part 1
SMACK! “How dare you attack the Cats!”
Ian’s cheek stung from the impact of Amber’s slap. “We didn’t attack them, they cornered us. We defended ourselves!”
“Why would the Cats take you and your gang on? We don’t need your booze hall. We run the habs below and even have a couple of Guilders in our pockets, why in Helmawr’s rump would we want the Bifrost?!?”
“Look! I’m telling you they aimed to take us out! If it had not been for Renold getting the drop on your friends we might not be having this… conversation!”
“You keep clear of me Ian! You hear me! If you cross my path again so help me… you will pay dearly for it!”
The rest of the patrons in the ‘Bifrost’ snapped their heads back to what they were doing as Ian looked around the room.
“So much for being discreet,” Ian thought to himself as he rubbed his cheek. He walked up to the bar and sat down.
“Chigger! How about a hit of second best to sooth the soul.”
Ian slapped down a guilder on the counter. Taking the glass Ian downed the foul beverage without letting the bottom of the cup touch the bar. Shivering to himself he groaned. Nasty stuff, but Chigger’s brew was better than most. His… discomfort, yea that’s it, his discomfort would be soothed. For a moment at least.
“Ian! Come here for a minute!”
Dyrke called out from the “Spider’s Web” (their room off the main floor). Ian’s heart sank. “I sure hope he didn’t catch that,” He thought to himself.
As Ian approached the room a Ratskin stepped through the doorway, glanced at Ian, and then disappeared out the front door.
“What was that all about?” Ian asked Dyrke who was now locking up the room.
“I’ve been tossing around the idea of hiring us a guide. That fellow wants to prove his worth. He says there is a prime piece of archeo sitting pretty just waiting for someone to come and claim it.”
Ian glanced out the door that the Ratskin had used. He had never actually seen a Ratskin up close. All he knew about them were the things of children’s stories his parents used to tell him.
“Do you trust him?” Ian asked looking back into his leader’s eyes.
“I’m not sure, but if this take is as good as he says it is… it will be worth the risk. Go round up the team. I need to check on something and pick up some supplies. I’ll meet you all downstairs in thirty.”
And with that Dyrke headed out the door. Ian just watched him go for a moment and then headed downstairs.
Ian’s cheek stung from the impact of Amber’s slap. “We didn’t attack them, they cornered us. We defended ourselves!”
“Why would the Cats take you and your gang on? We don’t need your booze hall. We run the habs below and even have a couple of Guilders in our pockets, why in Helmawr’s rump would we want the Bifrost?!?”
“Look! I’m telling you they aimed to take us out! If it had not been for Renold getting the drop on your friends we might not be having this… conversation!”
“You keep clear of me Ian! You hear me! If you cross my path again so help me… you will pay dearly for it!”
The rest of the patrons in the ‘Bifrost’ snapped their heads back to what they were doing as Ian looked around the room.
“So much for being discreet,” Ian thought to himself as he rubbed his cheek. He walked up to the bar and sat down.
“Chigger! How about a hit of second best to sooth the soul.”
Ian slapped down a guilder on the counter. Taking the glass Ian downed the foul beverage without letting the bottom of the cup touch the bar. Shivering to himself he groaned. Nasty stuff, but Chigger’s brew was better than most. His… discomfort, yea that’s it, his discomfort would be soothed. For a moment at least.
“Ian! Come here for a minute!”
Dyrke called out from the “Spider’s Web” (their room off the main floor). Ian’s heart sank. “I sure hope he didn’t catch that,” He thought to himself.
As Ian approached the room a Ratskin stepped through the doorway, glanced at Ian, and then disappeared out the front door.
“What was that all about?” Ian asked Dyrke who was now locking up the room.
“I’ve been tossing around the idea of hiring us a guide. That fellow wants to prove his worth. He says there is a prime piece of archeo sitting pretty just waiting for someone to come and claim it.”
Ian glanced out the door that the Ratskin had used. He had never actually seen a Ratskin up close. All he knew about them were the things of children’s stories his parents used to tell him.
