Mercenary: The Early Years
The Birth of Death:
Shortie by Lone Wolf
Narrated by: Mohammed Ghandi

	Hey, what's up? I'm Mohammed Ghandi. But you can call me Death.

	Now, I haven't always been in the Jade Wolf. Crash and the others 
could tell you that. After my parents were murdered, they caught the guy who 
did it. They convicted him and allowed me to deal out his death scentence. 
After I scattered his body in all directions, square centimeter by agonizing 
square centimeter (you gotta love the artificial claws the executioner 
provides), I was disowned by the rest of my family. What happened after that 
is history.

************************************************************************

	I had just been decomissioned from the man's military. They dropped me 
off, at my request, on planet HQ, the mercenary's homewold. They thanked me 
for my service and offered me luck before taking off. I was a 20 year old 
man and had enough cash to buy a cheap mech chassis and outfit it with some 
stuff to make it effective in battle. The only place I would find that was 
in the scrap yards. The HQ scrap yards had damn near anything you could want 
- old transistor radios, ancient cars, and old battering rams. I knew 
exactly where to go and headed for the "mech" section.

	I found about nine or ten different frames, sitting there, the armor 
hanging off of them by mere threads. All I could do was stare at them in 
awe. One of these things was going to be mine.
	"Well," one of the elder attendants said. "Which one do you want?"
	I turned and looked at him. "I don't know. I've only got 3500K to 
spend."
	He blinked. "As in 3.5 mil?"
	"Yeah."
	"I guess that means you're going to buy the chassis, some parts, and 
take it to a mechanic to fix up."
	"On the nose."
	"Okay. So which one tickles your fancy?"
	I pointed to the one chassis with two massive looking cannons for 
arms. "What about that one?"
	"Ah, the Winds chassis. Nobody asks about that one."
	"Winds? I can see why. Nobody would want to be caught dead with a mech 
called Winds."
	"But that's where you're wrong, young'n. That particular chassis was 
owned by one of the Dusk Warriors."
	"THE Dusk Warriors? Holy shit."
	"It's still in good condition. All you need to do is replace the power 
cells in the cannons and add a few weapons, and you're all set!"
	"Great. How much?"
	"You're a nice boy. I'll give it to you for one and a quarter 
million."
	"Sold!" I handed him my cred card and he deducted the amount. "Think 
you can move it to the nearest mechanic?"
	"That'd be the one in the mercenary's guild."
	"Cool. I can get my regs while my mech gets fixed up. Thank you."
	He looked at me. "You planning on registering as a merc?"
	"Yeah. Why else would I be buying a mech?"
	"I know that. I was going to offer you a suggestion for a unit to 
join with."
	I chuckled. "Join a group? I don't fight with others. I fly solo." I 
turned away from him and started towards the mercenary guild's main 
building.
	"Don't be a fool," he called to me. "They don't allow guys to fly 
solo. If you've got a brain in your head, you'll join with the Wrecking 
Crew!"

	The building that housed registration was quite the foreboding 
place, even for me. It just had sort of a dark glow to it, which, to be 
honest, scared what bejeezus I had left in me out. But I need to go in to 
register so I could get paid to kill. Hesitantly, I pushed the door open and 
found....your everyday office. "Damn," I said. "I was expecting something 
worse."
	"What were you expecting?" a voice asked me from across the room. I 
looked over and saw a fat rat - that's the best I can call him - in a blue 
business suit. "You're not from around here, are you. May I ask your 
business here?"
	"Yeah." I stepped forward. "I was looking to register as a mercenary. 
Who should I talk to?"
	He chuckled. "That would be me. You know, most newcomers don't 
register to become a mercenary right away."
	I smirked. "I'm not most newcomers."
	"Ah, such an attitude. Come with me." He went into the back room. 
What else could I do? I followed him.

