"Prometheus"
By Daft Phully
"Let's raise a glass, to foolish me, and to our fallen sisters," said 'carol sue F., after she finished
the rituals to become the new (third, actually) leader of the Chainsaw Trash. At this point in the gang's
brief history, there wasn't much in the way of ceremony. The one-eyed ganger knocked back another
shot of 'Old Ripper Jack'; it was the best that the ladies could afford now, as the 'trash had been going
through a real rough patch. Honouring the dead- especially with a little lubrication- could help to raise
morale. But before the hooch could do its damage, 'carol sue F. reflected on the gang's current sitch-u.
Running a gang was a little more involved than she first thought. It was true that she had managed to
lead the gang out of the fight at the Medley Maze, and get them back to the relative safety of their part of
the hive. More importantly, the gang had managed to carry off their wounded, but had to leave the
crushed bodies of their former leader and another 'trash girl, up against the ferrous walls of the maze,
laying where they were snuffed.
The matter of the captive was another fungus pot to brew. A rescue plan must be put in the works.
'kitten N. was be-loved by the gang. She pulled her weight, was good with a shotgun, and was
deadly beautiful to watch when she moved from gantry to gantry. Her pink hair flowed like some lethal
effluent, as she'd leap from girder-to scaffold, to girder- squeezing off shots from 'kierkaguard'- the
name she had for that finely- crafted shotgun of hers. But in the confusion of their retreat- among the
hostile and the gang's covering fires- 'kitten N, well, she got nicked by the O'Brian Clan. 'carol sue hated
those Delaques now almost as much as 'ghetty C. did, and 'ghetty C. was the most seriously disturbed
ganger of her gang. The O'Brians had rubbed the 'trash's paps into it one too many times; those lucky
gits always seemed to get the best of the girls, and her gang's morale was low. And so were the
collections of protection creds. The civies were upset, and making noises about, the lack of security,
which they 'purchased' from the 'trash, at great cost. In fact, the 'trash was in serious danger of getting
'voted out of the settlement', and having to go outlaw. 'carol sue F.'s fear twitched at that thought.
But after the 'Jack started to work its wonders, even that fate seemed a little less serious. Who knew? All 'carol sue F. knew at this point, was that she was slipping into a fuzz, and it was up to her, and
they had to get 'kitten N back from those O'Brien pratts. 'kitten's image started to drift off into the haze of
the chemical distance, flapping her sickly, newly sprouted wings- that looked much like open Delaque-
issue trench coats-. in the toxic wind. With the new leader's next shot of 'Jack, the apparition vanished.
And so did the rest of the 'trash; her gang was fuzzily merging into the metalwork walls, and this took an
undetermined amount of time...
This is not how it was supposed to work out. Or at least, the way 'madison S. had described it.
The sector was called Medregular Lien, and there was an old production facility that had been scarfed
shut, and mostly forgotten. The few that were old enough to remember that far back, said that this place
had had a cratefull of operator/ owners, and that each one of them had inflicted his or her personal sense
of order upon it. Resulting in an internal structure that more resembled a warren, than an automated
factory that produced...well no-one seemed to remember that part. Rumour had it that the top complex
had a biotech or bionic bits assembly shop on it, along with some hospital facilities. Getting to it was
nigh impossible, though. If it could be captured, and secured, the Lien would make an ideal hidey hole,
and an excellent source of income.
The old civies, who could remember it, used to call it the Medley Maze, on account of the warped
way, over the cycles, that the factory had been improved. The Chainsaw Trash would have another name for it, a little later on.
Anyway, one of the Olin Mine Works's crotch droppings had gotten itself lost in a flurry of
drainage pipes ( It's good that carol sue and the girls had themselves pitted; there would be no offspring
to watch or to slow them down ) and since the 'trash were responsible-like for the works' well being and
safety and things, 'madsion S. organized the girls into several searcher groups to track the little hiver
down. It took, a while, but 'terri L. was able to find him, down in some abandoned drain pipe, waist deep
in goo.
