raising his hands to quiet the group. "Can someone please explain?"
"My apologies," the Asari said relieved for some assistance. "It's been a touchy situation." She pointed to the Hanar as she continued. "The Hanar wishes to proselyte in this area, but the officer objects to it."
"The Hanar refuses to listen to reason," the officer interjected. "We're not opposed to religious discussion on the Citadel, but he must purchase an Evangelical Permit to do so and stay within the registered preaching areas."
Great...Tangilanu got them entangled in a religious freedom problem. It's not that he had anything against religion. Hell, he and half his family were Methodists. He just knew better than to argue between secular and religious groups. Still, he wanted to prove a point, so he had to stick to his guns here.
"If the Hanar got a permit, then there's no problem right?" He asked.
"This one believes the truth of the Enkindlers is universal," the Hanar added. "Exacting payment for sharing the truth is an abrogation of this one's religious freedoms. It is not 'preaching' to state the truth of the Enkindlers, thus no permit should be necessary."
"So we should ignore the laws because one person feels entitled?" The officer rebuffed. "Your beliefs are no better than anyone else who would have to submit for a permit. Letting one zealot in for free will open a floodgate for millions more. How would that help your truth?"
"Please," the Asari said. "There has to be a way we can resolve this amicably."
"I'm beholden to the law, ma'am," the officer said. "If the Hanar sticks to the registered zones, there's no issue."
"And this one is beholden to its principles," the Hanar also said. "This one feels the truth should be available throughout the Citadel."
Tangilanu thought the situation over carefully before making a time-out gesture with his hands. "Give us just a minute," he said as he brought Kardus and the Asari off to the side to discuss things.
"I'm sorry you had to be dragged into this," the Asari apologized. "I had hoped for a swifter resolution."
"I'm sorry too," Kardus said sarcastically.
"Does the Hanar have any money to pay for the permit?" Tangilanu asked the Asari.
"Unfortunately no," the Asari said. "It would make things easier if he bought one."
"Why don't we just tell him to leave?" Kardus asked. "He's just going to be a nuisance otherwise."
"He deserves a chance to preach," the Asari defended.
"Are you an Enkindler believer?"
"No, but I've seen people preach here without a permit. They just say they're having 'a discussion' amongst friends about the Forerunners and the officer lets it continue. Turning away the only Enkindler preacher who has tried getting a soapbox would bode ill with his community."
"And giving him a pass could cause an incident with the other religious communities."
Tangilanu continued to think as the other two discussed. There were some valid points being made here. He tried to think back to his days back in Tonga with his family. They had their fair share of arguments before, sometimes over much worse things. His grandmother had always been a peacekeeper though and she knew exactly what had to be said to calm everyone down. That way, everyone left with a good feeling inside. Could he do that himself? He searched his mind for conversations his grandmother had with his cousins, trying to think of what she had said and what tactics she used. It would be a gamble, but maybe it could work.
Taking a deep breath, he walked back to the Hanar and the Sangheili.
"Hey, wait," Kardus said unable to stop him.
Tangilanu stood between the two arguing people and raised a hand to quiet them down. He then looked to the Hanar. "Sir, can I ask a question?"
"This one would be happy to answer any inquiries about the Enkindlers," the Hanar replied.
"Do you feel the Enkindlers expect their followers to follow a certain model of character?"
"But of course. The Enkindlers gave the Hanar language and the universe the mass relays. This one only wishes to preach of the peace and order their knowledge brings to all life."
"And what kind of peace and order is being followed if you just barge in expecting people to obey your wishes? Would the Enkindlers be supportive of that?"
"The Enkindlers would want their message to be heard."
"But not without upholding the law. How much good would spreading a message be when one becomes their own worse roadblock?"
"The human speaks the truth, Hanar," the officer said.
"The law should also be willing to aid in these situations though."
"What?"
"If religious tolerance is to be upheld, how can you deny him the opportunity to even try?"
"He just needs a permit and he can preach in the designated zones. I've explained that a million times."
"My friend here," Tangilanu said pointing to the Asari, "Has seen people holding religious discussions in this area without any restriction to where or how they can speak. By definition, that would be considered evangelical and proselyting by nature."
"If you want to get technical-"
"I do. The law upholds the right of religious freedom, but inversely segregates religious discussion to certain locations or turns a blind eye when convenient. Does that seem fair to the expression of faith?"
"It's to uphold the peace of the community."
"And who's to say it would cause problems? Perhaps the Hanar can open up friendly discourse with the other preachers. We can't just assume that all the religious groups on the Citadel will be hostile."