	I was sat down in front of a desk and given a digapad (think of it as 
an electronic clip board). It appeared to be some sort of paperwork. "Bah, 
piece of cake!" I quickly filled it out. It asked the basics; name, home 
planet, species, etc. Then it got into the more, um, interesting parts. I 
had to talk about past military experience, things that would be useful to 
the guild (i.e. my two years as the army's walking bomb factory), and, 
ultimately, what mercenary unit I would like to sign up under. To that 
question, I put down "I fly solo." I returned the pad and waited patiently. 
I was called in five minutes later, where I was sat in front of another 
desk. On the other side, the rat whom I talked to earlier was going over my 
pad.
	"Not bad," he said. "I think I remember you from the Ghandi double 
murder." I grimaced at the thought, instantly wanting to ressurect the 
fucka who killed my parents so I could kill him again. "Two years as a demo 
expert. That's good to know. But there is only one problem."
	"What's that?"
	"We don't allow our mercs to fly solo. You'll have to register with 
one of the units."
	"Why not?"
	"Too much of a risk on all fronts. Mercs who fly solo run the risk of 
being killed easier and, if they are killed, they have nowhere for their 
assets to go. Besides, it also cuts into profits and makes the rest of the 
mercenaries uneasy." He saw my doubtful look. "A mercenary without a leader 
is like a loose cannon - if it gets lit, watch out."
	"Ah...okay..."
	"So what unit would you like to join?"
	If you've got a brain in your head, you'll join with the Wrecking 
Crew! The old man's words echoed in my head. "Uh...is the Wrecking Crew 
accepting newbies?"
	He chuckled. "They always are! I'll sign you up with them."
	"Good."
	"All right." He put all of the information into the computer and 
printed up an official looking document. He handed it to me. "These are your 
legals. Don't loose these."
	"My legals?"
	"Your documents proving that you're a merc. Keep them in a safe 
place." He got up. "Go sit over by the blue wall." I did as I was told. He 
took out a camera of some sort and stood across from me. "Look into the 
camera and try not to smile."
	I smirked. "Don't have a reason to." The flash went off. The rat took 
the camera and plugged it into the computer. Seconds later, a card popped 
out of another machine. "Here's your idenification tag." He smiled as I took 
it. "Welcome aboard Death. We'll send word to the Wrecking Crew's commander 
that you're coming to visit. They're in admin sector 1, beta building."
	"Thank you."
	The computer beeped. "What is it?"
	"We've got an old wreck of a mech asking permission to dock and be 
repaired," someone said.
	"Oh? What model is it?"
	"It's an old Winds mech."
	"What?! I thought those were-"
	"Ah...that's my mech," I interrupted.
	The rat looked at me. "It is?" I nodded. "All right." He turned back 
to the screen. "He can dock and have repairs."
	"Wait for me to get down there," I added. "I need to make a few 
customizations to it before you do anything."
	"All right. Mech bay out." The computer turned off.
	"You need directions to the mech bay?"
	"No, but I would appreciate directions to the admin sector from 
there." He printed out a copy and handed them to me. "Thank you. I guess 
I'll be seeing you then." I offered a polite nod and went to go fix up my 
mech.

