Private Prague, U.N.P.K
Chapter 10
The Secret
Had we known that finding the Lifehold would take us into the burning mouth of death's servant, we would have though twice about coming in there with our foolish pride. Such joy of finding the one thing we wanted blinded our sense of caution and concern that had accompanied us throughout our entire time here on Mira...
Lin stopped writing in her log as she looked up to see that their replacement Skells had arrived.
"We have to help Lao and Prague." Doug growled as he saw the two men fight the large dragon midair, "Come on, Lin!" he called out to her as he boarded his Skell.
"I'm going to avenge you... Gwin..." Irina growled as she stepped into hers.
"Come on, Lin." Elma called out, "We need to end this once and for all." she stepped inside hers.
00(Cue Japanese-American-German Techno/Pop/Rock Music)00
"Die!" Lao yelled and fired his laser beam at the large monster, "RAHHH!" he charged straight into Abatheus's head, kicking it.
"Watch out!" Private Prague saw the dragon charge up it's flame breath, "I got you!" he locked on and fired some missiles, "Yes!" he cheered when both missiles hit their targets.
"RAHHHH!" Abatheus roared in pain and shook his head, "GRRRAAA!" he shot fireballs from his eyes and lightning bolts from his arse, all avoided by Lao and Private Prague.
"Nasty cretin..." Lao growled and repositioned himself to attack, "Prepare to di- AGH!" he was whacked by the monster's tail and sent into the sky, losing his Skell's left leg in the process.
"GATALING GUNNN!" Private Prague fired his weapon at the tyrant, then rolled out of the way, his jet fighter barely missing the dragon's right wing.
"BRAAAAA!" Abatheus roared, causing the canopy window of the ship to crack a little,"GRAAAA!" he shot out a laser from a red gem in his chest, causing a trail of devastation that was barely avoided by the newcomers.
"This guy is going to be tough." Doug yelled as he blasted Abatheus in the left lower leg, "FIRE!" he launched a huge shockwave from a device on the Skell's back.
"At once!" Elma appeared and speared the feared dragon, then Irina came and blasted the fiend with her large rifle, and Lin finished with a blast of a missile.
"This is PP-2 flyng in!" Private Prague radioed in, "Time to nape this dragon!" he yelled and his jet launched two gray missiles with red bands across their noses, both of which exploded with a burst of flames.
"BRAAA!" Abatheus groaned as the fire started to scorch his skin, causing the great drake considerable pain and overall being a complete nuisance. "GARAAAAAARAAA!" he shot out a fearsome wave of fire from his mouth, knocking back Lao, Private Prague, and Doug.
"Gah!" Doug's Skell lost its right arm and landed harshly on the gulch floor.
"I'm going to kill you!" Irina roared as she revved up her Skell to max power and whipped her peppered hair back, "For all you have done to my allies... and to... GWIN!" she yelled and charged up her laser weapon and blasted the Scourge right on the muzzle.
"URRAAAA!" Abatheus groaned and became stunned for a few seconds, allowing Irina to back away.
"Even with using my laser cannon to the point of exploding it... I did not kill him." Irina growled as she threw away her busted cannon.
"Irina, don't do anything reckless!" Elma scolded her, "You almost died right now! That was extremely uncoordin-"
"Colonel... he killed Gwin." Irina interrupted her, "And I... will... wreck his life." she powered up her Skell again.
"Irina, I'll cover you." Doug spoke, "Because your spirit is definitely Harrier Style." he gave a thumbs up with his Skell as he charged toward Abatheus.
"GRR..." Abatheus growled as he locked on to Doug, "BRA!" he shot fireballs from his eyes and blasted Doug.
"ARGH!" Doug groaned as his Skell was knocked from the air and crashed into a hard stone, breaking all limbs and leaving only the abdomen.
"YOU GOT THE WRONG SKELL!" Irina appeared and seemed to have the surprise-
"Irina!" Lao pushed her out of the way and took the large crushing bite that Abatheus had in store for her, instantly having his Skell crushed by the Tyrant's large mouth.
CRUNCH!
"Argh..." Lao groaned as the teeth penetrated through the Skell's armor, "I got you..." he flipped over a red button, "SELF DESTRUCT!" he yelled.
The Skell started to shine, and it erupted in a brilliant flash, causing a powerful explosion the blew The Scourge's mouth apart, causing the great lizard to screech.
"Lao!" Doug, who was now outside his Skell, yelled in horror, "NO!" he yelled to the sky.
"Lao..." Elma grimaced as she blasted Abatheus, "Curses... now we have to find the Lifehold.."
"Why did it have to be like this, Elma..." Lin muttered as she shook her head, "Why... Gwin.. then Lao."
"Guys." Private Prague came on the radio.
"Where exactly have you been!?" Irina growled, "We just lost Lao and you weren't here!"
"I found the Lifehold!" Private Prague informed, "It's above the cave wedged into a large nest! I already called the base!" he cheered.
