Ferro was moping around, nursing his infected wound and complaining that he wouldn't get to go on the grand scavenger hunt. Crowe wouldn't let it drop about his flamer idea. Drake's speech was stull slurred and he kept flipping his pistol unnervingly from one hand to the other as he stared into empty space. Apone sighed, this was not going to be easy but with any luck they'd grab enough loot to interest their guilder contacts. Maybe even make enough to get Crowe his blasted flamer.
As the Militia moved out there was an eerie hush hanging over the ruins of what looked like it had once been a foundry of some kind. Vasquez quickly moved away from the group towards a vantage point to their left. Hudson, the new Juve Golic, Drake and Crowe wound round the building ahead of them whilst Apone took a side route to cover them from a nearby generator shed. The others headed off along the right flank towards an old silo, and it was here that they first encountered the others.
As Spunkmeyer stepped out from behind the tower a violent shotgun blast hit the ground near his feet. A second knocked Hicks off his feet and Frost through himself back against the concrete pillar in time to avoid the volley from a heavy stubber somewhere above them. A volley which ended in a subtle but just audible 'click' and muttered cursing from the balcony above.
Hicks had just regained his feet when the firefight began again in earnest, throwing him back onto the ground. Spunkmeyer had made it around the pillar and was exchanging shots with a Delaque Juve on the walkway leading up to the balcony where the disgruntled heavy was still wrestling with his redundant stubber. A ganger with a shotgun ran from cover into the enclosure in front of the silo. Frost and Wierzbowski advanced, autoguns levelled, but their shots scattered off the debris in front of the enemy. Their cover provided enough space for Hicks to recover and join them, but their confidence was thwarted by the sound of a bolt pistol clattering behind them and Frost hit the dirt.
From his vantage point on the level above, Vasquez could see the heavy give up trying to free the ammo feed to the stubber and reach for his shotgun. Seizing his chance, he sighted along his Hunting Rifle and brought the heavy down with a deft flick of the trigger.
Below him, Drake had been taken down, unnoticed by the rest of the party, having run screaming into a dead end. The others were moving towards an access point to the gantry system above. Golic and Crowe running across the open ground in between whilst Hudson covered them with the plasma gun. It was Golic who noticed the lone Juve standing in the open next to the generator, but his inexperienced aim was well out and all he did was attract the attention of the fighter who turned and charged towards them. Crowe instinctively let off a burst of auto fire, right into the back of the unfortunate Golic. Fortunately Hudson was on the ball and quick with a burst of plasma, bringing the Juve to his knees a charred mess.
The remaining Militia took stock of the situation. This wasn't one rival gang, there were TWO Delaque gangs out there, and they were caught in the middle. Best not to stick around they decided and quickly quit the field.
Back at camp they took stock of their situation. Drake seemed even worse for wear, now squinting badly with one eye in addition to his deranged mutterings. Spunkmeyer's ears were ringing badly, but other than that they seemed unscathed, except... there was someone missing. Nobody remembered when they'd last seen Gorman, all they knew was that he wasn't with them now. For that matter, where had Ferro gone? He wasn't minding the fort as he should have been. They didn't have to wait long for his arrival, grinning ear to ear and holding a large packing crate.
"Well you pieces of chicken-shit sure got back early. What's up? Did they get there before you? Lucky you've got me to back you up. Here, Crowe, get a load of this."
He threw the package at Crowe who looked at it in astonishment before snatching it up and running off to the corner of the room with it. The attention of the others was diverted by the appearance of a second figure beside Ferro. A smaller, lithe figure with a large knife and a large spider on her shoulder. Vasquez was first to ask.
"Who's Snow White?"
"She's supposed to be some kind of consultant. Apparently she saw an alien once."
The lithe figure swept her long, curved knife over her shoulder and stepped into the room.
"You boys look like you might need a hand. I'm here to lend one."
Golic looked across at Crowe who was unwrapping the large fuel tanks of a personal flamer. He groaned and resumed picking the shrapnel out of his back, he was definitely not standing anywhere near Crowe once he'd got THAT up and running!
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