	When I got down to the mech bay, I found some sort of argument going 
on. Lucky for me, a technician was nearby, so I could listen in while I gave 
him my modifications to the scrapped mech. The group consisted of a 
timberwolf who was about a year younger than I was, a panther who was 
definately 5 years older than me, and two cougars.
	"You know you could have gotten us killed Crash!" the panther said.
	"For the last time," the wolf said. "I'm sorry. I've apologized to you 
ten times since the mission ended. Give it a rest Tony." He started to walk 
away. Tony (apparently the panter WAS Tony), grabbed Crash's shoulder and 
spun him around to face him.
	"No. You are going to stand there and you are going to get reamed out 
by me. No ifs, ands, or buts about it."
	Crash pulled away. "You are not my commander. If he chooses to yell at 
me, I will take it. You, Tony, are nothing but a comrad. If you want to 
bitch about a small mistake, take it up with the commander. Otherwise, leave 
me the fuck alone."
	Tony quickly brought his fist across Crash's face, sending him to the 
floor. "Don't you DARE talk to me like that Crash."
	I knew I needed to act now. "Excuse me for a second," I told the 
technician. I quickly stepped between Tony and Crash. "Leave the kid alone."
	Tony looked at me like I was a freak. "Who the fuck are you?"
	"Name's Mohammed." My tail swayed angrily. "Why you treatin' the kid 
like that?"
	"None of your god damn business. Now get out of the way or I'll hurt 
you as well."
	I smirked. "Try your luck punk." He growled and swung his fist. I 
blocked the shot like it was nothing and grabbed him by his neck. He grabbed 
my hand as I raised him into the air. "Leave the kid alone. Go back to your 
commander, or whoever, and forget about the problem. Or you will have 
Mohammed Ghandi to deal with." His eyes widened. "Yes, you heard me right. I 
am the guy who tore the convict up bit by bit." I put him back on the floor 
and pointed for an exit. "Go." Tony didn't hesitate one bit and ran like a 
wuss. "And these are going to be my fellow mercenaries..." I shook my head 
and turned to Crash. "Are you okay?"
	He stood up. "Yeah. Thanks, Mr. Ghandi."
	I chuckled. "Please, call me Mohammed." I extended a hand.
	He smiled and took the hand. "I'm Crash, bounty hunter 3rd class, 
operating with the Wrecking Crew."
	"The Wrecking Crew." I smirked. "Well, whadda ya know?"
	"What?"
	"I just signed up with that unit! Looks like we're going to be mates, 
bro."
	He chuckled. "New recruit, eh? That'd make you a 5th class, wouldn't 
it?" I nodded. "Well, I'll show you to the boss." He chuckled. "He'd LOVE to 
hear what you did to Tony."
	"Can I finish up with the mechanic? I need to have my mech completely 
remade."
	"You own a mech? Which one is it?"
	"The Winds model that just arrived."
	"You own that classic?! Dude, you have to let me drive that thing one 
of these days."
	"I'll let you do that someday. Don't worry."
	"All right, I'll be waiting outside for you." He left. I turned back 
to the frightened mechanic and continued with my list of tweaks to my mech.

	Crash led me to the commander of the Wrecking Crew, a powerful, yet 
kindly lion. Crash introduced me, I provided the paperwork that was asked of 
me, and Crash went into the full story of how I made Tony run scared. "You 
actually had the guts to face off with that prick," the lion said. "I don't 
care what anyone else says, but in my books, that makes you the bravest 
person I know." He extended a hand. "I'm Marcus. Welcome to the Wrecking 
Crew."
	I hesitantly took his hand. "I would like to make this clear right 
here and now. I perfer to fly solo. Don't think you're going to be able to 
boss me around to the fullest extent of your power."
	He nodded. "Understood Ghandi." He looked at Crash. "Take him to your 
quarters and help him get settled in. You've got a bunkmate now Crash."
	"Okay sir." He started for the door. "This way Mohammed."
	"I'll be with you in a sec." Crash nodded and left. I turned to 
Marcus. "Is he always like that?"
	He chuckled. "C'mon. Give the kid a break. He's had a hard life."
	"I'll keep that in mind. It'll be a pleasure working with you." I 
turned to follow the hyperactive Crash.

************************************************************************

	And that's basically how I got my start! In the years that have 
passed, Crash has established the Jade Wolf and has grown more mature since 
then. Harris, the old mechanic for the Wrecking Crew, signed on with the 
Jade Wolf and reams us out worse that what Tony would have done if we screw 
the mechs up. My old Winds now sits proudly in the center of the 
marketplace, decomissioned and in retirement as a proud reminder of our 
roots as mercenaries. And it serves as a reminder of my beginnings as a 
merc. I smile every time I pass it. My first mech, a testimate to the 
Wrecking Crew's greatness. It still has the old insignia is on it. I will 
never forget the lessons I learned in that unit.

	I don't want to forget them....

End
Mohammed Ghandi was created with the help of Ishmael Mohammed at and is © 
<([ Lone Wolf Studios ])>
Crash is © Lone Wolf and <([ Lone Wolf Studios ])>