He wasn't hurt, much, but his mother was going to have a time of it, when she tried to clean that
goo off of him. The childe got passed up, to a waiting set of hands and was led out to safety by 'julie S,
to his grateful mum. Score some points from the locals. 'terri L., figuring that she already was in need of a good wash down and groom, already, decided to do a bit of exploring while down in the pipes. She
waved to two other girls to watch her six. A bit of looking about- a pry, here, a push there- and by
The Emperor, she found herself in a large, drainage room. Misused and- more importantly disused, for
ycles. Untouched goodies for the gang to loot. 'terri L looked around for some bits that she could pawn
off for herself, before the others could catch up. Nothing immediately scarfable. In her search she found
what appeared to be some symbol, or logagraph, on a danger sign (And what else would you expect in a
hive?), up a rusted ladder, and to the right. 'terri L. did not recognize any of the symbols on it, and
neither did the other girls, when they caught up, so they memmed what they could, and followed the trail
back to the others, who were resting up at the works. 'terri L. knew better than to do much more exploring
without some serious backup.
Guess. Medregular Lien, it was. Looked like the 'trash were going to be getting all geared up to
do some major exploring.
'maddy was all excited in that way, which usually meant that the girls were going to get into to it
fast and deep. "Always a bad sign," thought 'carol sue F. When maddy got that look in her eye, it meant
that the 'trash would be carrying some of their lot back home. And 'carol sue F. prayed, as usual, that this time, it would not be her lot that was drawn.
With 'madison S. cheerfully, leading the way, (Yet, another bad sign.) the 'trash worked themselves to the bowels of the maze without a bit of trouble. A simple drop down from an over head pipe got them into the drainage chamber that 'terri L. had discovered. Some careful steps over some corroded grates and up the ladder got them to an access door to the next level. This was about as far as they would get for this trip. The expedition took a hive-dive, from this point onwards.
'christine C. and 'madison shoved 'debra L- their newbie recruit- up the ladder for a look-see.
'debra said that she thought she had heard something that sounded like footsteps echoing down a side
corridor. 'Course that noise could have been made by anything at this point. So 'debra L. climbs up to
the doorway, with the two other gangers close behind, and the juve pokes her decoratively shaved head
through the door, and all she can see, is a pair of huge boots. These boots are unfortunately connected
to an ogryn, and 'debra L. is about to get a lesson- first hand- why some gangs hire these brutes as
bodyguards. One single hit- with what appeared to be the big half of a entire sewage system, and with a
squeak- 'debra L... well she is pasted up against a wall. Now 'madison and 'terri, they don't witness a
thing, but can hear it all from above, and start feeling that fear-twitch. Never-the- less, on the count of
three, they charge up the ladder.
Now it is strangely amazing to think, that, one: that they'd ever actually meet an ogryn, and that
two: how can anything that big swing that pipe around, in such a small hallway? The physics of number
two, were outweighed by the facts presented by number three: both gangers were getting their arses
hauled by an ogryn. After several plasma bolts and many cries of pain later, it was, ogryn- three, and the
'trash- zed. sandy B. does get a lucky bolt pistol shot off , and that shot actually punctures the
brute's hide; it roars in pain, and squeezes its bulk, out the door, out of sight, and maybe, out of mind.
What followed his departure was that bad kind of quiet.
Here's the sitch-u. 'sandy B. is up the ladder on the 'trash's half of the doorway, and no body else
in the pit is moving. The rest of the gang were going through some deep soul searching to see which one
of them had the paps to charge into what was surely certain death. So 'sandy creeps up to the doorway
and ears it real good. She hears the sound of human-type gangers whispering something coming from
down the corridor. (Rock/scissors/paper to choose who's go is next?) 'sandy mentally counts the paces to
the corner from the door and sets herself to leap on the next normal- looking hiver she sees. A ganger girl
creeps out slowly out from around the corner, and 'sandi is off... curls nut- first into the chest of the ogryn
who steps across the doorway, and who fills the doorway, entirely. Quickly shaking the head butt off,
she leaps in through the door and attacks the brute- this, she does quite well. Unfortunately, sandi is
not girl enough to actually hurt the ogryn, and with a flick of its massive wrist, 'sandi B. goes tumbling
head over gibbets though the door, and into the rest of the gang below.
