Private Prague, U.N.P.K

Chapter 5

That's Harrier Style!

"Systems, go!" Doug yelled as he fired up a weird looking Skell, "So far so good, Lin!" he radioed the girl, "This Prototype G2-22 is going great! Let's see if it gets good vertical take off!" he said and fired up the thrusters.

"Engine output at maximum." Lin reported as she looked at her console, which was situated about 50 feet from the Skell, "Lift is generated."

"Oh, this is going to be great!" Doug grinned as the Skell started to rise from the ground, "I wonder how much game I can ta- Huh?" the robot started to shut down.

"It seems the central processor was acting beyond its capacity." Lin alerted him, "Luckily the Safety Mechanism shut down the Skell. So you have that working for you." she chuckled.

"It has a monster engine." Doug unhooked himself from the Skell, then exited and looked at Lin and gave a thumbs up.

"It's engine is two times more powerful as the latest Skell." Lin told him as she walked up to the man, "So I'm pretty sure you can ram any Cela into the ground with it." she yelled.

"Now that's Harrier Style!" Doug cheered, "I hope you get this completed soon so I can drop Millesaurs from the sky!" he growled.

"I'll get to it as soon as I have time." Lin answered, "I have to finish something for Prague first." she pulled up some blue prints.

"Alright." Doug started to walk off, "But I expect it to be done by this weekend." he laughed and walked out of the hangar.

000000

"Let's do it." Private Prague muttered as he grabbed his assault rifle, walking through a mire in Noctilum, "Agh..." he started to feel woozy as the fumes of the red liquid made him weak.

"These fumes mess with us too." Elma grumbled as she sloshed through the poisonous water, "But they seem to be taking a greater toll on you."

"Relax, I can.. get... through this..." Private Prague started to stumble, then stepped on the land again, instantly recovering.

"Alright, where to?" Doug looked as he jumped over a fern, landing by some giant flowers, "I remember seeing that Tyrant around here." he looked at his holodev.

"I see..." Private Prague muttered and looked at the large flowers, "Wow, these things are huge... I wonder how th-"

"Don't touc-" Elma stopped when the flower 'ate' Private Prague, making his legs stick out of its closed petals.

"I'll get him out..." Doug sighed and took out his plasma blade, "He's not the first one." he cut the stem of the flower, which made the petals split and release the man.

"Agh..." Private Prague groaned as he was covered by a sticky nectar, "Gross." he grumbled.

"It seems you have awoken something far larger than a simple plant..." Gwin stammered as a huge stem popped out of the ground in front of them.

The stem matured until it had bark, and inside that bark was a bright glowing red eye.

"Is that..." Elma looked at her holodev, "That's... De-Ku the Forest Guardian..." she stammered as the tree gained large vines with thorns on them.

"Oh... look at the time..." Doug muttered, "I had to... inspect something with Lin!" he bolted off.

"I'll get him!" Gwin growled and pulled out his assault rifle, "Flame Grenade!" he launched his fireball of power.

"GRAH!" the tree caught in flames, the vines squirming in agony.

"Grenades! I love Grenades!" Private Prague yelled, "I use my Art... Grenade Bonanza!" he yelled and just spammed his grenades like a new Solid Snake user on Super Smash Brothers Brawl.

"GRAGAGAGA!" De-Ku groaned its bark gave way due to the explosions.

"That's it, SHADOW STRIKE!" Elma lunged up in the air and cut through the weakened bark, hacking right into the meaty fibers that made up to killer tree.

"BLARRR..." De-Ku moaned and its vines collapsed, then his leaves turned brown and his stem got sucked back into the ground.

"Good work everyone!" Doug reappeared from behind a tree, "That's completely Harrier style!"

"Thanks for the backup!" Private Prague gave him a thumbs up, "I saw that raygun strike!"

"Uh... yeah!" Doug rubbed the back of his head, "I am here to take down those pesky tyrants!" he clenched his fist.

0000000

"Well well... looks like you killed De-Ku." Lao told the returning victors as they entered the barracks, "Sorry, Elma, looks like he's not here." he sighed and shook his head.

"I know." Elma responded, "He's in Sylvanium getting some treasure." she said, "He told me he'll be back tomorrow."

"Not one for long-distance relationships, are you, Elma?" Lin joked as she chopped some lettuce, "Don't worry, I'll make you some mean noodle soup for your soul! Or was it chicken soup?" she pondered.

"The more we talk about this guy, the more I want to meet him." Private Prague muttered, "When does he come by?" he asked.

"He was here this morning." Elma answered, "We shared some coffee and some bread and... ooh..." she sighed and held her cheeks.

"That guy's an awesome fighter!" Doug commented, "Last week he took down an Ictus Tyrant! That's Harrier Style!" he gave a thumbs up.

"He's also an amazing Skell Pilot!" Lin clapped, "Just last week he discovered a tall mountain to the north! It was filled with all sorts of loot!" she exclaimed and started to pour some soup into bowls.

"It's only a matter of time before he finds the Lifehold." Elma said, "And I'll be right by his side when he does."

"I should look for this fabled Lifehold." Private Prague muttered, "Maybe that will help me establish my command over New LA and place it under the control of the UN!" he cheered.

"Not in your life, sport." Irina walked in, "The Colonel and her boyfriend have finding this thing in their blood." she joked.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Elma growled and crossed her arms.

"And it's not a fable either." Lao commented, "The Lifehold is the most vital thing to making New LA prosper... so if you found it, whatever little chance that may be, you could certainly make yourself commander-in-chief of New LA."

"Yeah, man!" Gwin said, "That would be so cool if you found it! You could finally show everyone that potential I saw in you!" he smiled.

"The underdog finding the Lifehold." Doug nodded at the thought, "Now that, Private, is definitely Harrier Style!" he gave a thumbs up.

"Then it is settled, I shall look for the Lifehold!" Private Prague stood up, "To take over New LA and every human colony is the UN's Dream for the common welfare of all mankind!" he pointed up to the sky.

"You do that." Irina shook her head, "Then place a snowball in hell to see if it lasts as long as that plan."

"You'll see... all of you will see." Private Prague growled and stormed out angrily.

"The soup is ready!" Lin cheered as she put out a few bowls, "Get it while it's hot!"

"That food smells good!" Doug said as he walked to the counter, "And it was ready quick! That's Harrier Style!" he sat down an gave a thumbs up.

"Hey, he's coming!" Elma looked at her holodev, "Everyone, he's coming! Make and extra bowl for him, Lin!" she jumped up and down.

"Why don't you two share?" Lin gave a smug grin as she slid a plate to her, laughing evilly soon after...