Van Crewes

thumb|209px|Van Crewes during his time as a Gearright|300px
Commander Van Crewes is an ex-gear and currently a Stranded who has rallied many other stranded to fight against the locust attacks. He is a middle-aged man who after loosing his wife and children to a savage locust attack, has held a grudge since. Under his command he has many other stranded men and women, along with two "homemade" APCs and devestating weaponry.
Early History
Van Crewes and his fellow Gear friend, Corporal Jarret Fuller, started the idea of amassing a huge stranded force and taking the fight to the locusts and COG. They would slowly build up and then go locust hunting, hopefully bringing the long war to an ever closing end faster. The two men firmly believed in what they were fighting for and began to round up able-bodied men and women who wished to fight locusts. However eventually Fuller lost his faith in the whole operation and left Van Crewes which greatly angered him, but he kept on building his force without him. Soon Van Crewes found himself leading a force of over 50 stranded men and women all armed with assorted weapons and vehicles, a strong a fighting force. 
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Baptism by Fire
During Van Crewes's first encounter with the locust and his new force, the locusts demolished his forces, killing them all except Van Crewes himself. After this horrible fight, Van Crewes realizes he needs more men and better weapons if he plans on fighting the locusts. He sets out in an APC and brings with him all the weapons and gear he could salvage and went off to visit other stranded towns, recruiting people. Eventually he raises his force back up to over 50 men with enough weapons for twice that many. 
Timberland Woods Campaign
With Van Crewes's new task force he sets out with new found confidence and they encounter numerous locust patrols and destroy them all further speading their reputation. During a routine patrol in their APC, Van Crewes and his second in command Markus Thure, heard fighting in a nearby stranded town. After traveling there and finding dozens of dead drones, peppered with bullet holes, the two men discover a lone man, named Elan Santten, who has been fighting in the town for years, alone. Van Crewes sees much needed talent in the mysterious man and asks him to join him, which Elan does, having no other options. For years after Elan battles with the locusts, until one day meeting his younger brother Roy. The two share their pasts before Elan is taken by locust forces the next morning, prompting Roy to amass a search party. Throughout the long chase, many lives were lost, including Elan himself. 
The Battle of Dresan
In the wake of the search for Elan, a huge battle erupts in the stranded town of Dresan where Van Crewes and his men frequently stay and rest. Their force is overwhemlingly huge, even startling Van Crewes a little. Nevertheless, he and his stranded hold out and battle the locusts to buy time for the civilians to escape. In the end after hours of intense fighting, Van Crewes decides to pull out, but the locusts send in Brumaks and they destroy most the stranded forces, sending the few survivors scattering. Van Crewes himself goes missing and the stranded forces presume him dead. The day after Roy and the surviving stranded hold a funeral service for Elan, Ando, Van Crewes, and the others who went missing or were killed in thhe search.
Personality
Van Crewes was a very dedicated Gear, during his time when he served, and he was a no-nonesense sergeant and took all situations very seriously. While fighting for the COG he believed in every one of their beliefs. However once the COG refused to defend the city his wife and children occupied, he defected and went AWOL along with his buddy Corporal Jarret Fuller. This changed him drastically and he became unstable and enraged all the time, only wanting revenge on the COG and locusts. Although still very serious and demanding, he now retains a sense of extreme duty he feels he needs to repay to all the stranded for fighting with the COG.
Trivia
- the name Van Crewes is simply an alias and nobody knows Van Crewes's real name and when asked he says that his real named died with his family on the night they were kiled
- he has silvery, black hair and due to an explosion has two different colored eyes, one brown, the other yellow.
- As a gear he served as a sniper, and has since kept the same longshot sniper rifle over the years as a stranded, even naming it