[Ian 30] - Cast Out

The assailant’s fist landed like a hammer blow on Ian’s right cheek and his vision filled with stars as his head began to swim.

“Where did you take him?!?”

Another hammer blow to his stomach took all of the wind out of him making it impossible to answer.  It also caused all of the strength to evaporate from his legs and he collapsed in a heap to the floor, gasping, desperately trying to refill his lungs with air.

“Stop it!” a voice cried out from somewhere at the edge of his vision. 

“Shut up bitch!  Unless you want the same,” his assailant replied.

Ian lay bent over his knees with his forearms on the ground trying to regain his breath.  He didn’t dare look up, but he could make out at least six pairs of boots ringing around him and Dyrke, the leader of the Steel Spiders.

“I escorted him to the Enfor…” Ian tried to gasp, but a heavy booted kick to his left side crushed his bicep into his ribs.  The blow took the wind back out of him and rolled him over onto his back.

“He was the property of the Spiders Ian!  You had no right to escort him anywhere!”

The last sentence was emphasized by another kick, this time to his right side.

“Please!”

THWACK!

Somewhere in the shadows Ian heard the meaty thud of someone else taking a blow, followed quickly by the sound of a collapsing body.  Nobody else spoke up or moved to help Ian or his unseen advocate.

“Pick him up!”

Two sets of hands reached down and hauled him to his feet.  Once vertical they had to support him because his legs were barely responding to his efforts to stand.  He tried to lift his head to look Dyrke in the eyes.  By now the swelling on the right side of his face was making it difficult to see out of his right eye.

“I took you in!” another hammer blow, this time to his left cheek. 

“I gave you shelter!” another blow to the right.

“And this is the thanks I get!” a piston blow to his stomach.  Now all strength left him, but the powerful hands held him in place.

“Do you have any idea what you have done to the reputation of the Steel Spiders?!?”  This time his assailant gave him a two fisted backhand that landed hard enough to cause his restrainers to lose their grip and he collapsed to the floor once more.  By now blood was dribbling out of his mouth at a steady rate into a pool on the floor.

Ian tried to stand up on his own but collapsed in a heap twice more before he got his knees under him, but as he rallied the strength to push up the rest of the way another hammer blow drove him back down.  This time he just stayed down.

“Bring ‘em to the deck of the Bifrost.  We’re going to make examples of them.  Show the others what happens when you cross the Spiders.”

Two pairs of hands reached down once again and brought him to his feet.  He had no strength in his legs and so he was dragged more than carried up the several ladders and decks until they reached the deck of the bridge that connected this part of Hive City to the Under Hive.  It spanned a chasm a half a kilometer deep.

“What are we going to do with them Dyrke?”

Ian tried desperately to identify the voice of one of those he had called friends.

“We toss them over,” came the leader’s reply.

Ian tried desperately to rally his strength, but it was hopelessly inadequate.  His escort’s grip held firm.  What little vision he had through the swelling in his face he could see the abyss beyond the edge of the bridge and fear welled up in his throat.

“Can the Spiders come out and play?”

The procession to his doom stopped dead in their tracks.  Ian could hear a lot of shuffling feet, but could not identify the voice. 

“You’ve got no say in this Bounty Hunter!  Best to leave now lest you get taught a lesson you won’t soon forget.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.  I am not here for them Dyrke.  I’m here for Jakob.  I heard tale that you had him.  I want him.  You wouldn’t even have been on his trail if it weren’t for me!”

“You can’t have him.  It’s our bounty.  We went and got him, and I aim to be the one to bring him in.”

“I kind of thought you’d say somthin’ like that.”  The Bounty Hunter put two fingers in his mouth and brought forth a piercing whistle.  On cue a dozen Escher stepped out of the shadows.  “And I take issue with it.”

The vice grip that held Ian upright released their hold on him and he collapsed in a heap.  Looking up Boenerges was placing a long boxed cartridge into the belly of his heavy stubber and was fixated on the new threat.

Ian looked around and saw that Gelder had released his grip on Amber as well.  She stirred as she hit the deck, but slowly.  Continuing to take in the situation he noticed that the Spiders were taking cover to face off against the Black Cats and the unknown Bounty Hunter.  Dyrke was not currently interested in exacting his justice on Ian at the moment.  He knew that would not last and that he and Amber would only have a few moments to affect their escape.  Amber looked up and made eye contact with Ian.  It was clear she was as scared as he was.  With little effort Ian communicated that they needed to crawl back the way they had come.  

They pair had not gone far when the fire fight erupted between the Steel Spiders and the Bounty Hunter’s crew.  Without a word between them they both got up and ran as fast as they could back to the relative safety of the Chigger’s Bar.  Ian glanced back out on to the deck and could tell that Dyrke and the Spiders were making head way against their attackers.  Looking around the bar it was empty, the last few patrons fleeing out the front door to escape the combat outside.  Chigger waved them over.

“Take your old room Amber,” he glanced back at Ian.  “It’s my hide if Dyrke catches you two here.  Get up to that room and stay there until I give you the all clear.” 

“Come on Ian.  It’ll be OK.”  Amber gave Ian a reassuring tug on his right arm to pull him up the stairs behind the bar.  They stumbled to the last room on the right.  Once they were inside Amber slid the door shut and pushed it slightly forward.  “If this works right, it will look like just another panel in the wall outside.”

They could hear the staccato of the heavy stubber through the walls, but it was apparent that the battle was waning.  

The wounded pair collapsed on the unmade bed, exhausted.  Amber had a welt growing on her cheek, but Ian was in obvious pain and having to take shallow breaths in order to not agitate his probably broken ribs.  Amber tried to take stock of his wounds but he waved her off, and she was too tired and sore to protest.  They both drifted off to sleep.

-=-=-=0=-=-=-

Ian jolted awake to the sound of men and women screaming in the hall outside.  The effort to stand made him catch his breath and pain stabbed through rib cage, but he readied himself to defend himself and Amber.

“Over here you thick headed sump spider.”

Turning around Ian saw Amber had pivoted the dresser out to reveal a dark chamber beyond.  He hesitated a moment.

“Search all the rooms!” they both heard Boanerges bellow from the hallway. 

That was all the encouragement Ian needed and he ducked into the small doorway.  Amber quickly followed and pulled the dresser back into place with an attached cord.  Once the dresser pulled tight darkness washed over them.  They sat together in the darkness barely wanting to breathe lest they give themselves away.

A crash rumbled through the little door and they both instinctively shuffled back away from the door.  Ian’s eyes had not quite adjusted to the complete darkness and he found himself wishing he had his visor with him now.  It was then that he realized that neither he nor Amber had any of their kit.  He fought the urge to panic.

Chigger’s voice boomed through the wall and door, “I told you they weren’t here Cacee!  You didn’t have to go and bust down the door!

“It’s good for you that they aren’t Chigger,” came the familiar voice of the Spider Ian had once called friend.

Next followed a lot of shuffling of feet and whispers.  Ian tried to press his ear against the door to hear what was going on.  The shuffling lasted for a few minutes.  Much longer than he had thought it should, especially thinking that once they did not find what they were looking for they would just leave.  Finally the voices and the noises from the room beyond faded.  Ian moved to try and push the door but Amber grasped his arm.  Looking over she was shaking her head as if to say ‘not yet’.  Ian nodded in acknowledgement and there they stayed.  After fifteen minutes Amber pressed her shoulder against the door and it opened a few centimeters.  She waited to see if anything responded from the room beyond. When nothing happened she opened it the rest of the way slowly. 

From their hide the room looked turned upside down, and the once concealed door lay smashed and hanging from only one hinge.  Looking around once more before they stepped back into the room memories flooded both their minds.  Many a liaison between the two had been spent in this room after they had first met.  Back then Ian believed their trysts to be out of bounds, he a member of the Spiders and House Van Saar, and she a member of the Black Cats and of House Escher.

“I don’t think we are going to be able to stay here much longer,” Ian said out loud.

Amber nodded her head in silent agreement.  Ian moved to the smashed doorway to look down the now silent hallway that led back to the public room of the ‘Bifrost’.  It was filled with debris and broken furniture, but no people.  When Ian turned to signal that it was all clear Amber gasped.

“Look!” she said pointing to the bed.

Poking out from underneath the displaced mattress was the pommel of Amber’s sword.  Ian helped her lift the mattress the rest of the way off.  Underneath they found Ian’s tinkering and medical kit bag and Amber’s sword.  Ian opened up his kit satchel to see what was in there.  All of his basic tools that he had used on his workbench along with his basic medical supplies. Right on top of it all was a small bag with a few  guilders and his visor.

“It’s not much, but better than nothing.”

Amber agreed. “Look, a note” she pointed to piece of paper sticking out from an interior pocket.

Ian, you saved my life once.  Dyrke is on the warpath for your hide and for anyone who helps you.  He’s taking us out towards the sump.  I highly recommend you make a break for it once we leave.  It will be best for everyone.  This makes us even.  ~ Cacee

Ian just stared at the slip of paper for several long moments.  Cacee had been instrumental in bringing him into the Steel Spiders.  How long had that been?  Flashbacks of the battles and off duty times in the Bifrost ran through his mind.

