Private Prague, U.N.P.K

Chapter 3

Coastal Klutz

"Phew... Phew... Phew..." Private Prague whistled as he walked in front of the Barracks, "They said I'm supposed to meet the guy around here." he fixed his U.N helmet, "When is he com-" he paused when Elma walked out of the building.

"Ah, it's you." Elma looked and walked to him, "What brings you around here?" she asked.

"I wanted to meet your friend." Private Prague once again fixed his oversized U.N helmet, "I need a head- count- to- finish- the U.N CENSUS!" he slammed his helmet on his head.

"You... You need help with that?" Elma chuckled, "If you want you can go to armory alley and buy yourself a new spex." she informed.

"No, I am U.N Peacekeeping Soldier, I need to represent my status." Private Prague fixed his helmet, "Now where is your friend?" he asked.

"What? Him? I don't know? I don't care either!" Elma responded, "What do you think I follow him everywhere!? I don't care about him!" she said angrily.

"I need to-"

"He's out in Oblivia fighting a Tyrant." Elma mumbled, "But that doesn't mean I looked at his schedule!"

"You looked at his schedule?" Private Prague chuckled.

"I-I did not!" Elma stammered, "I- Just finish the census!" she growled and turned around.

"Very well... at least he's alive.." Private Prague shrugged, "Now... Let's see... Where is Oblivia?"

"Oh no, you can't go there." Elma turned back, "Not someone of your caliber... If the monsters don't devour you, the desert will." she warned.

"I need to see this g-" he stopped when he saw two BLADEs arguing nearby, "What's going on over there?" he asked.

"It's probably a small bicker." Elma muttered, "Some Mediators should be arriving to fix it." she said.

"There's no one around." Private Prague responded, "Well... I am a Peacekeeper after all." he chuckled and started to walk to them.

"And I'm telling you to shut your mouth!" one of the arguers, which revealed it to be Irina, yelled at the other, which revealed to be Gwin, "We are not going to Cualdros and that's final!" she crossed her arms.

"Some Pathfinders got lost there." Gwin groaned, "We gotta help them out."

"Let the Harriers do it." Irina growled, "I'm tired of losing men for the sake of idiots like that. Let them deal with their own idiocy." she grunted.

"I-Irina... please..." Gwin sighed, "We gotta have every man we get-" he stopped when Private Prague stepped in.

"Can I ask what the commotion is all about? You are disturbing the peace." Private Prague muttered, then flinched a bit when his helmet slanted sideways.

"Well, look who it is." Irina muttered, "I'm surprised you haven't been eaten by a Grex... or ripped apart by Simius." she scoffed.

"I unfortunately haven't been able to go outside into Primordia." Private Prague responded, "But that's also fortunate for the monsters outside, because they get extra time to live!" he said pridefully, "I'm going to stop anything that dare threatens order and peace- gah!" he growled when his helmet struck his forehead.

"You need to get some better gear." Irina muttered, "Unless you want that soup pot on your head... Seriously, that thing won't stop anything- so old and outdated."

"It'll stop frag and minor bullets, that's all I need." Private Prague said, "Now, what is this conversation about? Is it an Interceptor dispute... or... relationship problems?" he joked.

"Ha!" Irina scoffed, "With Gwin, heh... Sure he's a decent soldier, but that's all he is, nothing more." she smirked at the Interceptor.

"Yes! I am just a soldier!" Gwin saluted, "But... we were actually discussing about rescuing some stranded Pathfinders in Cualdros." he informed.

"We will not be going there and that's final." Irina muttered, "And if you'll excuse me, Mr. Peacekeeper... Gwin and I have some business to finalize." she grabbed the man by the collar and dragged him away.

"Huh." Private Prague sighed, "I actually do need some new gear." he took off his UN helmet, "Now... if we can only get something like this, but in my size." he muttered and walked off.

0000000

"So you're telling me a piece of the White Whale is there?" a tall brutish man with a mustache asked Elma, "Well, that's not too far from NLA at all!" he laughed.

"I'm going to retrieve it with Lin and Doug." Elma pulled up their holographic profiles, "It should be near the coast. If that's alright with you, Commander Vandham."

"You're not taking your friend along?" Commander Vandham asked, "It seems the two of you are really close... Trouble in paradise?" he slyly asked.

"He's busy up in Oblivia fighting Tyrants!" Elma yelled, "He's too busy!" she shook her head.

"Well you're going to need more than three people to pick that piece up." Vandham observed, "Cancres the Stormy rules that coast, and he's a pretty dangerous foe."

"Well Irina and Gwin are busy..." Elma sighed, "That leaves... I can't take him." she muttered, "I don't know his battle potential."

"I heard he had a good record with the U.N." Vandham said, "Perhaps he will be of help... as long as you avoid Cancres." he warned.

"Very well." Elma nodded.

0000000

"Are you ready, Prague?" Doug asked as the five walked out of the West Gate, "We need to get a piece of the White Whale... Try not to get eaten. I think those indigens are tired of metal and would like nice warm flesh." he joked.

"They won't get a bite out of me." Private Prague put on his new UN helmet firmly, then strapped a few more grenades to his belt, "I'm packed with grenades, ammo, and my rifle... Nothing will eat me!" he pointed to the wilderness.