"You... found the Lifehold." Elma smiled softly, "At least we'll be able to see them again..."
"But we need to kill Abatheus the Scourge." Private Prague swooped back in, "It seems he takes a liking to metallic objects, his roost is filled with all sorts of metallic parts of ships and machines, including your Lifehold!" he fired at the dragon with his Gatling gun.
"I wonder why he hasn't been attracted to New LA..." Lin mumbled, "Maybe it's only pieces he could carry?"
"We don't ha- AH!" Irina screamed when her Skell was pinned down by Abatheus's tail, causing her to eject to escape certain death.
"BRAAA!" Abatheus blasted both Lin and Elma with lightning bolts from his arse, "GRAA!" he struck both of them with his wings.
"AH!"
"DWAH!" both Elma and Lin ejected before their Skells exploded, landing near Doug.
"Damn... It's only Private now..." Doug looked to the lone fighter jet in the sky.
"Private Prague, be careful..." Elma muttered, "At least wait for him to come hear our distress ca-"
Suddenly, a white Skell appeared and struck Abatheus with a white laser pulse.
"It's him!" Lin shook Elma's arm, "It's him, he's here!"
"Took you long enough..." Elma smiled, "We found the Lifehold, just like you wanted."
The White Skell waved at her, then attack Abatheus in a one on one battle with the Scourge.
"Private, our friend has the air now!" Doug cheered, "You can go try to secure the Lifehold!" he informed.
"Roger th- AGH!" Private Prague's jet was hit by the dragon's spiked tail and sent crashing into the canyon wall, causing a large explosion that blinded the four on the ground.
"Private!" Lin cried as the burning mess fell to the canyon floor, "Elma! He's..."
"No... he's not..." Elma held Lin back, "Trust me..."
"Look." Irina, who had arrived, pointed up to the sky, where the White Skell had extended a large plasma sword up to the sky, then cut Abatheus's head off in one strong swipe.
"We did it..." Doug sighed in relief as the Scourge's body fell to the ground, "That's Harrier Style!" he gave a thumbs up and a big Texas grin.
"I didn't know he got that new Orion XV-17..." Lin muttered as she saw the Skell descend, " Wow..."
"Time to get us a Lifehold..." Elma muttered as she saw some helicopters fly over head, escorted by an entire squadron of Skells, "But we have to help him who made this possible." she looked at the jet wreckage...
0000000
REROUTE ALTERNATE POWER
REBOOT PROGRAM: S.W.O.R.D
COMMAND: SUCCESS
PROGRAM ACTIVATE: U.N VERSION 2.1- PRAGUE
ERROR: COULD NOT FULLY LOAD MEMORY REPRESSOR PROGRAM 'FNL WSH'
ESTIMATED DURATION FOR PROGRAM RUNTIME IS 5 MINUTES
CONNECTING TO RIGHT ARM: CONNECTION SUCCESS
CONNECTING TO LEFT ARM: CONNECTION SUCCESS
CONNECTING TO UP ABD: CONNECTION SUCCESS
CONNECTING TO LOW ABD: CONNECTION SUCCESS
CONNECTING TO RIGHT LEG: CONNECTION SUCCESS
CONNECTING TO LEFT LEG: CONNECTION SUCCESS
CONNECTING TO COS: CONNECTION SUCCESS
ENERGY OUTPUT: GREEN
CHASSIS STATUS: GREEN
READY FOR OPERATIONS
Private Prague's eyes shot open and scanned his surroundings, seeing he was now inside what appeared to be a laboratory.
"Welcome back." Elma smiled as she looked at the man in the blue helmet, "We missed you, Prague."
"What... happened?" Prague groaned as he looked at his hand, "Huh!? What?!" he yelled when he saw his arm was completely robotic, "What is the meaning of this!?"
"We were meaning to tell you sooner or later, man." Doug sighed, "It's going to be a truth punch..."
"What is the meaning of this!? Prague looked at his completely robotic body, "I am a soldier! Why am I like this!? This is not funny!" he growled.
"Prague..." Elma mumbled, "When the capsule carrying you crashed... we were notified by the onboard AI to execute a Memory Repression program." she informed, "With that program, we were told, would keep you from finding out the truth and give you the most human like character for... an android." she said, "You are an android sent from the United Nations as a protector of the human colonies in the extraterrestrial theatre."
"But... SWORD..." Prague mumbled, "And training... at the academy back on Earth."
"Created by the U.N AI to give you a human personality." Lin responded, "To tell you the truth, it worked... we couldn't tell you from a regular person at first."
"I told you you had much potential." Gwin nodded, "Once you go 100% android, you'll be incredibly powerful!" he cheered.
"That's one of the reasons we didn't want to inform you." Irina muttered, "The higher ups were still iffy about you when you came... worried that you would somehow become a threat..."
"We have 2 minutes." Doug looked at his holodev, "Until the android personality takes over."
"What-" Private Prague stammered, "What's going to happen to me then!? Will I remember you all? And Larry? And that girl at the cafe that breaks all that stuff?" he asked.
