The Horse Dancers

Written by: Ripshot

In this humble sicario's opinion, it's not about bodycount or influence that makes a gang, but the style in which they rule their turf. Some only hire from certain demographics, others take up a signature-weapon or fighting-style. The Horse Dancers however, all think they're reincarnations of Genghis Khan's Mongolian army destined to reclaim the old empire.
Yeah.
Okay, so that's not the whole of it. Most slots that join the Horse Dancers do so because they've got the monopoly on functioning bikes in The Concrete Forest or because they have the comfiest furs you'll find outside of Armani. But the leader himself, an Elf who calls himself The Khan? He legit believes in being the Mongolian conquerer Reincarnated, And that taking Route 401 is just the first step in conquering 'The Western Steppes' for his horde of cavalry. Sure, they use carbines instead of bows and the horses have a hundred horses of power in each of 'em, but the style is all there, and you gotta respect that, y'know?
Weirdly, for a go-gang the Horse Dancers are pretty open to diplomacy. I mean, they need convincing that it's easier than just killing you and looting your body, but if you can finagle a deal or promise out of 'em, they'll generally keep to it. If you get contracted into working for 'em, expect every word in the deal to be carefully picked out and followed to the letter, and they'll expect the same of you.

Structure

The Khan's a guy who knows how to delegate properly, and it shows in how he organises things. While he oversees the big picture, his three handpicked leutenants organise day-to-day dealings and give orders to 'cavalry leaders', who - you guessed it - lead bands of individual Riders into their raids. Unusually, The Khan's picks for his leading roles are actually picked for their talents in leading, as opposed to most gangs where the best fighters are the ones who top the hierarchy.

Identifiers

To nobody's surprise, the Horse Dancers love to dress like Mongolians, or at least the comic-book versions: Handmade duds made with furs and leather (usually synthetic drek but sometimes sourced from whatever paracritters are in the Concrete Forest), really, really nice bikes dressed up like Khanate-era horses, even cute little yurts set up in the heart of their turf.

Gotta say, even if a lot of the rank-and-file don't know crap about Mongolia, whoever's tagging their territory sure does. Some of the nicest murals I've seen in all of Raleigh.

— Mecha-Zuma

I can confirm that the guy in question's a legit Mongolian, albeit one with a few screws loose, seeing as he actually believes the Khan's a reincarnation of the original Ghengis...

— Saint-Ain't

Public Agenda

Officially, The Khan claims that since he holds the spirit of Genghis, he's entitled to an empire. He's starting small, but he's looking at expanding beyond the 301 just as soon as he gets the manpower.

Assets

Honestly, for a go-gang living out the barrens these guys are pretty well equipped. Their homebase is an old automotive parts factory, so they've got all their bikes fitted for high clearance and bouncy suspension to mount up and over cars and enough plating to handle a decent amount of punishment. Their guns are a cut above the norm for the forest, being actual guns made in an actual factory instead of homemade barrens-specials, but they're almost all pistol-caliber for ease of one-handed firing.

"RIDE INTO DEATH."

Founding Date

2065

Type

Illicit, Gang

Demonym

Rider

Leader

The Khan

Location

The Concrete Forest

Notable Members

• The Khan

Territory

Concrete Forest, Semi-Nomadic

Primary Operations

Organised Violence, Protection Rackets, Vehicle Theft/Chopshopping

Colors

White, Blue, Red

Connections

Low (Satellite Gangs/'Tributees')

Material Assets

Low (Motorcycles and Small-Arms)

Magical Assets

Medium

Matrix Assets

Low

Non-Aggression Pact

The Cabinet

13

The Horse Dancers

-8

In spite of recent conflicts of interest, the Horse Dancers have agreed to a truce between themselves and the Cabinet, allegedly in admittance of the usefulness of having deniable assets outside of the gang for purposes of subterfuge and deception.

Cold War

Nuclear Warlocks

-22

The Horse Dancers

-35

The Warlocks have been a constant thorn in the side of the Horse Dancers and their goals of 'noble conquest', but outright hostilities have simmered down to quiet but tense ceasefires, as both sides are aware but uncertain of the others' growing capabilities.

Cease-Fire

Rampart Falconers

-49

The Horse Dancers

12

The Horse Dancers used to see the Rampart as something their younger recruits could sharpen their teeth on, but the Falconers have managed to turn the tables on them by giving away their raids ahead of time and making skirmishing attacks. This somehow impressed the Khan enough to call a temporary cease-fire on the Falconers and by extension the Rampart, considering them a lower priority than the various factions in the Concrete Forest they consider actual enemies.

---

YOU HAVE THREE NEW MESSAGES IN: JOB-LISTINGS

OPEN MESSAGES?

Wings of Scar and Steel

Sender: Redhat
Subject Keywords: Horse Dancers, The Khan, Children of Eden
Recipients: Shadowrunners = ListingEnabled
Job Type: Theft

The Horse Dancers are legendary for their vehicular-engineering feats, turning old write-offs into motorcycles worthy of the Khan and his inner circle themselves, but even their capable mechanics need something to start with, a respectable canvas to apply their talents to. The Children of Eden MC have many such bikes, and unlike other gangs (if you could even call them such), they have little means to safely enter and attack the Horse Dancers directly. Load as many bikes as you can into a truck the Khan has generously provided and bring them to his outer-camp, and you will be rewarded appropriately.

You and I, Under The Same Sky

Sender: Agitator
Subject Keywords: Horse Dancers
Recipients: Shadowrunners = ListingEnabled
Job Type: Extraction

It takes a special sort of strangeness to follow a go-ganger who believes himself to have the soul of Genghis, and shockingly enough not everyone will see eye-to-eye with people who make that decision. Mr. Johnson represents a family of such people, Mongolians at that, who are not at all pleased that their twins Khulan and Bilguun have gone off to worship a mentally-unsound Polish migrant, alleging that Khulan legitimately believes in his claims of reincarnation and that Bilguun follows her every word in most matters. Return the two back home before they commit to the initiation, preferrably in a way that inhibits them from trying to return.

Ride Into Grave and Glory

Sender: Barkeep
Subject Keywords: Horse Dancers, The Khan
Recipients: Shadowrunners = ListingEnabled
Job Type: Wetwork

The Khan's active recruiment keeps his armies fresh in numbers, but that doesn't change the slowly growing number of men and woman who through injury, sickness or (rarely) age, simply begin losing the ability to keep up. Many are simply left behind as they become too weak to contribute, but some bare enough boast-worthy deeds under their belt that such an undignified end would badly damage the morale of the others, and many still have enough skill to survive being put on the forefront of every raid. The Khan has decided that a more direct approach must be taken to ensure them an honorable death, and is searching for anyone who can provide such. The Horse-Dancers are honor-bound to come and defend their allies as soon as the fighting starts, no matter how far away, but should you survive your own ambush and send them on their way to the other side, the Khan will show the utmost gratitude... though he might still call for retribution, if your tracks aren't covered.