"Try not to get to cocky." Elma pulled out two SMGs, "Come on, we have to check what this thing is." she started to walk out.

"Hey, Elma... isn't-"

"No, Lin." Elma continue out, "He's not joining us today, guess why we got Prague." she ran off.

"Come on, time to go Harrier style!" Doug ran behind her, then Lin and Tatsu, and finally our UN soldier.

00

"Hey! Wait up..." Private Prague panted as he tried his hardest to keep up to his running teammates, "You guys run too fast... too far..." he slowed to a stop.

"Ah..." Lin slowed down, Tatsu as well, "Elma, he can't keep up." she radioed in.

"We're almost there, Private!" Elma told Private Prague, "Come on, you can do it!"

"Ha... Ha..." Prague caught his breathe, "I'm coming." he continued with a slow jog then caught up to them.

"And... we're here!" Doug cheered and slowed to a halt, standing on a hill which over looked a coast, "Where is the piece."

"It should be." Lin pulled out her device, "Aroun-"

"Ha... Ha... Ha..." Private Prague fell to his knees near Doug, "You guys... are way too fast for me." he muttered.

"Take a breather while Lin looks for the position of the piece." Elma reassured our soldier, "Looks like there's no indigens around." she saw the empty coast devoid of living things.

"They probably heard a Harrier was coming." Doug said, "I take down pretty big game with my Raygun after all." he chuckled and held his large cylindrical weapon.

"It's somewhere over there..." Lin got a hit, "Where Tatsu is pointing."

"Tatsu see ship whale!" Tatsu exclaimed, "It's by big rock!" he ran.

"Tatsu!" Lin yelled, "Come b- ARGH!" she growled when the Nopon was already down the hill.

"That potato can sure run." Private Prague said, "I'll get him..." he jumped off the cliff with a grunt, then rolled upon landing.

"We better go get him." Doug sighed and followed behind.

"Whale Whale Whale!" Tatsu yelled and neared the piece of wreckage by the stone, "Tatsu find whale for Linly!" he stopped just in front of it.

"Potato!" Prague grabbed him, "What are you doing? Why did yo-" he stopped when the sand started to shift.

"What in the." Elma saw the rock in front of the wreckage piece shake, "What's go-"

"Old Man Hubble..." Doug muttered when the "rock" shot up, revealing it to be a huge crab like creature with one claw bigger than the other.

"That's... Cancres." Lin saw the information on her holodev, "The Stormy..." she gulped.

"What in the Holy Roman Empire is that!" Private Prague stepped back when he saw the crab side step towards him, "Here!" he threw Tatsu at Lin.

"What are you doing!?" Elma yelled when Private Prague ran towards the creature, "That's going to-"

"Heph!" Private Prague lifted the piece of the White Whale, "Come on! We got to g- WOAH!" he slipped on the sand.

"Prague!" Doug yelled and saw one of the claws of Cancres swoop down, "What do we do?!"

"Save him!" Elma yelled and started to shoot the claw, making it misfire and miss the Private.

"Thank you." Private Prague nodded, "I got the piece, let's get out of... wah..." he started to stumble, "This thing is very unbalancing..." he slid on the wet sand.

"Let me help!" Doug ran to assist him, but had to avoid some bubbles shot out by Cancres, "You!" he growled and blasted the creature with his raygun. "BEAM BARRAGE!" he yelled and a large beam came out of his weapon, stunning Cancres.

"RAH!" Cancres bellowed and became enraged, then stomped on the ground.

"WAH!" Private Prague slipped again due to the stomp, "Ah... If I could stop, falling!" he growled and picked the White Whale piece up, only to fall as he tried to lift it.

"Get that thing moving!" Doug yelled, quite exasperated by the man's failures to move the wreck piece, "Come on!"

"Ah, forget this!" Private Prague growled and unpinned a grenade, then threw it into Cancres's mouth.

POOMP! The grenade exploded, causing the creature to become stunned and dazed.

"RAH!" Private Prague fired into the area damaged by the grenade, causing the creature much pain, "Die!" he launched a grenade from his launcher.

POOM! The blast blew Cancres back, rendering him dead and defunct...

00000000

"So glad you came back in one piece." Vandham briefed them in the barracks, "I guess our new guy managed to work out in the end?"

"Yes." Elma nodded, "And he was the one who killed Cancres the Stormy." she informed.

"There's nothing a couple of 'nades and bullets won't kill." Private Prague grinned as he spun a grenade in his hand, "You all are making me more, right?"

"You were really brave!" Lin told him with a smile, "Wow! You're amazing for a person new to Mira!"

"So, when's he coming back?" Vandham asked Elma, putting on a smirk.

"He's staying at a base camp tonight." Elma muttered, "But I'll go out to see him tomorrow."

"Look here, little potato." Private Prague interrupted as he talked to Tatsu, "You risk my life with any creature that big again and I'll serve you in soup!" he threatened.

"Now we're talking!" Lin nodded, "Wow, I never thought we would have so much in common." she looked at him.

"Watch out there, man, she's 13." Doug warned, "Don't get any ideas."

"She-She's thirteen!?" Private Prague's eyes shot open, "What?! Oh... what deception." he rubbed the back of his head as the others shared a hearty laugh.