“Do you trust him?” Ian asked looking back into his leader’s eyes.
“I’m not sure, but if this take is as good as he says it is… it will be worth the risk. Go round up the team. I need to check on something and pick up some supplies. I’ll meet you all downstairs in thirty.”
And with that Dyrke headed out the door. Ian just watched him go for a moment and then headed downstairs.
-=-=-=O=-=-=-
As the Steel Spiders sat waiting for their leader to return Ian adjusted the setting on the power cell of his Lasgun to the minimum, and then pulled the rifle up into a comfortable tuck. The optics were clearer than he had hoped. With his finger obviously outside the trigger guard he panned low across a couple of his fellow gangers. He could see the folds in their bodysuits, and the stark contrast of their belts and respirators. Sighting in on an old shelf support he squeezed the trigger… missed.
Walking over to the wall where the beam of light left a scorch mark he made a few calculations in his head and then made a quick adjustment to his newly created Infrared sight.
“You’re can clean that up when we get back Ian.”
With the entrance of their leader the Spider’s found a place to sit and then quieted down.
“Before I get started, this here is Hargrave. He has credentials from the Union shop above so make him welcome. Oh, Renold, go fetch that shotgun and ammo from Bo’s workshop.”
Renold took off down the hall while most of the rest of the Spider’s nodded a greeting to the late arrival.
“Alright, Ian’s probably already told you. We are off to make a claim on some supposedly discarded archeo. Here’s the twist. Our guide disappeared after he left the Bifrost. I don’t trust the source, but I’ve decided to go forward with the plan anyway.”
A few of the Spiders shifted in their seats.
“I know it’s probably a fool’s errand, but here’s the plan…”
Walking over to the wall where the beam of light left a scorch mark he made a few calculations in his head and then made a quick adjustment to his newly created Infrared sight.
“You’re can clean that up when we get back Ian.”
With the entrance of their leader the Spider’s found a place to sit and then quieted down.
“Before I get started, this here is Hargrave. He has credentials from the Union shop above so make him welcome. Oh, Renold, go fetch that shotgun and ammo from Bo’s workshop.”
Renold took off down the hall while most of the rest of the Spider’s nodded a greeting to the late arrival.
“Alright, Ian’s probably already told you. We are off to make a claim on some supposedly discarded archeo. Here’s the twist. Our guide disappeared after he left the Bifrost. I don’t trust the source, but I’ve decided to go forward with the plan anyway.”
A few of the Spiders shifted in their seats.
“I know it’s probably a fool’s errand, but here’s the plan…”
-=-=-=O=-=-=-
Ian climbed up through the last hatch. The rest of the Spider’s had already assumed a small perimeter with Dyrke in the center.
“Ian, you are going to accompany Cacee and Rogers on a flanking move. I’m not comfortable with not knowing the area very well. This is the deepest we’ve had to go so far.”
“Boss, not to contradict you in front of everyone but… I’d prefer to take Renold over Ian. It’s gonna be tight down in those tunnels. Ian’s a good shot and all, but I need someone who’s more maneuverable in a tight spot.”
Dyrke contemplated this and looked at Cacee. “You’re right. Ian, go take Renold’s spot on the perimeter.”
Once he was in position Ian looked back at the four men. Dyrke was referring to an unrolled piece of paper and then drawing something in the dust on the floor. Cacee looked down, pointed to a few things, and nodded. Then he looked to the other men, said something and pointed to the ground once more. Dyrke then left the other three and approached Ian.
“It was nothing personal. I had wanted to keep my medic close anyway,” Dyrke said as he smacked Ian on the shoulder.
“It’s not a problem Boss. Let’s go get this thing and get back.”
Dyrke grinned and nodded. As he turned to move to the next in line he hesitated.
“You might want to be a little more… discreet in your choices of… friends.”
Ian felt panic in his chest.
“It’s no big deal kid. I’ve known about your little ‘cat’ since you joined. If it becomes a problem though… I expect you to deal with it.”
