Mercenary: The Early Years
Wounded Dove:
Shortie by Lone Wolf
Narrated by: Suzie DeSerpa

	Crash has been my guardian, my best friend, and the sweetest guy I 
have ever met for a good number of years. He has shown me what life is like 
when you have no worries and what fun and love are. I have shown him what 
it's like to be looked down upon and how even one small glitch in your 
person can label you an outcast. He doesn't seem to mind that trade off.

	We've grown a special bond together. It's quite more than friendship, 
but just borderline love. I mean, he has Stephanie and I (sort of) have 
Amber. But even so, he treats me like we're an item. He'll shower me with 
gifts, kind words, and the occasional Stephanie sanctioned peck on the cheek. 
You wouldn't believe what being treated like that does to a person, 
especially one in my place. I would be eternally hurt if something were to 
ever happen to him....

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

	I was hanging down at the Med Labs with Amber one fateful day. It had 
been three months since Crash saved us from the abyss, and we had been in 
contact over that time. We had formed nothing more than a friendship. To be 
quite honest, I know we were both quite happy about that. Few opportunities 
like Crash showed up in our lives.

	We were getting ready to leave when a group of medical technicians ran 
into the bay, a stretcher with them. We couldn't see who was on it. Figuring 
it was just some other Mercenary, we started to walk away. That was when I 
bumped - literally - into Marcus, the head of the mercenary unit The 
Wrecking Crew - the one that Crash was a member of. "I'm sorry," I said as I 
got up. "I should have been looking."
	"I-it's okay," he responded. Fear was having a field day with his 
voice.
	"Is...everything all right?"
	"No." He looked at me. "You two are the ones Crash watches over, 
right?"
	We both became alarmed. "Yes," Amber said. "Why? What's wrong?" He 
said nothing and pointed at the med bay.
	"Oh no..." I started to back away.
	"Let's go in," he said. "We can wait until they're finished with 
Crash." I looked at Amber, who nodded. "Good. Let's go." We followed him 
inside.

	We followed the path that had been cleared for the stretcher. Marcus 
stopped us before we ended up on the laps of the technicians. We wouldn't be 
getting any further until they were done working on him. And it wasn't a 
pretty sight, either. He had a serious head wound; blood was slowly dripping 
out onto the white tiled floor. His arm was twisted in an un-natural way, as 
was his leg. His muzzle wore scratches and deep cuts. His tail was matted a 
deep shade of brown. Amber and I held onto each other when we finally 
realized the seriousness of what was going on. But only one thing was on at 
least my mind.
	"What happened?" I asked softly.
	"We got into a mech fight," Marcus said just as soft. "We were 
outnumbered, outgunned, and in deep trouble." He shut his eyes. "Crash took 
the brunt of it all for us. He managed to get back to the dropship before he 
blacked out. We've been trying to keep him alive ever since."
	My eyes welled up with tears. I didn't want to lose him.
	Marcus looked at the two of us. "If it's not out of bounds, may I ask 
why you two are crying over him."
	"He is more than our personal guardian," I cried. "He's much more."
	"He is the first one who's ever, and I mean ever, come to the aide of 
two Disgraced. And more importantly, he befriended us. He's our only 
friend."
	"You have each other, don't you?"
	"Yeah, but that's a sort of roll over in bed thing. We love each other. 
But..."
	"Crash provides the friendship that we crave," I contiuned. "He'll 
hang out with us, take us shopping, and do all sorts of other fun stuff at 
the slightest hint of a chance."
	He nodded silently.
	"I don't mean to try to break up his contract with your unit, but he 
means so much to us. He means so much to me."
	Marcus put a hand on my shoulder. "He's been through worse. He'll pull 
through...uh...Suzie is it?" I nodded. He smiled. "I've been wondering to 
this day who the Suzie and Amber he told me about when I warned him about 
not reporting back to the bunks were. It's a pleasure to finally know now."
	I smiled and sent one of my small hands on his big, massive one. "I'm 
glad, sir."
	"Please, call me Marcus." He took my hand in his, wrapping his thick, 
warm fingers around it. "You two are now officially under the protection of 
the Wrecking Crew. I will tell the rest of my men and they will comply."
	We were shocked. "Th-thank you sir," Amber said.
	"Marcus," one of the techies said. "Crash wishes to speak with you."
	Marcus nodded. "Girls, I have to go talk with the man of the moment. 
Go find a seat somewhere. I'll be right back." He let go of my hand and 
walked into the fray. A curtain was pulled over it. We sighed and sat down 
somewhere.