The 'trash hear the ogryn bellow and the smell of combustibles fill the chamber. 'ghetty and 'julie
look up and see the ogryn rolling on the passage way floor, trying to put out the many little fires that have
sprung from his hide. The girls look at each other, and in a twinkle, both are up the ladder and firing wildly
into the beast, and both gangers miss the huge thing, entirely. It grunts in pain and lumbers off down
the corridor, causing some concern to the other gangers who were in its path. Before the two can reflect
on their collective poor marksmanship, they hear the hiss of a flamer, in idle mode, and that bad click that
always means that there's is one all ready to go. All the two can see is the glint of goggles reflecting the
flames that woosh over the girls as they collapse. Damn Delaques.
'ghetty, falls forwards, and 'julie falls back wards- leotards and leather still smoking from the
flamer hit. This was the last of action that the 'trash could take for right now; 'sandi and 'debra were still
breathing, but 'madison and 'christine don't look well at all. They actually looked very dead. 'carol sue
gave the order to 'take out the 'trash'; she rounded up the gang and they bolted back for home.
Next time, thought carol sue, they'd come back when it wasn't so busy.
"Stuffed", carol sue F. groaned, "the 'trash got stuffed again." However, when the word came
down that 'kitten N. was still alive, and still local, a ragged cheer went up among her remaining gangers.
The late leader, 'madison S, wasn't really a popular type, but the girl did have the necessary moxie to
pound a gang together. 'kitten N, was one of the first gangers the newbie gang had recruited, back when
'linnea Q. had formed up the chainsaw trash, and way before 'madison S. had wacked the old leader, and started to run things.
So they had to go and rescue the kitten. That was all there was to it; the 'trash protects its own.
(even 'madison) Now if 'kitten N. was being held by any of the other gangs running in Jonestown, the
'trash'd have had a good chance at it. The fly in the fungus, was that the captors are the primo local
gang in Jonestown, and they are the O' Brians, from House Delacking-any-guts-at-all. The scummers.
'Course they made up for their sneaky ways by having some really vicious in-fighters and every bolt pistol
in the hive. "And plasma grenades, " thought carol sue F. "The leader has launcher full of 'em...the pratt."
Odds were better, 'cause the hive buzz said that a newcomer gang- Slaves to Darkness- (Silly
name for those who represent the House of Escher. ) had a ganger hostage there as well. And of course,
it turned out that the leader of the Slaves, had that filthy beast of an ogryn as a bodyguard. This problem
could be fixed, at a later time, and somewhere else. The girls had work to do. As long as the Slaves
kept their mutant far away from her girlies, there'd be no trouble. Further, with two gangs against the
captors, it would be an even fight, for once. And to spice up this fungus stew of a rescue some more, a
House Goliath gang, and a Redemptionist crusade were looking for action.
It was to be a bit crowded around the O'Brians this cycle.
"Ok girlies, listen up here. We got every gang from klics around coming in to get their shots at the
O'Brians. All we need now is a carney travel-ling show to set up affairs, and it would be a complete one."
A couple of titters was heard from the assembled gangers, and 'carol sue F. smiled with pride of the moxie of her battered girlies. "If we keep our paps down and our eyes all around, we should be able to sneak up on them. Maybe those Delaque pratts will shoot the 'Dempseys first, if we're unseen." And with the hire of an underhiver mercenary, and a pit slave who answers to the name of Dremmel- for an additional bit of well-placed muscle- the Chainsaw Trash was off to the rescue.
The first of plan part worked pretty well. Her girls were sneaking up to the settlement, but they
accidentally bumped into the six of the Slaves, who were following the same approach into the Delaque
settlement. Fortunately, there was to be no gun play, but after a few uttered oaths, and some dirty looks,
the Slaves advanced, and the 'trash followed- a respectful distance behind them. 'carol sue hoped that
this arrangement would work well, as the Slaves would hit the wet stuff first, She smiled to herself as
she signaled to the 'trash to follow the Slaves in. It looked as if the luck of her gang was about to
change. And it, it was about to change, right now. From various parts of the shadows surrounding the
two gangs, five demon-like figures appeared.
Spyres.
And 'kitten would have to wait...