“Sure thing boss. But I think it’s already taken care of.”
“You never can tell Ian, you never can tell.”
“Ian, you are going to accompany Cacee and Rogers on a flanking move. I’m not comfortable with not knowing the area very well. This is the deepest we’ve had to go so far.”
“Boss, not to contradict you in front of everyone but… I’d prefer to take Renold over Ian. It’s gonna be tight down in those tunnels. Ian’s a good shot and all, but I need someone who’s more maneuverable in a tight spot.”
Dyrke contemplated this and looked at Cacee. “You’re right. Ian, go take Renold’s spot on the perimeter.”
Once he was in position Ian looked back at the four men. Dyrke was referring to an unrolled piece of paper and then drawing something in the dust on the floor. Cacee looked down, pointed to a few things, and nodded. Then he looked to the other men, said something and pointed to the ground once more. Dyrke then left the other three and approached Ian.
“It was nothing personal. I had wanted to keep my medic close anyway,” Dyrke said as he smacked Ian on the shoulder.
“It’s not a problem Boss. Let’s go get this thing and get back.”
Dyrke grinned and nodded. As he turned to move to the next in line he hesitated.
“You might want to be a little more… discreet in your choices of… friends.”
Ian felt panic in his chest.
“It’s no big deal kid. I’ve known about your little ‘cat’ since you joined. If it becomes a problem though… I expect you to deal with it.”
“Sure thing boss. But I think it’s already taken care of.”
“You never can tell Ian, you never can tell.”
-=-=-=O=-=-=-
Part 2
“Cave in!”
The hive shook all around a trio of Van Saar gangers making their way through an old sewage pipe. Dust and debris cascaded at an incredible rate.
“Make for that last crossway!”
Cacee made it back first. Just as the other two also made it he looked back down the tunnel and saw that it was now totally blocked.
“We have to find another way guys. Where was that other tunnel again?”
-=-=-=O=-=-=-
Dyrke had been pushing the ‘Steel Spiders’ hard. For the better part of the day cycle they kept moving. Down, always down. When they finally arrived at the dome Dyrke had shown them on his map, they found that they were not alone in the quest. For… whatever it was.
The leader of the Spiders silently signaled that there were some uninvited guests. With a pair of arm signals they were all told where to go. Katan and Bo were to take up the right flank and prepare to take out any one approaching from their side of the field. The new guy, Hargrave, and Ian were to follow Dyrke around to the left to make for a tall platform located in the center of the dome.
As Ian and the other two approached a ladder Dyrke motioned for Ian to cover the advance from here. Not a bad spot. Sitting down against an adjoining bulkhead Ian leaned forward and rested his lasgun into a niche. From here he was able to keep a good eye on his leader and the new guy. He could also see the dome floor below.
Just in time. Out of the shadows crept a pair of Escher. They were not wearing the colors of the Black Cats, this was a different gang. Ian glanced up and tried to get Dyrke’s attention. No dice, he was fixated on his goal and not looking back.
“Bupupupupupup” Dyrke let loose with the Heavy Stubber and both of the Escher went to ground. Ian sighted in using his new Infrared scope. It was working beautifully as the two signatures were crisp. The distinctive report of Katan’s Bolt Pistols now joined the battle and the woman closest to the Van Saar gangers dropped. Ian sighted in on his remaining target and let a bolt from his lasgun fly. His target jerked back behind cover, but it didn’t look like the shot hit anything vital.
Chancing a look back towards his boss Ian saw that Dyrke had readied his Axe and pistol and was running headlong for the far end of the bridge he was on. Ian tried to peer into the darkness beyond but could not pick up any targets.
“Unh!” Ian felt something slam into the left side of his head. The world started to spin. Turning to his left Ian caught a glimpse of two men in long coats and dark goggles. The edge of his vision was starting to go black when Katan stepped past him and was blasting away with both bolt pistols at the attackers.
“Where did those Delaque come from?” Was the last thing Ian remembered saying to himself as the darkness overtook him.