	A half an hour passed before we were approached by a medical 
technician. "Suzie and Amber?" We looked up at her and nodded. The vixen 
smiled. "Come with me." We got up and followed her. She led us to the 
curtain that had been drawn and pulled it aside. "Go on in. Crash wishes to 
speak with you two." Our breaths quickened. "Well, go on." We stepped inside 
and she shut the curtain again.
	"Crash?" I said, my voice a little shakey. Marcus, who was at his 
bedside, looked up to us and motioned us closer. We stepped closer, unsure 
of what we were going to see.
	"Suzie?" he responded, his voice a bit raspy. We took a good look at 
him. He had tubes, wires, and all sorts of assorted goodies attached to 
various parts of his body. His arm and leg were held stiff and in one 
position, waiting to recieve the med bay's infamous busted bone treatment. 
But his eyes showed us what we wanted to see - the fight we knew him for. 
"How are you doing?"
	I smiled and took his un-injured hand. "Don't worry about that, Crash. 
You should worry about yourself."
	He chuckled weakly. "I know. But I'm worried about you too. Marcus 
told me what you two said while they worked on me." He gave my hand a gentle 
squeeze.
	"Crash, you know every bit of it is absolutely true."
	"I know." He looked at Marcus. "My buddy here has agreed to watch over 
you in my absence. He's a good man. His heart is in the right place. He'll 
treat you well."
	I smiled and squeezed his hand back. "Thank you Crash." I leaned over 
and kissed his cheek. He smiled and, much to my surprise, planted the first 
peck on my cheek ever. I pulled back and smiled. Our bond was formed right 
there.
	Marcus got up. "We should be heading off. Girls, I would like to speak 
with you."
	"All right, sir." I looked at Crash once more and caressed his cheek. 
"Rest up now. I don't want to see a tuckered out Crash next time around." He 
smiled and shut his eyes, ready for a well deserved sleep. Marcus, Amber, 
and I made our way out.

	Marcus offered to escort us home, seeing as it was late. And, just 
like when Crash did it, we let him into our apartment. Instead of falling 
asleep in the chair, however, he had other things in mind. "I need to ask 
you two a favor," he said, sitting down in the chair we had.
	"Sure," Amber said. "Go ahead."
	"Crash is not going to be in any fighting condition for some time. 
He'll be out of comission for at least one month after he gets out."
	"Okay. So what do you need?"
	"I'm not going to allow him to stay in the bunk, since the conditions 
there are deplorable as is. Can you imagine what it would be like for a guy 
in his condition?" We shook our heads. "So I ask you two, can you two put 
him up until he's ready to fight again?"
	I looked at Amber. She looked at me. We smiled and turned to Marcus. 
"Sure," I said. "We'd love to...."

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

	The bond we have is special. It was forged at the worst of times while 
he was in the worst of conditions. It has led me to believe the only thing 
that can come out of pain is joy. Every so often, I sneak up on Crash and 
give him a gentle hug. He always smiled and returns it. I can never be angry 
with him, just as he is never upset with me. We seem to grow together, 
enjoying life like we've known each other since we were two. Best friends 
forever in time....

	It would be crushing to lose Crash.

End
Suzie, Amber, Crash, and Marcus are © Lone Wolf and <([ Lone Wolf Studios ])>