These overhivers were either a bit too green, or bold, or both, as they dropped in between the
Slaves and the 'trash. A Jakara managed to gut one of the Slaves, just before the whole lot of the nobles
started to fall prey to well-placed shots from both gangs. 'ghetty crushed her Jakara with a single strike
of her ugly stick. (Try to reflect that back, you quim!) 'terry and 'sandy double- teamed the Orrus, who had spooked the pit slave, with a wild shot from his bolter gauntlets. The girls ventilated his combat rig real good.
Even the hired gun pegged a Yeld. (Well worth the creds.) It actually was starting to look good
for the 'trash. That is, until the plasma grenades started to fall. (So much for the sneaky approach.) 'barbie C. got unlucky, and was toasted by the first one. Other girls- the ones that had advanced along
side of 'barbie- dodged the plasma tentacles, and headed for cover. Under the perfect aim of the
Delaque leader, the 'trash were not able to advance as much as they had to evade.
' tammy P. caught some white hot frags of ferrocrete in the chest- from another grenade- pinning her under a wall, that collapsed in the same blast. Smoke, cries of pain, and the smell of burnt flesh mixed in with her movement under the rubble- as the ganger tried to free herself- put out the fire on her breast plates. The only good thing to said about the plasma was that the pratt with the grenade launcher couldn't see through his own blasts, and that the 'trash could slowly move up on the settlement, using the plasma clouds as cover.
The Slaves were very busy with their own problems. They too, suffered from plasma wrath, and also started to take fire from the walls of the settlement. Three be-goggled Delaques sprinted out from
behind a prepared position; they either moved with an unnatural quickness or fired more bolt pistol shells
that seemed humanly possible. It happened too fast to tell. The Slaves fell quickly to the assault , and
the remnants of the gang- as quickly- dragged off their dying into the loving cover of darkness, cursing
their luck, and blaming The Emperor. This left the remaining girls of the Chainsaw Trash to face down a
fairly fresh O'Brian gang. And the Delaque leader seemed to have a never-ending supply of plasma
grenades...
There was more trouble brewing- this time it was on the 'trash's six. A stray Malcadon was taking cover near the girl's escape route, but it didn't notice the near-by gangers who were silently safe in their cover, and slowly reading their weapons. The Spyre was hiding from another load of fire coming from the 'trash's three. The Redemptionists had decided to come on over and play and had opened up on this fresh noble hunting party , and on the 'trash's hired scummer- who got caught between the two. 'carol sue watched a Jakara rush in to greet the pinned scummer, and the Spyre's hail and salutation did not appear to be the friendly sort, at all. The Jakara, was well-pleased with her work, and turned her attentions to the advancing Redemptionists. But not for long.
The guns of the 'trash opened up on the cowering Spyre, but most of the shooting went high or low- not straight ahead, as needed. The sheer ugliness of their attack forced the spider-like Spyre to drop lower into the little cover it possessed, and then, it suddenly appeared to understand what was about to happen to it should it remain where it was. In a fit of wisdom, it bolted past the advancing Redemptionists, and in to the safety of the darkness. The Dempsey's had dealt severely with the others in the Malcadon's hunting party, and the fanatics now had the 'trash in their sights.
'terri L. became one with her favourite autogun, and chipped a Delaque in the shoulder, knocking him to the hive floor. In the midst of all the confusion, the girls got finally got one of them. And with many regrets, 'carol sue F. signaled the 'trash to break off the fight. It had gone wrong, again.
Hurt, but understanding looks, followed their leader back to their home. Their dear 'kitten was lost to them, and they'd hoped that the captive had heard the fight, and knew that the 'trash had attempted the rescue. Her sisters hoped she'd understand. Or, at least, mercifully expire under the labour that she would be soon sold to perform. Quickly. 'kitten was not the only one lost this cycle. 'barbie C. didn't make it back, either. Three dead and one sold into to guilder slavery. It had been a miserable few cycles. And julie S's complaining didn't help the gang's morale much , either. She wasn't real popular by the time the 'trash arrived home. Now, it was the time for the girls to lay low, lick their wounds, and re-create. And to cheer out. 'carol sue F. swore on the corpses of their own- their own that they had to leave behind- that she'd figure out someway to get the gang- now- her gang- back on top, again.
The first part of the plan required huge quantities of 'Old Ripper Jack'...