The leader of the Spiders silently signaled that there were some uninvited guests. With a pair of arm signals they were all told where to go. Katan and Bo were to take up the right flank and prepare to take out any one approaching from their side of the field. The new guy, Hargrave, and Ian were to follow Dyrke around to the left to make for a tall platform located in the center of the dome.
As Ian and the other two approached a ladder Dyrke motioned for Ian to cover the advance from here. Not a bad spot. Sitting down against an adjoining bulkhead Ian leaned forward and rested his lasgun into a niche. From here he was able to keep a good eye on his leader and the new guy. He could also see the dome floor below.
Just in time. Out of the shadows crept a pair of Escher. They were not wearing the colors of the Black Cats, this was a different gang. Ian glanced up and tried to get Dyrke’s attention. No dice, he was fixated on his goal and not looking back.
“Bupupupupupup” Dyrke let loose with the Heavy Stubber and both of the Escher went to ground. Ian sighted in using his new Infrared scope. It was working beautifully as the two signatures were crisp. The distinctive report of Katan’s Bolt Pistols now joined the battle and the woman closest to the Van Saar gangers dropped. Ian sighted in on his remaining target and let a bolt from his lasgun fly. His target jerked back behind cover, but it didn’t look like the shot hit anything vital.
Chancing a look back towards his boss Ian saw that Dyrke had readied his Axe and pistol and was running headlong for the far end of the bridge he was on. Ian tried to peer into the darkness beyond but could not pick up any targets.
“Unh!” Ian felt something slam into the left side of his head. The world started to spin. Turning to his left Ian caught a glimpse of two men in long coats and dark goggles. The edge of his vision was starting to go black when Katan stepped past him and was blasting away with both bolt pistols at the attackers.
“Where did those Delaque come from?” Was the last thing Ian remembered saying to himself as the darkness overtook him.
-=-=-=O=-=-=-
“Come on kid, wake up!”
Ian felt someone lightly smacking his face. Blinking once, twice… Dyrke was staring down at him. Ian could feel a hand beneath his head holding him up as well.
“Here take a sip of this.”
Dyrke was offering him some kind of liquid. The plastic cup felt cool so Ian took a mouthful. And then it started to burn. Ian coughed uncontrollably causing him to spill most of it down the front of his body suit.
“What was that?” Ian asked as he continued coughing.
“Gutter rot. Got it from the vendors outside of the Bifrost. Not bad eh?”
Ian shook his head. Whatever it was it had cleared his mind. Reaching up he touched the side of his head. His hand came away with fresh blood.
“What happened?”
Dyrke looked passed him for moment, “a band of Delaque jumped us from behind. It would seem that our Ratskin friend was more free with his information than I had thought. I need you to take a look at the others…”
Dyrke had managed to drag all the rest of the Spiders over to where they were now.
Katan was very pale with a lot of blood coming from a nasty series of wounds along his left arm. Burn marks and deep cuts covered the area.
“He’s cut an artery somewhere in there,” Ian said without looking up. Grabbing his kit bag Ian rummaged through his meager medical supplies. Nothing, there was nothing there. In frustration he pulled his knife and went to work cutting away pieces of Katan’s damaged uniform. For the shrapnel that was close to the surface he pried the pieces out with his knife, but no amount of pressure was stopping the blood from flowing onto the ground. Finally Ian was desperate. Pulling Katan’s own belt off Ian quickly fashioned a makeshift tourniquet and strapped it, and the arm, down.
“I need to get him back to the Bifrost,” Ian finally said to Dyrke who was hovering over the two men.
“Wait, there’s more over here.”
Dyrke showed Ian the unconscious forms of Hargrave and Boanerges. Ian looked the two men over. Hargrave had a nasty gash across his head, but the bandage that Dyrke had applied was doing the trick. Boanerges was harder to discern. A bullet had gone clear through his shoulder. The blood had stopped but he was going to be in a lot of pain. Bo would be able to walk himself out, if they could wake him, but he would be slow. Ian had been so focused on the wounded he did not see Cacee and the others approach.
