Doll Maker's Diary, Part 11: The Crash Code

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 11: The Crash Code

CRASH, the covert agency featured in my X-Girl Creator story, has a code of conduct its members must all abide by at all times. Among the key tenets of what I call The CRASH Code are:

1. No civilian casualties. While injuring a civilian will result in a severe reprimand from CRASH commander Claire Hayes herself, actually killing an innocent civilian will usually cause the CRASH agent to be suspended until further notice. However, multiple violations, or a particularly severe single transgression, will result in the CRASH agent being "reverted", a term for the removal of the agent's powers via a special serum. This effectively turns the agent back into a regular human being; in addition, any reverted former agents cannot be readmitted into CRASH for fear that they would commit further violations.
2. Teamwork is paramount. CRASH agents often work as a team, and for good reason - if one of them is isolated from the others, he or she will most likely become a sitting duck for enemy fire. There are, however, exceptions to this rule, such as when one team member has to scout ahead for the others, far away from backup. Moreover, in solo assignments (which require no more than one CRASH agent to be deployed) this rule obviously does not apply.
3. Nothing about CRASH or its activities can be made public. The "C" in CRASH stands for covert, and as such the agency wishes to keep its activities - and its very existence - a secret. Otherwise, the potential for a worldwide security crisis would be too great.
4. Keep yourselves covered. In combat, CRASH agents should make use of any cover they can find, particularly in places their foes cannot reach. However, there are often situations where useful cover is scarce, or even completely nonexistent. In such cases, CRASH recommends that agents stay on the move as much as possible to avoid being easy prey for enemy gunfire.
5. Use of special powers is generally considered a last resort. All CRASH agents are considered superhumans; however, their powers can lead to unnecessary escalation and collateral damage if used carelessly. As such, the CRASH training program includes melee combat and firearms usage. The latter is justified by the fact that CRASH agents generally have a limited energy pool from which they draw their powers; if these reserves are expended, they must wait for them to recharge before they can use them again. Moreover, some of the agents' powers (such as Claire Hayes' Psionic Link) have little or no offensive use at all.
6. Reversion is mandatory upon retirement. CRASH agents who retire voluntarily are required to undergo the reversion procedure described above so as to ensure that they can no longer pose a threat to the general public, while also giving them a chance to return to a normal life. However, reverted CRASH agents can be "restored" if they choose to rejoin, i.e. they will regain the powers they had during their tenure as a CRASH agent.

There are many other rules that make up the CRASH Code, but the six directives mentioned above are the most important ones of all. This concludes our discussion of the CRASH code.