“I’m up…I’m running… I’m DOWN”. The cant repeated in ‘Little’ Tiope’s head as she bounded up, sprinted forward and dived behind a crate, shots cracking as they passed over her head. She’d received little training as a gang Juve, but this golden lesson had stuck with her and was keeping her, and the rest of the Erinyes, alive as they build up their position on the left bank of the Greater Corpseflow river, ground currently contested on the right bank by a goup of Squat Venators. Far to their left another Escher gang was assaulting similar positions held by an Outcast gang, their stray shots occasionally lighting the dome as they flew across the battlefield. The Venators had dug in early and were laying down a furious pattern of fire. Plasma bursts, high powered Las, grenades and some kind of sniper fire all poured from the far bank, however the Eschers of the Erinyes bounded gracefully from cover to cover, never a clear target from more than a moment. Less graceful were the Hive Scum they had hired to support the assault, one falling to a sniper shot as she tried to harvest the strange crystals and another being hit by a Krak grenade, blown to his back but miraculously standing up and dusting himself off.

Steeling herself that that if a lowly male scum could brave the fire and survive, she bounded out of cover and up the ladder she had been directed to. The Queen had been clear before the advance, the girls would hold a firing line on the bank while the Scum charge the bridge and draw fire, all a distraction to deliver to Tisiphone, their lethal Death Maiden across the river and into close quarters with these subhuman scum, too close for them to use their superior firepower. Tiope was to provide smoke grenade cover to the advance, but was dismayed to see the tell tale laser lines and dots of infra sights stabbing across the river, still she had a job and she would die before she failed her sisters. Topping the ladder, she gave a cheer as she watched Lady Augusta, their noble-born champion glide forward and drill a cowering Squat with her golden boltgun. The cry died as a tremendous impact drove Tiope to her knees, green light and heat overcoming her. As she fell she saw a gurning Squat in gargantuan armour lowering a smoking Plasmagun, pain threatening to overcome her, the acrid smell of her flesh crisping filling the air as her head impacted on the hard metal of the gantry. As she lay with the stench of her own burning death filling her breath, her eyes found the silent, still eyes of the Death Maiden Tisiphone inches from her face.

The mute killer of the Erinyes was a fixed point among the chaos, the world seeming to rotate around that intense stare. Both intense fear and pride gripped Tiope, forcing her to her knees as she pulled the ring from a smoke grenade, pain arcing across her with every movement. As she began her throw the Death Maiden leap onto the open bridge, fire passing across and above her. Helpless fear held Tiope as she saw the grenade fail to active and drop from the bridge into gurgling waters, the Death Maiden exposed on the coverless gantry of the bridge. The fear was pointless. Tiope was awestruck as she witnessed the Death Maiden surge with unnatural speed, bounding forward into the Squat line, heading straight for the cowering leader of the Venators like a awful spirit of vengeance and death as she dropped from view. “Denn die todten reiten schnell” whispered the Scummer crouched next to Tiope in low Gothic, equally enthralled by Tisiphone’s charge. A guttural scream rent the air as blood was thrown across the girders of the bridge, Tisi bounding back into view to skewer another Squat who had barely had time to react. Blinding plasma fire again ripped through the air, but as Tiope’s vision cleared she witness the unstoppable Maiden diving into cover back towards the remaining Squats.

Screaming the undulating Escher War Cry and fighting through the blinding pain of the plasma burns Tiope gripped her stub gun and charged across the bridge, scummer in tow, heart pounding in anticipation of the awful fusillades that would surely drive her from the bridge. Nothing came. As the pain of her injury slowed her, she saw the Squats were instead hastily pulling back, fear etched into their faces, fear of the seemingly unkillable undead that now stalked their bank of the river. “Barricade both ends, I want this bridge locked up tight” shouted the Erinyes Queen as she mounted the bridge behind Tiope “double watch until we’re sure those mutants aren’t coming back”. Tiope, adrenaline still surging through her turned to follow her leader’s instructions but was halted by a stern look from the Queen. “Didn’t I tell you to take cover” she asked with a frown “get those burns looked at, then get a signal Uphive back to the Council of Crones, now the routes are open we might be able to bring some outsized cargo through”. “Oooh Fluffy” giggled Lady Augusta as she drew up beside the Queen, bright eyes flashing and a wicked smile gracing her pict perfect face.