“We finally made it boss. The tunnel we needed to get here collapsed, almost on top of us. We got here as fast as we could.”
“Better late than never,” Dyrke replied. “Come on, give us hand. We need to get these three back to our lair.”
“Was it worth it boss? Did we get what we came here for?” Ian asked as he fashioned a stretcher out of the debris.
Dyrke grinned slightly as he pulled out a small rectangular box to show the rest. There were several wires and tubes with no apparent rhyme or reason. Ian wanted to look at it more closely, but there wasn’t time. Then Dyrke’s face hardened as he looked back at Ian.
“It will be worth it if we can get these guys taken care of.”
-=-=-=O=-=-=-
Part 3
Ian looked up from Katan’s bloody arm. Cacee had returned from another scouting run and was whispering something to Dyrke. Neither of them looked very happy with the news.
Turning back to his task at hand Ian went back to work on Katan’s wounds. In order to save it Ian was having to release the tourniquet from time to time to allow blood to flow through the good portions of the arm and hand. Although the blood flow had slackened he could not get it to stop completely. He really needed to get Katan back to the Bifrost in order to get a better look at the wound. Katan still looked very pale and Ian was beginning to worry if he would recover. Tightening the tourniquet down once again Ian made sure his patient was ready to move.
“We need to get the wounded to a safe place Ian. We are going to have some visitors soon.”
“What do you mean?”
“Cacee is reporting that a large group of Ratskins have been following us. They will be here shortly.”
Ian looked around. They were in the midst of an abandoned settlement and all the buildings were in very poor condition. After a quick check of the surrounding area the pair settled on an old storage building. Once the wounded were stashed away Dyrke sent Cacee, Rogers, and Renold out to try and give a warning when the Ratskins would be on top of them. They would provide security for the immediate area.
“You’ve done pretty good at keeping the rest of the Spiders patched up kid. If Cacee’s right, we are going to be hard pressed in the fight ahead. Will any of the wounded be able to step up?
“No, they are all in pretty sad shape.”
“Alright, keep your head down and take as many of them with you as you can.”
When Ian nodded his acknowledgement he realized that the shot he took to his head was still bleeding. It was going to be a long night.
Turning back to his task at hand Ian went back to work on Katan’s wounds. In order to save it Ian was having to release the tourniquet from time to time to allow blood to flow through the good portions of the arm and hand. Although the blood flow had slackened he could not get it to stop completely. He really needed to get Katan back to the Bifrost in order to get a better look at the wound. Katan still looked very pale and Ian was beginning to worry if he would recover. Tightening the tourniquet down once again Ian made sure his patient was ready to move.
“We need to get the wounded to a safe place Ian. We are going to have some visitors soon.”
“What do you mean?”
“Cacee is reporting that a large group of Ratskins have been following us. They will be here shortly.”
Ian looked around. They were in the midst of an abandoned settlement and all the buildings were in very poor condition. After a quick check of the surrounding area the pair settled on an old storage building. Once the wounded were stashed away Dyrke sent Cacee, Rogers, and Renold out to try and give a warning when the Ratskins would be on top of them. They would provide security for the immediate area.
“You’ve done pretty good at keeping the rest of the Spiders patched up kid. If Cacee’s right, we are going to be hard pressed in the fight ahead. Will any of the wounded be able to step up?
“No, they are all in pretty sad shape.”
“Alright, keep your head down and take as many of them with you as you can.”
When Ian nodded his acknowledgement he realized that the shot he took to his head was still bleeding. It was going to be a long night.
-=-=-=O=-=-=-
Ian’s mood was dismal. Since they had holed up in this dome the constant anticipation of attack was heavy on his mind. To top it off a heavy rain had been falling for the past hour and a half. The concern of it being acidic was quickly dispelled, but it was putting off a noxious odor that was making him light headed. And to add more on top of it, Cacee and the others had yet to return or even report in.
The rain had soaked the dome floor and pools of the liquid were everywhere causing the thick layer of dust to form a gooey mud-like substance. Ian had retreated to an elevated walkway in a futile attempt to get away from the fumes.