A gentle hand from Amber on his arm brought Ian back to the here and now.

“Come on, we need to put some distance between ourselves and Dyrke, the further, the better.”

Ian nodded his head and shouldered his kit bag.  Peering down the hallway from the edge of the doorway Ian tried to see down the stairs to see if any of the Spiders were in the common room.  He couldn’t tell, so the pair crept down the hallway sticking close the wall.  When they reached the top of the stairs they stopped to listen for a few more minutes.  Only the regular clanking of stoneware and hum of indistinct chatter between patrons met their ears.  With a silent glance between each other they started down the stairs and tried to look like any other couple returning from a tryst in the upper rooms.  When they reached the bottom of the stairs the two hesitated long enough to look around the room.  No spiders in sight. 

“Psst!  Ian”

The startled pair jumped where they stood.  Ian spun around while Amber took a step slightly in front of Ian and readied her sword.

“Easy! Easy!”

From behind a small stage where acts came to entertain the patrons Chigger was waving them to follow him.

“Dyrke has taken the spiders out onto the bridge span.  You won’t get far if you head out the front doors.  Follow me.”

Behind the stage Chigger led them into an old utility room.  In the floor was a metal trap door with a thick chain and padlock holding it in place.

“This leads to an old cable conduit that runs the span of the bridge to the far side of the Enforcer precinct.  It’s how I get some of my goods past the tolls imposed by the Guilders.  Not all of it, just the more lucrative items," he said with a grin.

“Thanks Chigger.  We can’t repay you for this.”

“It’s alright kid.  Maybe if it is ever safe enough for you to come back this way we can settle up.”

Ian nodded his thanks and looked down at the door.

“Before you go though, I want you to have this.”

Ian looked back up at the bartender.  In the man’s hands was a slightly battered single barrel semi-automatic shotgun.  This was a typical Van Saar model with a seamless hand grip and receiver that could be fed with either a small drum magazine, currently missing, or single rounds could be fed into a line feed below the barrel.  The stock was folded up and over resting neatly on top of the receiver while still allowing the smooth discharge of spent shells from the chamber.

“The mag is full Ian.  Sorry I don’t have any extra shells to hand you.  Had to… well… leave the front in a hurry.  Half a click out the other side you will run into a small Holestead.  A prospector named Goreman.  Tell him Chigger sent you and he will be able to point you in a safe direction.”

Reaching down he punched in five numbers into the keypad on the lock and it clicked open.  He gently pulled the chain through the handrail and then opened the door.

“Now, get!”

Ian grabbed Chigger’s forearm and thanked him silently.  Amber dropped down the dark hole and reached up to grab the shotgun to help Ian through as he winced from the pain in his ribs as he lowered himself down.  Chigger wasted no time.  As soon as Ian’s head cleared the hatch the door shut over them and they were swallowed up in darkness once again.  Only a few of the old maintenance lights were still functional, but it was enough for them to find their way.

Amber and Ian glanced at each other.

"Let me take a look at that," Ian said reaching into his bag.  Pulling out a noxious smelling ointment he rubbed it on Amber's swollen cheek.  He then had her do the same to the welts on his face.  It burned slightly and penetrated deeply.  Once that was done she applied the ointment to the massive bruise now encompassing his ribcage and wrapped them up with the few strips of cloth they had.  Once that was done he put away the remaining supplies.

“Well, come on… no time like the present.” Ian said. With that the pair headed off to their new life.

[Ian - 29 / Jakob - 3] A Brush with Death

Once Ian had cleaned himself up he climbed up the three levels to the Bifröst’s deck level. Although he felt better on the outside after his chem-shower, he needed to get something to eat and then to climb into his rack for a couple of shift cycles to shake the fatigue he felt throughout his body.

Ian waved down the length of the bar to get the barkeeps attention, “Chigger! I need a couple of “rats-on-a-spit” and a nice tall glass of water!”

The barkeep nodded his head in acknowledgement and put down the metallic cup his was cleaning with his shirt. Ian settled into the barstool at the Spider’s end of the bar. From here he could scope out the main room of the Bifröst. He was hoping to catch a glimpse of Amber. It had been over a week since he had held her in his arms.

“Come to think of it,” Ian said to himself, “where is everybody else?”

“Here ya are kid” Chigger said as he set the food and drink down in front of the Van Saar medic and tinkerer.

Ian spun back around and dived into his meal. It wasn’t gourmet, but it sure beat the synth-soy crap most down hivers had to scrape by on. Besides, the faster you got it into your gullet, the less you had to think about it. Once he had shoved the last bite into his mouth he leaned back to look up at the monitors showing one of the closed circuit channels of rat races the local Guilders ran. The rodents for the next race were being shown on screen and Ian leaned back to get a better view.

“Hey Chigger! Put me down for ten guilders on number 4!”

The barman nodded in Ian’s direction and turned and scribbled on a data slate under the counter. Once his bet was secured Ian leaned back to get a better view of the dingy screen above the bar. If nothing else it would provide a nice diversion until Amber returned from whatever errands Dyrke had her running.

Before the race could start several factory workers from nearby Hive City came stumbling in to the front room of the Bifröst. The front rank got pushed to the floor as several ranks behind them continue to surge further in.

“Cash only!” Chigger yelled from behind the bar. At the voice of their boss, and owner of the bar, several Goliath bouncers moved to evict the new trespassers.

“They’re about to start killin’ each other out there!” One of the denizens said as he climbed out from under the tangle of bodies now on the floor.

“Who’s trying to kill each other?” the barman called back.

“Some Escher gang calling themselves ‘The Black Cats’ or somethin.”

That caught Ian’s attention and he turned to face the crowd. “Who are they facing off against?” He asked as he moved up to face the now defacto leader of the mob.

The man looked nervous and glanced at one of his compatriots as if to see what he should say. “A bunch of lads and a lass dressed a whole lot like you.” He stuttered.

Ian moved back and forth to look for a way around the throng of humans now crowding the front door of the bar. There was no time to run back to his hab to grab his lasgun. He’d have to make do with his las pistol there on his hip. Before he could find a path through the distinct sound of gun fire began echoing off the surrounding area outside. This caused two things to happen simultaneously.

The first was that the mob of civilian factory workers began to panic and surge forward further into the Bifröst. The second was that the surge met the four Goliath bouncers blocking any further progress. The resulting melee prevented Ian from making any more progress through the front door. Seeing his way blocked he took off running for the backroom where Chigger had a door to the back alley.

Once he cleared the back door he made a sharp right to get back to the street in front of the pub. Several more bystanders were huddled behind whatever cover they could find. The gun battle was in full force. Just as Ian broke from the alleyway a huge explosion knocked him back, flat on to his rear end.

Once he had shook his head clear he jumped back to his feet and raced back out into the street. By now it was mostly deserted. Hargrave and Xander were blasting away at two retreating Esher. There were two more of the scantily clad women sprawled out in the street in the direction the other two had fled. It was then he caught a glimpse of a tri-color body suit piled in a heap. He ran to the body.

As drew near Ian immediately recognized the victim. There was a pool of blood underneath the head, with long strands of red hair covering both her face and whatever the injury was. Amber’s body-glove was shredded and fresh cuts were bleeding everywhere. He saw her chest moving slightly so she was still alive, but it was impossible to tell just how injured she really was. While supporting her head he slowly rolled her onto her back, her thick locks were matted thickly with blood and dirt from the street. As he rolled her over it covered her face, but he was too distracted by all of the wounds covering her arms, legs, and body. He began with her torso. Each wound he examined was superficial. There might be a couple of new scars, but nothing deep enough to warrant further attention for now. Next he examined her arms and legs. Same results and he began to breathe easier. Perhaps the concussion of whatever it was that caused the explosion merely knocked her senseless.

Gently he began to move the hair from his love’s face. It was then he discovered the source of all of the blood. Her right eye was completely missing with the tissue beyond clearly visible and ripped to shreds. The bone was pulverized and she was still bleeding profusely. He swallowed hard the panic that quickly rose into his throat and scooped her up in his arms.

Without calling to the other Steel Spiders he ran back down the alley to the back entrance. He did not have a lot of time, and was not willing to try the front door to the Bifröst. He kicked open the back door and rushed through the common room to the Spider’s private entrance. By the time he had made it to the ladders Renny was there to help him get her back down the three levels to the where the sanatorium was.

When he burst through the curtains that made up the door to his work/hab space the kid he and the other Spider’s rescued sat up. Seeing that Ian had a wounded person in his arms the kid cleared off the table closest to the doorway. Between the three men they gently laid Amber down. With his hands now free he immediately picked up sanitizer and clean rags to dress the gaping wound. Next he picked out what little stims he had available. There was no way he was going to save her eye (he wasn’t even sure where it was), but he might be able to save her life. Once he was satisfied that he had done everything he could for her face and head he moved on to cleaning out the less serious injuries that covered most of the rest of her body. He had to keep his mind completely clear so that he could focus on the tasks at hand.

