Crash & Troy — Jarred Lujan

Intergalactic mercenaries Rex “Crash” Ballard and Troy 3.0 find themselves in hot water after completing a job to spring a ruthless dictator from a maximum-security prison, reigniting the potential for war between neighboring planets Wexia-1 and Wexia-2.This puts Crash and Troy in the crosshairs of the Earth Defense Forces and Chief Fiona Alvarez has an ultimatum for them. Either recapture Supreme Leader Jongil and stop an interplanetary war or find themselves sentenced to life in prison. And taking the job means working with a handler named Delphi who has no interest in putting up with their nonsense. As can be expected, nothing goes right during their attempt to sneak onto Wexia-2. After their spaceship crash lands on the planet, Crash, Troy and Delphi fight their way through Jongil’s forces and come face-to-face with the dictator’s very beefy son, Jongun! Crash goes toe-to-toe with Jongun, but even in his mutant form he’s no match for the muscle-bound giant. Crash and Delphi are captured, and Troy’s body is destroyed. What’s worse, they’ve discovered that Jongil has rebuilt his “weapon of super-massive destruction” the Blackhole Manipulator in order to destroy Wexia-1.But Troy returns after having uploaded his consciousness in a new “husk” he likes to refer to as his “battle-body.” Tory frees Crash and Delphi before uploading himself into Wexia-2’s defense systems. He takes control of their robotic troops and turns them against Jongil, ending the threat of war.After Crash recovers from his battle injuries, Delphi visits the hospital as Troy wheels his friend back to their ship. Turns out, she’s developed a soft spot for the two of them while completing their mission. And while it’s another job well done for Crash & Troy, they’ll have to settle for having their records wiped as a form of payment.Or at least, they would’ve had to settle for that if Troy hadn’t hacked into the EDF systems and reclaimed their original payment from Jongil. Now they can finally live it up until they’ve burned through their money and have to look for their next job.