By the time they reached the city the party had well and truely kicked off. The night was rent by the clatter of gunfire and the whine of plasma blasts, the backwash of which reflected off the sides of the taller buildings like flickering blue witchlight. Sayeeda hoped that the local civilians were keeping their heads down, though there would be no such thing as safety tonight. Well perhaps in Magdelena's subterrainian dwelling and places like it.

Neil and Sayeeda headed for where the gunfire was thickest. The bodies and damage grew increasingly heavy as they moved towards the Stinger's manor. Infact they were less than a street away when they encountered the first spiders, a trio of men huddling in an alleyway trying to keep out of sight.

"Kill them!" one of the men shouted, his eyes white with terror. Neil shot him through the bridge of the nose, the heavy round smashing him back into the alley wall with a spray of blood. Sayeeda's railgun split the air, cutting the second man in half and shattering the adobe wall behind him. The third thug managed to half turn before a second round from Neil excavated the back of his skull. They moved up the alley without words, peering from the end of it towards the manor. They were behind a ragged line of Spiders, all taking cover behind wrecked vehicles and tumbled walls. It seemed their improvised combat vehicles had been of little help as both converted tractors were burning and spewing thick black smoke. The spider attack had obviously caught the scorpions by surpise and they had nearly won the day based solely on that single stroke of initiaive. The attack had finally bogged down at the gates of the Scorpions mansion, where the improvised earthworks and heavy weapons had provided natural rallying points for fleeing Scorpion gunmen. Fire whipped between the two positions and men shouted and cursed, or screamed in terror as they continued to fire in almost blind panic.