As he finished stitching up a pretty deep cut on her left thigh he felt Renny smacking his right arm with the back of his left hand. Ian’s eyes followed his friends hand up his arm to his shoulder and then his face. Renny was staring at something across the table.

Following his friend’s gaze across the table his heart froze in his throat. The kid who they had rescued from the Cawdor had a bright cobalt blue light coming from both of his eyes. His mouth was set in grim determination. Then Ian realized that the kid’s hands where touching Amber’s face and shoulder. The hair on the back of Ian’s arms stood on end as the smell of ozone and a tingling sensation filled the room.

Ian watched, frozen, as the wounds that he had not dressed yet were slowly beginning to heal right before his eyes. He was both sickened with fear by what he was seeing, and too stunned to react.

Moments turned into minutes but neither Ian nor Renny could move. Then the blue light faded and the kid looked down. His hands were shaking and he raised them before his face to examine them.

A low moan came from Amber’s lips which drew Ian’s attention away from the Wyrd. She was coming to. He quickly looked over the rest of her body. There was no evidence of any trauma on her skin, only the tattered body-glove that covered her gave an evidence of what she had gone through.

Amber slowly reached up and pulled the rag bandage from her face. Ian was shocked to see both of her green eyes now looking back into his. His lifted his hands to brush the blood soaked hair away from her face so he could touch her cheek.

“What the hell just happened?” Renny said taking half a step back.

Ian slowly helped Amber up to a sitting position. She was obviously still disoriented. Once she was up he started to look her over once more. He could not find a scratch on her. No scars or anything.

“I… I don’t know,” the kid muttered. His hands still shook slightly and there was a fear in his own eyes.

Renny and Ian glanced at each other, neither was sure of what to say or do.

“Thank you,” was all Ian could stammer out.

“I don’t know how you did it… but, I am in your debt…” Amber said as she stood up from the table.

The kid slowly backed away holding his hands up before him, afraid that he might touch her again and what might happen. He never took his eyes off of his own hands. When his back finally touched the wall he practically leapt out of his own skin. Amber slowly lifted up her right hand as she slowly approached him, with her palm facing out to show that she wasn’t going to hurt him.

“What’s your name?” She asked.

“Ja-ja-jak-Jakob, m-my friends call me Jake.” The kid responded.

Amber gently took Jakob’s hand. His eyes snapped up to look into her face.

“Thank you Jakob,” she said looking back and then she gently shook his trembling hand.

“That is a handy skill you have there Jakob,” Ian said as he walked up behind Amber.

Jakob looked from face to face of the Van Saar gangers. He wasn’t sure what to say, so he just nodded.

“Ian!” Boanerges frantically shouted as he ran into the medical bay. “You need to come quick! Amber’s been…”

Boanerges nearly fell over stretcher near the door when he saw Amber standing there with a smirk on her face.

“How… I saw you in the street… you were…”

Amber looked over at Jakob who had a terrified look on his face. After hesitating a moment she motioned towards Ian.

“Ian brought me around the back. I was… knocked out by the concussion, but nothing serious. Ian cleaned up the scratches, but nothing to worry about.”

Making contact with Amber Ian said, “Yea, not even a scratch really. The blast must have scragged a rat or something.

Boanerges looked around the room like they were all daft. “But… I…, never mind.” And with that he left shaking his head.

“I better head back topside to see if any other Spiders need my help. Jakob, really, thank you.”

Hivequake

They should have seen it coming. A month back it had rained for six days straight. Not just a light drizzle from a factory flushing its storage tanks somewhere above, No this was a torrential downpour.

The effluent rain drenched everything, and everyone, as it cascaded down from the Hive City factories somewhere above, and continued on to the depths below the Bifrost. In its wake slime coated everything, even things not directly in its path. The simple accumulation of condensation from the increased humidity made sure of that. There was more.

For the past three days reports from the habs just below the Bifrost showed an increase in Ripper Jacks, giant rats, and even a few large spiders moving into the area. When Chigger started to blast away with his shotgun at a scurrying rodent, right in the middle of ‘Happy Hour’, Ian new something wasn’t right. He just couldn’t put his finger on it. Then, six hours ago, the streets had gotten eerily quiet. There was no movement other than the occasional human. That was until three minutes ago.

For the past three minutes the entire hive felt like it was going to collapse right on top of their heads. The Bifrost swayed violently, and the crash of dishes and bottles of Wildsnake in the drinking hall could be heard all the way down into the “Steel Spider’s” lair.

Ian managed to get himself up on his hands and knees, and not knowing what else to do he quickly crawled underneath his long workbench along the back wall of his sickbay/hab-room, if for no other reason than to have something over his head that would protect him from all the dust falling from the ceiling. Amber was already there, her eyes open wide.

When the hive finally decided to stop shaking the two lovers crawled out from under their shelter to asses the damage. Tables had overturned, a few medical supplies had been spilled, but for the most part their little corner of the hive was intact.

“Is everyone OK?” Dyrke called from down the hall.

Ian could hear a few acknowledgements coming from the other “Spiders”, to which he added his own. Looking around the room, it was a mess, but there was no permanent damage.

“What the hell happened,” Ian said out loud.

Amber stared at him for a moment before replying. “Haven’t you ever experienced a hive quake before?”

“No,” Ian said as he picked up an overturned table. “How often does that happen?”

Amber thought about her reply as she continued to pick up the debris. “Often enough that you should know what it is.”

The rest of the time the two cleaned up in silence.

-=-=-=0=-=-=-

Within the darkness it felt the rumbling and sensed the import of the omen. Slowly it began to move. It had to know for sure. For over a century its mind dealt with the never ending torment. Now there was a chance that it would be able to feed once again.

-=-=-=0=-=-=-

Gorit stood back up and shook the dust off of his muscle bound body. His Goliath gang, the ‘Iron Mandibles’, had been down kicking in some heads at their mine when the hive quake had struck. When Scar told him to sit tight he had complained, after all he could do with a little recreation too. But now he couldn’t see where the entrance to mine used to be. As he reached out to start digging a large hole off to his right caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

“Funny, I thought that shaft was over this way,” Gorit thought to himself.

As Gorit entered into the tunnel a cool breeze met his face. It was almost as if the hive itself was letting out a deep breath after holding it in for too long. The air was stale and constant, with a slight haze of dust.

Working his way deeper into the tunnel he realized that this was not the mine shaft he was looking for, rather it was an old rail line tunnel. Although the tunnel was pinched and partially collapsed in many places, there was ample room to maneuver.

After working his way over, under, around, and through the maze for over an hour it finally opened up into a huge dome. There was enough light from far off sources that Gorit could tell – this was the find of his life!

He returned to the entrance as fast as he could and without continuing the search for his missing companions, Gorit made a bee-line for the nearest settlement that was not a Goliath stronghold. He wanted to keep the profits of his new claim to himself.

-=-=-=0=-=-=-

It reminded itself to be patient. The flesh thing had gotten away before it could claim its prize. But it had waited for so long, and the stench of the thing filled its nostrils. Its patience was not strong.

The omen was true. The way was open. It would gather the others. Once they were all together, then they could move on and feed once more.

-=-=-=0=-=-=-

The group of Guilders had met in a hurry, so certain protocols had been bypassed. If the news was true an important opportunity presented itself. This was one of those once-in-a-lifetime deals, and none of these men wanted to miss out on it.

“This is truly an important discovery,” said the largest of the five. “We must move on this information now!” The others quickly nodded their agreement. “The problem is always in the details. How do we get our respective feet in the door? Before these parasites infest everything that is.”

The men quieted down as they each ran through various scenarios in their minds. A few times one of the men would look up, the others would look towards him, and then he would go back to his own thoughts without saying a word. This went on for several minutes. Finally the first man spoke up.

“I think I have an idea. We shall each ‘leak’ tidbits of this information, and also encourage our various contacts to move on it. Allow them to through their resources into the breach, so to speak, and then as they have subdued the area we can move in and set up our respective shops. For a cut of the profits of course.”

“Of course,” several of the others agreed. “But what of this ‘Gorit’? a small Guilder from the back asked, causing the other four to look around and down at him.

“That’s simple,” the first Guilder responded. “We will send him back first, in order to stake his claim we’ll tell him – maybe even hire a few scum as ‘bodyguards’ for protection.” The others chuckled at that last statement. “Who knows, maybe that little problem will take care of itself. If not, we will make… further adjustments down the road.”

-=-=-=0=-=-=-

The scent of the living filled its nostrils once more. It was true. After waiting for so long, it would finally be able to satisfy the ravenous hunger that had filled it every moment for over a century.

Welcoming

Ian actually did a double take. From behind he didn’t recognize the woman sitting at the end of the bar, but Chigger was chatting up a storm with her and refilled her drink without hesitation.