The two arguing parties were silent now as Tangilanu continued. "Maybe we can try something here. My other friend and I can provide payment for an Evangelical Permit that the Hanar can use."
"What now?" Kardus said surprised.
"Just go with it," Tangilanu said before continuing. "In exchange, you can let the Hanar do a trial period here on the Presidium. If he causes any problems or provokes the community, he can be legally moved to a designated area. If nothing happens, you might open a chance for other communities to share proselyting time peacefully without permit restriction. This way, no group is shown favoritism and the cultural diversity that the Presidium strives for is maintained. I'm sure your bosses would be grateful that you helped to keep the peace here."
The two parties thought this over for a minute before the officer turned to the Hanar. "If you get your permit, I can let you use this spot for two days under my supervision. If no one complains and you wish to apply for additional days, you'll have to come through the office and deal with us there. Is that clear?"
"This one does not wish to be a problem," the Hanar replied in agreement. "This one thanks you for the opportunity to share the Enkindlers' message."
"Sure, whatever," the officer said turning to Tangilanu. "So, you'll cover the initial permit charge?"
Tangilanu turned to Kardus and motioned for him to pay for part of the permit. Kardus shook his head at first, but at Tangilanu's insistence he relented and handed over the amount needed.
"Here," the Asari said giving Kardus some credits. "It's not much, but it should help."
Kardus gave Tangilanu his portion, who added his own and gave it to the Hanar. "This should be enough."
"This one thanks you for your assistance," the Hanar said to Tangilanu before turning to the officer. "And this one will be respectful to the other citizens in its preaching."
"See to it you do," the officer said.
As the Hanar floated away hopefully to buy that permit, the officer shook his head and looked to Tangilanu. "That guy was making my morning hell," he said.
"I bet. Hopefully your superiors are ok with this."
"It'll take a little effort, but we'll see what happens. God knows the Mormons have been pestering us about preaching here, so maybe this will keep them quiet too. Thanks for the help anyway," he said before turning to the Asari. "And my apologies ma'am for taking up so much of your time."
"It's fine," the Asari reassured. "You were doing your job."
"Glad someone understands that. Enjoy your time on the Citadel," the officer said before leaving.
"Thank you," the Asari said to Tangilanu. "I really had no idea how to handle this. Citadel evangelical laws are nowhere near my strong suit."
"I don't know a thing about them either," Tangilanu admitted. "I was just glad you mentioned the religious discussions thing, Miss..."
"T'soni. Liara T'soni."
"Miss T'Soni. I wouldn't have gotten anywhere without that."
"I'm glad we could work together," Liara said as she looked to Kardus. "And if I can help repay for the two of you..."
"It's fine," Kardus said shaking his head. "It's our good deed for the day."
"Thank you. I'm sure your kindness will be reciprocated," Liara said before leaving.
Tangilanu crossed his arms and looked to Kardus smugly. He mock held out a hand as if feeling for sunlight before whistling. "I don't know about you, but this little spotlight feels pretty good."
Kardus rolled his eyes. "I'll never understand people like you and Jared," he joked. "You really are a 'Tongan Terror.'"
Tangilanu smiled as he followed Kardus to some new place. It was a long way to make a point, but maybe Kardus could add this to his little philosophy book. At least La Rosa would get a kick from this story when they met back up on the Tokyo...
Codex Entry (Planets and Locations): Gagarin Station
Named after the first human to orbit a planet, Gagarin Station was the first collaborative construct between the Alliance and the Sangheili Empire following the Human-Covenant War. Often nicknamed 'The Grunt Hole' after the Unggoy workers who built it, the station was meant to be a symbol of galactic cooperation and expansion in a post-war era.
Gagarin Station served for a time as the Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training program's central hub. Young biotics were housed in the station and taught to develop their skills for superior reintegration into the galactic community. However, following rumors of suspicious activities and incident reports, the program's sponsor, Conatix Industries, shut down the program. The specifics for these rumors are still unknown.
Gagarin Station played a pivotal role in mass effect technology research, deep space telemetry exploration and high profile experiments too risky for public exposure. It also served as a resting place for several high profile decommissioned AI's, who prior to death aided in research for safer VI programs currently in use in the Alliance military.
Today, the station houses a regular population of 11,000 people, including civilian, military and scientific personnel. Scientific collaborations with alien governments held on the station continue to produce new technology to further the galactic community.
Two down, one more to go. One can only wonder what Danielle has in store in this next part…