“Donk…..donk…dink” Something metallic clattered down a pile of rubble on the opposite edge of the dome. Ian whirled around to see what it was… a mistake. His light headedness turned into full fledged vertigo causing him to stumble forward. Even as he stepped over the edge of the walkway he could not tell which way was up. Before he even knew what was happening Ian had fallen the thirty feet to the dome floor below, landing in a deep mud hole.
“Ugh! It smells even worse up close.” Ian said to himself as he stood back up.
“Here they come!”
Ian scooped mud away from his eyes and looked up. Dyrke was pointing off to the far wall with his axe. From where he had landed Ian had to look through a severely dilapidated building. Even with all the intervening debris he could identify at least six Ratskins moving in their direction.
Without further hesitation Ian brought his lasgun up, sighted in on the nearest Ratskin, and squeezed off a shot. From this angle he could not tell if his shot and landed, but it did cause the Ratskin to go to ground.
Dyrke was cursing at the top of his lungs and firing madly down into the same group Ian could see. “Where is that bastard Cacee?!?” was all that Ian made out from the tirade.
“What, can’t you handle a few Ratskins?”
Ian looked back over his shoulder to see the lost trio of Spiders emerging from the shadows.
Shouting over his shoulder Ian called to them, “It’s about time you guys got back. Mind giving us a hand here?”
Cacee sent Renold and Rogers around Ian’s left while he took up a firing position to Ian’s right.
By now the Ratskins were whooping it up and moving quickly. Ian continued to snap off shots at targets as they presented themselves, but it was hard to tell if he was having any affect. His shots were always through dense rubble and debris, and the targets were quick to disappear.
Out of the corner of his left eye Ian saw that Rogers and Renold were falling back to get more cover. Renold stood in the middle of a small alley way, both las pistols blazing away at some unseen foe.
“Do not let them get to Bo and the others!”
Ian looked up to see Dyrke still blazing away at the Ratskins below. He was falling back now as he was under fire from at least two different directions, and there was no cover to be had. From where Ian stood he could see three Ratskins scaling several ladders to get at Dyrke. He didn’t have a shot and the Ratskins were on top of Dyrke before either of them could react to the new threat.
A grunt from his right turned Ian’s attention away from Dyrke’s predicament. Cacee was dropping to his knees as he grabbed his abdomen. The Ratskins were on top of him now and Ian was pulling the trigger as fast as he could flex his finger.
Another cry, from his left this time. Renold was crawling back towards where Rogers had taken cover. This was it. One more push and the Ratskins were going to sweep the Steel Spiders away.
From the top of the platform where Dyrke had been the Ratskin leader stepped forward. “You have disturbed the Hive Spirits for the last time! Return what is not yours!” And he let loose a loud whoop that made Ian’s hair stand on end.
This was his chance though. Ian dropped his infrared scope dead on the savage leader’s chest and squeezed the trigger. For the first time in the fight Ian knew the shot scored. The Ratskin dropped his shotgun over the edge and grabbed his chest. Although he attempted to stop his motion it was too late and he followed his shotgun over the edge.
For a moment time seemed to stand still. To a man the Ratskins seemed to become disoriented and confused. With the attack now stalled they began to retreat back into the shadows. Ian scanned for more targets but there were none to be had.
Once Ian was confident that the Ratskins were not going to return he quickly went to where Dyrke was. He had some pretty good gashes but he looked to be able to move. Cacee was in similar shape. Renold had a grazing shot across his thigh, and although he complained a lot, Ian didn’t think it would require anything more than a bandage.
The biggest complaint from his new patients was the smell. Ian was still caked in the odorous mud.
“Hey Ian,” Rogers was calling out from the roof of a small shed. “Come and see what we have here!”
Getting on top of the shed was no easy feat, but when he arrived he was met with the unconscious form of the Ratskin leader.
“This should fetch a pretty penny from the Guilders I bet,” Rogers said out loud.
“Rogers my friend, I couldn’t agree more.”
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