Looking around the Bifrost Ian was a little troubled. Amber had arranged to meet him here after he had performed his tasks for Dyrke, the leader of the Steel Spiders, but he couldn’t see her anywhere. There was something about the woman’s hair though…

Chigger made eye contact with him and smiled, then waved for him to come over. Ian nodded and started over to the bar. There was something strangely familiar about the woman, he just couldn’t place it. When Ian got within three meters the woman spun around.

“I was beginning to wonder when you would show up,” Amber said smiling back at him.

Ian had been so distracted by his curiosity he had failed to notice the other tell-tale signs of who he was looking at. The sword slung across her back, the auto pistol strapped to her thigh, and not to mention the red hair pulled neatly back into ponytail.

“I, uh… I had to finish up… have you been waiting long?” Ian’s face flushed red.

Amber’s newly issued body glove was as form fitting as ever. Ian liked it much better than her old Escher rags.

For the next hour Ian and Amber just sat and talked. Even with the crowded common area, the Bifrost offered more privacy than the halls of the Spiders lair that lay beneath the bridge town. Even the room set aside for the Spiders within the drinking hall was no guarantee of seclusion. Here at least they could talk without the pretense of being alone, besides, Chigger assured them that their room would be available in just a couple of hours, so in the meantime the two of them just sat and enjoyed each others company.

Just as Chigger handed over the keys to the room to Ian, Dyrke spotted them.

“Amber, Ian, I have a couple of pairs of boots coming to see about joining the Spiders. I need the two of you to watch the room and make sure we are not disturbed.”

Dyrke didn’t even wait for a response from his subordinates; he just nodded to Chigger, asked for his usual, and stepped into Spider’s room. Amber looked at Ian, but what could they do? Their leader gave them a job to do and they were bound to do it.

Over the next two hours Ian and Amber stood outside the door while several men of various sizes and kit came and went. None of the visitors were allowed entrance unless they presented a small token that was stamped with an impression of a spider with an anvil symbol on its back. The whole time all Ian could think of was that what little time they had was slipping away.

Finally Dyrke emerged with two men in step behind him. One man carried a plain looking lasgun over one shoulder. His body glove was worn, and his hair disheveled, but the weapon was well kept. The other man had a much neater appearence. In a cross draw holster on the left side of his chest was a bolt pistol, and in his hands he supported a Plasma Rifle

“Spider’s,” Dyrke said as he addressed the two guards, “I want to introduce two new members to the fold. Xander,” Dyrke indicated with a nod to the first man,” comes from another team who recently… folded. Kordite here,” indicated with a motion of his thumb” comes down from Hive City. He’s going to be helping Boanerges in the shop. Ian, make sure he gets to where he needs to go. Amber, you take Xander and introduce him to Katan, he’ll take it from there.”

“Yes sir,” the two said in unison. Ian’s stomach sank. His carefully made plans to get alone with Amber would have to wait for another time.

Payback

“Hold still or this is really going to hurt!”

The sound of the drill and the smell of smoldering flesh and bone filled the Steel Spider’s small medical bay. Ian stood at the head of the table and leaned forward pressing down with no small amount of weight upon a drill. Underneath him, his head locked firmly in a makeshift halo harness, lay Hargrave doing his best to kick and squirm. Fortunately Boanerges and Dyrke lay across the patient’s torso and legs respectively. Nothing could silence the man’s screams as the pain pierced what little pain killer Ian had used.

Without stopping Ian glanced quickly at Dyrke and said, “I still don’t think this is a good idea. I’m not a doctor.”

“So you have said”, Dyrke grunted his reply, “but you are all I’ve got. Besides all you need to do is tap the temporal lobe and insert the chip.”

Ian just shook his head as he continued to concentrate. “That is easy for him to say. One slip of this drill and Hargrave here won’t be much good for anything other than rat bait”, he said to himself.

“Ok, hand me the chip.”

Amber stepped up from behind him. As she handed Ian the lobo-chip she winced. It is one thing to see someone get plastered on the battle field, another thing entirely to just hack into someone’s head on a table.

“Keep him still… Ok, here goes nothing.” Ian slid the metallic stud into the small hole in the man’s temple. Once that was in place he took a small tool from a side table and used it to flip two minute switches in the circuit board cap. Silently three probes protruded from the far end and secured themselves into unknown regions of the patient’s brain and then pulled itself gently down into place.

A little blood continued to seep from the edges where the flesh had been cut into, but Hargrave seemed to settle down. Bo and Dyrke relaxed their grip and eyed the man warily. With only a slight shrug of his shoulders to encourage them to release him completely Hargrave slowly sat upright. Instinctively he reached up to touch the foreign device now implanted permanently in his head.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. That is still an open wound and you will infect it.” Ian said as he gently grabbed Hargrave’s wrist. “It should heal up nicely though.

“You sure this is going to work doc?” Hargrave asked Ian as he eyed the medic.

“Well, it should help you keep your head clear if that is what you meant.”

Looking back up Hargrave said, “I thought you were going to put that drill all the way in there for a minute.” He glanced over Ian’s shoulder at Amber as he finished the last part of the sentence.

“She can take care of herself, besides. I trust her,” Ian replied looking back at her.

“Now then, since that little issue is cleared up how about we get a move on.” Dyrke stepped up and looked Hargrave up and down. “Is he well enough to travel?”

“He should get some rest.” Ian replied. “Give the wound time to heal.”

“There may not be enough time. ‘Panthera’ here has given me an idea. We are going to seize the initiative against the Black Cats starting tonight.”

Ian looked back at Amber. She was grinning from ear to ear.

-=-=-=O=-=-=-

“There’s nothing to be afraid of”, Amber said to Ian. “I lived with them and they are proud and stubborn. They will be there.”

“Yea, but they known you know. And now that you have defected they are bound to change their routine”, Ian replied.

“You don’t get it do you. Not only is Fushia a stubborn woman, but she has little regard for men. She had this meeting set up several days ago and she is not about to be ‘pushed away’ by men, let alone some snot-nosed-juve. Besides, I think she really believes that I would never betray her and the Cats like this, me being a woman and all.”

Ian contemplated Amber’s last statement. The Escher are an anomaly to him. Sure his mother had shown him that women had strength while she raised him, but women just did not enjoy much prominence within House Van Saar. And yet since joining the Steel Spiders, and coming to live at the Bifrost, Ian had learned to respect the skills of the women of house Escher.

“What about your friend Jade? Will you be able to face her if it should come to that?” Ian asked?

Amber hesitated. “I don’t know.”

-=-=-=O=-=-=-

Part 2

Ian did not like being alone. And that is exactly how he found himself now and that during the lull just before a battle.

When one grows up in hive city you are constantly surrounded by teems of people. Now Ian found himself in an odd combination of roles. On the one hand he was his gang’s sole medic, on the other he was one of the snipers.

As the latter the others seemed to remain distant, like he was some kind of specter or assassin. It was if they treated him as a man without honor, someone who feared to face his opponent face to face.

As the former the others, especially Dyrke, did not want to be seen as weak. To be seen by the ‘Doc’ was an admission of weakness. And to admit that you were weak was to invite attack.

So that was how Ian now found himself alone as he entered Kronly’s hole, an old slag pit now run by a group of Eschers known as the Black Cats. The very same gang that Ian faced off against in the market place back at the Bifrost a few weeks back. The same gang that Amber had been a part of to spy on House Escher for House Van Saar.

Another draw back of being out on the wing like this was not knowing Dyrke’s full battle plan. Ian had been told what was needed of him and where to go if the gang should need to break and run, but he had not been privy to where anyone else was going or what they would be doing. “Nothing to do, but to do it”, he said to himself and set about his task.

Ian darted across a litter strewn alleyway. Once on the other side he stopped adjacent to a gap between the wall he was now leaning against and a shanty-like building. Looking around the corner he could see that the gap led deeper into the dome. Twenty meters in was a small manager’s shack tucked in under some scaffolding. The urge to move forward almost caused him to move, but this was where Dyrke wanted him and this is where he would stay. Although it was at ground level he had a good vantage point from here so he panned his infrared gun sight around to see what he could see.

Further down the same alley, but on the other end of the dilapidated building on his right Dyrke was leading Rogers and Hargrave on into the dome. They passed out of sight behind the building.

There was movement out beyond his line of sight ahead. Try as he might he could not tell what it was. But it was definitely getting closer.

To his left Ian saw Boanerges, the distinctive Van Saar heavy machine gun smoothly silhouetted against the cool background giving him away. He was alone as well.

The staccato of automatic rifle fire drew his attention back to his assigned area of responsibility. Bo’s heavy stubber added its voice to the fray immediately after. As Ian scanned the area two heat signatures seemed to emerge from the floor to his front, adjacent to the scaffolding to his front. The first image was obscured by the second, but this last one was definitely a woman.

Ian dropped the crosshairs onto the second target but something made him stay his hand. The two figures were not moving towards him and his fellow Van Saar. Instead they were focused on something further on. It was Amber and Renold. Holding his breath Ian eased his finger off of the trigger.