"We don't know." Lin sighed, "It's a huge leap in the dark... kind of like death..." she muttered.
"That escalated quickly." Gwin grumbled, "Cheer up!" he told Private Prague, "Maybe you will remember us, and you could be fully integrated back to NLA in no time!" he smiled.
"Thanks to you we found the Lifehold." Irina smiled for what seemed to be a long time, "And I got Gwin back..." she nodded.
"You may not remember this, but Thank you." Elma smiled softly, "Thank you from everyone in New Los Angeles... You certainly have served this city well, Private, even if you were kind of very odd at first..." she chuckled, "But even with your flaws, you have become a fine soldier and ally."
"You are definitely Harrier material." Doug grinned, "Thanks, man... Really, you gave us everything back! And that's Harrier Style!" he gave a thumbs up.
"Thanks so very much, Prague!" Lin jumped up and down, "I can't wait to see what you'll become now... will you let me see how you're made?" she asked, "maybe I can remake the pro-" she stopped when Elma glared at her.
"Thanks, Prague." Gwin nodded, "Hopefully we'll be friends again this time around... I've always believe in you!" he clapped.
"Huh..." Private Prague sighed, "Well, I just want to say that you all have been the be-"
EXECUTING BACK UP PROGRAM: U.N 1024
LOADING
The allies looked down as Private Prague entered a comatose state, all of them extremely anxious and fearful of what was to come.
"Do you think..." Lin stopped, "I just wish he'll be back to normal..."
"I'm going to miss the guy." Doug sighed as he kicked the dust, "He was definitely a proto-Harrier."
LOADING
PROGRAM EXECUTION COMPLETED
POWERING UP
Private Prague's eyes shot open once more, this time more calculated and aware, causing the allies to feel uneasy.
"My name is Augustus Prague #0001." Private Prague spoke, "I am a Kumarov Model V2 Android. My other previous recorded names have been: Sergeant Prague, Mr. Prague, Dr. Prague, and Private Prague... Please refer to one of these for a following personality type." he informed.
"Private Prague." Elma responded, causing the android to turn to her as she crossed her fingers.
"Private Prague recognized." Prague answered, "Loading profile... Loading... Error, Profile corrupted, would you like me to recover the personality?" he asked.
"YES!" the four humans responded with much emphasis.
"Affirmative." Prague looked off into space, "Recovering Personality: Private Prague..." he went silent for a few moments, causing more tension to rise, "I have some information to share with you." he spoke out of the blue.
"What is it?" Lin asked lowly, "What is it, Private?"
"Personality Recovery was successful up to the 30% mark." Prague spoke, "Would you like me to base off this recovered data or delete it and choose another?" he asked.
"Aghh..." Doug groaned, "How much would 30% cover, would it be enough so we can relate?!"
"I say we should go with it." Irina muttered, "Even the smallest amount would still make Private Prague unique." she informed.
"That is true." Elma nodded, "Very well, base off that 30%, Private Prague." she told the android.
"Affirmative." Prague responded, "Using 30% of Profile... Adding Augustus Prague Profile #0001.." he stared into the blue, "Personality loaded..." he went silent, then looked at Elma. "You are Colonel Elma of BLADE Operations." he said and smiled, "Hello."
"It's something." Elma smiled and hugged the man, who stood up and returned the action.
"Private, you're back!" Doug cheered, "Well, a part of you at least..."
"Affirmative, Doug." Private Prague looked at him, "Harrier General of BLADE Operations... Apologies for dropping that reloaded rifle."
"You remember that!?" Doug laughed, "Oh... sweet relief!" he patted the android in the back.
"You two are... Mr. and Mrs. Gwin." Private Prague told as he looked at Gwin and Irina, only to put on a sly smirk after.
"You still got it." Irina smiled, "I'm surprised that still stuck behind..."
"Welcome back, Private Prague!" Gwin cheered, "Want to head to the baths now?" he asked.
"Negative, location of Baths is unknown." Private Prague responded, "Upload most recent map for locations update."
"There's the android in him..." Lin muttered, "Say, Prague... want to be my boyfriend?" she asked coyly.
"Negative." Private Prague responded, "I was built to look like a 30 year old adult human male... Information of human relationships frowns upon such union of child female-adult male." he informed, "In other words... Don't try to lure me into possible pedophilia convictions." he chuckled.
"That's Private, alright." Elma chuckled, "Say, Private, you want to join in on the fun? New LA is celebrating after what you helped do."
"Define... Fun." Private Prague asked, "Fun is a relative turn in my programming..." he muttered.
"Just come with us, metalhead." Doug chuckled and pushed him off, "Come on guys! Drinks on me!" he cheered.
"Alright!" the others cheered as they walked off.
"Cocoa for me, right?" Lin blurted out before the doors shut behind them...
SM'S TIEM:
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!
Also I'm still waiting for someone to catch theHALO joke in Chapter 8.
Please Review!