The two Van Saar were obviously trying to figure out their next move. Judging by Renold’s repeated glances around the corner the enemy was getting close. Adjusting the settings on his scope Ian could now see at least three heat signatures moving up. Although there was a lot of intervening terrain he chanced a shot.

The sudden las bolt whipping past Renold caused him to jump back behind the wall. Renold looked back towards Ian and shook his fist, but then quickly turned his attention back towards the approaching Escher.

Ian could not tell if his shot struck anything important. When Renold shook his fist at him Ian just shrugged his shoulders and smiled. Besides, it was not even close to his fellow Van Saar.

No matter if the shot found its mark or not the wave of Escher was ready to fall upon Renold and Amber. The once indiscernible shapes now showed no less than four Black Cats. Without hesitation Ian continued to send shot after shot into the targets as they revealed themselves, but even from here he could tell that their use of cover was paying off. He had yet to inflict any apparent wounds.

In desperation Renold jumped from behind his cover with his las pistols in both hands. Each weapon was pouring round after round into the Escher. Amber stood at the corner adding slugs from her auto pistol into the volume of fire now impacting in and around the Escher. It was too late. As Amber ducked back behind the wall to reload the Escher covered the last piece of ground and were upon the two Van Saar gangers.

From where Ian was he was helpless to aid his fellow Spiders. The Escher were now on top of them. He watched as Amber slammed home a fresh clip into her auto pistol and braced herself for the onslaught.

Renold was immediately engaged by a woman wielding a heavy caliber stubber and a vicious club. Amber had more time to prepare herself as a green mow-hawked woman rounded around the other combatants.

Even from here Ian could tell that it was Jade. Both women hesitated for a split second as they recognized one another. The friendship they had once shared dropped away faster than it took for the look of recognition to fade from their faces which was instantly replaced with open loathing for each other.

Just as Jade leaned forward to sprint across the remaining ground she raised her swords over her head and let loose a battle cry that could be heard throughout the dome. Taking a half step back Amber smoothly raised up her freshly loaded auto pistol, braced by both hands. Within a heartbeat of Jade’s swords descending Amber squeezed the trigger. The outcome was inevitable. At the range involved it was unlikely that even one slug missed the mark and the lifeless form of Jade fell in a heap at Amber’s feet. But there was no time to contemplate what had just happened.

Renold’s battle with the Escher Juve had ended quickly. The young woman had landed a severe blow and her opponent and Renold was now writhing on the ground clutching his right arm. The Juve quickly followed through with her attack and descended on Amber. Before Amber could even recognize the new threat it was over. The woman’s club crashed down with a glancing blow to the side of Amber’s head and then landing heavily on her shoulder. She collapsed in a heap.

-=-=-=O=-=-=-

Part 3

There was nothing Ian could do for either Renold or Amber from where he was. His job was to provide covering fire for the rest of the Steel Spiders. The urge to cross the open ground with his lasgun blazing welled up within him. It took all of his self control, but he would follow orders and stay put. Maybe even deliver some payback.

Ian peered through the sites of his lasgun bringing it to bear on the juve now standing over Amber’s motionless body. “Steady”, he whispered to himself and began to squeeze the trigger. Just as the electrodes within the trigger mechanism were going to close Dyrke and Rogers slammed into the now gathered Escher gangers. Even though the latest Van Saar arrivals were out numbered two to one the advantage of surprise quickly evened up the odds as the pair dispatched their respective opponents with ease.

“Fall back Cats!” A voice called out from just beyond the foreman’s shack. “Leave the boys to play with themselves!” And with that the women of House Escher began to pull back with out another sound.

There is an unspoken code. When your enemy leaves you the field of battle you grant them safe passage. There are other days, other domes to be fought over. So Dyrke allowed the Cats to gather up their wounded and leave.

Once the signal was given Ian crossed the open ground quickly. Without thought he knelt next to Amber first. She was out cold and her left shoulder was at an odd angle. Rolling her over onto her back he could see that the color bone was broken. Although it had not torn through the skin – yet – it was sticking up a good distance.

“I cannot set this here. I need to get her back to the Bifrost”, Ian said looking up to Dyrke. Without waiting for a reply Ian moved over to Renold.

Renold was still conscious but he was in obvious pain. He clutched his lower right arm with his left and held it close.

“Let me see that”, Ian said.

It was not good. One of the bones in the lower arm was protruding through the skin and blood was trickling out and down the arm, dripping off the fingers to the floor below.

“I can set this here, but it is unlikely he will have much use of it for a while.”

Dyrke nodded his head in acknowledgement, his eyes fixed on the far end of the dome where the Cats had beat a hasty retreat.

“Bo, I need you to get your heavy stubber up on that platform,” Dyrke pointed up and to the right. “Cacee, I need you to cover this ground from over there on the left.”

Ian was trying to figure out what was going on. The Black Cats had left the field to them. They had won. Dyrke was preparing like they were getting ready to get over run or something.

“Katan, Rogers, and Hargrave, you are with me. Ian put the wounded in the shed here and cover the ground, but I don’t want you to shoot until the signal is given. That would be you Bo.”

“You think they are going to come back after the ass kicking we just gave them boss?” Ian asked.

“I would,” was the Van Saar leader’s reply. “They gave as good as they got. If they spring back, maybe catch us off guard, they could take the field back and inflict some pain to boot.”

Each of the Spider’s set about their assigned task.

-=-=-=O=-=-=-

Amber still had not regained consciousness, and Renold gripped a las pistol in his left hand but was still in a lot of pain. The limited amount of meds in Ian’s kit barely took the edge off. Ian had peeled back a part of the corrugated metal wall. This gave him a decent view of the designated kill zone. Jade’s body still laid strewn where it had fallen. Even though Ian and the wounded were only five meters away scavengers had already come to see what the hive had left behind. Ian tried to scare them away, but it was impossible without giving away his position. Everyone knew that such things were part of the circle of life within the hive, especially those who did not live within the comfortable walls of Hive City, but to witness it was another thing. Ian struggled to resist the urge to empty his stomach.

Just as he was sure he would lose this battle the distinct sound of falling rubble echoed through the air, then the sound of muffled voices. Ian nestled in behind the stock of his lasgun. It would not be much longer.
Slowly five distinct shapes approached the designated kill zone, though none of them were so bold as to walk in the open. Ian thought to himself, “There should be nine. Where are the other four?”

As one of the gangers darted out into the open to cross to where the body of their dead compatriot lay Dyrke opened up with a long burst. The Escher danced as the heavy caliber rounds impacted in and around the woman. When the burst ended so did the dance and she collapsed in a heap on the ground.

The other four women were quick in their response. Two of them, one being the Black Cat’s own heavy stubber, began to return fire in Boanerges’ direction. Cacee and Ian now added their own ‘voice’ to the discussion. It was a textbook crossfire and the Escher did not stand a chance.

CRASH! Just as Ian was getting lost in the battle to his front the door to the shack in which he and the other wounded were taking shelter caved in under the boot of a sturdy looking Escher. In her hands she carried a menacing looking flamer. The distinct hiss of the igniter’s small torch poised just in front of the promethium nozzle caused Ian’s heart to catch in his throat.

Then the air erupted with the sound of gun fire. Just outside of the room the distinct report of bolt pistols was joined by Renold’s repeated shots from his las pistol. The woman grunted several times as rounds impacted her body and then fell to the ground, the hiss of the igniter still spitting.

Katan stuck his head around the corner. “Things secure in here?”

Ian just waved his hand in acknowledgement. Katan nodded his acknowledgement and left.

“Thanks Renold” Ian finally said.

“No problem,” Renold said grinning. “I’ve got your back.”

-=-=-=O=-=-=-

Part 4

The din of battle outside the shack was raging hot. Even after the removal of the Escher flamer from his doorway, Ian could hear at least two separate combats taking place. One of them was just beyond the thin metal wall to his right.

With nothing more taking place out the little hole he was sitting behind Ian drew his las pistol and made for the door. If the wrong person won the exchange outside, he was sure that he and his patients would be next.

Just as the door started to swing back in again Ian shifted his pistol to the right hand and then kicked with all his weight behind it sending the door smashing back into whoever was behind it.

“Ah! Son of a….” was the only response. But more importantly, Ian recognized the voice.

“Bo! Man, sorry about that!” Ian said as he stepped through the door to help the now prone Van Saar heavy back to his feet.

“Don’t worry about it. Come on, Dyrke sent me to move you and the others. Get you all some place a little more out of the way.”

Ian scooped up amber across his shoulders, her arms to the left and her legs to the right. Renold was also up and ready to move.

Just outside the door the trio almost tripped over Katan. He was down on one knee with blood gushing out of the other. Boanerges quickly reached down and scooped up the injured ganger and the group moved on its way crossing back across the open ground Ian had first covered to get to the shack in the first place.

Once everyone was behind the cover of the alleyway the injured where lined up along the wall so Ian could give them the once over again. Boanerges covered the group from the corner, but the sound of gun play was waning fast.

The sprint across the open ground on Ian’s shoulders had jarred Amber to consciousness, and she was in obvious pain. She groaned uncontrollably as she clutched her useless left arm. The bone protruding from her where her collar bone should be continued to threaten to pierce the skin and almost touched her jaw line. There was nothing he could do but grimace for her. He reached into his kit bag and pulled out the little bit of pain relievers he had. Since leaving the comfortable labs of his father’s business he did not have the luxury of having injectors.

“You have to swallow these,” Ian said practically shoving them into the gangers mouth.

Amber gagged slightly but managed to get the pills down her throat dry.

“What about me Doc. Do you have anything left for me?”

Ian shook his head as he looked over at Renold.

“Fresh out.” The Ian remembered Katan and left Amber to suffer in peace.

Katan’s pant leg was drenched in blood. A harsh wound pierced his thigh, and it was deep.

“What do you think Ian?” Katan said as he shifted his weight so that he could give the medic better access to the wound.

“I am not sure Katan. It looks pretty bad. Can you move it?”

The seasoned ganger gingerly bent his right leg. It moved, but very slowly. Almost as if the man was trying to move a smelting furnace by himself.

Grunting Katan shook his head. “It hurts bad enough for me to think it is broken.”

Ian used both hands as he kneaded the muscles trying to feel if anything was out of place. Katan threw his head back and it took all his strength to suppress the outcry that threatened to erupt from his body.

“Sorry. Everything seems to be in place, but I think whatever it was may have nicked the bone. Can you walk?”

Katan chuckled through the pain. “Sure, if you have a couple more doses of those stimms.”

“Afraid not old man,” Ian smiled as he looked Katan in the eyes. Katan just nodded in reply.

-=-=-=O=-=-=-

It had taken the Spiders the better part of a day cycle to get everyone back to the Bifrost’s lower level. Once Dyrke had gotten his men within easy reach of their layer he took Boanerges and diverted to try and get to the trading market before the guilders closed up shop for the night. Ian had made it clear that he needed some more medical supplies. Pain relievers, stims, antiseptic and bandages were all in short supply.

Renold’s arm was easily set but, as Ian constantly reminded everyone, he was not a doctor. After a few days it was obvious that the bone would mend, but the strength would never be the same.

Katan’s wound had indeed nicked the bone. Despite Ian’s best efforts Katan had a pretty severe limp.

Amber’s shoulder was pretty bad. Once back in medical bay Ian took some tubing, formed it into two loops and placed one around each arm and up over the shoulders. With some more scraps he then tied the two loops together across her back. He pulled them so tight that it thrust her shoulders backwards. So much so that she had difficulty raising her arms up beyond her shoulder level.

“You have got to be kidding,” Amber said in frustration.

“We need to get the bone back into position to support the arm. From here the bones line up and should set nicely. Besides, I like what it does for your figure,” he finished with sly smile.

“Cute. Isn’t there anything else you men think about?”

“Sure, we also think about eating and sleeping.”

“How long am I going to have to be tied up like this?”

“It will most likely take a couple of weeks for the bone to heal sufficiently.”

“Won’t the Cats take advantage of our being a man down?”

“I don’t think the Cats are going to be out prowling anytime soon. I counted four corpses as we left ‘Kronly’s Hole’. Rumor has it they have abandoned that slag pit too. Dyrke has sent Hargrave to work it. We might be able to get some salvageable material out of it, at least for a few guilders now and then. Get some rest. I’m sure Dyrke will have something for us to do soon enough.”

No Turning Back

“Can you hear me now?” Ian whispered into Rogers left ear. There was no discernable reaction from the man. Then Ian tapped the palm of his hand with his fingers, still no reaction.

“I have good news and I have bad news Rogers. The good news is that you are healing up nicely. The bad news is that you have lost the hearing in your left ear. There’s not much else I can do for you.”

“It’s alright ‘Doc’. You did the best you could.

Ian shook his head and smiled. “’Doc’, I could get used to that”, he said to himself. Walking over to his workbench in the rear of the sickbay Ian prepared to get back to work on his various ‘projects’. Although he did not have anything promising it kept his mind off other things.

“There you are”, Dyrke said as he entered, passing Rogers in the doorway. “Have you had a chance to visit Chigger this week?”

“On the table by the door there” Ian said without getting up. He was hoping he could get back to his distractions without prolonged conversation.

“Good, good. Feels pretty heavy, Chigger must really like you kid.”

Ian just nodded and turned his attention back to the workbench.

Even though Dyrke caught on that Ian was not in the mood for conversation he kept on. “I understand Amb… I mean ‘Panthera’, lost something dear to her when you brought her in.”

“A gift from someone she considered to be a friend. A sword”, Ian replied.

“Then she might be interested in this.”

Ian turned to face his leader once more. In Dyrke’s hands he held a sword in its scabbard. It was not as ornate as the one Amber left behind but it was a fine Van Saar specimen. The scabbard was made of a dull black plastic that fit the blade perfectly.

Dyrke walked over and handed it to Ian. “I’d like for you to give it to her. I think she would prefer that it came from you.”

“These are a little hard to come by. Thanks Dyrke. I think she will appreciate it.”

Ian drew out the perfectly straight blade. The handle and blade were one solid piece. The blade used only a single cutting edge that ran from the tip almost down to the hand guard which was formed seamlessly between the blade and handle. The guard was a simple unadorned oval. The grip was overlaid with synthetic foam that both conformed to the hands of the wielder and provided a non-slip grip with enough room to get both hands around it. Sliding it back into place Ian looked back up to Dyrke, “I think she will get some good use out of this.”

-=-=-=O=-=-=-

“I hear the Escher are exceptional in hand to hand combat. I was wondering if you would be willing to show me some of the moves you picked up while you were with them.”

Amber turned away from the doorway to her room, leaving the door open but not inviting Ian in either. When she reached the far end of her small room she turned back around and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“I didn’t think you wanted to see me anymore, now that I’m one of the Spiders that is.”

“Well, you just seemed so pissed at me the last time we talked… and I was worried…”

“About what? That the other guys would pick on you for shacking up with the new recruit?”

“Um, no. I was worried that they might mind that I was… “shacking up” … with an Escher. Because that is what I thought you were before Dyrke sent me to bring you in.”

“What do you care what they think?”

“I care because they took me in when I didn’t know where else to go. Just like they are doing for you now.”

The last statement seemed to disarm her a little and she looked away.

“Can I come in? I thought I’d check on that bruise you received while guarding the Ratskin, besides I come bearing a gift.”

“A doctor who makes house calls, how sweet.”

“Well, I’m no doctor. I’m barely a medic, but I do make house calls”, Ian said with a coy smile.

Amber motioned for him to come in, “what is this gift you speak of?”

As Ian pulled the new sword around from behind his back he stepped through the doorway and shut the door behind him with his free hand.

-=-=-=O=-=-=-

Every one of the ‘Steel Spiders’ were there. It was a time to celebrate, or so they were told. In reality it was just an excuse to unwind and spend their credits while supporting their good friend Chigger and the Bifrost. They all just wanted to forget about the Ratskin Chief that got away.

Sitting around one table Boanerges, Rogers, and Hargrave were trying their best to entertain a bar wench each. It was none too hard either as the drinks flowed freely.

Dyrke sat at another with Cacee, Katan, and their newest team member – who everyone knew now as Panthera. Here the atmosphere was more subdued, but there were no frowns to be seen.

Renold kept himself entertained by throwing a few rounds of darts with Ian. Neither of these last two had been in the mood for either ‘Wild Snake’ or ‘Second Best’ so they kept to themselves.

“Come on over here Panthera and have a seat with old Hargrave darlin’.”

This caught Ian’s attention causing his last toss to miss the target completely. Without thinking he just said over his shoulder, “She spoken for”. The room grew quiet.

“What’d you say lad?” came Hargrave’s slurred response as he stood knocking over his chair.

Before Ian could respond Amber stood up and moved in between the two men.

“He said I am not interested in your company, so have another round on him and take a seat.”

For several seconds the room stayed quiet no one really knowing what to say.

BAM, BAM, BAM! A heavy pounding on the door broke the tension within the room.

A voice called through the door, “Traitor! Come out and face the Cats! We know how you betrayed us! Amber, you might as well come out and face your judgment!”

Dyrke held up a hand to silence the rest of the room as he stood. Walking to the door he calmly opened it as several of the ‘Spiders’ readied weapons behind him.

“There is no one here by that name. You are obviously mistaken, so why don’t you just scurry back to your hole before something bad happens.”

Even from the back of the room Ian could tell the drinking hall beyond the door had also grown quiet. All of the Spiders were now on their feet.

“Dyrke, you know better than to cross us. Bring out the traitor bitch and we’ll call it even.”

Dyrke opened the door wide and stepped through. “Can’t do it Fushia. I can’t give you what I don’t have. The only people with me tonight are the ‘Steel Spiders’ and our invited guests. Besides it would be a shame to embarrass you and your girls so publicly… again”.

Ian caught Amber’s sleeve and tugged her towards the back of the group now following Dyrke through the doorway. ‘Not here’ he whispered, and then they both followed Dyrke out into the main hall of the Bifrost. All of the ‘Black Cats’ were standing there with their leader.

The two gangs spread our and faced each other. Each set of eyes were locked on their opponent. So much so that the ‘Black Cats’ paid little attention to Amber who was now dressed in the blue, grey, and black pixeled bodysuit of her fellow Van Saar gangers – and no longer sporting her distinctive ponytail. That is until the ‘Black Cat’ known as Jade caught her moving into line with her new family. But before the Escher could alert the others to her discovery a tall trench coated Enforcer stepped onto the floor in between the two gangs.

“I know you all are not thinking about what I think you’re thinking about… are you.”

The Enforcer Sergeant looked back and forth between the two gang leaders. As he did so the distinctive sound of several shotguns being primed sounded to reinforce his statement.

Ian saw that two separate patrols were no on either side of the drinking hall. On one side stood a wall of Enforcers armed with shotguns and a heavy stubber. On the other a group obviously equipped to get in and mix up as they were armed with suppression shields, power mauls, and of course the distinctive cyber mastiff. This was not a good place to be – in between the two teams and no where to hide.

“The Black Cats have crossed your path Dyrke. Your luck is about to change!” The Escher leader yelled across the floor.

Dyrke stood there and chuckled under his breath. “See you out in the wastes”, was his only reply.

In From the Cold

Every available surface area in the medical bay was full. Ian had been moving between several of the Spiders since their return to the Bifrost.

Hargrave and Katan were on the only two on cots. Hargrave’s head wound was pretty severe. From what Ian could tell the skull had been fractured, but there was no way to tell if there was any more damage internally, and he was not about to dig around and find out. Not in these conditions.

Katan’s condition was much improved. Once they got back Ian was able to get the rest of the shrapnel removed from his arm. That and the fact that the arterial bleeding was just that, there was enough of the blood veins that all Ian had to do was bandage up the area and clean the wounds out. Within a day Katan’s color had returned and he was responding to questions.

The rest just needed to have their bandages replaced. Of course Dyrke had neglected to come back to have his wounds cleaned up. Ian couldn’t even remember seeing him wearing the bandages the last meal break. “Speak of the devil,” Ian thought to himself as Dyrke walked in.

“Ian, I need to speak to you… in private.”

The two men stepped out into the hall and shut the door.

“I need your help on a sticky situation. The House is telling me that we need to pull in a field operative. An agent that penetrated another house needs to come in, but he is apparently insisting that he come in through us.”

“I don’t get it. Why us? Why are you telling me this?”

“You’re going to be my point man on this Ian. The boys are healing up nicely because of you so I don’t need you to baby sit them. Besides, Chigger seems to have taken a liking to you.”

Ian just nodded. Thinking back he remembered some of the people his father had dealings with. Always in whispers and away from prying eyes. Somehow it always made his skin crawl.

“Do you have a name, or a picture?” Ian asked.

“No, just his codename, ‘Panthera’.”

“When?”

“Well, that is another sticky part. I don’t know exactly. But the good news is that you get to just hang around the Bifrost until he shows up. Apparently this guys knows about the ‘Spiders’ and our base of operations around the Bifrost. He will make contact with us, through you, there.”

-=-=-=O=-=-=-

The Bifrost was quiet. Although a good crowd filled the main hall the mood was subdued. Ian couldn’t figure it out. That was until he caught Chigger’s attention. All it took was a nod from the bartender toward a table along the back wall. Two enforcers and a man in ornate clothing sat sipping from their drinks and whispering amongst themselves. At the feet of one of Lord Helmawr’s policemen was a cyber-mastiff. Clearly no one wanted to draw attention to themselves so long as those four were present.

Not wanting attention himself Ian just propped himself up at the bar and ordered a glass of water. Chigger just shook his head. Such extravagances were extremely rare below “the wall”.

“Chigger… has anyone been looking for the ‘Spiders’ lately?”

“Not lately kid. Even the ‘Black Cats’ have been laying low. I’d be careful though. They don’t take to licking their wounds for long.”

Ian snorted to himself and just sat there enjoying his drink, even ordering a plate of mushrooms. As the night wore on Ian’s patience began to wane. Just as he was about to head back to his nice warm bunk for the evening Amber walked up and sat next to him at the bar without waiting for an invitation.

“Hello Ian.”

Ian began to wonder if he was about to be the center of yet more unwanted attention.

“Hello Amber. You… look good.”

And she did, despite weariness being obvious behind her eyes. She also looked like she was on edge. Her right hand never left her thigh, the one adjacent to her auto pistol.

“Can we go somewhere to talk?”

“I don’t think so. You pretty much said all you needed to the last time.”

An awkward silence fell over the two.

“Well, can we at least move down to the end of the bar?”

Ian nodded and the two shifted down.

“I know the ‘Spiders’ didn’t attack the ‘Cats’ last week. I jumped to a wrong conclusion. Sorry about that.”

Ian just nodded.

“Is that all you’re going to say?”

“What do you want me to say? You told me to steer clear, I’m steering clear. Look Dyrke sent me to meet somebody and I doubt that he is going to show up with you sitting right next to me. I appreciate your willingness to come and set the record straight but I’m in the middle of something right now. Maybe we will see each around here sometime.”

“Right, I guess I should have expected such a chauvinistic response. See you around Ian.”

Ian felt a lump settle into his stomach and he watched her walk away. She stopped in front of Chigger, laid several guilders on the bar, said something, and then walked up stairs to the Bifrost’s rooms. Ian dropped his eyes back to his plate. All of a sudden the urge to jump up and follow her welled up inside, only the discipline to complete the task Dyrke had given him kept him in his seat.

“Bartender! Bartender!”

Ian looked up as one of the Enforcers walked up next to him. The man made eye contact with Ian, but that was all.

Chigger walked over, “what can I do for you constable?”

“That’s Enforcer to you citizen. Look, this fellow,” thumbing over his shoulder back towards his table, “is looking for some fellow named ‘Vant’. Ever hear of him?”

“No sir. Not a hint. What does he look like?”

The enforcer handed over a pictograph, “look familiar?”

“Nope, I’ve never seen him either Enforcer.”

Ian smiled as he took a drink from his glass. The Enforcer snorted and turned away. “And bring another round of drinks to our table!”

“Stinkin’ Hive City dwellers. Think they can come out here and just boss their way around… I wonder why they think they can find this guy out here?” Chigger let his eyes lock on to Ian’s for several seconds. Although he did not fully understand what Chigger was looking for, he also did not dare break eye contact with the man.

“A man could get lost down here.”

Ian wasn’t sure if the last comment was a statement, or a question. “I can’t imagine it being all that hard,” Ian finally replied, still not breaking eye contact with the bartender.

As the tension began to relax Chigger slipped a folded piece of parchment across the counter, “It seems like them Enforcers are not the only ones lookin’ for someone.”

Looking down at the piece of paper it simply read ‘Panthera’. “Thanks Chigger. Where did he go?”

“Top of the stairs, end of the hall. You can’t miss it.”

While heading out the main hall Ian unfolded the note. “We have things to discuss,” was all it read. This confused Ian. He had thought his sole mission was to bring this person in, not meet in seclusion to talk.

As he walked down the hall it was obvious that Chigger’s rooms were full. As Ian approached the end of the hall flashes of memory came to mind. Found memories of the night he and Amber spent together brought a quick smile to his face.

The door was slightly ajar with the room beyond dark. Ian drew his pistol and stepped to the side of the door. A quick check showed the power cell to be fully charged. Looking back down the hallway he listened for any sounds coming from the room. It, of course, was silent.

“You can come in,” came a soft voice from inside. “Just keep your hands up and to the side where I can see them.”

Ian’s head dropped for a moment. He really needed to work on his stealth techniques. “How do I know you are who I think you are?”

“Panthera,” was the only reply.

Ian thought hard about his next move. His mind was screaming for him to just walk away. But there was something just under the surface. His instincts maybe… keeping his las pistol in his right hand he eased the door open with his left. When no gun fire erupted from the room he stepped into the doorway. His entire profile would now be visible to anyone inside. Still nothing so he stepped inside.

“Close the door.”

As the latch on the door clicked several things happened simultaneously. Lights came on temporarily blinding Ian, a pair of hands grabbed him and threw him down on the bed further in the room, and then an audible click of the deadbolt being secured. But before Ian’s eyes could adjust his assailant landed on top of him, straddling across his chest and effectively pinning his arms down.

“Maybe now you will have more to say.”

Ian’s eyes adjusted to the new light level. As he looked up he found Amber’s green eyes looking back down into his.

“You are Panthera?”

“I am Panthera.”

Interlude

The music was still blaring as Ian walked back through the common room of the ‘Bifrost’. He only needed one more thing to make the night complete, and that was to see Amber again. He could not figure out why this woman fascinated him. He had only met her the one time before.

Ian scanned the crowded room looking for Amber’s red hair. In a run-of-the-mill drinking hole, frequented by factory workers or fungus farmers, that might not have been an issue. But here at the Bifrost it merely reduced the possibilities to a score or more. One thing that did help was that not all of the red-haired patrons were female, and not everyone wore Amber’s distinctive ponytail. Still, he could not see her in the crowd.

The two had met in the back the last time so Ian headed towards the blaring music. The same four ‘musicians’ were on-stage as the last time, only this time one of the Van Saar was playing some kind of small metallic pipe with holes drilled into it. The musician’s fingers danced covering various holes, all the while blowing into another.

“They are not half bad,” Ian though to himself.

Peering over the crowd Ian looked for his objective. Not seeing her he dropped back down on heels. Just as he was getting ready to turn around he felt a tug on his holster belt. Spinning around he saw Amber.

“Looking for someone? Here, you might want this back.”

There she was, offering him his las pistol back.

“As a matter fact, yes I am,” Ian said feeling his face warm up. Both embarrassed about losing his pistol to a pick pocket and being happy to see her again. He took the offered pistol and put it back in its holster, securing it with the snap this time.

Amber stepped back returning his smile. The two looked each other over.

“Let’s get something to drink,” Ian finally said reaching out, grabbing her hand, and heading back into the common room. As Ian moved to sit down at an empty table Amber tugged on her arm to get his attention.

“Mm mm, too public, or haven’t you heard that the Black Cats have eyes for you and your boy’s toys?”

Ian put two and two together. He realized that Amber was a member of the Black Cats, and that the woman he had a run in with earlier was the same one who ended their last meeting. He pulled his hand away. His mind was swirling trying to figure out what she was trying to do to him. Once again he found himself wondering if she was laying a trap for him… or something else. He realized he might not even care at this point.

Sensing Ian’s hesitation Amber broke the tension, “no no no… it’s just… it might not be… you know… healthy, for us to be seen together”.

Ian just nodded his agreement.

“Come on. We’ll go to my room,” Amber said as she turned to lead.

“Wait… that might not be a good idea either. You girls have rooms above right? And we’ve got the lay out underneath… we’re going to need some place neutral.”

The two continued to look into each other’s eyes as they thought through their options.

“Chigger’s got some rooms…” they both said together and headed for the bar.

Ian stepped up and motioned for Chigger to step off to the side.

“Chigger, I need a room and a bottle of snake.”

Chigger glanced over Ian’s shoulder and then back.

“You know what you’re doin’ kid?”

“Probably not, but life’s short and you have got to take some chances.”

“It’s your money kid, and I won’t say anything.”

Ian reached into his pocket and pulled out several guilders. Slapping the coins down on the bar he said, “Thanks Chigger. I really appreciate it.”

Grabbing the offered bottle and key from Chigger Ian turned back to Amber.

“Come on, let’s get out of here. We have some catching up to do.”

With that Ian led the way out of the common area of the Bifrost and up to the public lodgings.

To Be Determined

Ian walked the streets of Hive City with no destination in mind. He couldn’t go back to his apartment since the bounty hunter would take his father there first, and he could not head to Team Delta’s house as he was not a member of that gang yet. That would be determined in the days ahead.

Searching through his pockets he pulled out the last of his stashed credits. Five credits were all he had to his name, that and his las pistol and knife. The last was a gift from his mother upon his ascension to manhood. He thumbed the pommel absent mindedly as he stood outside the “Bifrost”. It was a Van Saar drinking hole set upon a bridge across a cavernous gorge nearly a hundred stories deep. A hive quake from before anyone currently alive could remember had ripped open the gorge causing a ‘natural’ division between areas of the hive and being on the fringe of hive city made it a low priority to reoccupy or repair. As a result the owners of the Bifrost made a handsome sum of credits to those wishing to pass beyond. There were other bridges to be sure, but none as wide as to allow the transportation of anything more than what one could carry on their back.

Just standing outside the door Ian hesitated to go in. He was new to the area, he had never really participated in such revelries before, and he was obviously green. As he juggled those thoughts he was knocked to the floor as a trio of gangers barreled their way past him.

“Watch where you’re going runt,” mumbled one of the men, not even turning his head to address the juve now sprawled out in the gutter.

Ian stood up and dusted himself off. ‘Well, if I am ever going to get used to living out here on my own I had better get used to going into such places,’ he thought to himself, and headed straight through the swinging doors.

The din was mind numbing. Countless conversations all vying to be heard over the others, some kind of music blaring from a band on stage in another room, over the bar were several monitors of hive sporting events – one had the picture of a fighting pit with several pit slaves engaged in a fight to their deaths, another several large rats navigating a maze, and the last had a game of slaughter ball. Ian had to step back into the shadows to avoid from being bowled over once again as patrons came at went at their leisure.

Ian blended in well enough. Not too tall, not so small as to get lost, and his envirosuit looked like any other. Most of the patrons had some form of weapon either strapped to their back or slung over their shoulder. Very few were as inadequately armed as he was. Looking around he decided to head to where the music was blaring from out of the back room.

As he crossed the smoke filled room he noticed several other sizable rooms. All of them filled with denizens of other houses, where this mix-match came together was in the hall in the back. There was no other place like it in hive city. At least not that Ian had heard of. The close proximity to hive city, and the bridge being a jump off point to places beyond, brought several of the houses together. Realizing that their mutual support of this resource was in each of their best interest, even if the Bifrost was Van Saar owned and operated. Each house had a piece of the pie and saw to it that none of the others tried to take more than their fair share.

Once in the back room the music was loud enough that Ian felt the vibrations in his teeth. On stage was a pair of Van Saar, one Escher, and an Orlock. The Orlock was playing a percussion instrument that had some form of fabric stretched across several steel drums of varying size. The Escher appeared to be the vocal ‘talent’ of the group as she was screaming into some form of microphone, but she was being hopelessly overpowered by the sound of the others. The pair of Van Saar appeared to be playing synths with keyboards. All four of them were pounding out a rhythm that had the whole room gyrating and pounding to the beat.

As Ian’s eyes adjusted to the flashing lights he caught site of an Escher making eye contact with him. Not knowing what to think Ian looked back over his shoulder into the common room, but with no one following behind him he looked back. The woman winked at him and went back to her conversation. Ian felt his face flush and ducked into the crowd.

Finding a small table with no one sitting at it Ian sat down where he could just enjoy the music for a time. Out of nowhere a waiter shows up from among the crowd. The man’s face was slightly disfigured and a Van Saar model bionic eye stared down at him with a cool blue light.

“What’ll it be?” The man asked.

Now knowing what to say Ian replied, “Um, water?”

The waiter burst out laughing so loud as to be heard over the music by several nearby. “Let’s see your credits!”

Fishing in his pocket he pulled out all that he had.

“You couldn’t buy a cup of water with ten times that amount! Here ya go – a nice glass of second best for the young lad!” With that the waiter placed a glass of some murky liquid heavily down on the table spilling most of its contents, and scrapped every last credit into his hand and disappeared before Ian could protest the loss.

Lifting up the cup to his nose Ian sniffed at the contents. The odor curled the hairs in his nose and caused him to twitch involuntarily.

“It’s better if you just down it,” came a voice from the crowd.

Ian looked up. It was the Escher from before. She wore black leather pants with a holstered auto pistol along her right leg. Across her shoulders was a plain looking sword, cutting across an orange shirt that left her mid drift exposed. Her red hair was pulled back to a pony tail. Her eyes locked once more on Ian’s.

“People actually drink this?” he asked.

“Only if you want to forget something, or gain some instant courage,” she replied. “You’re not from around here are you?”

Ian thought quickly, but had nothing better to reply. “No. You?”

She ignored the question. “So what brings you to the edge of the underhive, Mr. …?”

“Ian, just call me Ian. Let’s just say I am getting away from something. What about you, Ms … ?”

“Amber, my friends call me Amber. And so, what are you doing here? Are you with one of the local gangs?”

“That is as of yet, to be determined. I apparently have to prove myself before being fully embraced as a member. What about you?”

“I run with the ‘Black Cats’. I’m not a full fledged member yet. I have a few … initiations of my own to complete. What do you say we get out of here so we can talk a little easier?”

Ian hesitated, visions of being ambushed a left in some sewer drain flashed through his mind. “I think… I think I’m fine right here.”

“Suit yourself,” Amber said as she got up to leave. “But I have a small room right here in the Bifrost if you should change your mind.”

“And if I should follow you?” Ian stammered. “What will you do to me?”

“That, is as yet … to be determined,” she grinned back at him as she slowly walked through the crowd back towards the front room.

Ian gulped down the glass of second best and stood to follow the Escher. Fortunately for him the waiter had spilled most of it and his head swirled for only a moment. Leaving the glass behind Ian faded into the crowd in pursuit of his host.